7mm08 and 150 Nosler ABLR

[Yagingaboy]

Has anyone tried using the Nosler accubond long rang 150 in a 7mm08 Rem? After this last weeks experience with 168 gr bergers on a bull elk I don't think I will be using bergers any more. At close range they just blow up and don't hold together. I am hoping to get something around 2800-2850 with the ABLR 150. If you have tried this combination, what powder are you using, what velocity are you getting, and how well does that bullet stand up to game?

 

[284winner]

At close range partitions are great. What's close range to you ? My close range is 300 yards and closer. That's 7-08 range pretty much anyway with a partition.(160 gr)

 

[Yagingaboy]

He was about 50 yards from me when I shot him the first time. 200 yards when I shot him the 5th and final time. Only 1 bullet, the first one, penetrated past the first layer of meat. The rest all exploded and stopped short of the chest cavity. I got him down though. The first 4 where all good shots. The 5th wasn't but it was enough to knock him down and keep him down.

 

[Shaggy357]

My 7mm-08 has Nosler 140s. Perfect bullet weight to case capacity ratio for all around use of this caliber. If they penetrate good on wild hogs, they will take an elk. They don't carry the punch of a 7mm Mag with 175s so don't go punching any shoulder bones and expecting miracles.

My nickles worth of experience....

Steve

 

[XTR]

I think the 150 ablr requires a pretty fast twist, it's long. You may not have the twist for it.

I shoot 140ABs over 2000MR at 2940 out if my 7-08. Mine has a very long freebore for chambering 162s. My gunsmith opened my feed port for me. My OAL is over 2.9, loaded to Max mag length in AICS mags with no front plate

I have a pretty much identical load for the 140smk

 

[284winner]

Never shot an accounting LR. Accubond (non LR) shoot well. I haven't heard great things about the 150 ABLR as far as accuracy goes. Many people I know are selling the remaining 150s. Probably too slow of a barrel to stabilize them. There is also the 162 eldx for your 7-08. It's a proven big game round as well. Fairly new but many good reviews on there performance.

 

[AckleymanII]

Brother found a great load in the 7 mag with the 150g LRAB, secret is in jumping them a country mile...no kidding.

 

[284winner]

Brother found a great load in the 7 mag with the 150g LRAB, secret is in jumping them a country mile...no kidding.

Good to know. Kinda wanted to givem a try in my 284. Throated for the 162 Amax I'm guessing those 150s are gonna be a little shorter to ogive giving them more jump.

 

[tmx199]

Shot the 150 ABLR in in I'm my 7mm -08ai and 7mm -08 both model 7 remingtons accuracy was horrible tried different powder no different for deer nosler ballstic tip if I would take the 7mm -08ai I would use 140 partitions accubond or barnes triple shock

 

[Yagingaboy]

Thanks for the info guys. I wonder what the actual length of the 150 ABLR is? I would think that if this gun will stabilize the Berger 168 Classic, it should stabilize the 150 ABLR but maybe not.

 

[rifleman700]

Has anyone tried using the Nosler accubond long rang 150 in a 7mm08 Rem? After this last weeks experience with 168 gr bergers on a bull elk I don't think I will be using bergers any more. At close range they just blow up and don't hold together. I am hoping to get something around 2800-2850 with the ABLR 150. If you have tried this combination, what powder are you using, what velocity are you getting, and how well does that bullet stand up to game?

I shoot them in a 7-08 Ackley and they are sub half moa. Have not tried them on game yet but I have heard that they are softer than regular AB's and lose quite a bit of bullet weight when used at close range. This makes sense since they are designed to perform down to 1300 fps.

 

[284winner]

Thanks for the info guys. I wonder what the actual length of the 150 ABLR is? I would think that if this gun will stabilize the Berger 168 Classic, it should stabilize the 150 ABLR but maybe not.

I believe nosler puts it at 1.490.

 

[XTR]

Thanks for the info guys. I wonder what the actual length of the 150 ABLR is? I would think that if this gun will stabilize the Berger 168 Classic, it should stabilize the 150 ABLR but maybe not.

[warning, personal opinion follows]

I think that going to the heavy for class bullets in a 7-08 is defeating the point of the ideal hunting cartridge for anything smaller than moose/elk in the US. For the heavy hitters I think you're better off with a bigger case because the 308 based case doesn't have the boiler to push them at good velocity; however, for the game size I mention above the 140 class bullets should give you great termainal performance with very good velocity and less recoil. If you you keep your shots under 400 to 500 yards then there is really no appreciable ballistic gain to the heavies, they don't start paying dividends until you are shooting 800 yards, and at that range the energy on the 308 based case is not what I'd want.

[/warning]

 

[284winner]

[warning, personal opinion follows]

I think that going to the heavy for class bullets in a 7-08 is defeating the point of the ideal hunting cartridge for anything smaller than moose/elk in the US. For the heavy hitters I think you're better off with a bigger case because the 308 based case doesn't have the boiler to push them at good velocity; however, for the game size I mention above the 140 class bullets should give you great termainal performance with very good velocity and less recoil. If you you keep your shots under 400 to 500 yards then there is really no appreciable ballistic gain to the heavies, they don't start paying dividends until you are shooting 800 yards, and at that range the energy on the 308 based case is not what I'd want.

[/warning]

XTR, that's an opinion and it's what we all have here mostly. Sure facts are facts but alot of the advice given here is opinions. With so much experience in those opinions, they are actual facts in most cases. You make a great point on case capacity vs heavy bullets. One guy on here uses the 7-08 with 180s and does very well on large game and targets. His opinion may be different. Either way, it's all about what we individually prefer. I've been proven wrong to the point of changing and going with what another guy uses and successful with it. While for many years thought there's no way that would work well. The best part of this forum is picking up ideas and others experiences.

 

[Yagingaboy]

XTR, I appreciate the information. When I select bullets I try to take into account what I can drive each bullet to and the BC of each bullet. If it comes down to a close tie between 2 weights of bullets I will take the slightly heavier bullet due to how we hunt in Montana. Hunting season has you hunting bull elk, deer, bear, and wolves all at the same time. You never know what you can see. I have several magnum rifles but prefer to not have to pack them in this part of Montana because everything is steep and brushy. Long heavy guns get old fast. I went to the 7mm08 for several reasons but my intent was to drive the Berger 168 at 2800 using RL17 (which I can almost do, 2780 and it is accurate). I have shot several deer with my 7X300WSM and had very good luck with that bullet. I figured my 7mm08 would be good on deer out to 600 and elk out to 400 with that load. However, when I ran into this big bull elk on Friday and shot him, I was much less than impressed with how the berger did from less than 100 yards. The bullets just didn't penetrate like they have with deer, antelope, and caribou (all killed 175 to 485 yards). I believe that the extra thick skin on this monster just blew the bullet up and I was not penetrating. I found 4 of 5 bullets while skinning him and they were all just shrapnel. The biggest pieces where flattened out and about the size of a dime. I wish I would have saved them now so I could post a picture. This has me looking for a new bullet. I think I can run the 150 ABLR at near the same velocities and potentially get more or less the same ballistics and energy as the berger