Your favourite 7MM bullet

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new210/22

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I am getting started working up loads for my new to me 7mm08 Rem Model Seven. I just did a run of Sierra Game kings 140g spitzer. I was not too impressed at 2.5 moa. I will be bedding the rifle before I get out there again but I am seeking recommendations for bullet options. Yes, I am seeking the impossible combination of cheap but accurate and reliable stopping power as this will be a hunting rifle taking medium game.




AAAAAND GO!
 
I load for two different 7-08 Remington Model 7 rifles. Luckily neither of them are fussy. I load the 129 grn TTSX Barnes monolithics with 45.5 grains of W748 over CCI 250 primers. I get very good velocities with this load and they are both sub moa performers with it.

The other load I use is the 139 grn Hornady SST Interlock over 49 grains of W760 over CCI 250 primers. This is a very stout load and IMHO maximum for this case. Start at least 5 grains lower and work up to it. In both of these rifles this load shoot into moa groups at 100 yds as well and out of a 22 in bbl gives around 2750 fps measured velocities. Just before all of the howls of how lousy an SST bullet holds together, last weekend a two point WT buck was shot at just over 300 yds with one of these bullets. The bullet passed all the way through after going through both shoulder blades and a rib. The bullet was recovered from a round hay bale that was behind the buck about 6 inches into the hay. I weighed that bullet and even though it shed its jacket the lead core still retained 89.3 grains of weight and measured .732 in across. I found this interesting as it's the first SST Interlock I have been able to recover for measurement.
 
I'm thinking that if 2.5" is the best it will do with Sierras Gamekings its time to work on the gun. They are a forgiving bullet for a boat tail and if a rifle doesn't like them it isn't looking good. You can stack the odds in your favor a bit more by trying the Prohunter. If a rifle won't shoot a flat base Sierra there's something wrong with it.

Best combination of good and cheap is likely the 139 gr Hornady Interlock.
 
175gr Sierra SBT at 2450 fps MV in my Zastava LKM70 .275 Rigby (7x57) -

https://www.sierrabullets.com/store/product.cfm/sn/1940/284-dia-7mm-175-gr-SBT

Z98_7x57_FS_a_zps8ychyopx.jpg

Zastava LKM70 .275 Rigby with Bushnell Legend Ultra HD 1.75-5x32mm scope
 
I've found the 139 gr Hornady interlock bullets in either flat base or boat tail to be pretty accurate in most rifles and adequate for deer sized game with the flat base bullets holding together a bit better. H4895 seems to be a powder that is liked by most 7-08's in various charges depending on the rifle.
 
This 100% ,

I have NEVER had a Sierra bullet not give good to excellent accuracy.

What are the rest of the load details?

Please do proper load work up.

Also remember what accuracy is needed and practical for a hunting rig, if you get down to 1-1.5 MOA that still give you a 4.5" zone to hit at 300 yards which is about 5% of hunting shot situations in this country.

Don't feel you need clover leafs to have a good hunting load, but it is nice to pull off sometimes.

Also , that model seven barrel is like a McDonald's straw , what is your shooting procedure?Time between shots, cool down times etc...?

Sry, my favorite game bullet is the Swift Scirocco II , 7mm 150gr.


Dogleg said:
I'm thinking that if 2.5" is the best it will do with Sierras Gamekings its time to work on the gun. They are a forgiving bullet for a boat tail and if a rifle doesn't like them it isn't looking good. You can stack the odds in your favor a bit more by trying the Prohunter. If a rifle won't shoot a flat base Sierra there's something wrong with it.

Best combination of good and cheap is likely the 139 gr Hornady Interlock.
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Some more info.
I loaded a spread of varget with the bullet 20 thou off the lands. Working a .3 grain spread from min to max load. Due to the fog at the range yesterday I only got through half my loads giving 5-10 minutes between shots. I am not giving up on the spitzers, just looking to the future. I am getting about 4.5 to 5 inches at 200 so far
 
I also have to say, if Sierras aren't working out, you probably have other issues. Don't waste other bullets till you have your issues figured out and you can get the Gamekings to shoot.
 
hunter5425 said:
I've found the 139 gr Hornady interlock bullets in either flat base or boat tail to be pretty accurate in most rifles and adequate for deer sized game with the flat base bullets holding together a bit better. H4895 seems to be a powder that is liked by most 7-08's in various charges depending on the rifle.
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Don't tell the two moose and one elk that the bullets are only adequate for deer sized game. They didn't seem to notice any difference and in all three cases the bullets weren't recoverable because they did complete pass throughs after hitting ribs. In the case of the elk the bullet hit a rib going in and smashed one in half on its way out the other side.

