Wife's starting load in an A-bolt Micro 20" barrel was 139gr Interlock over 48g H4350. Killed nicely and recoil was bigly bearable. Later I drank the 120gr Ballistic Tip kulade and having traded into a bunch loaded them up over 40gr RL15. She shot only one buck so far; quartering to at 60 to 70 yds with bullet entering base of the neck and blasting a big hole where part of the neck spine used to be. Whatever was left of the bullet stayed there along with many bone fragments and I suppose bullet fragments though they were vaguely identifiable. Total penetration 5" or so. However statistical data was gathered from a very dead deer. Still didn't quite like the results.
This year we have been able to evaluate 2 more bucks downed with the 7-08 120 BT combination. Wife's load was still the 40 gr RL15 and with it she downed a 125lb spike buck due to mistaken identity in the thick stuff. Broken shoulder above elbow on entry and exit thru off shoulder without hitting bone. No bullet material recovered. Deer down on the spot with but a wiggle. Finally I managed to blood the Model 7 Stainless I've had for a while on a 155 lb buck. Chasing a doe past my ladder stand at about 15 feet and I finally caught up with him at around 20 yards quartering sharply away and slightly downhill. 120 BT and 45gr Varget. Bullet entered just right of the spine several inches behind the last rib. Though no bone was hit, that last rib was blown off about an inch and a half off the spine. Around 4 or 5 inches of loin was just gone. A couple inches of steaks fore and aft of the void were severely shredded. The stomach caught whatever remained of the bullet. Lungs were on what should have been the bullet tract but showed signs only of shrapnel wounds, and precious few of them. So far what this experience had told me is that the 120 BT acts best at less than max velocity in a 7-08. However, this particular deer moved little after he stopped tumbling. Many have flown from the barrels of such things as the 7'm Mag but I personally would not care to use headstamps with that velocity potential. This kill was just nasty. Impact side from shoulder to ham was bloodshot in addition to the muscle damage described. In addition this admittedly small sample has shown gut material to be a real obstacle to penetration.
But I really like the little rifle I'm using. Had some 120gr TSX bullets bought just before the tipped version was released. Somehow an example had never been bloodied. Figgering on a load that would approximate velocity of the BT/Varget being used, I loaded 48g of CFE223 under the TSX. Seems I recently read JB's comment on a slight distrust of the small hollow point on the TSX and other monometals without a "tip" of some sort added. Looking over the .284 TSXs I had the same feeling. In the interest of scientific experimentation I decided to use the factory hollow point as a pilot hole. Using a 1/16' drill bit with a marker tape 1/4' up from the tip I just drilled them out a bit. Enlarging the hollow point shaft shortened the bullet a bit beyond the 1/4" depth marker but to seemingly no detriment.
Shortly thereafter I had the opportunity to field test the modified Barnes. An old grey faced, wide 4 pt with no brow tines, but 150 lbs of body weight made me an offer I couldn't refuse. At 75 yardish I knew when the trigger broke I was a little forward. Performance was crazy. The entry point on the near shoulder bone was wide and filled with small bone fragments and bone meal. Most plumbing was removed from the top of the heart before continuing on to carve an X in the chest wall exit including a rib. The offside shoulder bone was pretty much a duplicate of the onside with the addition of one petal from the bullet being recovered. Buck made one lunge, collapsed, twiddled his tail a couple times and called it a day. Meat damage and bloodshot area was much less than with the 120 Ballistic Tip though bone destruction was in a different class. Soooo.....in my little world we will continue to use the 120 BT at a mid to low velocity load in my wife's rifle. But for the Model 7 the modified 120 TSX has made a real impression on me and I will continue with them until the 25 or so left are gone.
Circling back to the Pet Load bit I'd have to say the 139 Interlock over 48 or so gr of H4350 will be a hard act to beat if we consider performance, accuracy, and economy. Tough combination. Averaging in my son's success with his red pad 77 in 7x57 the 140 Accubond certainly has to be respected. Pretty hard to find a truly bad bullet powder combination for hunting in the 120 to 160 gr bullet weight range using proven powders. Dang nice round and some dang nice rifles to house it.
