Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles 7mm-08 150 ELD-X

Just wanted to ask and see what everyone's experience is with this caliber and bullet combination regarding whether it likes to jump into the lands or if they do better right in the lands. I tried it in my rifle with IMR4064 loaded at 2.800 as the hornady manual says and the best it did was about 1.5-2 inch group at 100 yards. Now I am trying the famous pharmseller load with this bullet along with big game powder and large rifle magnum primers. I did back mine of a couple grains at 44.0 grains to start off with and plan to go to 46.0 and see what the groups do just not sure what to seat them. About the longest I can fit in the magazine of my model 70 is 2.850 maybe just a tad longer but not much. Any advice would be greatly appreciated because this rifle is about to drive me crazy trying to find a load that it'll shoot good. Thanks

Just load as long as your mag box let's you an adjust your charge and try some different powders. I used that in my 7-08 fieldcraft with an 18" barrel a few years back on a cow elk.

I can't remember why I even tried the powder I went with buy it shot great. I used 8208xbr and it was very consistent and accurate but maybe not quite as fast as other powders. IIRC I got about 2700fos from that shorter barrel.

You might try h4350 and RL15 as well because I've used those 2 a lot in 7-08 over the years and they usually shoot well.

I took an elk with it but the first round quartering away a bit didn't even make it to the 2nd lung. A 2nd shot to the neck put her down but the first round only made it about 5". I switched to the 180 eld at 2550.

Bb

7mm-08 can be very picky. Find a bullet that you want to shoot. Pick 2 or 3 powders. Start the bullet "kissing" the lands. Work up in .5 increments to max charge. Find most accurate load then work on seating depth. Pick the most accurate load and start playing with seating depth. Also check your scope, rings, bedding ect. Clean barrel. Hope this helps.

Send it to me.




P

More info on the rifle is really needed here. Is it properly glass bedded? Are you using solid mounts and rings and proven scope? All mechanicals good? Does it shoot other loads and bullets well? All questions that need asking before I'd proceed. You can send it to pharmy like he's suggesting, but unless he knows model 70's like the back of his hand, you'll be chit out of luck.

It would also be nice to know where your lands are at, so you have a place to start that bullet. I personally run .020" off on my hunting rifles and then work up to optimum charge weight (OCW). You should be able to find a great load without too much fuss, if the rifle is solid mechanically.

It is a model 70 extreme weather and as far as glass bedding goes I have never glass bedded it unless the original owner did which I highly doubt since he bought it for his daughter and she only hunted with it one season and it sat in the closet after that. As far as the rings go I am using the Talley one piece extra high rings with a zeiss conquest V4 3-12x56mm. It does shoot some loads pretty accurate it just seems to be very picky about what it likes. The most accurate so far has been sierra pro hunters 120 grain over 39.5 grains of IMR4064. To answer your question about the lands I have never measured them since owning this rifle. I went and shot today with a few different bullets and powder combinations and found that the rifle really did well with Barnes 120 ttsx over 50.0 grains of big game and Winchester large rifle primers. I also tried tried the 150 eld-x starting at 44.0 grains and going up one grain all the way to 46.0 with big game powder and magnum rifle primers and it didnt group too good. Also tried some speer 130 hot cors over IMR4064 and they didnt group that great either.

My experience has been the opposite, but most of the rifles have been Tikkas.



P

How is your cheek weld with those extra high rings?




P

I have found eldx to be picky if cant get close to lands, at least in my 6.5 cm and 300 Win. Try nosler btip - more forgiving of seating depth in my experience

Lou

It's actually pretty good. When I called and asked Talley which rings I needed for this rifle/scope combination I was a little worried when they told me I'd have to have the extra high rings but it feels good when I shoulder it and look through the scope.

How close is the bottom of the objective to your barrel? Could you drop down to highs?





P

My process relies heavily on the Berger method.

https://bergerbullets.com/getting-the-best-precision-and-accuracy-from-vld-bullets-in-your-rifle/

I find a powder (okay, I use Big Game exclusively for the 7mm-08 but it looks better if I say I try different powders) that gives me the velocity I’m looking for without a compressed load.

Then I determine the distance to the lands OR max magazine length. From this point I apply the Berger method from the link.

I’ve used this method many times with several bullet types, most recently with my brother’s 6.5 PRC. It hasn’t failed me.








P

There's probably less than a 1/4 inch between the barrel and the objective. To be sure I'd have to look up the height of the extra high rings and compare them to the high ones. Is there a reason you try to stay away from compressed loads? Reason I ask is because I sighted my rifle in yesterday with a load using 120 Barnes TTSX and 50.0 grains of big game and large rifle primers which is a compressed load. This is the load that shot best in my rifle with my last 2 shots touching.

No reason to worry about compressed loads, only when it really starts pushing bullets out of the case am I concerned. I also don’t think heavy compression does anything good for loaded round concentricity.

Do you have the targets demonstrating how well that works?

I'll vouch for Pharmseller on his targets that I've seen. They are very impressive.

Oh I am not doubting his shooting a bit, but the targets make a pretty good point for folks to see. I use the method myself, but don't have any real easy examples to show here.

Sure.

Here’s some load workup for a .30-06. Notice the only thing that changes is the seating depth.










I never shot the last seating depth. I try to shoot the shortest rounds first, because if I find accuracy short, I can re-seat the longer cartridges shorter. I usually find accuracy longer, however.

I have more examples but this one is my favorite. I think I wrote it up here on the ‘fire.





P

Yep

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...s-30-06-reloading-adventure#Post11270854


I’m pretty sure my shoulder is still bruised from that session. I’m a bit of a pansy, after all.




P

Pharm that's pretty interesting how seating depth changed the groups that much. I tried a load the other day in my 7mm-08 with a 150 eld-x over 38 grains of IMR4064 and it shot about a 2 inch group which most where I am would say that's a good hunting load but I'm not satisfied with that. I may try this load again but just seat them longer than 2.800 as the hornady manual says and see what the groups do.