New member here. GREAT FORUM!!! I recently bought a new Browning X-Bolt in 7mm08. I think it is going to be a great rifle. I have only shot a few different factory loads through it so far but the 140 Ballistic Tips and Winnie BST's shoot very well. Avg. about .8 for 3 shot groups. So the question is what do you guys think about these rounds for whitetail? The shots will be from 20 yards to 200 yards max. Of course I have heard different opinions but having found this site there seems to be alot of real knowledge from people here and would like for some of you to post your opinions and results for me. Thanks!!

Nosler 14p Ballistics kill really well on whitetails. I've done a bunch of the large Northern whitetails in Alberta and mulies in Montana with them in both the 7-08, the 7SGLC (7-08 Ackley) and the .280 Ackley.

They flat kill and you should have no worries.

I've also killed several elk with the bullet in a variety of 7mm cartridges and there have been no problems.

Another wonderful 7mm bullet is the Hornady 139-grain Interlocked. Same comments, except that the Hornady is maybe a bit tougher and the expanded bullets sure look pretty.

Steve

The 140BT is one the best deer bullets available for the 7-08.

It even works well on African plains game if the bullets are placed right.

One of the good things about the 7-08 is most 120-140gr bullets perform really well on big game due to its moderate velocity (the same can be said about the 7X57). And yet it still shoots plenty flat out to sane yardages.

MtnHtr

I'm a big fan of the 120 Nosler BT both at the range and on deer.

I am, as well.

The 120 Ballistic is a tough little cookie and it surely makes the 7-08 sing. The problem is that it is a bit "light for caliber" and those who have not used it doubt that the 120 will do the job. Regardless, the 120s jacket is wonderfull beefed-up and it kills way out of proportion to its weight.

I've killed two wonderful 6X6 bull elk with the 120 in my 7X308 Ackley and a really great moose with it in my .280 Ackley. Plus lots of mule deer, whitetails and antelope with it in my .280 Ackley.

Steve

Another plug for the 120 BT. Its pure murder on deer.

Great rifle and caliber you got there.

I had a little trouble with NBT's when they first came out. I had about 3 incidents where the bullet didn't do what it should have. I switched to Nosler Partitions. All came from an A-Bolt 7MM-08 shooting Fed. 140NBT's.

My son shot this rifle when he was younger and we almost lost a nice 8 pt buck he shot. NBT hit a rib and shattered. It got one lung, but allowed the buck to get into some hellish ravines and travel about 200 yds. before dying. No exit wound and no blood until we were within 20 yds or so of him.

The other 2 were the same, poor penetration and bullet basically disentigrated.

To be fair, I popped the biggest hog I've ever shot using them (over 400 lbs.) and my Father uses this rifle/bullet combo now and has not had one move more than a few yards.

I may have just had a bad box, as all 3 incidents came out of that box. I know they are good bullets, but it scared me, so I switched to partitions.

I heard they increased the jacket thickness over the original NB. I don't know if this is true or not, but Dogzapper or others may know.

Too many people are using them now, if it were a bad bullet, I'm sure you'd be hearing about it. They kill very effectively according to those who use them and I believe them. I just prefer bone breakers and good penetration, mainly because of the terrain I hunt in.

Best,

JM

Don't want to hijack this thread, but I just posted for 7mm-08 with 120 TSX's and BT's recipes under "reloading". Glad to hear so many like the combination I just posted a question on. Good timing I guess.

You know I just keep using those old Hornady Interloc's dumb deer just fall down and can't get up. Think they wrote a song about it.

Nosler Ballistic Tips out of a 7mm/08 are like cyanide for whitetails.

Just about any bullet that you put in a 7mm-08 is deadly on deer from my experience. I've killed a pile of deer using Winchester version(Ballistic Silvertip) and the Federal loaded ballistic tip. I've also used Hornady's version, the SST. I never had any problems with them killing deer, but I will say that I recovered the bullet just under the hide about half of the time. There was no way that the deer were going to go very far because these type bullets literally turn their heart and lungs into a jelly.
That said, I've had good luck using Remington Corelokts and Hornady 139 grain Interlokts in factory loads also.

While they were deadly, I'd advise against 150-gn Partitions from a 20" tube, on deer.

The combination of 140 grain ballistic tips from my .280, plus similar weights from myself and others a in .270 WSM, 7mm WSM, several WSSMs and .30-06s and lots of other stuff kept the churchgoers in Carrizo Springs, TX well fed for about two years.
I like ballistic tips ALOT for light game.

7mm08, those original factory '140 corelokts' were 139s.....they loaded Hornady IL's and called them 140 CL.

