Slow 7mm-08?
- Thread starter Xs24-7
- Start date
I myself love the 7mm-08, but don't consider it a long range round. But for big game out to 300 yards it's ideal for younger hunters and recoil sensitive shooters. I get around 2750 out of my son's 7mm X-bolt with 20" barrel. Very accurate load sub moa.
100-200fps isn't going to be noticed by the animal if shot placement is good.
If you can find it..... try Ramshot Big Game, Nosler Brass, Federal Primer Nosler 140 Accubond. Starting load 43.5...and work up from there to max load for your rifle, I am sure you will be pleased with results.
Nosler has it listed as most accurate powder.
data.nosler.com/load-data/7mm-08-remington/
100-200fps isn't going to be noticed by the animal if shot placement is good.
If you can find it..... try Ramshot Big Game, Nosler Brass, Federal Primer Nosler 140 Accubond. Starting load 43.5...and work up from there to max load for your rifle, I am sure you will be pleased with results.
Nosler has it listed as most accurate powder.
data.nosler.com/load-data/7mm-08-remington/
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One thing to keep in mind - a lot of people (self included), when we start loading, chase that elusive critter called the fps. Any deer you shoot at will never notice the difference. My advice (and that of a lot of wiser men than I) is to find the most accurate load for your rifle. Then, practice, practice, practice. Once you know your rifle and ammo combo, you'll be able to reach out just as far. A few hundred fps might mean holding a few inches higher, but you'll still be confident that your shot will hit the boiler room. If you plan on doing some long-range hunting, get yourself a good rangefinder and memorize your ballistics tables.
I don't shoot as much now as I did years ago. Time was, I could bring down a critter with a 308 further than 99.5% of hunters with a 7mm or 300 WM, because I knew my rifle and its ballistics intimately.
I don't shoot as much now as I did years ago. Time was, I could bring down a critter with a 308 further than 99.5% of hunters with a 7mm or 300 WM, because I knew my rifle and its ballistics intimately.
Varget seems to never give the most FPS, but is often very accurate. To perk it up look at RL17, CFE223, Ramshot BigGame,
OP,
There are many factors that could make your load seem slow the way you calculated your velocity.
1. the simplest answer...it is slow. Try H414, It get's the fastest results in Hornady #9 with 139, 154, 162, and 175gr bullets. I'm matching book velocity with book loads even though I have a 22" barrel vs 24" book barrel. 150gr at 2800fps around 1MOA
2. The scope height in the ballistic program can make a .2 to .3 MOA difference between the distances you used as a reference. Check your scope height exactly(higher scope=less drop). Many calculators assume 2" over bore center to center of scope. Mine is 1.67" in med rings. You stated low rings so this could introduce error in the ballistic calculator.
3. Your clicks may be 1/4" vs 1/4 MOA. I checked Nikon's website. They state 1/4MOA in the scope description but if you click on specs they list 1/4inch.
4. Nosler's BC. I can find Brian Litz reverse engineered BC for .284 120gr B-tip and 150gr B-tip. Nosler over estimates them by 7 and 12% average overestimate 9% applied to the 140gr that would reduce the actual BC to about .445
5. Barrel length...velocity loss per inch is widely variable depending largely on powder. I tested 20 Hornady Light Mag over a chronograph. If all my losses were due to barrel length its a scary proposition. 10 BTSP LM averaged 260fps lower than Hornady's advertised 24" barrel and 10 SST LM averaged 212fps slower. That's extreme and probably more due to advertising hype than 2" shorter barrel. However 7-08 is widely available in 24" barrels and many websites like Nosler use a 26" or longer test barrel usually custom. You could easily loose 100fps due to 2" of barrel length with one powder and not lose a thing with another.
All these little factors together could be adding up to make you think you are getting abnormaly slow velocities. If you put them all into an accurate calculator like JBM ie. true scope height difference, inch clicks, true BC, and approximate velocity 100fps lower than book. You might be very close to your real world results.
My friend and I load for 4 7-08's a Rem700, an X-bolt, and 2 Tikka's. All 22" barrels, none have achieved desired velocity with Varget.
In short I agree with the popular answers given. Check with your chronograph and try different powder..H414 or if you dont want ball powder IMR4895 or IMR4350
There are many factors that could make your load seem slow the way you calculated your velocity.
1. the simplest answer...it is slow. Try H414, It get's the fastest results in Hornady #9 with 139, 154, 162, and 175gr bullets. I'm matching book velocity with book loads even though I have a 22" barrel vs 24" book barrel. 150gr at 2800fps around 1MOA
2. The scope height in the ballistic program can make a .2 to .3 MOA difference between the distances you used as a reference. Check your scope height exactly(higher scope=less drop). Many calculators assume 2" over bore center to center of scope. Mine is 1.67" in med rings. You stated low rings so this could introduce error in the ballistic calculator.
