7mm-08 Bullet/Powder Selection

[thundergrey]

Hi all,

I have a 7mm-08 and started reloading a couple years ago with my prior rifle which was a 30-06.I was using IMR4350 and had excellent results (sub MOA) with 165 Accubonds.

Jump into my 7mm-08 and after, 120gr NBT, 140gr NBT, 140gr NAB, & 140gr Sierra Pro-hunters, all with various loads I cant get this thing to shoot under 2" with IMR4350 except with some 100gr Sierra HP (wanna see a gopher explode?) which are stacking with the 4350.


Bought some factory stuff that was ok but would rather reload. Also bought some Varget as many internet folks say they had good luck with their 708 loads. Looking for some recipes for Varget in 7mm08 140 grains...


Finally, bullets... As above, I have tried a couple and maybe I expect too much from this "smaller" gun. Or maybe I am a terrible shot. Either is possible. I hunt deer, elk and moose up to 300 yards. 1 bullet to "rule them all" would be my ideal.


- Accubonds come highly recommended but I have had terrible luck on deer with them. If I blow up a shoulder they seem ok but a clean lung shot seems to pinhole them and has led to some lost deer when the blood trail goes dry. Cant complain about them on elk, every one made it to the freezer. Pretty sure its the lower velocities of the 7mm08 just not letting them expand as much as I would like.

- Sierra Pro-Hunter & Nosler BT were also recommended but wow the meat damage is crazy, pen sized hole in and softball sized exit on deer with a clean hit, never mind a shoulder shot. I don't think I would want to use them on elk?


- I am considering Nosler Partitions. The theory seems sound, enter, explode 1/3, 2/3 of bullet penetrates through. I see this as a more "forgiving" round, where a lung shot will explode the lungs and go in and out and a shoulder shot will shotgun bone through the vitals. Both scenarios offer a quick drop, maybe not enough for a large bull elk shoulder but maybe?

What other bullets could you all recommend for an all around med/large game bullet in a 7mm08?

[Dubious]

swift has a few offerings in 150 gr swift scirocco 2 or the 140 a-frames maybe worth a try I’ve had great results with swift bullets. Sierra also has the famous game king I have not used the sierras on big game yet but they give fantastic groups on paper and have proven to be absolutely lethal on varmits.

[Dean2]

7-08 is the perfect gun for cup and core bullets. No need for high dollar solutions. Hornady 139 SP or BTSP in the interlock or interbond both make great choices that expand reliably from 25 yards to just past 500 at 7-08 velocities. If you want a good high end option, try a Barnes TTSX in 120 grain. Problem with these is if you shoot long distance they tend not to open well but they work fine to about 3-400 yards.

The other great bullet if you are hunting in heavy winds is the Hornady 162 grain. It has a very high BC and drifts less than half what the lighter bullets do. If you are shooting on the plains with heavy winds these are a great choice.

I have used both 139 and 162 in 7=08 and 7x57 and they perform great. I prefer the 162 as an overall bullet if your gun has a fast enough twist for them. What you loose in velocity is more than made up in higher B.C.

Varget or 4350 both make a great choice in the 7-08, my preference was the 4350.

[lclund1946]

Originally Posted by thundergrey

Hi all,

I have a 7mm-08 and started reloading a couple years ago with my prior rifle which was a 30-06.I was using IMR4350 and had excellent results (sub MOA) with 165 Accubonds.

Jump into my 7mm-08 and after, 120gr NBT, 140gr NBT, 140gr NAB, & 140gr Sierra Pro-hunters, all with various loads I cant get this thing to shoot under 2" with IMR4350 except with some 100gr Sierra HP (wanna see a gopher explode?) which are stacking with the 4350.


Bought some factory stuff that was ok but would rather reload. Also bought some Varget as many internet folks say they had good luck with their 708 loads. Looking for some recipes for Varget in 7mm08 140 grains...


Finally, bullets... As above, I have tried a couple and maybe I expect too much from this "smaller" gun. Or maybe I am a terrible shot. Either is possible. I hunt deer, elk and moose up to 300 yards. 1 bullet to "rule them all" would be my ideal.


- Accubonds come highly recommended but I have had terrible luck on deer with them. If I blow up a shoulder they seem ok but a clean lung shot seems to pinhole them and has led to some lost deer when the blood trail goes dry. Cant complain about them on elk, every one made it to the freezer. Pretty sure its the lower velocities of the 7mm08 just not letting them expand as much as I would like.

- Sierra Pro-Hunter & Nosler BT were also recommended but wow the meat damage is crazy, pen sized hole in and softball sized exit on deer with a clean hit, never mind a shoulder shot. I don't think I would want to use them on elk?


- I am considering Nosler Partitions. The theory seems sound, enter, explode 1/3, 2/3 of bullet penetrates through. I see this as a more "forgiving" round, where a lung shot will explode the lungs and go in and out and a shoulder shot will shotgun bone through the vitals. Both scenarios offer a quick drop, maybe not enough for a large bull elk shoulder but maybe?

