7mm-08 Deer Load

[CTK]

I am loading 7-08 tonight for my son's Savage Axis Youth rifle. Last year hunting was more of a "shakedown cruise" and we were not successful. I loaded 120 bt's with 36gr of H4895. I think we got 2600 or so fps out of the 20" barrel. He is an 80lb 8 year old (pictured in avatar). I am going to do the BT's again but wonder how much, if any, to step up the load. He is obsessed with getting some more "power". He will not have to be any the wiser if I keep the load the same. Should I bump it up? I have not done any real load work for the rifle and probably will not kill myself if it keeps it under 1.5" or so.

 

[jimbires]

I am loading 7-08 tonight for my son's Savage Axis Youth rifle. Last year hunting was more of a "shakedown cruise" and we were not successful. I loaded 120 bt's with 36gr of H4895. I think we got 2600 or so fps out of the 20" barrel. He is an 80lb 8 year old (pictured in avatar). I am going to do the BT's again but wonder how much, if any, to step up the load. He is obsessed with getting some more "power". He will not have to be any the wiser if I keep the load the same. Should I bump it up? I have not done any real load work for the rifle and probably will not kill myself if it keeps it under 1.5" or so.

for my girlfriend I load the 120 B-tip with 39.0 gr H4895 and a CCI200 primer . I played with quickload to figure the recoil . this load recoil is about the same as a full load in a 243 , with a 100 gr bullet.

 

[mbp708]

That is smoking fast for the 168 in a 22" 7-08.

Yes it is very fast. Can run the 140 VLD up to 3000 fps with no pressure signs using RL17 also. Obermyer barrel

 

[onelastshot]

If you want a heavier bullet, performance, good penetration and very high bullet weight retention the Nosler AccuBond LR is made for exactly what you're looking for. They are affordable; if you're going to spend the money for Lapua brass, finish the cartridge off with the right bullet. I use the 168 AccuBond pushed by RL17 and It's deadly close up and at the longer ranges. Using Reloader 17 will give you an extra 150-200 feet per second.

 

[fredo]

120TSX & lotsa Varget.
3125 from a 22" Broughton 5c...

 

[CTK]

I just loaded up to 39.5gr h4895 with the 120 BT. We will see how my little guy handles the recoil. I think it will be a non issue. On a different note... We cleaned his barrel and his Savage Axis had heavy lead fouling. I guess you gets what you pay for.

 

[jbarnwell]

I've always had great luck with 120 and 140 grain Ballistic Tips. Any of the mentioned powders work well, just pick what works well in your rifle.

 

[HuntClub]

I tried a few different bullets in my Tikka T3 lite but none gave me the accuracy that the Sierra 150gr Gameking does. I am using Reloader 15 @ 38.6 grains with COL 2.750. Nothing else shot as good as this round does.

I tried TTSX in 110gr & 120gr / Nosler Accubond 140gr / Hornady Interlock 139gr / Sierra gameking 150gr & Matchking 150gr

Gameking and Matchking shoot to same POI w/o adjusting seating die.

BTW - i went into this reloading session with a bias towards the Barnes - I really love the Barnes bullets. You asked minimum velocity for expansion - that is around 1800 fps - if I remember correctly. This occurs at a range of roughly 500 yards (if I remember correctly).

But about the TTSX, I shot (2) boxes of the 110 & (3) of the 120. Spent too much on those trying to get what the Gameking gives. Just settle with what works int he gun and in the field for..how many years? That's why reloading shelfs everywhere keep that green box stocked up.

 

[stacy]

MAY NOT WORK FOR SOME PEOPLE I KILLED ALOT OF DEER OUT TO 300YDS WITH SIERRAS 100 HP AND VARGET OUT OF MY MODEL 7 7MM-08 IT MAKES A MESS MOST OF MY SHOTS ARE NECK SHOTS AND IT BOOM BANG FLOOP !!!!!!

