Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game best factory ammo in 7-08 for bear

As much as I hate to, I think I'll have to use factory ammo next spring on a black bear hunt in BC. Theres no way for me to reload for the rifles as they're in the states and I'm in Germany. At best I'll have two days to hit the range with the rifles before going on the hunt. I'll be in the states next month but will only have one day to shoot the rifles, then I'll not be back until time for the hunt.

I'd be loading TSX 120gr bullets if reloading. Does any one currently load this bullet? If not, how about the 140gr TSX?

Rifles will be two M7s, one with 22in barrel and the other with 20in barrel.

The only factory ammo I've ever shot in my 7-08 is federal high energy 140g TBBC. I usually reload but picked some of this up cheap on a close out at Midway a few years back. I took a 6 point buck with it in Kansas last year at about 125 yards. Bang flop full penetration, big wound wound channel.

If you know what load you'd like I might have time to work some up for you but there's no way to tell how they'd shoot in your rifle. I'll be putting together another 7-08 for myself next week and will be working up loads again soon. My other 7-08 is a 22" MTN barrel in a Ti stock and it seems to like 139g SST's over RL15. I think the SST's are a bit too explosive so I've been playing with the same load with a 140g AB instead. Need to do some more testing but it is showing promise. IIRC the load was cci 250's, 43.5g RL15, 140 Nosler Accubond, 2.80" COL, 2830 FPS 22" barrel.

Are you in the military over there?

Let me know if I can help,
Bb

I shoot factory in my 7-08 for now, only because my house right now doesnt have room other than in the garage to reload, so I havent set anything back up after my move.

The 140 Partitions shoot like a hot damn and shoot an honest 1" group with me or my wife shooting.....they shoot great.

I just bought some 140 TSX and man do they fly nice as well.

I dont know now which I'll use as an all-around bullet, but both would do great on the bears......they are easy to kill and have thin skin....I personally like the Partition because of experience with it, but plan on killing some stuff with the TSX this year....

Where in BC are you hunting?

Burleyboy
Here with the army and wifes in the air force.

Thanks for the offer, but shooting someone elses reloads are about like making out with your best friends girl, only to be done in an emergency.

I see Federal lists the 140gr TSX, but don't know about availability.

Rackmaster
Are those 140 TSX the Federal load?

We'll be hunting in south east BC.

Yep the 140TSX is the factory load.....and they are shooting nice in my LVSF.....

About the same accuracy at 100 yards, but I noticed the TSX were a touch more accurate down-range at 300.....

Good luck on the hunt and with the decision.....SE BC is a nice area for sure...

No problem,

I completely understand what you mean about shooting other peoples reloads. I will also be testing some 160g partition loads in the next week or two. We've had a lot of Grizzly bears in the Island Park area this year and that's were I'm hunting Blackies. I'm thinking of trying the 160 partitions just to have a little better sense of security just in case I accidently piss off the wrong kind of bear. Not likely, but it will be slightly more reassuring as I wonder around in the dark stuff by myself.

Saw some really big tracks the other day not too far from the truck. I turned right around and went back to the truck and traded my 260 for my 350RM and then headed back out.

There is a pay to play canned elk hunt farm not too far from where I hunt and lots of Grizz have been dinning on gut piles. One guide said he saw 6 in 2 days.

Bb

140 partitions is what has layed the smack down for us the last 7 yrs.. My son and I both pile up deer with this load. Can't beleive something else would do a better job. But the TSX is highly praised.

Quote: "There is a pay to play canned elk hunt farm not too far from where I hunt and lots of Grizz have been dinning on gut piles. One guide said he saw 6 in 2 days"

A while back I read that 85% of Yellowstone's grizzlies LEAVE the Park when hunting season starts.

I got a chance to shoot some of the Federal TSX loads a few weeks ago in the two rifles we will be taking on the bear hunt. I was hoping for the best, as the last time I shot barnes bullets I was less than impressed with the accuracy.

This is what my Chanlynn barreled M7 did at 100 yards with a slight wind at a 45 degree angle.
Not bad, eh?



This is what my sons youth M7 did.



I think they will do for hunting.

A few thigs I didn't expext when out shooting: The youth M7 actually has less felt recoil than my Mcmillan stocked M7 that weighs a half pound more. The stock and recoil pad on the youth model (synthetic youth) really does a great job with recoil.

