Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles School me on the 7mm-08

Thinking I'll use mine all winter for yotes and some long range bunnies as well...

Dober

The 7-08 will put some nice holes in the yotes and take a bunnies head clean off! lols!

MtnHtr

U ever use the 130 Speer or the 145?

Dober

Dober,
Nope. Going off memory I've used mostly Hornadies, Barnes, Noslers and Sierras. They all worked well so never tried the Speers. Thats one thing I like about the 7-08 or any of the 7mms, there is a great selection of bullets in the 139/140 class. Put 'em inthe right place and things start dropping real quick. The 7-08 is easy on bullets and the shoulder just like the 7x57.

MtnHtr

139 Horn has always been a fav of mine in bigger 7's can't imagine it being anything but a rock star in the lil 7

Thx
Dober

It was my favorite too but my current 7-08 no likey, it luvs Noslers. I'm hoping the new '06 tube will like the 150 hornady!

MtnHtr

my brother-in-law loves the 7-08, and has it on three different platforms (...one is a Thompson Contender!) he has dropped dozens of whitetails with 140g Nosler BT's. Vargetrdone and RL-15 are his primary powder choices.
Lotsa off-the-shelf ammo works great too.
...but as for your schoolin', it's just not as good as my .284 win for doing a lot with a small 7mm package.

I used Speer's 130gr BTSP on 2 or 3 white tails. Using a max load of H4350, I got around 2800 fps. Switched to H4895 and picked up another 50 or so fps with similar accuracy. These results from the 20" barrel of my model 7.

The 130 killed everything I hit with it, but on the biggest deer I shot with it, a good sized doe that field dressed at a weighed 140lbs., it failed to exit on a high shoulder shot at about 40 yds, broadside. The remains of the jacket were found just under the hide on the offside.

I've also used the Sierra 120gr Prohunter bullet on one buck. Shot while angling fairly sharply away. Bullet hit near the rear of the rib cage and exited, in 2-3 pieces from the rear edge of the offside shoulder. Muzzle velocity on this bullet, pushed by H4895, was near 3,000 fps.

I'm now using H4895 for bullets 140grs and lighter. Accuracy has been as good as any other powder I've tried and in my particular barrel, the only thing that comes close in velocity is H414.

Contender or Encore? I'm note too sure the Contender can handle those pressures on a standard sized cartridge face.

Thanks for the info guys. I am really excited about the new gun I will get some factory to try first, probably see if I can find some of the new Fusion 120's, 140 Cor-lokts and Hornady 139's.

I will start handloading for it in the spring and am looking at the Speer Hotcore 130's over Varget.

Thx bruinruin-my 7/08 perks very well with R17, if you're bored sometime you may wanna give it a go.

Dober

...yeh, it's a two-hand scoped pistola,with a harness to help control it. I don't think it's custom shop set-up, but I don't know for sure.

I was sorely tempted to try R17 when it first hit the shelves, but I've got so many partial cans of powder on my shelf that I figured that I didn't need to add to the pile of unused powders and just wasn't up to the gamble. Now, with all the info out there on it, I just might give it a whirl.

Thanks Dober.

Loads that shoot are:
140 gn Partitions and H-414 powder
100 gn Sierra HPBT's and Varget

3 shots with each load deliver 1/2" groups at 100 yards

I think 140 gn bullets are about as heavy as I want to shoot in both the 7-08, and the 7x57. They offer a good balance between trajectory and terminal performance, with Partitions.
Intersestingly, Partitions shoot accurately in every rifle I shot them in.
I'm normally a one rifle-one load guy. But, I decided to load up a varmint load for the 7-08 with the 100 gn Sierra. That same bullet shoots exceptionally well in my Beanfield 284 rifle.

I hear you on that one, this economy has sure schooled me on what I need vs what I want.

Funny thing, when I got the 7/08 this spring I had 3 cans of R17 on the bench so that's how I got to using it...grin

Dober

The 7-08 is to deer rifles what the. 45 acp is to pistols. So badass all you have to do is point it at the animal and it will fall over dead.
LOL.
Seriously though its a great medium game caliber. I love mine.

140 Ballistic Tips over Varget is the ticket in mine.

I love the 7mm-08.

If I were back in the 7/08 game, I'd run 140 ABs w/IMR4064 or Varget. The IMR showed a tad better consistency in my experience, both produced very good speed and accuracy. RL17 may be the upcoming powder but not sure what bullet wts. respond best. Also, would use WW brass partial sized in my chamber via Redding dies. RCBS or Forester would be fine also.

Lastly, the 120 BT is raved alot, but I'd opt for a 120 TTSX or maybe even the 110. Recoil with these lighter bullets makes it feel more like a 260.

I lost my handloads in a box somewhere right after moving, and had to buy factory ammo for a mule deer hunt a few years ago.

Went with the Fusion 140 grain. Excellent loading there! I've since used it on that mule deer and a couple whitetails. Shoots wonderfully, and the bullet offers complete penetration.

If I didn't handload, I'd use them exclusively.

From what I have read, the FUSION may be THE factory ammo of choice for many rounds when it comes to all around value, accuracy, performance. Not hearing anything bad.