Shortly before Kenny Jarrett finished building the very first rifle for my new 7mm wildcat in 1987, I decided to dedicate the cartridge to readers of Shooting Times. I figured it would be ideal for hunting in the west, so I named it the 7mm Shooting Times Westerner.

My first article on the new cartridge was published in these pages in 1988. To simply say that it took off like a scalded dog among hunters across the country would be an understatement.

Early on, top management at Remington had no interest in the 7mm STW. The 8mm Magnum, upon which it was based, was proving itself to be a dead duck at the time. However, the folks at Remington were quite puzzled when orders for thousands upon thousands of rounds of unprimed 8mm Magnum brass began to pour in from distributors across the country.

Slow-Burning Powder Bulk-Densities
	Percent
Water	100.0
US 869	98.1
Magnum	98.1
AA 8700	96.7
VV N170	92.9
H4831SC	91.5
H1000	90.5
Reloder 22	90.5
Reloder 25	90.5
Retumbo	90.0
H4831	89.6
H50BMG	89.6
VV 20N29	89.0
IMR-7828	88.7
NOTE: This chart compares the approximate bulk densities of various powders with that of water and has absolutely nothing to do with burn rates.

As Remington's investigation revealed, all those cases were being sold to handloaders who owned rifles in 7mm STW. Soon after Remington realized that 7mm STW rifles and factory ammo would sell, the wheels of progress began to pick up more speed. In a ceremony held during the 1997 NRA annual meetings, I was presented with the very first production Model 700 built in 7mm STW along with the first box of 140-grain Core-Lokt ammunition to come off the production line.

A lot of water has passed under the bridge since I unveiled the 7mm STW in the May 1988 issue of Shooting Times. In that report, I included 28 loads with bullets weighing up to 175 grains along with all then-available powders I considered to be suitable for the cartridge. More specifically, they were H4831, IMR-7828, H5010, H870, and AA 8700.

Shortly after the Remington announcement about factory 7mm STW ammo in 1997, I put together an update containing loads with four additional powders: Reloder 22, H50BMG, VihtaVuori N170, and Norma MRP. At that point, a couple of powders included in my 1988 report were being phased out. One was H5010, a surplus powder developed by DuPont during World War II for the .50 BMG. It was being replaced at Hodgdon by newly manufactured H50BMG, another stick powder designed for the big .50-caliber cartridge.

Sometime later, H870, which was also military surplus but spherical in shape, was discontinued when the supply was exhausted. Lucky for those who preferred it in the 7mm STW, its burn rate is quite similar to those of H50BMG and Accurate 8700. Since my last update on the 7mm STW, five additional powders suitable for use in the cartridge have been introduced. They are Magnum from Western Powders, Retumbo and US 869 from Hodgdon, VitaVuori 20N29, and Reloder 25 from Alliant Powders. Let's take a closer look at each of them.

New Propellants
When it comes to combining extremely high density with one of the slowest burn rates available to handloaders, no other powder is in the same league as US 869 from Hodgdon. As you can see in the bulk-density-comparison chart, it is 98 percent as dense as water, yet its burn rate is quite close to that of Hodgdon's 50BMG propellant. This should make it an excellent choice in low-expansion-ratio cartridges such as the 7mm STW, but with the exception of the Remington 160-grain Core-Lokt Ultra bullet, I was unable to reach velocities as high as with other powders.

7mm STW Optimum Powder/ Bullet-Weight Combos
Powder	Bullet Weight (grs.)
H4831	100-120
Norma MRP	100-150
Reloder 22	100-150
IMR-7828	100-160
VV N170	100-150
H1000	120-160
Reloder 25	150-175
Magnum	150-160
Retumbo	120-160
AA 8700	160-175
H50BMG	150-175
US 869	150-175
VV 20N29	175