I shot many a deer with a 7/08 as well, one with a 140 BT years ago, went about 15 yds. Raking shot exiting behind a shoulder, nasty exit.

I am loving the 130 Accubond in my 260 and 6.5x55, and wonder just how the 140 would do in a 7/08. I know, about ANY 120-140gr is sure death in a 7/08 or similar round. I see the ABs as a combo of retention like a partition, sure expansion and wonderful accuracy of the B tip. I'd surely have to try the AB for a 7/08 if I had one. I used 140 Sierra, 139s, 130 (old Sierra SSP pistol bullet), and have used 120 HPs and SPs as well as 130 Speers in a 7mmBR rifle. All worked well.

Try as I might I couldn't get the 140gr Accubond to shoot accurately in my gun. I'm sure it was plenty good enough to kill a deer with but that's not what I was looking for. I would bet the house that someone else with more experience handloading than I have could get the Accubond to group better out of my gun also.

I like the 139gr Hornady Interlock and killed about 5 or 6 deer with it, most either DRT or ran about 20yds or so.
I'm gonna try the 120gr Ballistic Tip this year to see what that will do.

I would say don't fix it if it isn't broken. That 139 InterLoc is one hell of a bullet.

The 140 AB out of a 7mm-08 has done a great job on several white tails shot by either my wife or me over the past few seasons. I loaded her up 120 BTs this past season and the double lung shot at about 70 yds dropped the deer (medium sized 7 pointer) DRT and had a nice nickel to quarter sized exit. The performance was very good, but there is no doubt just about any bullet would have done the job.

Thanks for ther replies. Those of you that love the BT's sure have had great luck with them. I noticed Federal had a factory loaded Accubond last year and when I called there tech support the man told me that they never discontiue products that sell well so I guess that means at least in the 7mm08 caliber the Ballistic Tips were outselling them quite a bit. I will probably end up shooting the Federal 140 BT's this coming season at our south GA and north FL whitetails and it looks like they should do fine. Thanks again.

A friend of mine always said his deer never wen't more than a couple feet after being hit with that setup. I always thought he was blowing smoke until I looked at the front shoulder of one from the inside after it was dressed. It definitely a lethal combination for deer.

Pat, my offshoulder deer hit at 115 yds....mv around 2900, was pretty wrecked.....off course I could say the same about a Mulie I shot in Colorado just under 100 yds in a Winchester 20" carbine around 2850mv, using the 139 IL, it exited the neck, deer angled facing me, hind end up higher...so it destroyed some backstrap and ham.....NOT that the 139 Hornady was as or more destructive than a ballistic tip, but it did not make me happy I lost that meat.....

Having dropped the deer in it's tracks DID make me smile. Can't blame the bullet, did what it was supposed to...

FWIW, I tested years back 139s...flat base vs. ballistic tips, loaded into lands in a 700 Varmint, that was set in an HS stock, and at 100 yds, with a 3.5-10x I shot one hole groups with both using partial sized cases, once fired or few x fired...trimmed and flash holes deburred....REM brass of all things not weight sorted.

The ballistic tips were slightly tighter, as I shot several groups, but for the money for range work, as well as for a field bullet, the standard 139 Hornady is a tough bullet to beat, esp. for the money. It's BC may be a tad less but likely insignificant at most all sane ranges. It will hold up perhaps better as a BT.

IMO, it's hard to find a bad choice in 120-140gr for deer in a 7/08. Same can be said for 6.5mm's in say 260, 6.5x55 as they all do well at speeds around 2700-2900 mv.

I have shot several truck loads of mule deer bucks and a truck load and a half of elk with 140 grain ballistic tips shot out of a 7mm mag at 3,200 fps. They shoot and kill AWESOME! I have shot thousands of 139 grain Hornadys as well. I am sure they perform even better at 7mm-08 velocities. My absolute favorite bullet in the 7mm-08 is the 120 grain Hornady flat base hollow point. My Rem 700 with a 22 inch barrel launches them at 3,100 fps. I have shot deer from 60-550 yards with this bullet and haven't been able to recover a bullet yet. I have loaned this rifle out several times and everyone punches tags with it. They can't believe how well it kills and how light the recoil is. Of course, it only weighs about 7.5 lbs. all up. No buck has gone more than a step or two. Big exit holes and tons of damage inside.