 

[jimmymac]

I am loading 7-08 tonight for my son's Savage Axis Youth rifle. Last year hunting was more of a "shakedown cruise" and we were not successful. I loaded 120 bt's with 36gr of H4895. I think we got 2600 or so fps out of the 20" barrel. He is an 80lb 8 year old (pictured in avatar). I am going to do the BT's again but wonder how much, if any, to step up the load. He is obsessed with getting some more "power". He will not have to be any the wiser if I keep the load the same. Should I bump it up? I have not done any real load work for the rifle and probably will not kill myself if it keeps it under 1.5" or so.

I've been loading a rather mild load for a friend for the last 25 years or so. It's a basic 145 grain Speer BTSP with 44.0 grains of IMR 4350. I always felt he was handicapping himself with that load because there is a lot more performance potential in the 7-08, but they shot so good he never cared to try anything else. Out of a his plain Jane Browning A-bolt, sub 1" groups are the norm. Half inch groups under good conditions have popped up quite a few times.

This is a pretty low recoil load, but still might be more than you want to expose your 8 year old to. Might be worth a try though provided you take a few shots yourself before you decide whether or not to let him shoot it.

It will lay the smack down on some deer. He's killed plenty with this very basic load. Good luck.

 

[onelastshot]

If you want weight retention and like a 140 grain bullet go with the Barnes X bullet, it will do exactly what you want. Barnes is designed for deep penetration and 100% weight retention. You will get a complete pass through on a broadside shot. The few dollars difference between the Sierra bullet and the Barnes is not worth your consideration, the Barnes combined with IMR 4350 or RL17 will do exactly what you want.

 

[Tommie]

For shooting whitetail deer inside of 100 yards:
Buy a random box of 7mm-08 ammo, site the gun in and go hunting. Really.

 

[284winner]

For shooting white tail deer inside of 100 yards:
Buy a random box of 7mm-08 ammo, site the gun in and go hunting. Really.

Your right on ! Years ago just the green and yellow or red and white box ammo worked in every caliber for deer in normal woods distances and killed...period. No worry's of which bullet, weight, expansion, retention or BC/velocity. Just hit the deer where you aim and the bullet worked. They still do. Just remember all bullets have there limitations. Just as cartridges do. Just seemed more simple and alot less thought was put into it. Today we just over think it alot more.

 

[accuracyman]

Yep a 7-08 is hard to beat. Just shot this weekend with mine. 140g Sierra Gameking .010" off jamb with max load of Varget from Hogdon website. Awesome accuracy and great performance on animals.

 

[Zero333]

For shorter range work and even out to 400 yards the 140 gr Sierra ProHunter is perfect.

I've used the 140gr GameKing and 140gr Berger VLDH in a 7mm08, but if I knew my shots would be within 150 yards I would opt for the 140 ProHunter.

I use 41.5gr Varget, Lapua brass and 210m primers.

 

[jsthntn247]

For your intended purpose I'd go buy a box of 120 and 140 loaded Barnes TTSX bullets and hunt with whichever shot best.

 

[ImBIllT]

I just loaded up to 39.5gr h4895 with the 120 BT. We will see how my little guy handles the recoil. I think it will be a non issue. On a different note... We cleaned his barrel and his Savage Axis had heavy lead fouling. I guess you gets what you pay for.

It's not lead fouling with a copper jacketed bullet. It's carbon fouling. Often times running a higher pressure will result in less soot in the bore. You might have to change to a faster powder to keep your load at that velocity and eliminate that. However, sooty powder fouling is no big deal in my opinion. In a .223 AI I had a load with H-335 that shot very well for 5-10 shots, then opened up to about an inch. You could put 100 rounds through it and look down the barrel and it would be mirror bright. One day I gave bl-c(2) a try and suddenly the gun would shoot .5" five shot groups for 100-200 shots without cleaning. One shot and the bore looked filthy. The deal is, that sooty carbon shoots out instead of building up. That baked on carbon that makes your barrel look clean can sometimes wreak havoc with accuracy as well as be very difficult to scrub out. It depends a lot on the powder. Oddly, H-335 and bl-(c)2 are the same powder, separated out into two separate canister grades. The faster lots get labeled h-335 and the slower lots get labeled bl-(c)2. For them it was simply that high pressure loads causes a powder fouling that looks good, but causes problems. Low pressure loads cause a fouling that looks bad, but does not cause problems. I've found with RL-15 that in spite of leaving the barrel looking clean, I never have the issues that I do when shooting high pressure loads with H-335. I can shoot 3-4 f-class matches without cleaning.