3. Your clicks may be 1/4" vs 1/4 MOA. I checked Nikon's website. They state 1/4MOA in the scope description but if you click on specs they list 1/4inch.
4. Nosler's BC. I can find Brian Litz reverse engineered BC for .284 120gr B-tip and 150gr B-tip. Nosler over estimates them by 7 and 12% average overestimate 9% applied to the 140gr that would reduce the actual BC to about .445
5. Barrel length...velocity loss per inch is widely variable depending largely on powder. I tested 20 Hornady Light Mag over a chronograph. If all my losses were due to barrel length its a scary proposition. 10 BTSP LM averaged 260fps lower than Hornady's advertised 24" barrel and 10 SST LM averaged 212fps slower. That's extreme and probably more due to advertising hype than 2" shorter barrel. However 7-08 is widely available in 24" barrels and many websites like Nosler use a 26" or longer test barrel usually custom. You could easily loose 100fps due to 2" of barrel length with one powder and not lose a thing with another.
All these little factors together could be adding up to make you think you are getting abnormaly slow velocities. If you put them all into an accurate calculator like JBM ie. true scope height difference, inch clicks, true BC, and approximate velocity 100fps lower than book. You might be very close to your real world results.
My friend and I load for 4 7-08's a Rem700, an X-bolt, and 2 Tikka's. All 22" barrels, none have achieved desired velocity with Varget.
In short I agree with the popular answers given. Check with your chronograph and try different powder..H414 or if you dont want ball powder IMR4895 or IMR4350
One overlooked component that I think can affect velocity is the actual bullet diameter. And, the differences could be the opposite as to what one may think. When you moly coat bullets, the muzzle velocity is reported to go down by 200 fps or so. The reason is that the slippery bullet does not allow the pressure to build up as much, and you have to add powder to restore velocity. Just a WAG but I would think there may be a similar issue with just simple bullet diameter. Many assume all bullets of the same caliber are the same nominal size. They are not. For other reasons I ended up measuring the diameters of the .264 bullets I have on hand. The results:
Speer 87 grain spitzer - 0.2630
Nosler 120 grain spitzer - 0.2634
Sierra 100 grain HP - 0.2636
Nosler 140 grain partition - 0.2636
Sierra 140 grain spitzer - 0.2638
Sierra 107 grain MatchKing - 0.2640
Lapua Scenar 108 grain - 0.2642
So, just thinking that bullet diameter variation from the load data testing to actual bullets used might be responsible for some of the velocity variation...
Speer 87 grain spitzer - 0.2630
Nosler 120 grain spitzer - 0.2634
Sierra 100 grain HP - 0.2636
Nosler 140 grain partition - 0.2636
Sierra 140 grain spitzer - 0.2638
Sierra 107 grain MatchKing - 0.2640
Lapua Scenar 108 grain - 0.2642
So, just thinking that bullet diameter variation from the load data testing to actual bullets used might be responsible for some of the velocity variation...
Yea thats a bit POKEY for that load 44 grs is a WARM load and your velocity should be better - more like 2850 fps I have a 7-08 now and have had many- I have found RL17 and H414 (ww760) to be the BEST powders in MY 7-08 s - jmo R
john-brennan
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7-08
I get 2925fps with 48gr H4350 and very accurate. Max load 22'' barrel.
I get 2925fps with 48gr H4350 and very accurate. Max load 22'' barrel.
Ya I definitely agree with you guys, a new powder may get me some more velocity. However the Varget load is quite accurate so I'm not complaining. 44 grains is over max in most books, IIRC it is at max in Hodgdon. No pressure signs or case head expansion in my rifle though.
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Quickload says a 140gr VLD over 44grs Varget, 22" pipe that is making 2770 fps = 55,000psi
max should be approx 62,000-65,000
Well despite lots of views to the contrary my definition of 'Maximum Load' is a load that does not exceed maximum published data from a reputable source while employing identical components AND that does not exhibit pressure signs. If you are not satisfied with the performance at that level...get another cartridge/rifle combination.
I understand your view however your conclusion would be my step 2 with step 1 being try a different book load with better listed results to see if you can duplicate those results in your rifle... If repeating step 1 over and over gets too tiresome or expensive then proceed to step 2.
Case in point with my 7-08. I'm a RL-15 fanboy but when looking through many manuals as well as seeing my friends disappointing results I switched to H414 and voila desired results within the tested limits of my load manual.
Give it a good try before selling the rifle or rechambering
