Hi Skor 700X

muddocktor · Aug 12, 2017

Back in the Great Powder Shortage gone by, I had bought a 14 ounce bottle of this powder and I had only used it to load 100-200 380 Auto rounds, which I load on my old single stage press.

I decided to try loading some lower velocity lead loads for my 44 Mag yesterday and start using this powder up. I load 44 Mag on my old Dillon 450 press and I resize/deprime separately and prime the cases using my RCBS bench priming system for all my pistol rounds. So anyways, I start loading and setting the Dillon powder measure while loading and found out a couple things about this powder. First, it gives a pretty good case fill, with the 8.9 grains I was loading filling the 44 mag case at least halfway up. And second, my Dillon powder measure absolutely hates this powder and it meters it like doo doo. I ended up checking every powder throw last night while loading 100 rounds to make sure none were way under or over weight. The Dillon measure would throw 3-4 pretty close to the proper weight, then throw one 4-5 tenths light and every once in a while it would throw them heavy too.

I have another 100 I am planning to load with the same load this evening. I might put my adapter on and try my old Lyman 55 measure to see if it throws the 700X any better.

How about y'all? Do you find that 700X meters poorly?

markyboy57 · Aug 12, 2017

Your Lyman 55 is probably your best option if you are going to meter this powder. Saying that I would still weigh each throw. I used 700x/800x with one for reloading 10mm for a long time. Make sure you whack the knocker good. There are easier powder options that work as well for me with 10mm nowadays. At about 9 grains, you have a lot of loading left. Many here would just use it for fertilizer.

m657 · Aug 12, 2017

" my Dillon powder measure absolutely hates this powder and it meters it like doo doo." the only reason I don't use these two (700s/800x) is that very inconsistency in my 650 Dillon powder system.

I think I could get more consistent powder loads using Lee hand dipper method. Some day I might try, as at current rate I'll never get this stuff used up.

Nevada Ed · Aug 12, 2017

Way back I used a lot of 700 and 800-X as well as PB for my 12 Ga.
trap loads .
Tried them but was unhappy.

Ball powder....

k22fan · Aug 12, 2017

While I have not loaded any in years I was happy with how my RCBS and Redding powder measures threw DuPont 700X. It and the nearly interchangeable DuPont PB were my favorite powders for drastic down loads in .44 Magnum because they burned so clean. Those two measures have similar rotating drums. For small pistol charges of Red Dot and 800X's larger round flakes I use a Belding and Mull measure. It's slow but precise.

DWalt · Aug 12, 2017

My Lyman 55 meters OK with 700-X

MichiganScott · Aug 12, 2017

Always worked OK in my old Pacific shot shell press. I never could get it to work through a rotating drum measure.

Leslie Sapp · Aug 12, 2017

Be careful with 700x. It makes a nice plinking load in 38 special, .357 mag, 44 mag, etc., but a couple of tenths of a grain can get you over pressure in a heartbeat. I've found it to be very "spikey" and sensitive to very small increases in powder charge.

For this reason, I don't load it anywhere near the max charges listed for it in handgun cartridges.

ontargetagain · Aug 12, 2017

700x is on my 'does NOT meter well' list for sure!
Karl

muddocktor · Aug 12, 2017

Well, I just loaded another 50 with the Lyman 55. It worked better than the Dillon measure, but it is still not precise enough to load without weighing them individually. I still get the random low charge out of it and had a couple of powder drops that were .3 grains over. BTW, that load is .6 grain lower than the max charge that Hodgdon shows as a max load for a 240 grain LSWC bullet. And I use the knocker 3 times after dropping the charge to try to pack the rotating cylinder as well as possible. I'm just trying to load up some plinking loads and if I wanted hotter loads I could use a different powder. And I'm trying to use this stuff up and the 44 looks like it is a good way to use it up relatively quickly.

The darned powder even plugs off in my powder funnel and I have to tap it about half the time to finish getting it to flow into the case.

TjB101 · Aug 13, 2017

ontargetagain said:
700x is on my 'does NOT meter well' list for sure!
Karl

Ditto.... not the best... but when you have 5 lbs of it you find a way to make it work.

k22fan · Aug 13, 2017

In the worst case you can always make a hand dipper. wrap a stiff wire around an empty case's extractor groove, twist it tight for twice the length of handle you want then fold it back on itself for a stiffer handle. Shorten the case until it throws the weight you want. With a little practice dippers are as accurate as any measure. Weighing individual charges is too slow for ordinary pistol cartridges.

I used to shoot next to the best bench rest rifle shooters in the state. To them any rifle that did not produce 1/4" 10 shot groups at 100 yards the first day out was trash because all their serious competition at the matches were were going to break 0.2" for 10 shots at 200 yards. They did not individually weigh powder charges because a little variation in thrown charges did not enlarge their groups. (Hint.) By the way, one of them collected his venison with a Winchester Model 94 and another used a .300 Savage. (That's another hint.)

MyDads38 · Aug 13, 2017

I too have about 10 containers of 700X because it was some of the ONLY powder to show up on shelves during the great "powder depression" LOL. I have yet to use any, but knew up front it metered poorly, but seemed to work well in some of the calibers I load for. Unless I can trade it off, I'll keep it and use it as I go along. After the powder shortage, I won't be letting go of ANY powder willingly!

I don't mind weighing powder charges and have 2 different, complete sets of Lee dippers. They do work very well, and can be very consistent.

Arm · Aug 13, 2017

700 x meters fine using my Pact electronic dispenser and, scale. It (700x) just does not give me the results as many other powders do. I'm trying to use up what I have on hand too.

4barrel · Aug 13, 2017

Never a problem on my 550s with 700x. I use it in 45acp lead and 38 special wad cutter target loads. It is a flake powder close to the size as others. Both of my 550s are first design. The powder slide is on a spring other than a rod. I purchased the adapter kits in the 90s but the machines work so well the kits are still new in the box. Have you contacted Dillon support?

Leslie Sapp · Aug 13, 2017

In the worst case you can always make a hand dipper

This is precisely what I have done for my 700x loads.

Qc Pistolero · Aug 13, 2017

I use it 2.6gr at a time in my 38Spl with wc 148gr.It meters ok in my old Dillon 300 powder measure and my groups haven't opened up compared to what I was using(Bullseye).
it better meter ok:I got a deal for a 12# during the shortage so at 2.6gr,I better get those .38guns ready to see a lot of use!
Qc

muddocktor · Aug 13, 2017

I finished up the last of my 44 Mag reloading last night and just continued weighing out every charge after dropping them from the Lyman. I only have about 1/3 the bottle left, so it's no big deal to weigh out some every once in a while until I finish it off.

Arm, you are doing what I was thinking would be the best way to dispense accurately weighed charges. I don't know what it is about 700X, but I load other powders that are flake style powders that throw much more accurately than 700X. I also load HP38, Longshot and Unique and none of those throw nearly as badly as 700X for me.

Wise_A · Aug 13, 2017

I didn't trust it in .38 Spl loads, but it meters acceptably (+/-.1gr) in 9mm volumes through my Lee Auto-Disk Pro. It's also easy enough to visually-check that it's dispensing alright.

cowboy4evr · Aug 14, 2017

No problem in my LEE Perfect Powder Measure . I have used dippers , worked fine there too . I love 700X for 44spl loads . Got the recipe from an article that Mike Ventorino had in Handloader mag .

Hi Skor 700X

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