Anyone who says the tsx is expensive and you don't need them is delusional. You shoot at a deer one shot normally and the loaded round costs about .80 if you reload. Try buying ANY factory loaded ammo in 708 for less that $1 per round. You spend anywhere from $400 for a cheapo rifle scope combo to the skies the limit for your rifle/scope. Minimum of $100 for boots, several hundred for camo or orange clothing, my all inclusive license is $165,$100 to fill your $40,000 SUV with gas, $500 for the computer to read Swampy spout his idiocy, $600 for the Leica rangefinder, $500 for that Reconyx trailcam to see what is in the woods, food, beer, and all the other stuff I can't remember. Tell me you can't afford 50 cents extra for a bullet that just plain works. I can identify with the 139 Hornady also as I used that bullet for years and killed quite a few deer with it. You can give a kid a 708 loaded with the 139 H and pushed by 37 gr of Varget and tell him to kill schitt. Don't kick and just plain knocks the deer flat at 100 yards or less which is where most kids operate. However, seeing what the Accubond does to deer in my 6.8 Rem the last couple years has made me a believer in them, too.
I have posted this several times before but it is worth posting here for you again. I've only taken a few deer with the 7-08, but you will love the round -kills really well and the recoil is so mild you can see the impact on the shot.
My brother has been shooting a 7-08 for about ten years now. He takes between 9 - 15 deer a year, all with the 7-08. He switched from the 30-06 and will never go back. Nothing wrong with the 06, but the 7-08 is just as good and much more fun.
He has tried a lot of bullets. He had a really bad experience with the Hornady 139 SST. I was there and witnessed the problem.
He absolutely swears by the 140 Core-lokt. This bullet, though inexpensive, performs exactly as advertised - it doesn't blow up and yet it provides a tremendous amount of energy transfer resulting in very frequent instantaneous kills. I shot a doe head on at about 75 yards with my brothers rifle and still got an exit way back in front of the pelvis. I'd say my brother gets exits about 90 percent of the time, with only the rare head on shot preventing an exit. When he does find a bullet they look picture perfect every time.
I know there are lots of good bullets out there for the 7-08, just wanted to let you know the Core-lokt performs really well. I know it's boring to find something so inexpensive and ordinary to perform so well, but quite simply these bullets are really tough to beat.
When you've been at something for nearly 50 years it's hard to be wrong.
Reckon that makes the Nosler Partition about perfect...
And Sierra's, and Speer's, and Hornady's, and Power Points, and Silvertips,... Yep, being around a long time makes them Core lokts real unique and special.
Probably not the perfect choice but since Colorado elk season runs directly into my Missouri deer season I now shoot 140 grn Accubonds. Switched from 140 grn Sierra GK that worked great for SEMO deer for just about ten years but they do a lot more off shoulder damage than the Accubonds.
Hard to believe Swampy doesnt like the 7-08......it is headstamped REM.
139 gr Hornady SP or SPBT have worked for me in the 7x57 to 7 mm Rem Mag on Antelope,Mule deer ,Whitetail deer and a Mountain Goat from near to far. Can't even imagine why they won't work in a 7-08 if your rifle likes them. It's a good place to start on the cup and core end of bullet design. Good luck. Magnum Man
Just about any bullet will work on deer when shot from a 7mm-08. I have tried just about all of the factory loads and I've never been disappointed. My personal favorite before it was discontinued was the Hornady Light Magnum 139 grain SP. Since it has been discontinued I have changed over to Hornady Superperformance 139 grain SST. I also really like the Remington 140 grain Corelokt. I prefer the SST over the Corelokt though. It seems to me that the Hornady loads are more consistent. The SST does not have the best penetration in the world and I have recovered a few of them under the offside hide. That doesn't worry me though because it does a lot of damage once it hits the heart and lungs and leaves one heck of a blood trail, IF the deer even makes it out of sight. Good luck and I hope you kill a pile of deer with it.
I really like the 140 Sierra Pro-Hunter. Over Varget.
Ive loaded this bullet for my bro in law, cept I used 760, that was before i discovered varget and RE15, shot 2 deer with 150NBTs, one buck was shot thru the liver @110 paces, it was DRT, the other was a a nice doe from about 80yds, it ran maybe 90 yds and toppled over, blood trail a blind man could see. Target on right is 150NBTs.