I took the rifle on my latest trip to Texas with Toby Truby hog hunting. I don't know how many pigs I killed with it, but only one bullet didn't exit on a 190ish lb. boar hog I shot at around 300 yards. I hit him square in the shoulder and he had a really thick grissle shield. We dug around in him for quite a while and couldn't find the bullet. He was dead at the shot and went nose over tail. There was a lot of internal damage. I have several thousand of the 120's, so I haven't used much else. If it ain't broke... ;o) This is no doubt my favorite rifle. Flinch

Flinch,

That is very interesting experience with the Hornady 120 HP's. I would not have thought it was such a reliable round on penetration.

Have you shot deer through the shoulders with it, or do you generally slip it behind the shoulder?

Any other experiences you can relate? I haven't tried them, and am looking for something affordable to run in a few 7-08's.

How has accuracy been for you with them? Are they finicky, or pretty easy to get to shoot?

Thanks,

DJ

Care to expound?

I know why you're sniffing around the 7-08 threads...nice snag on the McMillan clad Model 7 - I was within an eyelash on it, and only hesitated because of the short barrel - let me know if you have much muzzle blast - I bet it's not bad, but I'm so 7-08 poor right now that I left a really sweet deal for you to snag...grin.

Hope you enjoy it - it should be a dandy.

DJ

DJ...

Think a few folks noticed that too...

I'm not really asking Jeff why as in I'm not going to use that bullet. I'm asking why he doesn't recommend it for curiousity really.

I'm gonna run 139 IL's in it or 140 BT's. Hopefully it likes 414 or RL-19...

I imagine the muzzle blast is no more than my M7 in .260. I notice no difference in 20" vs. 22" in the .260.

Thanks for your kind consideration on letting me snag it...grin...

I always try to break the shoulders. I am fond of crunching bone. I am not a lung shooter, due to the 30-75 yard sprint they always due when hit in such a way. Bust the landing gear and they are down right now.

Accuracy with the 120's is right on par with the best bullets. My rifle shoots in the 3/4-1" range. I have shot some half inch groups, but 3/4" is the norm.

I also do a lot of long range shooting with them at prairie dogs and rock chucks. I shoot the rifle a lot and it flat out shoots all the time. Love the rifle and the bullets. Flinch

That's what I wanted to hear...grin.

I'm gonna find some and give them a whirl.

DJ

Crazy thing, yes the 120 HPs and SPs shoot well, shot from 1/2-5/8" in 7mm BR custom rifle, killed 2 deer with SPs and 1 with HP, had exits on an SP and HP. Funny thing I shot a 1/2" and a 5/8" group at 200 yds, using my former 700V, cut to 21", and in a VLS stock, only mod, trigger lowered and pressure pad removed, bbl floating.....that was with a Leupy on 14x and using 100 Hornadys....likely moving around 3,300, they SMOKE in a 7/08 with a full charge of Varget.

Flinch, nope, cannot argue with success. It was said early BTs had failures and Noz beefed up the jackets, I don't know but obviously they worked on a couple of elk for you What size truck do you have? Mini or full size? Just Kidding.

My 7/08s were clocking 3050-3100 in 2 700s both cut at 21". Blast a little loud but they shot well, 2900-2950 w/139-140gr handloads, had a 20" Win M70, ltd. run gun, syn/matte carbine, shot 2850 w/139s. I think a custom rifle would do well to use a 22-23, just for balance and blast, I don't like tubes any longer typically, esp. for field carry. Varget and IMR4064 were my go to powders for all bullets, I 4895 did well with 120/130s and I believe IMR4320 warrants load research....not so common but the burn rate seems to be right where you want to be. Never much luck with I 4350 but alot of guys use H 4350 SC w/good results using 140s. RL15 seems to be a fav with 120s, seen great data on RL19 w/140s. H380 did really well using 150 and 168 SMKs, but H414 was never consistent for accuracy for me as Varget and 4064. 2015BR did fairly well with 100s and I shot some heavier bullets with 2495. Never clocked them. It seems I tried H335 w/120s w/fair results but pressure seems to jump fast as you add more.

All said and done, I could be happy with Varget and 4064 for most anything in a 7/08. It's a good round, very versatile.

DJ, I think a 130 Speer is an often overlooked bullet in 7/08 and allows speeds approaching a 270. The BT version is perhaps better on very long shots, but the Flat Base I believe is a Hot Core mfg. bullet, and seemed to shoot more accurate. Likely will give better penetration if you get a "Tx Heart Shot" or have to bust alot of bone, or if 'Hogzilla' comes out!

What, ME expound?

I killed a half-dozen deer with a 150 Partition from my 7mm-08, 20" barrel. On a couple of them the damage was pretty unimpressive. One in particular put me off that bullet forevermore- from a 7mm-08, for deer anyway. They always exited, but, didn't show me the kind of mayhem internally that I'd like to see.

