7mm Do all pill in 7mm-08 and 280 rem?? whats your pick

[ackertjosh]

This is a firearms forum. Most people reading it are familiar with the technical terms for ammunition components. The little pointy things that shoot out of your rifle are called "bullets".

I have 3 7mm hunting rifles. A 7-08 (Remington), a 280 (Winchester M70) and a 7mm Rem Mag (Savage).

All are much more than is required for deer and all are plenty of gun for moose. To ease logistics I load all with the same bullet, a heavier one to minimize the lost meet on deer.

The 150 gr Accubond.

your first quote make me laugh and can understand my poor use of the name for the object. that being said I am to looking for the same affect 1 bullet that will work for everything im hunting if the firearms likes them. I did not realize there was a 150 accubond but forgive my ignorance im not a fan of there price. not saying I wouldn't spend the money but would like to look at other options. So I will look at the 150 accubond and may give them a go agaist the swift and make a decision from there. The 150 gmx is also in that wheel house but also in the higher price point so will be interesting how that pans out.

Thanks for your inut
Josh

 

[ackertjosh]

thanks all for the replies. there sure is a lot of options out there. has anyone ever tried or had hand experience with the 150GMX in any 7mm chamberings? I have enough of them to get me threw hunting season this year if load development goes as planned. that being said next year based on performance I will possibly be looking at other bullets.. this is why I am looking into things to so early... I like to plan ahead and its also nice to do load development is the name kinda conditions as we may be hunting in, in the fall. so i try to do any loads and work up around the 0-10deg cel now and then confirm in the fall. been working not for couple years and why I do these things now. saves lots of time during hunting season lol.

Thanks again and please keep the comments coming

Josh

 

[Chargerguy]

I think I’d go Barnes 145 LRX. I shoot a lot of the 150 TTSX out of my 7 Rem Mag, but for the 7-08 I’d go 145.

 

[KodiakHntr]

I went with 139gr Hornady BTSP as my initial 7mm-08 bullet.

Worked up a good load for it, IMR 4350, get good groups on paper but I've yet to take any game with that rifle.

I actually went through that first 100ct box of BTSP and so then I decided to change it up ever so slightly.

I chose 139gr Hornady SST , and it too shoots well.

I hunt predominantly for white tail right now and like the idea of a smaller bullet which won't tear up the animal so bad (I currently hunt with my 30-06)

Probably not the bullet you are looking for to reduce meat damage if you chose the SST. Those are pretty soft and tend to make a lot of bloodshot from what I have seen on whitetails. They will kill deer pretty quick, but that's due to the soft nature of the bullet.

 

[BlackRam]

My wife and I both have 7mm-08's now and our choice of bullets for these rifles are the 140 gr Sierra ProHunters and AccuBonds respectively, asthey shoot very well in these rifles.
Haven't harvested game with either rifle yet, but have used the 140 gr AccuBond in my 280 Rem for spike elk and has worked as expected.
I am shooting 140 gr AccuBonds in my 280 at the moment, but have also used the following on game from deer to elk (incl/ moose) over the years; 160 Nosler Partitions and 162 gr Hornady Interlocks. Am looking forward to trying the newer 150 gr AccuBonds in this rifle. The 165 gr Gamechanger should be a great bullet for deer and moose in your 280.
I have also used the following bullets in the 7mm Rem Mag and 7MM STW on stone's sheep, bighorn, mtn goat, antelope, whitetail and mule deer, moose, and elk with great success over the past 30 years; 160 gr AccuBonds and Partitions, 162 gr Hornady Interlocks, and 165 gr SGK's. Still using the 160 gr AccuBonds as they are the most consistent and accurate bullet in all my rifles to date, and their performance on game has been superb!
When I was doing research on the 280 Rem back in the late 80's I read an article (do not recall who wrote it or in what publication I read it, but their assessment was that the 160-165 grain bullet was the best all around bullet weight for the 7mm/.284 caliber. I have used it in several cartridges of various velocity performance levels and find it to be a great fit; both accuracy and on-game performance-wise.

