7mm 120 Pro-Hunter Opinions
- Thread starter cjames
- Start date
rickhirsch
Silver $$ Contributor
I've used this bullet in few 7mm it shoots great in my 7x57 shot a couple deer with out a 7mag
they just dropped. and if you have a finicky gun seems to shoot better than most bullets in that class
imr 4350 worked for me. also h 414 hope this helps .rick
they just dropped. and if you have a finicky gun seems to shoot better than most bullets in that class
imr 4350 worked for me. also h 414 hope this helps .rick
In my Opinion...
This 7mm Sierra 120 gr Pro-Hunter is not as tough as most of their other Pro-Hunter bullets.
It was designed for 7x57 / 7mm08 size cartridges as a do it all bullet for deer and varmints.
At higher velocities from 280 Rem / 7mm RemMag / 284 win, this 120 Pro-Hunter is not as good at killing deer as other bullets.
Keep the Impact Velocities below 3,100 fps and this bullet shines on deer.
This 7mm Sierra 120 gr Pro-Hunter is not as tough as most of their other Pro-Hunter bullets.
It was designed for 7x57 / 7mm08 size cartridges as a do it all bullet for deer and varmints.
At higher velocities from 280 Rem / 7mm RemMag / 284 win, this 120 Pro-Hunter is not as good at killing deer as other bullets.
Keep the Impact Velocities below 3,100 fps and this bullet shines on deer.
I agree with this comment. The 7mm 120 grain Nosler BT is one of, if not the, best thin-skinned game bullets for non-mag 7mm cartridges. I use it in my 7TCU, 7mm-08 and 7X57 and it performs wonderfully.
Also, when you say "slow twist", how slow are you talking?
Savage made a slow twist 7-08 years ago for about, "5 minutes".
Translated; Think it's a 11T,what they were thinking(or smoking) I couldn't say but,when shooters couldn't get squat for accuracy out of them,they quickly and sorta hush/hush'd them into 9T.
I found out on another forum.A responder had gotten one,gets pi$$ed and orders a better barrel,in a more typical twist. I see his post,send a PM offering to buy it. Heck,it didn't take the guy two boxes of 140's to find out it was a no-go so I was confident it was brandy new. He was more than happy to sell it.
I shoot several 7-08's with cast bullets. Have some tackdriver loads but wasn't ready to plunk down $$$ on a custom slow twist barrel that there's virtually no resale for. So I snagged the factory 11T(CRS,think that's the twist,too lazy to go check) wanting to try it with some cast.
Took a Lee 285-130 bullet,which does great up to about 2600 or so fps in a 9 1/2T with some(lots) massaging here and there..... made a 5 bullet "gang" fixture to use in a Bridgeport and "milled" the bases making them deadnuts perfectly sq to the centerline axis and now 100g. Still utilizes the same gas checks,just shorter. Velocity got to dang near 3k! with fantastic accuracy.
Learned a lot..... one of which was,I think Sierra makes,or did? a 100g varmint bullet. But there sure isn't a lot of dope on light 7mm bullets from what I could find? Sorry for the novel.
Translated; Think it's a 11T,what they were thinking(or smoking) I couldn't say but,when shooters couldn't get squat for accuracy out of them,they quickly and sorta hush/hush'd them into 9T.
I found out on another forum.A responder had gotten one,gets pi$$ed and orders a better barrel,in a more typical twist. I see his post,send a PM offering to buy it. Heck,it didn't take the guy two boxes of 140's to find out it was a no-go so I was confident it was brandy new. He was more than happy to sell it.
I shoot several 7-08's with cast bullets. Have some tackdriver loads but wasn't ready to plunk down $$$ on a custom slow twist barrel that there's virtually no resale for. So I snagged the factory 11T(CRS,think that's the twist,too lazy to go check) wanting to try it with some cast.
Took a Lee 285-130 bullet,which does great up to about 2600 or so fps in a 9 1/2T with some(lots) massaging here and there..... made a 5 bullet "gang" fixture to use in a Bridgeport and "milled" the bases making them deadnuts perfectly sq to the centerline axis and now 100g. Still utilizes the same gas checks,just shorter. Velocity got to dang near 3k! with fantastic accuracy.
Learned a lot..... one of which was,I think Sierra makes,or did? a 100g varmint bullet. But there sure isn't a lot of dope on light 7mm bullets from what I could find? Sorry for the novel.
Me and my buddy had rifles built at the same time in 2003. Mine was a 280 Rem and his the 7mm-08. The Smith went by Lilja's recommendations on twist. They were supposedly 10 twist. Which in theory should stabilize a 140 bullet. Neither rifle would. Both of us spend A LOT of money in powder, bullets, primers, brass. Changed scopes, HOURS at the range, the works. I traded mine in on a Factory Browning Octagon Grade 3 rifle and it would out shoot both those rifles any day, all day. I even sent my rifle to Lilja for inspection. According to Dan there was nothing wrong with the rifle or barrel even though he never fired the rifle because he doesn't make dud barrels. My buddy's rifle will shoot 120's. I never did try them in my rifle. We are at about 500' elevation, that is one of the theories we came up with on 10 twist not shooting 140's. I should have but, I never did actually check the twist on my barrel to see what it was. I don't think my buddy has either. I did learn that in 7mm, I don't care what twist it is as long as it is a 1 in 9. Now, I do have a 7mm-08 and 7mm Rem Mag both with 9 twist and they will both "burn a hole" if the nut behind the bolt does his job.
DaveTooley
Gold $$ Contributor
As others have said 120 Nosler Ballistic tip gets my vote. I run them @3000 FPS out of a 7-08 AI
My vote goes to the Barnes 120 TTSX in my 7-08 @ 2850 FPS and at 3100 in my .280 AI. TOO old and don't like trackin!
Interestingly enough, that is exactly why i do use the Nosler Ballistic Tips. (Berger VLD-H also, but that's another story.)
Never had to track a deer shot within 300 yards with the BT.
I've seen 5 good hits with a Barnes & helped track 1/4-1/2 mile.
JEFFPPC
Gold $$ Contributor
I am Sierra fan except for Pro Hunter. Ex shot a buck running up opposite ridge directly away from us about 150 yrs, drilled it dead on the spine between the shoulder blades with a 100gr .243 Pro Hunter at 3025 fps. Deer went down, started flopping , then got up. I shot it in the neck, dead. Her shot hit spine and blew up Shrapnel every where. Broke one chunk out of spine. Went home, got rid of all the Pro Hunters. Have killed quite a few with Game Kings, bang, down and dead.
I used them 1 time, and they didn't open up.... a 140 in a 280, it was ugly, looked like I was using FMJ, no expansion..... jim
SPQR70AD
Banned
I heard that also and heard from guys that the bullets would break up from heavy bone
I heard that too, but sounds like they went from one extreme to an other...... jim
Upgrades & Donations
This Forum's expenses are primarily paid by member contributions. You can upgrade your Forum membership in seconds. Gold and Silver members get unlimited FREE classifieds for one year. Gold members can upload custom avatars.
Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.
You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.
To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.
Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.
You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.
To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.