I don't shoot bone on purpose- so who knows, they might be the bee's knee's for shoulder shooters.

My rifle didn't like 140's at ALL so that's why I ran the 150's. And my MV was not real high, roughly 2600 fps. And our deer are typically small. So, YMMV.

I plan on running 140 AB's this year if I hunt the 7-08 (different rifle).

Bullet exited, And the deer died. What more do you need out of a bullet?

I have shot exactly three deer with my 7mm-08. One with a 140 Ballistic Tip and Varget. Result= Bang Flop

Two with a 139 Hornady SP and IMR 4064. Result= Bang Flop.

I say, shoot whatever shoots best in your rifle and have complete confidence in your deer rifle.

FH

Look forward to hearing how it works for you. Will try to be genuinely happy for you instead of kicking myself for not snagging it....grin.

I'm running a couple of 7-08's, and just want to play with some bullets. Should be fun.

DJ

That 130 Hot Core from Speer is another one I want to play with.

Funny about the HP's exiting - anything special in their design to toughen them?

DJ

DJ,

To make both our lives easier, why don't you choose half and I'll take the other half.

I picked up some old standby 139 IL's to try to find a workable load for this fall as I won't have serious time to "tinker".

I'll get on my half after hunting season...grin...

DJ, I shot the HP broadside around 115 yds, traveled about 60, but from a 7BR, load was not checked on Chrony and I don't think it was a top end load, as those had used 2015BR, and I was out, making do with IMR4895 and I doubt my speeds were in the 2800 mv range of the AA2015 loads, likely 2600-2700. The 2 SP 120s, Hornadys, were both broadside into shoulder on one at 50yds, went about 70, stopped in hide offside, and other one was behind shoulder thru lungs at 75 paces, and it traveled about 50. So lung shot traveled less.....guess taking out both lungs well did it, as the HP one. Hard to draw any trends on 3 kills.

Funny thing, this never happened before or since, the deer I hit in the shoulder, it reminded me of a Mulie a buddy hit I witnessed, it facing him in the neck with 210 Pt/338 WM at close range, raised up on hind legs and stiffened, fell over.

Well, my shoulder hit deer raised it's front legs up, deer then standing nearly vertical jumped/more like SHOT STRAIGHT UP around 10 feet UP, and came down taking off.....dead in a few seconds.

The 130 Sierra Matchking would be interesting to try but as many caution, those HPs are sometime iffy on reliably expanding, as they can close up. The 120 HPs, not sure they will penetrate more, but I bet the SPs initiate faster expansion due to the more blunt and exposed tip, is my thinking. The only guy I ran into using those was a man with a Micro-Medallion or BLR, I do know it was a Browning, and he shot factory 120 RP HPs, they are loaded with Hornady's, and he had all deer fall within 40-50 yds, and even showed me a recovered bullet. Out of the factory 7/08 ammo, I believe they clock around 3,000, he seldom or ever had exits. That is a consideration if you are in dark woods where you can want for a nice blood trail if they travel at all, esp. if it's been raining and the blood drops disappear....from any entrance hole. My 7BR simply shot slower than a 7/08 and less violent expansion often means more penetration.

The 120 Vmax is a great varmint bullet, but is one that I would really avoid on deer, it's a WHOLE lot different than a B tip.

DJ, those TX deer often are not that large in many parts, and I doubt you'd get any trouble out of those Hornady 120s should you want to use them, often you can see where deer fall in Tx as well. If you do your part, those deer won't likely travel far. I'd use them again, but would opt likely for either a 120 BT or TSX if wanting the best 120 for deer, or use 130-140.

Used a 7mm-08 with the 140NBT for about 10years, but had it re- barreled to a .308W which may or may not have been that bright. Not the re-barrel, but the caliber. Shot about 12 or 15 deer with it. My cousin is a .300WM freak and always had a hard time believing how quickly the 7mm-08 with that bullet did its work. Even after he used it once with the same result he couldn't be convinced. Only one deer took two shots and that was my fault with the first. With that one exception most were shoulders and a couple lungs hits.

A couple deer were at the 200yd range and one was at 335. One deer made it about 80yds the rest probably didn't make it that far combined. With my limited experience with the 7mm-08 and NBTs, I think it is a great combination of cartridge and bullet for whitetails.

Addition: After thinking about it, I forgot to add before using the 7mm-08 I used a .280AI with the 140NBT on quite a few deer. Up close results may have been a little more dramatic due to the fact they were the early NBT that many say were more fragile, but that may be my mind playing tricks. All I know is that they worked. Overall pretty much the same results.