Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting anyone use 7mm-08 =160 gr Speer BTSP

Got a mt. goat hunt planned for this fall & the requirement is to use 7mm-08 Rem chambered rifles with one load optimized to work in both rifles .
Reason being is I'm taking a teen kid who wants to take a nice billy goat with his birthday present rifle

From reading some of the 7mm-08 threads the last few days, I see that a lot of guys favor 120-140 gr bullets sent faster over the heavier 150-160's

The lightest bullets I found locally is these 3 boxes of the Speer 160 gr BTSP bullets, I would have preferred the 145 gr BTSP but none available.... So I have plenty of these for load development and have multiple, suitable powders to work with

Shots will be 300 yards or less for the kid and I might go 500 if it comes to that but unlikely since this trip is all for the kid and we may not have the time for packing two goats out over 7-10 miles of mountains and valleys

Just wondering if anyone has put any game down with this bullet and what were the results ?
I will be shooting some into water jugs when the weather cooperates but any info would be great, just in the event I might be wasting my time with these bullets .....

My thoughs are that it should hold up fine and still expand well at the moderate 7mm-08 velocities, looks like the bullets don't impact case capacity at all with the standard 2.8" coal

anybody use these bullets on game ?

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I’ve used the 145BTSP a fair bit from a couple of 7mm-08 carbines and I’m a fan on deer and hogs. It’s a relatively soft bullet that expands well at those speeds, so it’s not the ultimate penetrator. I’ve had good blood trails on lung shots, while shoulder shots don’t always exit but generally yield a DRT event. What the Speer BTSP is good at is expansion, economy, and ease of load development in short action magazine. The ogive design allows for OAL that hits or encroaches on the lands inside 2.8” on many 7mm-08 rifles. If I was to pick a 160gr bullet for use in a 7mm-08, it would be a Speer BTSP or Sierra Gameking.

Speer’s BC numbers are wild, by the way. I’d use Sierra’s as a start.

Like you I'm a fan of the 145. I would think the 160's would be perfect at the ranges you plan on shooting, but out of a 7 mag. I'd be tempted to go 130's, or a Barnes ttsx 120.

I can tell you the Barnes TTSX 120 gr. launched from the 7-08 has worked well for me in the 300 yard range in windy MT. 160s seem too heavy to me for your application.

I can tell you the Barnes TTSX 120 gr. launched from the 7-08 has worked well for me in the 300 yard range in windy MT. 160s seem too heavy to me for your application.

No need for that weight bullet in the 7mm-08. A 120 gr. Ballistic Tip or TTSX would be my pick. Or a 140 gr. Partition if I wanted something heavier.

Sounds like a plan swampy but wtf is it gonna work better than a real cartridge like the 6.5 wolf killer? Just asking..mb

Kid loves his 7mm-08, has taken couple dall sheep, several moose and a bunch of caribou & now wants to drag my tired hump over the mts looking to kill a billy goat, I just got some 120 gr TSX bullets in a trade but wasn't sure if they would pinhole through or open up, mt. goats can be tough bastards to put down DRT, need a tough but fast expanding bullet or they frkn suicide leap offa 300 yard cliffs and disintegrate on the rocks just to pizz you off, had that happen on my last one ..

I also have 145 and 168 gr LRX but same as above ... not sure if they'd slow zip through .... or meat grinder through like the 30 cal 175 gr LRX does at 3400 fps

I'm more versed in fast stepping cartridges and have personally tested a ton of different heavy for cal bullets and know what would work on a monkey gote, 26-2800 fps with 140-150's is cold molasses for me and that's where the Speers seemed like they would work ...

If it was my hunt I'd shoot the damn thing at 1k with my 338 Edge and make the kid go get it, lol

looks like the 140 gr Berger Hunting VLD's are in stock couple places online, could try those out ,

The one mt goat I shot was a 4.5 year old billy. I hit him behind the left side rib cage and it was fully expanded laying under the hide off the right side of the brisket. 139 grain Hornady at 3175 fps muzzle velocity 7 mm Rem mag . 17 yds. They are tough he soaked up the impact and just stood there at about 15-20 seconds he became unsteady and dropped dead. I understand they are tough....mb

140 ballistic tip would be the ticket in a 7mm-08 or 120 Barnes. They both shoot well in my model 7

I use Hornady 162s in mine with Varget. Heavier helps in the wind and well well on big game at extended distances.

At 5k above sea level, a 160 Gameking started at 2,620fps is still above 2000fps at the 400yd mark. Sounds kind of slow but I bet it wouldn't bounce off. A 170gr 30-30 factory load is at that velocity at 60yds.

I'd feel good about any of the bullets you mentioned (160 Speer BTSP, 140 VLD, 120 TSX, or 145 LRX), but in any case I'd be shooting lungs/scapula right under the spine.

SL if you don't mind, what bullets did he use on sheep, caribou,& moose?...mb

Whatever factory ammo that was available, now it's just empty cases that need fillin, no 7mm-08 ammo to be found out here, or lighter bullets than 160 and those are gone, all four stores in my area have multiple boxes of 180 and 195/197 Bergers & Sierras though

SST's for sheep and caribou, Accubonds and GMX on moose, CoreLokt initial scope sighting and plinking



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I'd like to take my big dog 7 and stick a 226 gr bullet in a mt. goat but too big & heavy to pack up & down the mountains for two weeks,

the 226 gr missile won't work in the 7mm-08 factory twist and it's a big powder thief in that lil case & short action max coal length (1st pic is with 2.950" coal)

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Holy schit! What twist would you need for that in a 7mm-08?
That looks awesome!

Ain’t no doubt the 160 will kill with authority. My 7-08’s love them.

I probably have some lighter bullets that could be sent your way if you want. Although a bit heavy, I don't see why 160's wouldn't do the job just fine.