Hodgdon Powder Company have introduced Accurate High Country, an all-new spherical rifle propellant engineered for the performance demands of today's modern magnum cartridges, including Federal's new 7mm Backcountry.
High Country was developed in response to one of the biggest questions surrounding the introduction of the 7mm Backcountry: What powder do I load it with? Federal's 7mm Backcountry uses a one-piece steel alloy case and operates at pressures up to 80,000 psi—well beyond conventional magnum cartridges. That combination of higher operating pressure and reduced case capacity requires a propellant capable of delivering exceptional ballistic performance within a relatively small case volume. After an extensive global propellant search, Hodgdon identified the performance characteristics needed and developed High Country specifically for the application.
The result is a progressive-burning, double-base spherical propellant that delivers the performance required by the 7mm Backcountry while providing handloaders with useful versatility across a much broader range of rifle cartridges.
"High Country gave us an opportunity to introduce a propellant around an entirely new level of cartridge performance," said Justin Schrader, senior ballistician. "The 7mm Backcountry presents a unique challenge because of its operating pressure and case design. We wanted a powder that could take advantage of that technology, while still giving reloaders the consistency, metering and versatility they expect from an Accurate propellant."
High Country's spherical, free-flowing grains meter smoothly through powder measures, helping reloaders achieve consistent charge weights from one load to the next. Its formulation also produces a lower flame temperature than conventional magnum propellants, helping manage the increased heat and pressure associated with high-performance cartridges.
While engineered specifically for the 7mm Backcountry, High Country is far from a single-cartridge propellant. Its application range extends from the .243 Winchester through the 7mm Backcountry, including popular modern magnums such as the 6.5 PRC, 7mm PRC, .300 PRC and Winchester Short Magnum cartridges, as well as proven standards including the .270 Winchester and .300 Winchester Magnum.
Published load data for Accurate High Country is now available through the Hodgdon Reloading Data Center. As always, handloaders should begin with published starting loads and work up carefully.
For more information, visit hodgdonpowderco.com.
