Recommendations for better terminal performance - SST and 7mm-08

[madashell]

Lots of talk back and forth but in the end no one has come up with a compelling argument against the 140gr Partition. I'm not sure that a better bullet could be designed for a wide window of impact velocities and impact media. I look at those graphics of the E-Tip and frankly the expansion at 1800 FPS is embarrassing and the 2600 FPS is barely adequate. The monos ted to be like that. The only way to improve the Partition would be to design it with a non-toxic core material to appease people who get worked up about things like that.

Partitions are usually a safe bet, I compare everything to it.

I've read in several places guys have trouble getting them to group and move on but I've never had an issue with them.

 

[Kelly Timoffee]

Just one thing to remember within all this evidence and speculation as to bullet performance.

They ALL have the potential to fail.

We mitigate the chance of loss through use of improvements through research and development and bullet design for use but nothing is fool proof.

Hunter one could use 25 varmint bullets on deer and have them work and hunter two could have his first partition fail on a moose hunt.

 

[Cleftwynd]

Hunter one could use 25 varmint bullets on deer and have them work and hunter two could have his first partition fail on a moose hunt.

You made a perfectly valid point Kelly, however I wonder if anyone has actually had a partition fail, not shooter error, or using 60 grain .224 partitions on Cape buffalo type of failure. I haven't seen or heard of it yet myself. I HAVE seen where they didn't group for a fella with the powder chosen, searing depth used, in a specific rifle, but no actual failures on game. It may have happened, many times for all I know, I would just like to know how often, if ever, it has happened.


I do expect haters or other brand loyal folks to chime in with stories about partition failures now that I asked though. I would rather see proof or experience from a trusted source.

 

[Kelly Timoffee]

Cleftwnd, in our recent threads here and not sure which one, I did read of a shooter having one fail , no evidence mind you , and yes, just one if memory serves.

Yes, I would also like to know about failures and numbers, but again if only one guy uses an A-frame and 200 use partitions it kind of wrecks our equations.

Does anybody remember which reloading manual it was that the author was using a 300WM and was pumping fragile bullets into a moose, took six if I remember?

You made a perfectly valid point Kelly, however I wonder if anyone has actually had a partition fail, not shooter error, or using 60 grain .224 partitions on Cape buffalo type of failure. I haven't seen or heard of it yet myself. I HAVE seen where they didn't group for a fella with the powder chosen, searing depth used, in a specific rifle, but no actual failures on game. It may have happened, many times for all I know, I would just like to know how often, if ever, it has happened.


I do expect haters or other brand loyal folks to chime in with stories about partition failures now that I asked though. I would rather see proof or experience from a trusted source.

 

[Nipigon Jack]

The silhouette guys wanted a tougher bullet to knock down the rams at 500 so nosler started using the jacket from the 140gr btip in the 120's. If you google cross sections of each you will see the 120 has a thicker jacked. I wanted them to shoot in my gun but after around 100 bullets fired with different powders and charges they were not a good match in my gun. The 139gr interlocks shoot under 1" for me at 200 though.

In all actuality only reason I got into the 7mm-08 was because a local shop had a model 70 supergrade with excellent wood. Had to have it. So I would just use mine for plinking and deer at the most. I have a 30-06 for anything heavier.

I also shot a box of accubonds to see how they shot. Smallest group I could get was 1.25 ish to 2"+. Always had better luck with hornady then nosler not sure why I keep buying noslers to try lol

I purchased a 7mm-08 for myself to play with but ended up setting it up for a new shooter that was joining us for the deer hunt.
I tried a couple of factory loads and chose Nosler Ballastic Tip ammo loaded with the 120 grainers. Felt recoil was significantly reduced from the 140 loads and groups were more than satisfactory for a deer rifle in Ontario. Too bad that he didn't get a chance at a deer so I could add the terminal performance of the round.
I thought it might be a little too fragile for deer but your tidbit of info has boosted my confidence in the choice.

 

[RonR]

I stopped using SST's in my 7-08 also.I found them to fragile in my experience.

Now you mention price.

How many animals does one harvest in a year?

How many shots to do load development and sight in?

I have made the move to a premium bullet for hunting as it is a very small portion of the hunting cost and if it gives me confidence what price can you put on that?

Cheap bullets vs premium at a difference of what? Maybe $0.30 or $0.40 difference per projectile.

Load a cheap projectile for practice and a premium for big game, a box of 100 will last a long time if it is just for hunting purposes.

Anything with a interlock type jacket will still meet your on game performance and be a reasonable price if you are budget minded.

The thin jacket bullets I am not so enthusiastic about but they do work for some shooters and their applications.

I will also endorse the Swift line of bullets.For me they have been super accurate and extremely dependable , on game performance is also very very good for me, knock on wood.

I use the 150gr Scirocco in my 7-08 and 7WSM, works perfect in both.The expansion vs velocity is also very broad and dependable.I do push these bullets on the upper end with W760 in both chamberings.

Concerns about accuracy are not of a huge concern here as you can pretty much get any bullet to perform well enough for hunting purposes.Between charge weights and COAL you will get your bullet of choice to meet your hunting needs.

Kelly, In our case, since I am new to reloading, we used a 100 box of SST’s learning the craft and having enough results at different amounts of Varget to find the best accuracy in our rifles by graphing the accuracy. Got a second box to create hunting loads and we harvest a couple of white tail a year. (No other bullets tried.) Right now no other species in sight but that’s opening up with fewer family commitments. Time at the range learning is key but field experience on handload performance and bullet selection is what we are shy on and that’s the reason for the topic. GREAT insight. (Truthfully we aren’t advanced enough to adjust COAL for best accuracy.)

The above being said, from what’s been posted… and from this year’s experience, a bonded bullet I believe is the best choice for us based on our circumstances. Accubonds seem to be more readily available but for mail orders I will purchase the Scirocco’s to try.

I’m going to have to research more options for locking style of bullet, Lefty’s comments and results remind me to some factory Hornady loads used before with good results and I am going to have to consider using those in the future. They worked well…but the SST’s I don’t have any confidence in and will be pulling them for paper operations in the future. A name brand change to see how they shoot in our rifles is in the cards…for now.

All the other posts have been good information and everyone’s time is appreciated. Much thanks

Regards All
Ron