7mm-08 recipes

[snakeskinner]

2 weeks ago I traded the 243 for a 7mm-08. We (my 12yo son and I) had good luck with the 243. After slowing down the 100 grain bullet we were able to get good enough groups to hunt with (1.5" at 100). We both always felt indadequate even though both deer he shot with it died promptly. We kept the synthetic youth stock and the same scope so, except for a heavier barrel, the gun is the same handy gun that it was in 243. It's a great gun for a kid to maneuver in a treestand. My son proved that this year with a shot behind the stand.

Anyway, I shot the 7mm-08 today to get it sighted in. I was not happy with how it grouped. AFAIK the ammo was per the box which was Hornady 139 SST. I would like to shoot 120 grain bullets a little slower. Slowing things down helped a lot with the 243 so I want to try it with the 7mm-08. I am looking for 100 yard accuracy and terminal performance on eastern whitetail deer. We have another gun longer distances and bigger animals.

Please post your MILD recipes and impressions for 100 and 120 grain bullets please.

[BCall]

I have shot alot of 7-08, and IMO you would be better served with using a 140 gr bullet over the lighter ones. I do not think there is enough recoil difference to matter, but I am a big guy, so it may be different for a smaller frame person. I have an aversion to heavy recoil, and much prefer shooting small caliber guns, but going down 20 gr in bullet weight never seemed to make any difference to me. I think most of the 100-120 7mm bullets are more geared towards varmints, and would prefer a 140 class for deer. If varmints or paper are what you are looking for, go for it.

For powder, I would use Varget. My dad has shot tons of it through his 7-08 silhouette rifles, and it has always produced. Check your manual, but 40 gr should be a good starting point with a 140, slightly more for a 120. Always seems to shoot great, and is less temp sensitive than the ball type powders we used to use, like H414. Personally this is where I would start, and if I could not find acceptable accuracy, I would keep trying different bullets until I found something that showed promise. Haven't seen a 7-08 yet that wouldn't shoot this way, but I've never had one in a Handi, so YMMV. If that didn't work, I would start working on the forearm and following the accuracy tips in the FAQ, then start over with the best load I had previously shot. Of course if your accuracy is really bad, it may be best to start there and then work on different loads. HTH, Billy

[wbm]

I agree. Shot a lot of 7x08 and slower powders with heavier bullets 140-162g always gave me the best accuracy and terminal performance. Best load I had was using H4350 Extreme powder and the 162g Hornady A-Max. 

[Lazermule]

I do reload for the 7mm-08 but I ended up trying the Fusion 140 grn factory ammo.  2 deer were killed with it, one was a very large 150 class whitetail dressing out over 200 lbs that I got a straight on chest shot on at 200+ yards and the other was an adult doe that my 90lb 12 year old son shot broadside at 100 yards.  Both deer immediately pulled their landing gear up and went belly to the ground.  Both were dead before they hit the ground and didn't even flinch or kick after hitting the ground.  As far as recoil, my son shot a whole box practicing and had a ton of fun.  He is a tough little wrestler but he would have told me if it were uncomfortable.

I will still reload for the 7mm08 but like I say, the Fusion is good stuff.

LAZER

[snakeskinner]

I do reload for the 7mm-08 but I ended up trying the Fusion 140 grn factory ammo.  2 deer were killed with it, one was a very large 150 class whitetail dressing out over 200 lbs that I got a straight on chest shot on at 200+ yards and the other was an adult doe that my 90lb 12 year old son shot broadside at 100 yards.  Both deer immediately pulled their landing gear up and went belly to the ground.  Both were dead before they hit the ground and didn't even flinch or kick after hitting the ground.  As far as recoil, my son shot a whole box practicing and had a ton of fun.  He is a tough little wrestler but he would have told me if it were uncomfortable.

I will still reload for the 7mm08 but like I say, the Fusion is good stuff.

LAZER

From a Handi-rifle?

