Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 7mm bullet of your choice,,,,

.......in 120, 140 or 150 weight?

160.....

from your options a 120 barnes something or other

Lapua makes a 150 scenar I believe that should be a good one

However, my first choice in all 7mm's is the 162 A-max

burnin dupont, have you ever used the A-max on critters and if so, how big???

TTSX

Hard not to like the 160 NPT, dad punched one through a grizzly out of his 7SAUM a few years ago, says they work on deer too. Been loading 150s in his 7/08, some old Norma SPBTs I got a bunch of somewhere, they shoot great and work on deer and pigs thus far. I like the 120BT and 120 Prohunters in my TCU, no game yet but they both shoot very well with RL7. I have a horde of 175 Hornady SPs and Speer Grandslams for my work in progress 7x57, it will be an iron sight only gun so trajectory isn't a concern, need to finish it up now that I think about it.

What are you using it for?

In mine I run 120 TTSX, but I don't have any place I hunt that offers over a 300 yd shot. If I were shooting long distances the bullet choice would change.

I have been pleased with both the 140 and 160 gr AB's. Both equally accurate in two different 7x57's.

The largest the 140's have taken.



The largest the 160's have taken.

I use 140 accubonds in the 7mag and 160 accubonds in the 7STW

139g Hornady BTSP in my 1895 Chileno 7x57 sporter, 120g NBT in my Sako M591 7mm08 and 140g NBT/NAB in my Sako AV .280.

I shoot 140's in my 280 AI...always seemed to work great on deer. BT's, AB's and Partitions.

140's in the 7-08, 160's in the 7RM, although next week I get to chase big muley bucks with a 7RM/150BT.

In my 7-08 I like the 120gr Nosler Ballistic Tip.
In the 7mm Rem May I like the 140gr Ballistic Tip and 139gr Hornady Interlock.

150 NBT seem to work quite well.

In my 7x57, for deer next year, I will probably run 139 hornady interlocks. I tend not to overthink "premium" bullets for deer, in typical hunting cartridges and have had reliable results with interlocks in a variety of cartridges (27-35 caliber).
Truth be told, I have shot a pretty good truckload of deer with heavy for caliber Sierra bullets, and in a 270 Winchester, with good results.

Kimber Classic 7/08 loves 120gr TTSXs and 120 BTs. Have a stash of 140 ABs on hand that I'm going to give a whirl for an upcoming cow hunt. Have a Montana coming and that's what I plan on running in it also.

7 Mag, 280 AI, and 7 WSM see nothing but 168 Bergers, 162s and hopefully the 180 Scenars will shoot just as great.

What chambering are asking for?

My NULA in 7-08 really likes 120 gr TTSX.

My CLR/NULA in 7x57 prefers 140 gr TTSX or 160 gr AB.

donsm70

7 STW, 160 gr accubonds. It is the bomb in my Winchesters. very best WinPoor

154 grain in my 7x57's.

120 and 140 TTSX
140 and 160 North Fork SS

120 B-tips kill light Thor's hammer in my 7-08, as do 140 B-tips.
Coincidence? I think not....

I read good things about the 162 Amax and want to give them a go.

I use two different bullets in my .280AI. 0-500 yards its the 120 grain Nosler BT. 500+ yards 162 Hornady A-Max.

160 Accubond has treated me very well on elk and deer from my 7mm rem mag. Shoot 140 accubonds from our 7mm08 rifles and did awesome on cow elk and buck deer. I'd be perfectly happy with those bullets and not worry about any others.

I have been using only Barnes 120gr original X's with Moly, TSX and TTSX's in various 7mm RemMags that I load for belonging to my father, son and brother in law among others. They have been working wonderfully for a couple of decades both here and in Africa on game up to and including Roosevelt Elk and Black bear.

BUT, now that I have a larger 7mm Magnum in my 7mm Mashburn Super, I have purchased and am Moly-Coating some bullets that have a bit higher BC's since our newest deer hunting properties have offered shots of at 600 yards and a bit over on nice bucks and I would like a bullet that carries a bit more "oomph" out at those ranges, but with still give a good starting velocity and a flat mid range trajectory.

In the Molying proccess are some 139gr GMX's, 140gr TTSX's, a few 162gr A MAx's given to me and some 140gr Horny SST's.

