Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 7mm-08 120 gr NBT v. .30-06 125 gr NBT

Folks around here seem to praise the 7mm-08 with 120 NBTs very highly, yet I hear no love for the 125 NBT from a .30-06.
I'm working on a reduced recoil load for my son to use in his (mine) Vanguard Back Country this year for deer and short range elk.
So why no love for a 125 grain .308 caliber doing 3000 ft/sec at the muzzle, yet enthusiasm for a .284 cal doing 3000 ft/sec MV?


P

Bullet construction/jacket thickness isn't equal...

If I'm going light for caliber and at high MV, I'd want to go with something like a TSX.

The 06 has been around for over a hundred years and it has typically been loaded with 150 grain and heavier bullets. The 7mm08 has only been around for about 3 decades and has lived in the 120-140 grain range.

I don't know how tough the 125 BT is or of its affectiveness on game, bug I wouldn't be suprised if it turned out to be affective and I bet there are some people here who have some real experience with it.

To put it simply, the 120 BT is what you might expect to shoot out of a 7mm08, but a 125 is lighter than what most people expect in an 06. I would bet your reduced recoil load in the 06 will work just fine for deer sized game.

I have killed several deer in a .308 with the 125 gr. Ballistic tip. I shoot them in the ribs and most times they go all the way through. Dead deer, end of hunt. miles

The .308 125 gr Accubond might be a consideration if Nosler gets around to making them readily available. I think they've only been offered in limited supply.

I've been looking for some 125 nbts to try in my 300 blackout. They should do ok at about 2200.

Bb

The 120's always dig deeper than I think they will. I've only caught one in a bear and have never caught one in a deer.

I've put together a 30-06 rifle for my two teenage kids. My 7x57 carbine just isn't a good platform for how we hunt now.

I used the 120 gr ballistic tip in the 7x57 and I wasn't thrilled with the performance at 200-250 yds. It killed the deer but not like 154 gr interlocks.

So I'm going to try and develop a milder load for the 30-06. My goal is to load it down to 300 Savage performance with 150 and 165 gr bullets. This should produce similar recoil to my 7x57 which my kids seem to be able to handle. I think the heavier slugs will pack more punch down range.

Dan

My son will be hunting elk this year with a 125 NAB in a .308 and 125 NBT for antelope and deer at 3000+. Can't imagine it not working for you in an 06. Let you know how it turns out in November.

Apparently the 7mm 120g version will shoot through the engine block of a Kenworth.

The 125g .30 cal version on the other hand can break up if shot too quickly into air. A little bit like almost any version of the Hornady SST.

My load with the 7mm-08 yields 3000+ fps. This is a recovered 120 BT from a buck taken at 30 yards

You may be better off with a 150, but slow it down to reduce the recoil. That way it won't be stressed by the velocity and you can pick whatever bullet shoots best.
That's what I would do anyway.

There's about a dozen animals on this entire planet I'd not point a 120 NBT at.... those are angry little pills.

I've seen a couple deer shot with the 125 out of both the .308 and the .300 Winny... never recovered a bullet, and all recipients went down so hard they bounced.

Thanks for all the replies.

I loaded 10 150 Accu w/46 grains IMR4895, 10 150 Accu w/47 grains Varget, and 10 125 NBT w/54 grains Varget, just to compare recoil. I have a 50 yard range in my back yard.

I marked the cases on 2 of each load then loaded one of each blindly. I then repeated the exercise, so two shots of each load. Both 150 grain loads were surprisingly mild, with a slight edge to the IMR. The 125 grain NBT was surprisingly snappy. I had a hard time telling the difference between the two 150 Accu loads but the 125 was noticably different.

The next step is to put my son behind the scope and let him try them out.


P

For me, I recall handgunners using that in the 30/30 and 300 Whisper on deer, yet when I put one thru an impromptu bullet test, it blew, separated, and not much left, from my 10" TC at around 2,000 mv at 25-50 yds.

I was unimpressed. PERHAPS they are stouter now I have no idea, that was a long time ago. I'd run 150 Accubonds and 130 TTSX if I had a 308 and 165 ABs and 130 TTSX in an 06 - that's just me.

FWIW, I dumped a deer w/a 7TCU handgun, 140 BT, about 30 yds, 2000 mv using a fireforming load. I'd personally see using a '06 downloaded w/150 BTs as a good option for a reduced load, and a 130 Speer 'flat tip' that I used often in my TC - as another good one. '30/30' bullets at lower speeds will drop recoil and expand well - another 'Lite Load' option.

Pharmseller I use a lighter than usual load in my 308 when I am doing cull work under a spotlight for my cropping farmer mates.

44g of Varget or 42g of H4895 over a Hornady Interlock SP 150g bullet or 150g Rem CL.

These are making 2600-odd fps, they are VERY accurate, and they kick so light it feels like a 30-30. I can shoot up to 100 rounds in a night from a vehicle with this load and it is oh so mild and pleasant to shoot.


I do very little of this sort of shooting these days but as a teenager I fired probably at least 8000 rounds of this load doing this work, and I can vouch for its mildness on the shooter and effectiveness on game.

Good luck.

My boy is going to do a "recoil test" this afternoon. If the 47 grain Varget proves too much I'll drop it down.

Thanks!


P

I got my son behind the trigger yesterday. I loaded the shells for him so he didn't know what to expect.

His experience was the same as mine as far as relative recoil. The best news is that both of the 150 grain Accubond loads were easily tolerated. Next step, accuracy at distance.


P

Good bullet, I'd not hesitate to substitute BTs or other cup/core for practice, or even hunting given modest speed for cost savings. All will do fine.