The other thing was how hot these factory loads were. I didn't have a chrony with me but would love to see how fast those bullets were moving. Both rifle showed signs of excess pressure, or the cases were very soft. Both rifles showed brass flow into the ejector and the youth model had slight cratering of the primers. I thought the factory chamber would show less signs of pressure, but maybe the barrel was rougher as its only had about 30 rounds down the barrel. I did appear that pressure was worse with a clean barrel in the youth model.

Can't wait to see how they work on bear, just wish they were the 120gr TTSX.

Mr. Kodiakisland, have you ever shot a bear with the 120 TTSX or TSX? Please tell us about the wound channel. Did the bullet exit? Thank you.

-

I have shot bears with both 154 Hornady (my favoritest 284 bullet in the whole world) and 150 Partitions. Both were excellent. I have also killed elk with the 154 load (41 or 42 grains of VarGet)

I believe both bullets are available in factory ammo. The beauty of the 7mm-08 is that you don't have to use an ultra-premium bullet in it like you might for a 7mm RUM.

I wouldn't get too hunt up the the TSXs. Nothing wrong with them, but don't limit your options so much.

Dennis

My daughter shot her B.Bear with 140gr Nosler Partitions using a Tikka T3 Lite. She waited patiently for a good broadside shot...placed it behind the left shoulder...lights out after 35 yards.

Highly recommend it.

O yeah shoots .80" 5-shot groups @100yds. I went back and bought every box having the same Lot#.

I've shot one bear with my 7mm-08 and the 140 TSX. The rifle is a Remington Ti topped with lightweight Talley rings and mounts and an Ultra-light Leupold 3X9.

I walked up to an apple tree in the orchard beside my house, and as I was walking up to it - I was ordering the small black bear boar to leave the tree and exit my property. Like so many young neighborhood boars, this one had "attitude", and as it was a human habituated bear, it also had no fear of humans or neighborhood dogs. It was just another of the many bears, who feed on the neighbors corn (and my fruit) every year. I guess it developed it's lack of fear by being yelled out of other neighbors apple trees - without anything ever happening to it. This time however, it decided to put the run on me. It was only a few yards from me - when it decided to charge.

My dog came in from the side to get a bite on the bear when it saw the bear was headed for me. The bear came towards me from perhaps 10 yards away. It noticed the dog coming in for its bite (to protect me), and as the bear swung sideways to get at my dog, that's when I put a bullet though both front shoulders of the bear.

It went down for a second, and then sprung up and turned, using its rear legs, and as it tried to run away from me, I put another one up it's hind end. It exited the front of the bear - and flattened it.

If he had climbed out of the tree and ran away from me - like the dozens of others I've chased out of my orchard, he would have lived. But not this bear. He had "attitude". Here's a picture of this little pain in the ass. He picked the wrong human to try and put the run on. Unlike most of my neighbors - I shoot.

Wow, thats a nice looking dog Brian. Too bad about the white though, that would show up bear battle scars really well...

Ya, he was a fearless protector, he was 95 pounds of balled-up, hard muscled, iron-jawed, totally game, American Bulldog. He came back with bear fur in his mouth more than once.

Unfortunately, in a story well documented on this list, about four months ago - when I tried to prevent him from getting to a dog being held by visitors to our home - he turned on me. Tore up my arm something fierce. He had been getting old, achy and increasingly cranky. He had also grown increasingly dominant. When I got back from the hospital, I threw down a piece of cheese and when he bent down to pick it up I put a load a shot though his skull.

I do miss him, but I don't regret doing what I had to do. He had even had growled at my girls the last few months of his life (unknown to me) - as, that alone would have caused his demise. But, ironically he would have died protecting them too. He chased many a bear out of this yard.

"Monty" - "R.I.P."

Gotta love the big dogs...I have a big mongrel myself, 115lb chocolate lab, solid muscle and all game. Another dog with no fear of anything. (Cured him of that when he was about 3 years old and one pitch black moonless night I shot a black bear out of a tree in my yard that had tried to put the run on me 3 days in a row...Bear fell on the deck, and when the wife opened the door without the outside light on he was kind of blinded coming from inside...He came out at a dead run and ran smack into that bear on "his" deck...I think he still figures to this day that he killed that bear.)

Dominance can definately be a problem when you get dogs that big. Pretty impressive how strong a heavily muscled dog actually is.

Love the way he's looking at that bear! Great expression.

You did the right thing putting him down. I put down one of our dogs when it got old and kind of crazy and started growling and snapping at my kids. Not much else you can do, really...

-jeff