I should still be able to get to my much loved 3500fps minimum starting out velocity as I was hitting 3700-3800fps with the 120's.

If you are sticking to shots of under 500 yards or your round/cartridge chosen typically utilizes less than 70grs or so of whatever powders then I would go with the 120gr TTSX and never look back.

GOOD LUCK and please do report back with your choice and especially any success stories!

120 grain BTs and 139 Hornady ILs for me. The 120s kick less and work really well with young shooters like my 14 year old cousin, Grace.

140gr CoreLokts in my 7mm-08. When I need to buy more I'll get Hornady 140gr flat base bullets.

My favorites are :

120 TSX
140 Partition
162 A-max

7mm-08 + 120BT and varget, = deer and hogs

Same as you, general purpose on Whitetail & Axis @ 300-400 yards.

280 Ackley

140 TTSX in my .280 and 120 TTSX in my son's 7-08. Both are accurate and dispatche animals of all sizes with no drama.

Dave

140 Partition at 2873 from my 7mm-08 flies well and kills better.



P

150 NBTs shoot very well in my .280 Ackley. Inexpensive and good bullets.

140 Sierra GK and 175 Speer GS in .280, 160 Speer Hot-Cor in 7x57.

I use only 175 Partitions in my iron sighted 35' Chilean 7x57.......takes Caribou easily. 160 SAF in my 7WSM.

For the cartridge, game and conditions you have now put forth, I would say the 120gr TTSX is an easy first choice. The second best bullet is waaaaaayyyy behind it.

You can start the 120 TTSX at some lazer flat speeds, and it will out penetrate a 150gr Partition or any other 150-160gr lead core bullet with the possible exception of the bonded core 150-160's. But the extra poop of those bullets - which will recoil harder and cannot be driven to the same speeds - is simply not needed for the game and distances you have mentioned.

My dads 7mm RemMag (which is really not much faster than a properly loaded 280AI) blew two holes through a large bodied Roosevelt Elk at 200 yards, did well in Africa, and my brother in laws 7mm RemMag accounted well for a black bear recently and a large bodied Mule Deer buck at 608 yards. Complete penetration in all cases.

Great penetration and killing power, flat trajectory, low recoil and usually these bullets are quite accurate in almost all hunting rifles. What more could you ask for?

PS Edited to add that I have used them to good effect from my 7mm Mashburn Super, and it pushes them to 3750fps. Another member here just PM'ede me about using them in his 7mmSTW and running them at almost 4000fps. Lots and lots of hunters have killed every kind of critter including Alaska Moose (I think Big Stick put that photo up here a couple of years ago) with that combination. Running it from the better and faster 280AI tells me that this combo is all you need if your rifle shoots them well.

If you try them. Remember to seat the bullets off of the lands and grooves some. Barnes reccomends .050 off, and I have loaded buckets full with just using the top relief groove as a cannelure and lightly crimping the case into that with terrific results 90% of the time or better.

Yeah, I have bought and loaded and uses a LOT of these Barnes 120gr TTSX's. they are almost a perfect do it all bullet for anything in .284 diameter until the range gets beyond 500 yards or so. That is, in MY experience and opinion. Good luck and good hunting! MARK

Wow! Lots of good options here. I think I've narrowed it down to the 120 TTSX or 140 AB.

Yes, shot out of a 7mm Weatherby factory 700 bedded into a Mcmillan Classic stock. Have taken whitetail deer with it and it kills them very quickly. Shoots great with
IMR 7828

150 ABLR

168 Berger. Worn out Two #5 Hart's. Did Well on multiple white's, mule's, goats and elk.

139 Gr Hornady and 140 Gr Barnes as backup. My 7 x 57 shoots them to the same point of impact. Several dozen whitetail, mule deer, antelope, couple cow elk, a Shiras moose, RM sheep and 180 Gr Hornady for a plains buffalo. And the Hornadys are affordable and always available.

Yah.

Thanks buddy. My 7mm rem mag loves the 162 A-max. I was on the fence about using them on a mulie buck last year, so I used a bullet I know I can trust: The 162gr. Hornady btsp interlock. I've contemplated using the A max on elk this year. Now I kind of wished I would have tried it because the 30 cal 180gr. Nosler partition is so reliably boring, it's not even funny..

