7mm08 deer loads

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linderhof

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This is a new round for me so wondering what people are using as a bullet for whitetail? I use a 7 mag for moose but dont think the 160's i load for that are the best choice. Thinking of Hornady 139 interlocks? What have you had success with in your 7-08 ?
 
I use a 7x57, but the 7-08 is close enough to that for a fair comparison. I've had Hornady's come apart at close range and high velocity, so I use Nosler partitions most of the time now just to prevent that. I already have a good stockpile of 140's, but if I were starting over again I'd probably go with 150's. The difference in trajectory is so small it's not worth considering, and I like the idea of a little extra bullet weight and sectional density. I've got some 154 gr. Hornady's, but haven't shot anything with them yet... they might hold together better than the lighter bullets. In terms of sectional density the 154 gr. 7mm is the equivalent of a 180 gr. 30 cal, and the velocity is about equivalent to a .30-06 as well.
 
Personally I wont use Hornady bullets anymore, had three fail on three deer this year from my 270. For my 7mm08 I am using accubonds for deer, very good deer bullet. Partition would most likely be best as it will perform admirably at most any speed or distance.
 
If you want the creme-de-la-creme and have the extra weight you want there is the Swift Scirocco II in 150gr with I believe a .515 BC. I haven't recovered from animals shot with but I have dug them out of the sand and they retained no less than 135 grains on the ones I recovered.I have had them grouping very well as far as 700 yards, so they do perform.

I have had excellent results with these bullets and great accuracy.

However 140's do seem to be very good as well.

I have stopped using SST's and won't use anything similar anymore due to fragmentation, I am sticking with and would suggest something bonded or monolithic or partitioned.

H4350 and W760 have given me my best results to date.

If you get a 140 going 2800ft/sec or more at the muzzle you will have plenty of punch and at good distances with good accuracy and a pleasure to shoot.
 
Some scary reviews of the SST. Never shot an animal with one in a rifle but seen some ok performance out of a muzzle loader. Not a fair comparison though. The Hornady Interlock is more what I was thinking of. No objection to going with a partition though as i used them for many years myself. What do people think of 150 vs 140 gr. In the 7-08 ?
 
150 Sierra game kings at 2700fps with Varget. .75 MOA in my rem 700, but after shooting my elk at 200 yards this year, right behind the shoulder and finding a 30gr lead core by the opposite back quarter, I am looking at the swift scirroco 2's
 
Any hunting bullet from 140 grains and up will be able to kill a deer at 7-08 velocities at reasonable ranges. It's been done for decades.

If you like Hornadys, try them out and choose the load that shoots best. You might even find that a 175-grain Hornady shoots best out of your particular rifle. Even a bullet like that will cleanly kill deer out to 300 yards at 7-08 velocities. A friend of mine has shot a truckload of deer with his various 7-08s and 175-grain Hornady SPs, and those bullets hit hard, drove through the animals and put them down. He's also used 140s and 154s.

For moose and elk, you need to be a little more particular about bullet construction and weight, but for deer you can really go with the hunting bullet that shoots best out of your particular 7-08.
 
139gr. Hornady BTSP's, Varget, and good times.
Other slugs to try would be the 130gr. Speed BT, especially if load back a bit, and the 145gr. Speer BT.
Again Varget is pretty tough to beat, but other good powders are 4064, 4895, 4320
 
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