Sierra Game Kings are very accurate bullets in MOST rifles. Not all. In my limited experience with them they don't like chambers with long throats. This is one of the issue with boat tail bullets that many overlook. The old surplus 303 British rifles are OK with boat tails but are at their best with flat based bullets. Some will shoot both well. Same goes for other calibers and rifles. I know it can be expensive but if you can try flat base bullets in the weight you want to shoot it may cure your accuracy issues. Then again, without seeing your rifle up close and personal maybe not.

Last week a fellow with a similar experience came over complaining his rifle would shoot no matter what he did. It all looked ok until we looked at the Leupold one piece scope base. The rifle was a Remington 700 and usually the bases fit pretty well. I pulled off the scope, much to the disdain of the owner, who claimed he had shot over 50 rounds to get the rifle to where it was. Didn't bother to clean it either. I loosened off the rear mount screws and it popped up .022 in by the feeler gauges. Can you say distortion of the scope body and parallax up the hoop??? We made up a couple of shims and reassembled everything. Next day at the range, with the owner shooting, his groups went down from several inches to a minute and a half with factory ammo. We also cleaned the rifle, which was badly fouled with metal and carbon residue.

My guess is something is wrong besides your bullets.
 
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The OP was asking about medium sized game so I gave my opinion based on my experiences with those bullets and game class . I've never used them on bigger animals like moose or elk so I didn't offer an opinion though I have used 180 gr interlocks for my 300WM with good results. I don't believe you need a boutique bullet to take game but I try to comment only on bullets I've used in a particular situation and game.
 
new210/22 said:
I am getting started working up loads for my new to me 7mm08 Rem Model Seven. I just did a run of Sierra Game kings 140g spitzer. I was not too impressed at 2.5 moa. I will be bedding the rifle before I get out there again but I am seeking recommendations for bullet options. Yes, I am seeking the impossible combination of cheap but accurate and reliable stopping power as this will be a hunting rifle taking medium game.

AAAAAND GO!
Click to expand...

If your gun doesn't shoot Sierra's I also think that you will have your work cut out for you.
Two things : You did not mention what the rife was and we don't know what your shooting abilities are.
Playing around with powders that don't show potential from the get go is a waste of time and money.

my observations about the 7-08 is It's a tough caliber to make shoot well if it doesn't show potential from the beggining.
Don't glass bed it until someone with experience looks at the gun first. Come back and update us or ask more questions after you know more.
Cheers
bb
 
Best bullet in my 7mm/08 for deer sized game is the 145gr Speer SBT. max load of WW 760 gets me 2898 ft/sec and great accuracy.
 
swissrallyman said:
120 ttsx, 44gr Varget, 3020 fps, sub moa in my 7-08 Rem 700. Work up to that load..
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I'm using the same components but the sweet spot for my Sako 85 SS rifle (22" barrel) is at 43.5 gr. of Varget with the 120 gr. TTSX. It should read 2905 Fps,,,,wrote it down incorrectly. 44 gr. would likely push me past the upper limit in my rifle. I recently got a box of 110 gr. TTSX,,,want to see if I can get the FPS up over 3100.

3 shot grouping:

 
bigbull said:
If your gun doesn't shoot Sierra's I also think that you will have your work cut out for you.
Two things : You did not mention what the rife was and we don't know what your shooting abilities are.
Playing around with powders that don't show potential from the get go is a waste of time and money.

my observations about the 7-08 is It's a tough caliber to make shoot well if it doesn't show potential from the beggining.
Don't glass bed it until someone with experience looks at the gun first. Come back and update us or ask more questions after you know more.
Cheers
bb
Click to expand...


As mentioned in my first post its a Remington model seven in 7mm08. As far as shooting ability i can hit sub half moa with my bolt action 223 that i did load development for. As far as not bedding the rifle why would you suggest holding off on that? Its cheap, easy, and effective almost always.
 
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