Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Best 7mm-08 handload for deer?

I was turned on to this load by another 7/08 shooter and this load has outperformed any other load I've ever tried. It's not the fastest load, but it has turned out to be obscenely accurate and it drops deer like crazy.

In my 7/08 it will stack all shots in one ragged hole every time, if I do my part.

41.0 grains of IMR-4064, Nosler 140 grain Ballistic Tip, 210M primers. It works...

I have used 120 gr. BT, 139 gr Spire Point, and 140 gr. BT, and 145 gr Speer Hot Core.
I settled on the 120 gr. BT. I have had good results with IMR 4064, RL 15 and Varget. I use RL 15 or Varget whichever is available. The 120gr. Ballistic Tip is a very good bullet. I've killed both deer and hogs from several feet away to over 225 yards. I've used the same load in several different rifles with only slight differences in headspace and bullet seating depth. The first 100 yrd cloverleaf I ever shot was with the 120gr. BT and 4064. I look no further now for a bullet for 7mm08.

120 BT over Varget, I get 3100fps in one rifle and 3050 in the other with the same load

Ive had good luck with 120gr BT's and the 139gr Hornady Interlock.

If you wanna try the 139gr Hornady and cant find any let me know I have like a 1/2 box I'll make ya a good deal on.

I will admit up front that I've never actually used a 7mm-08 at all......but I have shot the 7x57mm (same catrdge with a different shape) a lot.

To me, the "secret" to any smaller, light caliber round is penetratin and heavy-for-caliber bullets. I really like the 175 grain bullets, but velosity is cut enough to really limit range. A good compromise is the 154 grain bullets wich allows an easy 300+ yard range with great penetration and hitting power.

The 139-145 a bullets also work great on deer size game, but I shy away from lightweght 120 grain slugs.

Sorry but I don't see the 7mm-08 as a smaller caliber nor the 120 gr bullet as "light" on deer. I would possibly consider a 223 as "light" and even it is quite adequate. The 7mm-08 might be considered as "smaller" if you were hunting brown bears but not for deer size game.

Hey those big bodied Texas deer are real bullet-stoppers !!

I use the plain old 145gr Speer BT in my 20" 7mm-08 over H4350. Works nicely on deer/hogs.

Good choice JPro.....yankees just don't inderstand thick brush and blood trails

I've only caught one so far. Double shoulder shot on a good-sized buck. Didn't recover the bullet though. Everything else that managed to run did leave heavy blood trails.

Boat tail Speers aren't Hot Cors, and are made on the soft side.

Goes to show how well a regular bullet can perform when used at a reasonable velocity.

Couldn't agree more. My old 7x57's also worked best with 139 and 154gr bullet's. I wouldn't bet the farm on lighter bullet's.

I've been using the 120gr NBT out of mine, very accurate and seems to hit hard and I cant complain about penetration but they don't travel in a strait line inside a critter. The last 4 deer I've shot, the entrance and exits have been all kinds of angles, I've even shot one broadside in the shoulder and had a exit on the same side out the rear ham.

Used to use 120 TSX's and had very good terminal performance, but so so accuracy. Switched to 162 A-Max's and have great accuracy and they are wicked on deer. Very quick kills and all pass throughs.

Badger what's your load, velocity if you know it, etc?

140 gr NBT pushed by 45gr I-4350 is the ticket in my Vanguard S2.

120 gr TTSX over 43.0 gr of RL-15 shoots very well in my 7-08 NULA and kills stuff to boot.

donsm70

120BT and Big Game powder are the ticket in my 7mm/08. Used the 140BT, AB, and partition with just as good results. The 120BT and Big game is incredibly accurate in mine and performs great on the deer. Lots of viable options for deer in the 7mm-08.

The secret is out (grin). Great little bullet that kills stuff and mild recoil. Haven't check the speed on my load yet but it will kill deer easily.

Yep,,,, of course now those Texas deer are special,,,,,,

but ever deer and hog I have shot with the 120BT have piled up quickly, usually leaving a blood trail that Stevie Wonder could follow,, if they went far enough to need a trail. I don't think I have ever had one go farther than 50 yards and he was moving on when I shot him