Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting 7mm08 ammo

for factory ammo I have used the 150gr Sierra Gamechanger in Sako ammo, 140 gr NBT in Norma ammo, 150 gr Federal Blue box and all have been good. In handloads I have used 120gr NBTs and 150gr ELD-Xs. Some of my 7mm08s have preferred lighter bullets, some heavier, but all have been accurate and got the job done.

The federal fusion 120 grains worked real well so far in my browning a-bolt II micro hunter. No need for any more or less.

+1 on the Hornady 139 grain Interlocks.

For factory ammo my choice for a solid copper would be Barnes loaded with 120 TTSX.
For cup and core, Hornady American Whitetail with 139 Interlocks. I'm not a fan of the SSTs.

I reload and these two bullets have given me excellent accuracy, terminal ballistics and loads of dead critters for decades.

I've liked what I've seen with Interlocks from my .308, but the nose flattens in the magazine in my lighter 7mm-08, so I've gone to the plastic tipped bullets. Lots of the reloaders here seem really concerned with achieving the ultra accurate, highest velocity handload. The deer hunting here in the Midwest where I hunt is 100 yards and in and I care more about terminal performance than I do with an moa group. Deer aren't that hard to kill, but they are harder to find when they run off due to a too hard bullet with minimal expansion and blood trail or a less than perfect shot placement. To my way of thinking, if I stop a bullet inside the animal, that bullet failed. I want that animal DRT or leaving a big leaky blood trail to help find them. I've tried lots of different factory ammunition and reading here even a 120 grain Barnes TTSX was on my short list to try. That was until this morning when I read Mule Deer's post in the TTSX performance Big Game thread where John wrote that he hasn't seen any difference in the TSX and the TTSX. My own experience with the 140 grain TSX in my 7mm-08 has been terrible for expansion in deer. So far the 140 grain Nosler BT has shown me what I want to get a deer on the ground quickly. I would be curious how a 120 grain BT would compare to a 140 grain BT?

If you don't want to stop a 7mm-08 bullet in a deer (typically) but want a decent exit and decent expansion at the same time, I'd really lean toward the 120TTSX. I've shot them at 2800-ish MV for a youth load in a 20" bolt action and they always expanded nicely on deer and hogs with a pretty decent blood trail on runners. I really didn't see much difference when bumping up the load closer to 3000fps. My other choice would be a Partition. Again, this is if exits are paramount.

Another big fan of the 120gr TTSX here.

Whitetail 139 Innerlocks for an all around factory load.

Loading up a bunch of Speer Hot Core 145 flat base bullets - hoping they will be my go-to load for anything I’d turn a 7-08 on….

Im stocked up on the 140 gr version of these.

I've used quite a few 140gr NBT's, but really like the Speer 145gr flat base HotCor's at 7mm-08 velocity. Have used some 139gr Interlocks in some factory ammo I found cheap, but it shot well and killed well, too. Premium bullets aren't needed for deer or antelope.

I strictly load my own, no factory ammo. My Tikka loves 140 grain Nosler Partitions with H4895 powder. Everything shot has dropped on the spot including a couple of black bear.

120 TTSX for mono

Otherwise about any cup and core 139 grain to 150 grain.

I suspect that deer you’ll see in Alabama will be about 1/2 size of typical Mule Deer bucks. White tail can be fairly large too.

When people are talking “deer” cartridges I wonder what size of deer are they talking about.

Rather fond of 120 grain TTSX as well as it is a very accurate bullet in my 7mm-08s. Next reloading project is for a SS Rem. Model 7.

Also the Nosler 140 E-tips and the 145 grain LRXs shoot well. The 139 LRX bullets seem a little more difficult to source in Canada.

i own a few 7mm- 08`s if i was going to load for this fine cartridge i think i would use 101 gr. Hammer Hunter bullets , i seen how well the 75 gr. Hammer hunter bullet work on deer in a 257 Roberts and a 60 gr. Nosler Partition bullet in a 220 Swift did last year . besides for the last 20 some years i have used a 100 gr. bullets out of my 257 Weatherby mag. at long distances. i feel many use too heavy of a bullet for deer, i have shot plenty bucks 175 -225 lbs. dressed and weighed on a scale with 100 gr. bullets . Pete53

I've mostly used 140 grain Accubonds. They have worked well for antelope, deer and elk. I get factory seconds or blems at Shooters Pro Shop for about half the regular price.