I have loaded for, and wife and I have hunted with 7-08, 7-08ai, 284 win, and 7mm wsm over the last 10 years. You can't go wrong with either of the above two bullet choices IMO. Wife is currently shooting 120 gr TTSX at 3200 fps out of her 7-08ai and has taken wall hangers at distances of 40 and 194 yds with excellent bullet performance. I took a decent mid-MO 9 pointer last weekend with the 140 gr NAB out of the 7wsm. Use the one that shoots best in your 280ai and hunt with confidence.

160 Nosler PT for elk and 139 Hornady for deer.

Correctomundo.....

Since your shots, according to your post, will be at or under 400 yards and mostly under 300, no reason to saddle yourself with the poor mid range trajectory and heavier recoil of any extra long, extra heavy high BC bullets. At the ranges and game you have described they will do nothing better than the 120TTSX except for smack your shoulder harder and make range estimations or reading more critical at the ranges you outlined.

If that 120TTSX shoots well in your rifle, load 'em up and as they often say here "Go fill an ark" while enjoying low recoil, two holes for easy tracking, bone breaking penetration when needed and a flat trajectory the whole time.

120,140 tsx
150 ballistic tip
154 hornady flat base
150 scirroco....current favorite

Rosco? What speed are you getting with those out of the weatherby?

2960 is what I've settled on with H1000. I can get a tad more with other powders but H1000 gave best results across the board. 24" tube.

H1000 seems to be a great choice. 2960 with that bullet is a very good place to be I think.

I think so too. I'm putting together another 7wby right now, and considered going with a bigger hull..But after arguing with myself over it, I really dont want to drive that bullet faster. I think i'm where I need to be FPS wise,and too fast if anything.


If I always planned on 500+ yard encounters then yeah, more speed would be OK, but i dont go lookin for a long shot, so I really think between 2800-3000 is a nice place to be with that bullet as a starting velocity.

Maybe when/if berger comes out with their 195gr 7mm, i'll consider a bigger power plant.Prolly should have twisted this new one in anticipation of that bullet, but I found a 9 twist bartlien sittin on a shelf and couldnt pass it up, long lead time for those bbls these days.

I use Nosler Partitions in both my 7mm rifles. 140s in the 7mm-08 and 160s in the Rem Mag.

Mine is an 8.5 twisted Rock. Might handle a 195, but very content lobbing 180s at stuff.

168 Berger Classics out of M7 22" tube with all the Retumbo I can get into a 7 SAUM case gets me 2900 fps. Holds 2000 ft. lbs. of energy past 400. I have very similar load for 7 WSM M70 that also shoots well with VLD's and classics. I have only killed deer size and smaller critters but they work nicely.

150 BT in 7RM is a do all bullet for me. I've tried a bunch of others but usually come back to the BT.

In my .280AI I've used the 160NPT on antelope, deer and elk. It's accurate and always expands back to the partition(at least on the ones recovered)penetrates very well and does all this near or far, good angle or bad, with or without hitting bone.

150 ETip: 7mm RM: I've taken Black, Blue and Red Beasts, Zebra, Kudu, Warthog and Eland as well as Sitka Blacktail with the ETip driven at 3000 fps.

140 AB: 7mm SAUM: Deer and Mountain Goat...and a raccoon with the AB driven at 3000 fps as well.

I really like the 7's.

150 grain Nosler Ballistic Tips....

I like the 140gr TTSX at 3200 fps in both my 7 WSM rifles.

My new 280 AI is going to see 150gr TSX and 160gr Partition bullets.

Hard to find something truly lousy in 7mm but I will string along with this in a magnum 7mm case. Kills everything.

The 140 grain 7mm Nosler Partition is my go-to bullet in the 7x57.

Agree with every word. I basically went through the same thing with that exact cartridge, of which, I have 5 such chambered rifles.

140 grain Sierra Game King......


KILLS CHIT DEAD!!!!!!!!

Depends of course on what your going to pull the trigger on, but for southern White Tail, 139gr, Hornady SST's are my favorite for accuracy and lethality in 7mm/08.

G2

I have used both the 139 gr and 154 gr Hornady with good results on deer. I like the 145 gr. Speer in my 7mm-08. Lately have been using either a 150 gr Partition or 150 gr Ballistic Tip in the .280