It's not lead, its carbon. It's not hurting you on a hunting gun, and if it were match gun, I would let the paper tell you if it's a problem. Sooty carbon in the barrel is not always an issue. In fact, it usually isn't.

 

[CTK]

It's not lead fouling with a copper jacketed bullet. It's carbon fouling. Often times running a higher pressure will result in less soot in the bore. You might have to change to a faster powder to keep your load at that velocity and eliminate that. However, sooty powder fouling is no big deal in my opinion. In a .223 AI I had a load with H-335 that shot very well for 5-10 shots, then opened up to about an inch. You could put 100 rounds through it and look down the barrel and it would be mirror bright. One day I gave bl-c(2) a try and suddenly the gun would shoot .5" five shot groups for 100-200 shots without cleaning. One shot and the bore looked filthy. The deal is, that sooty carbon shoots out instead of building up. That baked on carbon that makes your barrel look clean can sometimes wreak havoc with accuracy as well as be very difficult to scrub out. It depends a lot on the powder. Oddly, H-335 and bl-(c)2 are the same powder, separated out into two separate canister grades. The faster lots get labeled h-335 and the slower lots get labeled bl-(c)2. For them it was simply that high pressure loads causes a powder fouling that looks good, but causes problems. Low pressure loads cause a fouling that looks bad, but does not cause problems. I've found with RL-15 that in spite of leaving the barrel looking clean, I never have the issues that I do when shooting high pressure loads with H-335. I can shoot 3-4 f-class matches without cleaning.

It's not lead, its carbon. It's not hurting you on a hunting gun, and if it were match gun, I would let the paper tell you if it's a problem. Sooty carbon in the barrel is not always an issue. In fact, it usually isn't.

I meant copper and wrote lead. To be clear it had very heavy copper fouling.

 

[ImBIllT]

I meant copper and wrote lead. To be clear it had very heavy copper fouling.

Could still be breaking-in. New chrome-moly barrel usually foul excessively for longer than new stainless barrels. Tikka barrels usually don't foul any more than custom barrels do.

I like much lighter constructed bullets for deer than Accubonds and the like. Even the BT Hunting line is a lot beefier than the original ballistic tip bullets. I've shot a few WT's with BT's that ran a good distance and had pencil holes completely through them. A friend barrowed the gun on the same hunt and had excellent performance because he shot right on the shoulder joint and that caused the bullet open up and it destroyed a lot of meat in the process. My dad used some Accubonds on a small mule deer and had identical results. He had to shoot the deer three times. All three just went in and out with limited destruction. I like an exit, but I like expansion too. For shots under 100yds I'd definitely go with something more fragile than the Accubond. I'm not suggesting going to full blown varmint bullets, but that Accubond is a tough bullet.

 

[CTK]

Could still be breaking-in. New chrome-moly barrel usually foul excessively for longer than new stainless barrels. Tikka barrels usually don't foul any more than custom barrels do.

I like much lighter constructed bullets for deer than Accubonds and the like. Even the BT Hunting line is a lot beefier than the original ballistic tip bullets. I've shot a few WT's with BT's that ran a good distance and had pencil holes completely through them. A friend barrowed the gun on the same hunt and had excellent performance because he shot right on the shoulder joint and that caused the bullet open up and it destroyed a lot of meat in the process. My dad used some Accubonds on a small mule deer and had identical results. He had to shoot the deer three times. All three just went in and out with limited destruction. I like an exit, but I like expansion too. For shots under 100yds I'd definitely go with something more fragile than the Accubond. I'm not suggesting going to full blown varmint bullets, but that Accubond is a tough bullet.

I used to get pencil holes with the Accubond's. This said the insides were wrecked. These were 7mm 140's going pretty fast.