Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Best All-Around 7-08 Choice?

I shoot all the bullets you listed in my 7-08, they all shot HuntingMOA or better. I went with the 140 TSX.

-Most consistant POI
-most accurate (sub MOA)
-very little difference in trajectory with 120 TSX
-better penetration on 'iffy angles'
-best with H4350 (favorite powder in 7-08-cannot overcharge enough to be dangerous - can 'eyeball' each load)

NUBMER 1 REASON TO SHOOT 140 TSX:

-KILLS LIKE GREASED LIGHTNING!

You keep mentioning experience.So please tell us just how much actual experience you have with the 120gr tsx.

I think we all know the answer to that...

It does appear that way. So all of a sudden someone is talking theory,and not actual experience as he was claiming? .

The 120-gr Ballistic Tip is so accurate and versatile in the 7mm-08 at velocities from 2500 to 3000 fps that I have no need to try anything else in that light bullet weight.

The 139-gr bullets are the ideal weight for the 7mm, and there are lots of choices there.

But if you are stuck on one bullet for a rifle, for small and large game, you have to go with what will kill the large game, and that is a 150 to 160 grain class of bullet in the 7mms. The reason I like the 154s is that Hornady makes an SST, BTSP, and RN that all shoot well, to the same POI at 200 yards, and the SST and BTSP shoot as flat, for practical purposes, as anything else at long range. If you don't want to try them, just run some ballistics programs to compare.

If you are actually going to shoot a bear, elk or moose with a 7mm-08 or 7x57, wouldn't you expect to be well inside of 200 yards? If not, why the hell would you insist on using your light long-range deer bullet out of the weakest end of the 7mm cartridge family? That sounds like someone who is armchair hunting.

Okay, jumping into the fray here....

The Barnes current Reloading Manual #3 (which doesn't include TSX Data, but does include their standard X-Bullet) shows recommended critters with various bullet weights. They show their 120 grain bullets as good for critters up to Deer and Sheep, but do not show Elk on their charts until you hit the 130 grain pills.

I use the TSX in my 7mm-08 and get great accuracy with the 140 grain - better than I can get with the 120 grain TSX. My experience with both is limited to deer, so I can tell you on deer, they both kill quickly and efficiently. My personal choice is accuracy and confidence in my equipment. I want to find what I hunt. I also know that I could use my 7mm-08 for Elk, but probably wouldn't unless I knew I was going to be shooting at under 200 yards.

My experience with Elk does not include the TSX, but it does include a 300 Win Mag with 200 grain Swift A-Frames on a 6x6 bull at 325 yards. It took three rounds (first round in the boiler room standing and two others in the boiler room with the bull moving away) to bring the bull down. The last bullet shattered the shoulder on the opposite side which put him down on the ground and when recovered, it retained about 92% of its weight. My point - elk are tough. Take enough gun, use it within your shooting abilities, and use enough bullet IMHO.
Elk

I have disproven this myth many times myself having killed several elk and moose,as well as pronghorn,bighorn and many deer with 140 gr 7mm bullets.All of my hunting partners use 140gr 7mm bullets exclusively and have also killed many moose,elk and deer.

OK,

I've got a practical dog in this fight. Drew my "once in a lifetime" Minnesota Moose tag for this fall. I'm taking my brush gun, "Shillelagh" mannlicher stocked 7x57 with 18" barrel.

Starting load development with 120 and 140 TSX's. Tho I "know" it's deer load of a 139 SP @ 26xx will penetrate and kill a moose at any sane angle.

POP has been fantastic in Quick Loading my bullet/powder theories for me as 7x57 manuals are all over the place and I have utmost trust in the strength and design of the FN mauser action.

I think I can get the 120's to the 2950-3000 range and the 140's to 2750-2800 even given the short barrel. I expect my shot to come between 30 and 300 yards as we'll be hunting drainages and clearcuts just off the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.

Here's the classic trade off ... expansion v. penetration. Either will be going around 2100 fps at 300 yards. I'm sure the TSX will expand well at any velocity above that number. Maybe the 120 will be a little more violent inside 100 yards but that is relative. I'm pretty sure that either will penetrate more than enough and it will be a challenge to keep either in the animal. Of course my only field experience has been in Whitetails with 140 TSX's and I did recover one after it was finally stopped by 16" of spinal column. I can live with that.

The more I ponder and consult on the subject the more I agree that there are very few poor choices in a bullet for the 7mm08/7x57 class. But even with a large animal on the menu I'm thinking whichever of the little TSX's the rifle shoots best will be the "best" choice.

Naturally, any feedback from the peanut gallery is welcomed ...

