I'm starting to put together my reloading setup for 7mm STW, as I should have my rifle (Sako 75 Stainless/Synthetic in 7mm STW) paid off layaway by the end of December or early January. I've already decided on Redding dies in the Deluxe 3-die set, as I plan to neck size only with the as needed FL size if necessary. I'm up in the air between using either Nosler 140gr Ballistic Tips for range use (less expensive), Nosler 140gr Accubonds (tougher than the BT's, but slightly mroe expensive) or possibly the Barnes 140gr TSX's (pricy, but I like the design). I'm a big fan of Nosler BT's, and use then exclusively in my .22-250 with outstanding results. VERY accurate and SPECTACULARLY deadly on groundhogs, but I know that the small caliber BT's are different from the larger caliber BT's. I'm a bit worried about the ability of the 140gr BT to remain intact with a short ranged, high velocity hit (on the order of 3400fps+ at the muzzle), but from what I've read on another thread, my worries may not be justified.

I also have no idea which powder to select for this rifle. I use Varget in my 22-250 with great success, Alliant 2400 and H-110 for .454 Casull and .45 Colt, Universal Clays for .45ACP, and VhitaVouri N110 for my Savage ML10-II. This is my first magnum rifle that I'm handloading for, and none of the powders I've seen listed jump out as having a great reputation in the 7mm STW.

I'm leaning toward RL-19, RL-22 or IMR 7828 for no other reason than I recall them mentioned before as working well in this type of application, and I have data for all three.

I was curious to see if anyone here has had experience with loading for the 7mm STW, and which powder(s) offer the best accuracy while being reasonably clean. Oh, and FYI, I weight each powder charge for rifle, so I set my powder measure to throw 1-3 grains less and trickle up to the desired charge weight by hand, so metering and grain size/shape aren't a major issue.

Thanks,

Mike