[lonewolf5348]

I did find that my handi 7MM-08 barrel did not like to seat the bullets 10 thousands off the lands factory C.O.A.L. did group excellent
I did some testing with IMR 3031 not bad I tried slower powders like IMR 4831 group did open up ,I am going to try some IMR 4895 this spring

[dpe.ahoy]

Not sure what powders you have, might try H 414 or Varget, IMR 4350 or 4064, Ramshot powder, Hunter is another choice.  Winchester 760 is the same as H 414 if you have that one available.  DP

[Lazermule]

The Fusion was shot in a Tikka T3 Lite Syn which I believe is considerably lighter than a Handi.

For a low recoil accurate hunting load try a 120 grn Barnes X over VV N150.

LAZER

[snakeskinner]

Thanks for the replies. My friend that reloads for me has 4350 and 4064 I know. I will be buying the bullets and the dies and he will load for me. I just need to tell him what to load. I need someone that has loaded this caliber and had good results in a Handi-Rifle. I need to know the powder, the amount of powder and the bullet and your results. I can get my COL.
I have Hodgdon's page pulled up for the 7mm-08. The Hornady is going 2840 so I can select one that is ~2600 and give it a try if I need to.

[4wheeling79]

i had a heck of a time trying to get mine to shot some thing other that Rem core loks. 139 gr SST's would not shot no matter what i did factory and hand loads. I almost through this gun in the woods and left it. What i found that it would shoot really good is 140gr barnes TSX 15 thoughsands off the lands 42.5 gr's IMR 4064. 1/2 inch group @100 yds and it is devistating on hogs. The Hornady 139 gr SPBT worked good also 39-42 gr's of IMR 4064 had a good pattern. Today i just got done loading some 100 gr sierra HP with 42.2 gr's of 4064 1/2 inch groups i don't what i will shoot them at but i know i can find some kind of varmit.
since you are worried about the recoil of 140 gr i would try some 120 gr barnes TSX starting around 41 gr's of IMR 4064 and work my way up until it started shooting then play with bullet depth to fine tune it. and with that TSX bullet it will for sure murder some deer TSX bullets do not mess around they kill.

[dpe.ahoy]

Might give the Nosler BT, 120g a try.  At reduced speeds they should work well on deer and with the lighter weight would help with recoil also.  I'm going to try them in my 7-30 Waters at about the same speed you are looking for.  DP

[cwlongshot]

I haven't really shot any "lite " loads of merritt in a 708, which is my reason for the late addition here..   I LOVE the 154RN and H335 powder as a reg load though!!!

But I have loaded some up for my wife's 7-30 waters!! The excellent 120BT as dpe.ahoy, just suggested is a good bullet for this. But we have shot a couple boxes of SPEER 130Sp's and always had favorable results at the attainable velocities of the 7-30. So your "lite" '08 loads will approximate them.

BTW, If you run across any of the old Nosler solid base 120 Fps for the 7-30 Waters, stay away, they puke there cores and fail to penetrate miserably. (That was THE down fall of this line of Nosler bullets)
 
 This little rifle has shot a half dozen whitetails, couple song dogs and two 150 lb pigs.  Its also introduced three different new shooters/Hunters to the wonderful world we all love so much!! 

CW

[snakeskinner]

i had a heck of a time trying to get mine to shot some thing other that Rem core loks. 139 gr SST's would not shot no matter what i did factory and hand loads. I almost through this gun in the woods and left it. What i found that it would shoot really good is 140gr barnes TSX 15 thoughsands off the lands 42.5 gr's IMR 4064. 1/2 inch group @100 yds and it is devistating on hogs. The Hornady 139 gr SPBT worked good also 39-42 gr's of IMR 4064 had a good pattern. Today i just got done loading some 100 gr sierra HP with 42.2 gr's of 4064 1/2 inch groups i don't what i will shoot them at but i know i can find some kind of varmit.
since you are worried about the recoil of 140 gr i would try some 120 gr barnes TSX starting around 41 gr's of IMR 4064 and work my way up until it started shooting then play with bullet depth to fine tune it. and with that TSX bullet it will for sure murder some deer TSX bullets do not mess around they kill.

Thanks for the reply. This is what I am looking for.