120 TTSX in 7mm-08, experiences

Kelly Timoffee

Kelly Timoffee

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I have loaded more 7-08 ammo then I have had hot meals, well maybe not, I have had a lot of hot meals.

Anyways , I have never loaded a 120 TTSX in a 7/08.

Just wondering how well they have worked for others.

I am assuming I can get 3050 ft/sec ish out of it and still excellent accuracy.

This load will be intended for a white tail/mule deer remedy and with moderate recoil.

Just wondering how well they have been working, failures?

How say you ?
 
Shouldn't be any problem with those bullets in the 7-08, probably a perfect match really.
I have too many 7mm's and have decided to dedicate each cartridge to a specific bullet weight range. With the 7-08 that is now 100-130gr (premium bullets, bonded/solid) as I can push those 3000fps+ easy, and they perform very well from varmint to deer... devastating really, low recoil.
140gr-170gr cheap cup/core for the old 7x57, it's the right velocity for these types of bullets, they hold together and penetrate well, deer, black bear, moose if it's dense bush.
160gr+ the 7mm Rem Mag, again pushing premium bullets 3000fps for anything big, it will do the job.
 
I like my Swifts in a few 7mm chamberings, they do everything.Yes, 150's in 7-08 too.

However, this one is not for me and need to have an effective bullet and mild manners at the butt end as well.

Hitzy said:
Shouldn't be any problem with those bullets in the 7-08, probably a perfect match really.
I have too many 7mm's and have decided to dedicate each cartridge to a specific bullet weight range. With the 7-08 that is now 100-130gr (premium bullets, bonded/solid) as I can push those 3000fps+ easy, and they perform very well from varmint to deer... devastating really, low recoil.
140gr-170gr cheap cup/core for the old 7x57, it's the right velocity for these types of bullets, they hold together and penetrate well, deer, black bear, moose if it's dense bush.
160gr+ the 7mm Rem Mag, again pushing premium bullets 3000fps for anything big, it will do the job.
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I would do a 120gr nosler bt instead of a mono. Range will be able to be pushed farther out with them as well. Plus they have a thicker jacket then the 140's so they are less "explosive"
 
KT, My grandson is 13 now and has grown quite a bit since I built his 223 Rem on a Model 7 action. I loaded it with the Barnes monolithics and it took a couple of Deer cleanly.

This year for his birthday I presented him with a Model 7 in 7-08. We spent several days on it putting it into an aftermarket synthetic stock, bedding it properly, attaching scope mounts/rings and lapping them true. He was very proud of the end result. The scope finally showed up after a couple of weeks of waiting, a worn but freshly overhauled by KORTH Leupold VXII, 3X9X40mm with a one inch tube. We tried the 139 grain Hornady Interbonds and they were very accurate his rifle but he is of slender stature and found the recoil to be more than he could handle at decent velocities.

OK, we decided on the Barnes 120 gr TTSX BT. Beautiful bullets. Very aerodynamic and with the usual "bands" that most monolithic bullets have to reduce friction and fouling. We found that these bullets were almost as long as the 139 IBs. We worked up a load for it and were a bit concerned at first because the rifle didn't start to produce decent groups until we approached the listed maximum load. It was one of those cases where the faster we pushed it the more accurate the mix became. We finally settled on 46.0 grains of W748 over CCI 250 primers which produces just over 2900 fps out of his rifle.

We found that the bullets like to be seated about .050in off the lands for best accuracy, sub moa groups. .005 off the lands produced 2moa groups.

This is what happened with his Mule Deer buck during youth season. He shot the Deer at close to 200 yards, just behind the fore leg and the bullet passed through both lungs. The Deer raised its head and in the excitement of the moment he shot it again about 3 inches from the first shot. The Deer stumbled about 60 yards and piled up.

