7mm-08 - Whitetail/Black Bear/ Hog Bullet?

[firstshot]

I just got a new Rem 700 Mtn LSS in 7MM-08 this spring and would like to find one load that would be good for Whitetail, Black Bear, and Hogs.

I hunt in the mountains of NW Arkansas primarilly for Whitetail; however, you always stand a chance of coming across a black bear or a big hog.  ( took a nice black bear this past season on the first day of muzzleloader deer season.)  Where we hunt shots over 200 Yds would be rare with most being at 150Yds or less.

I reload and so far have tried 140Grn Sierra Game Kings (3/4"@100Yds) and 150Grn Ballistic Tips (1-1 1/2"@100Yds).  I just loaded up some 140Grn Accubonds but haven't got to shoot them yet and just picked up some 140Grn Hornady Interlocks.  I'm also planning of trying some 140 & 150Grn Partitions and some 154Grn Hornady Round Nose.

Right now, depending on how well they shoot, I'm leaning toward either the partitions or the accubonds.

What 7MM-08 bullet / bullet weight would you recommend as a one size fits all for deer/bear/hogs?

firstshot
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Make your first shot count!

[Graybeard]

Never shot a bear but in my LSS Mtn. Rifle in 7-08 the Hornady Light Magnum load using the old original 139 BTSP is the only load I use. It works fine on deer and hogs, dunno about bear. I'm thinking if I were going to use it on bear or big hogs regularly I'd be using a Nosler 150 PT, Hornady 154 Bonded or Nosler 160 Bonded bullet. But for deer and the size hogs I normally run into the LM loads are great.

[ricciardelli]

Boy, am I gonna catch hell here and now!

For your hog and bear load I would use the Sierra 170 grain round nose bullet, on top of IMR-3031 From 33.0 grains to 39.5 grains and a Remington 9-1/2 primer.

For the poor little whitetail, it would be the Sierra 168 grain HPBT bullet, on top of RL-19 From 38.2 grains to 48.0 grains and a Remington 9-1/2 primer.

[John R.]

Stay with your original theory. The 140 Accubonds will work fine. They shoot 3/4"  @ 100yds out of my LSS mtn. rifle. If you have to go heavier the 150 Partition will certainly do the job. I've shot both at hogs and couldn't tell any difference. They both killed the hogs instantly. I chose the 140 Accubond because it was slightly more accurate out of my rifle. Hope this helps. PS. Stay away from Match bullets for hunting, they are not designed for it. :grin:

[Questor]

For big hogs over 300 pounds I'd use Barnes X bullets because they have the best penetration in the business for expanding bullets.  But the Partition would be fine, I'm sure.  It's just personal preference. For smaller hogs a deer bullet should be fine, but I like premium bullets for hogs.  I don't think it's worth the extra cost for Accubonds for whitetails. Any decent conventional deer bullet will do.  

Our next hog hunting trip will be with a 7mm-08 and my son will be using the Barnes bullets to hunt small hogs under 200 pounds.

The Barnes bullets are a big favorite with African hunters. The consensus is that performance is monotonously excellent.  The weight retention is a plus in tough animals that are good at stopping bullets.

[wolfpack]

I like the 160gr accubond for black bear out of my 7mm WSM, buddy of mine shoots a 7-08 and uses both the 140gr and 160gr the lighter for deer (we have pretty small deer up here) and 160gr for elk and black bear. Good luck, found that the sierra game kings shoot slightly better but the accubond shoots good and penetrates like a train and won't bloodshot meat as bad.

[Slamfire]

Try the 154 Hornady. There's a round nose and a pointed soft point version. Your rifle may like them.

[firstshot]

Thanks for all the replies.  Think I'll just try all of them and see which shoots best in my gun.  Still leaning heavily toward the 140 Accubonds though, assuming they shoot good.

firstshot
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Make your first shot count!

[firstshot]

Got a 1/2" group @ 100 with the 140 Accubonds  :grin:  :grin:  :grin:  

Dark lines = 1/2", Light lines = 1/4"


firstshot
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Make your first shot count!