What other bullets could you all recommend for an all around med/large game bullet in a 7mm08?

The best all round combination I found for the 7mm08 was the Speer 145 BT SP with H 4350 in Remington Neck sized brass. Hornady new brass holds the same amount of powder and is a good choice as well. Killed moose that dressed 875# on the rail with complete pass through at about 200 yards.

[IMG][/IMG]

H 4350 also worked well with the Speer 160 BTSP which would pass through a large moose at 400 meters. Varget works great with the 120/140 Nosler BT/AB bullets as this data for the 700 SPS shows. Varget worked very well with the Speer 110 TNT as well.

[IMG][/IMG]

Model 7 stainless data (20" barrel)
[IMG][/IMG]

Remington 700 V:
[IMG][/IMG]
[IMG][/IMG]

If you have a long enough magazine or the 162 Hornady ELD-X bullet may work well seated like this:
[IMG][/IMG]

[Maxwell78]

I had a tough time reloading for a friends Model 7 7mm-08. I tried various powders with 140 and 150 AB's, 140 and 150 partitions, Barnes 140's. Woodleigh 140's. Finally found a load with the speer 145gr hotcores and Vihtavouri N540.

[sage 13]

yep the speer 145s

[spurly]

Barnes TTSX,120, and Varget, have worked great for me.

[Pioneer2]

Win 760 + mag primers.

[ktownsend]

nice

[Dick284]

It’s this easy.
100-139 gr Varget and CCI BR2’s.
140-160 gr H4350, and CCI BR2’s

[xxclaro]

I recently bought a 7/08 and had similar issue's. Still not totally happy, but found a decent load with Varget and 120BT. I tried a couple factory loads too, none were great. I found that the harder I push it, the more accurate it is. Max loads have produced the best results by far, so I will continue the experiment next year.

[lone wolf]

Recently bought a new Tikka in 7-08. Dropped it into a Bell & Carlson stock and put Optilocks on it. Based on available components I decided to load some rounds using Varget and Hornady 139 grain SSTs. Lucked into a winner out of the gate with 3 shot groups coming in at a respectable 0.75" Next step is to run the same load using the same weight Hornady GMX for a "do it all" bullet.

In the past I have also found that I had better results with a longer COL, however often-times I had to seat the bullets slightly deeper so that they would reliably feed in the magazine.

[CNP]

140 gr/CFE 223/CCI 200

[thundergrey]

Originally Posted by xxclaro

I recently bought a 7/08 and had similar issue's. Still not totally happy, but found a decent load with Varget and 120BT. I tried a couple factory loads too, none were great. I found that the harder I push it, the more accurate it is. Max loads have produced the best results by far, so I will continue the experiment next year.

I know my rifle can be accurate. The Sierra 100gr HP are lasers and stack all day long with IMR4350. Just haven’t found a hunting bullet that I can get to even MOA accuracy.

Hoping Varget is my answer.

[humgreat]

Nozier + Varget have worked perfectly for me.

[lclund1946]

Originally Posted by thundergrey

I know my rifle can be accurate. The Sierra 100gr HP are lasers and stack all day long with IMR4350. Just haven’t found a hunting bullet that I can get to even MOA accuracy.

Hoping Varget is my answer.

I think what is most confusing for people trying to load for the 7mm-08 is the vast difference in the way bullets seat when seated to magazine length, especially the 2.8" COAL of the Remington SA. There can be a huge difference in "Jump to the Lands", and powder capacity under the bullet even with different 140 grain bullets. When I started loading for the 7mmo8 Nosler were still making the 120/140 Solid base bullets(see my loads for 700 V) and H 4350 Extreme was not yet on the market. My go to powder was IMR 4064 which pushed the 140 to near 3000 fps although the load was a bit on the hot side but it shot 0.19" groups. Nosler replaced the SB bullet with the BT and I could no longer run IMR 4064 or the new H 4350E as it protruded way down in the case leaving too little case capacity. I then went to the Speer 145 SPBT which fit to the lands, with bearing surface in the neck, much like the Nosler SB and the Sierra 140 Game King leaving enough space for the H 4350E especially in neck sized brass.

When Varget came out I realized that it would be a perfect fit for the 110 Speer TNT, 120 BT and the 140 BT as well. The 110 TNT load was used in my 700V for fireforming Remington brass, was capable of Sub 1/2 MOA to 600 yards, and really did a number on gophers. The 120/140 BT/AB loads shown for the 700 SPS shot 1/4 MOA to nearly the same POI and tracked the same to 500 yards

These drawings should help explain what I mean. I do have Freebore confused with "Jump to the lands" as these drawings were made before I knew the difference. The first one is the 145 Speer seated just off the lands.:
[IMG][/IMG]

Nosler 140 AB, which is virtually the same as the BT seated 0.166" off the lands. Not a good fit for H 4350 but works great with Varget.
[IMG][/IMG]

[PAB270]

150gr. Barnes TSX on top of 46gr. IMR4350 at max coal (2.8”)