As with any bullet/cartridge combination; the bullet that shoots most accurately in your rifle and is placed properly in the vitals will cleanly harvest deer and moose. And your Ontario moose is not the same animal as the mud-caked Alaskan/Yukon variety that Mr. Nosler had little success on that led to his design of the tried and true Nosler Partition. Any bullet that will cleanly harvest a tenacious whitetail will cleanly harvest a Canadian moose (who are relative wimps in the tenacity department).

And remember, the bullet does all the work and is the least expensive component of any successful hunt and rifle/cartridge combination.

 

[WhelanLad]

hey ive heard woodleigh are reasonably priced over there, they do a 140gr and a 160gr ppsn in 7mm ..... one for the 7-08 and one for the 280... or ideally both 140grainers, best of velocity and trajectory and oomph...minimal recoil.

i use the 140gr in my 7-08 on 'larger deer' similiar to elk say, with no issues at all...
ive also used 139gr horn interlocks which seems very common in btsp and would say they are ideal on whitetail an likely well priced to shoot anything under mooses, theyl do it in the 7-08 with a placed shot though it is still a cup core... woodleighs r bonded.

if the 28- is for lr, accubonds r awesome, scirrocos...same ketle of fish, an great up close...
hooroo from aus

 

[billbmcleod]

I usually choose a 140 gr bullet for my 7-08's seems to be a good compromise between velocity and energy

I have tried quite a few different brands/weights of bullets in my 7-08 but the best accuracy was always a 140/139 gr. Sierra Pro Hunter or Partitions shoot about the same on paper but I have not had enough experience with them on moose to say which is better. Pro Hunters are cheaper but Partitions are well...............Partitions.
I tried the 154 gr Hornady Interbonds but I could not get a real accurate load but of course that is just the ones I tried.
By the way it was a 700 I was using.

 

[Ltbull01]

For me, I'd go with a 139LRX in the 7-08 and 145 LRX in the 280. By way of a comparison, if you can call it that, the they would both perform like a 160NP.

 

[chrismc]

7-08 & 140 accubond has worked for us - accurate and hard hitting - never had one break up. Deer, bear, moose all fell, no tracking.
Would like to try one behind a stout load of 6.5 StaBall and see if the advertised velocities are obtainable!
Our load is 46 H414, very accurate. Outperformed the other powders.

 

[elkhuntr]

If you choose non leaded in a 7-08 choose either 120 or 140gr TSX variants for shots within 200 yards. Outside of that...the 140 Partition is your standard to weigh against all others IMO. Going heavier in the 7-08 may not be necessary and consider the boiler room in this cartridge vs performance. If you want penetration all of the above will perform in deer to moose. Elky.

 

[john-brennan]

I use 140gr accubonds for both myself, with good shot placement that should be all you need and consistently very accurate in all my 7mm rifles

 

[quattro.pilot]

Probably not the bullet you are looking for to reduce meat damage if you chose the SST. Those are pretty soft and tend to make a lot of bloodshot from what I have seen on whitetails. They will kill deer pretty quick, but that's due to the soft nature of the bullet.

Hmm, ok man duly noted . I'll definitely keep your experience in mind, thanks for the insight

 

[RonR]

Lots of great suggestions here Josh.

I've had really good luck with the federal 140 tbt. Killed a large moose with them last year. Hit it twice, recovered both bullets and they both held up really well. Even after going through very heavy bone. They also shoot great. 2.5" on the 500y gong. They're moving along at 2825fps out of my 7-08

This is my favourite to date, but results only in 7/08. I have some field results posted here somewhere if you are interested complete with some ballistics IIRC. I like the Accubond 140, but the Trophy Bonded Tip results were so impressive.

Probably not the bullet you are looking for to reduce meat damage if you chose the SST. Those are pretty soft and tend to make a lot of bloodshot from what I have seen on whitetails. They will kill deer pretty quick, but that's due to the soft nature of the bullet.

From my experience, couldn't agree more with Kodiak. Superb on paper though.