Both bullets passed all the way through and weren't recoverable. Both bullets hit ribs going in and out. The hole in the onside rib was exactly the same diameter as the bullet The path through both lungs showed that the bullet had expanded to about twice its original size before it hit the offside rib, which was broken off. The offside hole in the hide was just over a half inch in diameter. My suspicion is that these bullets may not expand enough at ranges over 300-350 yards when velocity has fallen off.

I have used the Barnes 130gr TTSX bullets in my 6.5x55 as well. They are accurate but I haven't hunted with them. One other thing to mention, in all three cartridges I have loaded the monolithics into, 223 rem/6.5x55/7-08, when the bullets were seated in the case mouth on the middle band they were at or very close to the sweet spot. Maybe it has more to do with how they are held in the case neck than how far they are seated from the leade?????

This rifle shoots this bullet very well. Others may not.
 
There was a you tube video of a moose taken with a 120ttsx out of a 7-08. They showed the damage and it was impressive.

I'm loading 150ABLR's at about 2000fps for my kid's low recoil load.
 
Good post Bearhunter. I'd like to go through the same development with stock bedding etc. but too old to adopt :)

Anyone ever try the 120 Sierra Prohunter for hunting with 7-08? Hometown has knowledge with the 120 BT's. The only other offering I could find was Sierra at that weight.

(I've read some consumer feedback which is very positive for accuracy and terminal performance regarding the Prohunters. The 140 flat base were surprisingly accurate during fire forming for us here in our 7-08's :eek:)

Ron
 
swissrallyman said:
I got great accuracy with 43.5 gr Varget, just over 3000 fps
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I use the exact same load in my Sako 85 SS which I got this last spring. It has a 22" barrel but I'm only getting about 2900 FPS but I just have a less expensive ProChronny so who knows how accurate it is. I was very anxious tio see what it could do on deer. Last weekend two deer with it, a WT and a mulie. One was a head shot at 70 yards (no other choice except up the butt); the other a top of the shoulder shot at a hundred yards. Both deer dropped on the spot. Exit wound on the head shot was about the size of a nickel. The shoulder shot deer was about the same. There was zero meat damage on the shoulder shot deer. You can basically eat right up to the wound channel. I was told by others shooting at the shoulder is the ideal sopot because that deer won't be going anywhere too soon which was the case with mine.

I also have a box of 110 gr. which I'm going to work a load up for next year just to see what kind of velocity I can get with it. Thinking about using some RL 17.

On another note, I've been very impressed with the 130 gr. TTSX (49.1 gr. of Varget) I've used in my .308. The one deer I've shot with that load dropped like a sac of potatoes, too.

The accuracy speaks for itself,,,,should have read 2905 FPS:

 
120 TTSX over 50 gr of H414 has given me 3050 fps and will be what my wife is shooting for draw moose. With any luck I will have a report on what the terminal performance will be like. They shoot about 1 MOA. I will load this exclusively from now on. I also loaded some 120 Nosler BT and the POI is just about exactly the same as the 120 TTSX.
 
I havn't tried the tipped version, but I have loaded the 120 TSX over R15 for my M70 7mm-08. The two deer I used it on were both suitably impressed. I have used the same bullet in the 7rsaum at roughly 400fps faster, and they continue to impress.
 
I'm running the 120 ttsx in the two 20" barrelled 7-08's pushed by 49.50gr of h4350. Under 3/4 moa, terminal performance is ok on deer, except exit wounds aren't very big and don't leak much.
 
Silvertip13 said:
I'm running the 120 ttsx in the two 20" barrelled 7-08's pushed by 49.50gr of h4350. Under 3/4 moa, terminal performance is ok on deer, except exit wounds aren't very big and don't leak much.
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I have found the same- penetration is fantastic, but I've never had a bang-flop, and they don't leave much of a blood trail, at all. I have found this to be true with the 120's launched at 2950 in the 7mm-08, or 3350 from the rsaum. To be fair- if you break down the running gear, the critter isn't going to be hard to find, but if you take lung shots, you might consider a different bullet.
 
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