My experience is much like Laughing Elk's in that my 7-08 shoots the 120TSX pretty darn good but it groups the 140TSX better...and....it groups the 140AB's even better so that's what I've been shooting. The AB has preformed Excellent on whitetail out to about 250 yards and on several hogs. Overall I've been amazed how well this little gun will shoot just about anything I feed it, powder brands, bullet weight, seating depths, etc don't seem to bother it near as much as all of my other rifles.

Logic lesson: The fact that a 140-gr, or 120-gr, or 110-gr bullet has killed a particular type of animal does not "prove" that it is a better better for the job than a 150, 154, 160 or 162-grain bullet at the proper range. 139 and up is a BIG game bullet, and placement and angle are the most important factors.

If you choose to use a deer bullet on big game, it is just playing, a stunt for fun, because there is no reason you HAVE to do it. I have never heard of a 7mm-08 that wouldn't shoot several bullet weights and makes well.

That right there saved me a ton of typing...no point even wasting bandwidth asking you do defend that absurd statement!

The 7-08 is an absolute hammer with 140gr TSX, and that would is my choice as a one bullet does all... end of story! The only 154gr bullet that even has a REMOTE chance of hanging with the TSX is the 154 Interbond... and it ain't quite there!

The 140gr TSX can't be beat in any 7mm IMHO.

Here is one I recovered this spring from a 6'1" blackie @ 87 yds. Bullet broke his shoulder at the joint and was stuck in the hide in front of the hip (petals were actually through the hide...simply got hung up). While it was from my 280AI, I've had just as impressive results from the 7-08.

This bullet is a real trophy, as I've whacked a heap of game with the 140gr TSX, and they aren't easy to recover!

As I also stated, big game bullets in 7mm start at 139 grains.
There is a lot more difference between 120 and 139 than there is between the 139s and the 150s. A 140 TSX is probably a good choice for an all-around 7mm-08 bullet, except for being too expensive for lots of practice. But I haven't tried it, yet.

Some of us have found a lot of success with some 139s, some with 154s, a few with the 140-gr TSX. That's why the original poster asked for opinions based on different experiences. What is irrational is when someone has opinions about bullets he hasn't tried as being inferior to the one he currently likes.

Everyone has a reason for why they do what they do or why they use what they use. I have mine as well.

I live in the People's Republic of California. We are currently under threat of having hunting areas shut down within Condor Range because of elevated lead levels in the Condor's blood. The #1 suspect is residual lead fragments consumed in gutpiles and carcasses left behind by hunters. This (a possible lead bullet ban) has been coming for a long time and is (unfortunately) gaining momentum as a political issue. It is starting to affect Northern Arizona and Southern Utah as well where 'non-native' Condors have been re-introduced.

Expect this issue to show up in your neighborhood soon as well since studies are already showing residual lead in prairie dog carcasses and its effects on scavengers and predators. And "Yes", your state game managers are already aware of this.

About three years ago, I saw this coming and have changed all my cartridges over to solid coppers. IMHO, the Barnes TSX is a fine 'premium' bullet that has earned every bit of its excellent reputation. Yup they are expensive, but if the day comes where they want to take lead bullets away, I will not be left with trying to develop effective hunting loads a week before the season opens.

Funny how those TSX bullets don't expand, huh? Here's a 120g TSX shot from a 7mm-08 at about 3,000fps ...

Into what??

Or Whom??

That explains why all those deer fell down like they were pole-axed.
Elk

basically lengthwise thru a large doe ... found just under the hide on the 'far side' of the shot ...

bullet basically plowed thru at least one of every possible type of obstacle it could have encountered, which I'm assuming is what helped to flatten the heck out of it ... it didn't seem to veer off course either, nor does it appear to have tumbled ...

I've used the 140 TSX now on two bison. It worked well. Also killed my last elk with one.

Here's two bullets recovered from this years bison- 7mm-08 @ 2850 fps, bison was between 100 and 200 yards.

Here's a 120 TSX from my 7mm-08 at about 2900 fps out of a pig last year. One shoulder, heart, other shoulder and under the skin on the far side. Pig dropped so fast he bounced. Some pig It now weighs 119.9 grains

Maybe I'm a bit nuts but that is such a bonus when you can recover a bullet that looks like that just under the skin on the far side of an animal. I met a guy last fall in eastern Colorado that had shot a decent muley that morning. He was bragging up the great shot he made, just below the eyes, IIRC and with a 300WinMag. I looked it over good and noticed no exit hole. Feeling around the back of the skull I discovered a lump. I asked the dude if I could dig the slug out and he looked at me like I was wacked but said go ahead. I dug the slug out and it was a Nosler Partition. It did the job for sure but I was surprised at the distance, approx. 100 yards that it did not exit.

I tried to keep it so I could weigh it but he wanted it after seeing it. My kind of fun.