Put the Scirocco in both, I use it in many rifles, you won't need anything else.

hey ive heard woodleigh are reasonably priced over there, they do a 140gr and a 160gr ppsn in 7mm ..... one for the 7-08 and one for the 280... or ideally both 140grainers, best of velocity and trajectory and oomph...minimal recoil.

i use the 140gr in my 7-08 on 'larger deer' similiar to elk say, with no issues at all...

if the 28- is for lr, accubonds r awesome, scirrocos...same ketle of fish, an great up close...
hooroo from aus

The above two selections is what I will derive a load for and try when I come across them at a reasonable price or availability. The Federal TBT doesn't need to prove anything more for me, but I can't help myself and need develop another load. I know where a box of the Woodleigh 140s are for sale and I am so tempted.

Again, lots of good suggestions posted. Enjoy developing and just send some!

Ron

 

[riversrest]

I was not able to get a 7-08 to shoot nice until reloading with 120gr "pills". It shoots nice from there on everything but the moon.

 

[ackertjosh]

Thanks all again!! the info is really overwhelming. It seems a lot of you are mentioning the same or same style of bullet and in todays world there are so many choices from standard cup n core to bonded to solid coppers and the combination of both. I do want to stay away from the cup n core(mainly for my own reasons even though I have killed plenty of moose with a 6.5x55 and standard WIN SuperX)….. but with better more suitable options available I feel its good to be prepared from the worst shot possible without getting to hard of bullet that will just wiz threw a deer without dumping energy. Most shots are going to be within 250yards and 300 max and may not push it any further if I don't have to.

After reading everything everyone has to say and appreciate everyone's input I will try the 150GMX, 140 Trophy Bonded tip, 155 Federal Terminal Ascent( Designed like the TBT but a BC of .586 and a slower opening speed) and then the 150 Swift( hard to find here and well over 1.25 a bullet ordered to the door) and then the 150 Accubond. Im hoping the 150 GMX works well but like Ron R said I also have an itch to play and experiment with different bullets lol I swear its a disease lol, but thankfully Im fortunate enough to have my own range so I can go whenever life give me the chance.

Thanks again for all the replies and is much appreciated!!!

Josh

 

[KodiakHntr]

The 139 GMX is a pretty good choice in the 7/08 as well. GF used that one in hers to break shoulders on a couple of elk at better than 250 yards, and they exited.

 

[A-zone]

I had excellent success with the 140 grain Barnes Triple Shocks out of a 7 x 57 with an upper end load of H414. This bullet took several head of African plains game (including kudu) as well as bull elk back home.

Because monometal bullets like the Barnes TSX and Hornady GMX are longer than similar weight bullets containing lead, you may run into expansion problems if you go heavy (long) monometal bullets at long distances. I tried 350 grain TSX bullets in the .375 H&H only to find that expansion was less impressive than expected (on animals between 2,000 and 3,000 pounds). Penetration was still excellent.

The lesson learned is to err on the lighter side with expanding monometal bullets (130 gr. or 140 gr. 7mm bullets rather than 150 gr.) to maximize the chances of expansion at longer distances.

If you want to go with a slightly heavier bullet in the .280, a 150 grain bonded bullet (Interbond, Accubond or Swift A-Frame) would be an excellent choice. My own experience on game includes the A-Frames and South African “Rhino” bullets. Both bonded with a heavy partition.


Recovered from game:
Left to right: 400 gr. A-Frame (buffalo), 400 gr. TSX (eland), 350 gr. TSX (giraffe), 380 gr. “Rhino” (giraffe) elk ivory (for scale), 130 gr. Rhino (whitetail), 130 gr. TSX (blesbok) - the one and only TSX that was recovered out of more than a dozen head of plains game. All the rest passed through the animals (most were “bang flop” kills. One impala took a few hops before keeling over).

 

[1899]

I really like Partitions because they always work. Not new and fancy, but extreme reliability is, IMO, unmatched by any other bullet.

A 140 or 150 is just about perfect for those cartridges.

 

[WhelanLad]

I was not able to get a 7-08 to shoot nice until reloading with 120gr "pills". It shoots nice from there on everything but the moon.

have you loaded the sierra pro hunter 120s?
i did but would be nice to hear from other users, especially if you;ve shot some game with them>
i shot some fallow deer and one sambar hind..

 

[riversrest]

The Barnes. Thought the rifle would not like boat tails at first which was not the case.