7mm-08

[Robinsons Rebel]

Just ordered a Savage 7mm-08 for my grandson to use for the upcoming deer season. Will be using it for deer and hogs under 150 yard shots. I prefer heavier bullets myself but was wondering if someone could recommend a good bullet weight to use. I never have used this caliber myself so any feed back will be appreciated. They grow up so fast so maybe soon, he will be taking me hunting!!

[janesy]

140grn in any flavour you like. Or 120grn nosler BT.
I know you said heavy, but the 120BT has the same sized jacket as the 140. Was designed specifically for deer sized game.
I have some always loaded in 140 BT, Partition as well as the 120BT. They are like laser beams from my gun. However, I have yet to shoot a deer with the 7mm-08.

[Ankh]

We bought my nephew 1 a few years back. He had success with 150Gr. 2 deer dropped in tracks but both were close, 51 and 32 yards.

The 150Gr give him nice groupings on the range. Haven't tried any other grain yet. Really a habit, we hunt in brushy terrain and have always used 180gr in our. 308's. and when we bought his rifle the 150Gr was the only gr available so we went with it.

[wheelsquad]

Great choice in getting a 7mm-08...love that round for deer. At the distances you are talking, just about any gr bullet will do. I'd go with 140 though just because that would be most common and will not let you down.

[deadeer]

I handload 120 Nos BT for 3 different guns. We have used them for over 20 years and countless deer. No complaints.

[Driftless hunter]

Just ordered a Savage 7mm-08 for my grandson to use for the upcoming deer season. Will be using it for deer and hogs under 150 yard shots. I prefer heavier bullets myself but was wondering if someone could recommend a good bullet weight to use. I never have used this caliber myself so any feed back will be appreciated. They grow up so fast so maybe soon, he will be taking me hunting!!

Given the current market, you may be using whatever you can get & not exactly what you want.

The most common loads for a 7mm-08 Remington are 120 & 140 grains. Some will list a 139 grain for whatever reason. I assume one of the reason you chose this caliber was the lower recoil for your grandson. If that is the case, I would stick with 120 or 140 grain loads.

I have a friend who hand loaded 170 grain bullets for his 7mm Mag, but that was for a cow elk hunt out west. For deer & hogs, there's no reason to do that. When his wife uses the same gun for deer hunting, he has her shoot Remington's reduced recoil rounds (140 grains).

If a person wants the lower recoil & better trajectory of 7mm-08 Remington round, I would stick with 120-140 grain bullets. If you had a really strong desire for a heavier bullet, a .308 Winchester would have been a better choice. Most common .308 Winchester rounds are 150, 165,168, & 180 grains. I've killed a number of deer with a .308 Winchester Tikka T3 & 150 grain Remington Core Lokt rounds in recent years. Since the gun has been so accurate with cheap factory loads, I have never bothered to try anything else with it. I know better options exist, but I hunt woods (verses open fields) 95% of the time.

I would suspect a 140 grain 7mm-08 bullet would offer the same results with a little less recoil. I think you pick an awesome caliber for a youth, & they will enjoy that caliber their entire life.

[Driftless hunter]

*

[Driftless hunter]

* Sorry, accidentally posted the same thing a few times (making corrections). Didn't edit correctly! Don't know how to delete an entire post on the site?

[janesy]

I should mention the 7mm-08 is not a 7rem-mag and is often fitted with a barrel that prefers 140 and under. Not to say a heavier bullet won't work, but they were designed for siloette shooting with specific grains in mind. Of the top of my head it's goes like this due to speed capabilities.

7x57 =1:7
7mm-08 =1:8
7 remmag = 1:9.25

7mm bullets are long, so the bigger bullets really start to eat into case capacity quickly on the 7mm-08.
Chances are, you'll have best luck with a 140

[Robinsons Rebel]

140 grains is what I was looking at. I just don't know what the difference in performance between a 120 grain vs. a 140 grain. I do hunt some thick stuff at times and run across some big hogs. That's why I lean more to a heavier bullet. I even shoot 180 grains out of my 30-06. I do thank everybody for their input.

[Ankh]

Correction to my post.

We used 140gr as well, I was in broadhead mindset in my original post.

[Cat power]

The 7mm-08 is a wonderful caliber. 140 grain Nosler Accubonds work flawlessly

[XB I GO]

I have one. I use 150 grain Swift Scirroco. My family has shot over 30 animals of all sizes including African animals with that load. Nothing has been lost or needed more than 1 shot.

[CT.HNTR]

If it were me I would shy away from 120 grain loads as I prefer heavy for caliber bullets for the increased sectional density. As you are shooting at distances of 150 yards or less I feel the Nosler Partition would be ideal. You can load the 140 grain to 2,800 fps and the 150 grain to 2,700. Both would be perfectly suited for deer and hogs at the distances you are shooting.

[Boo]

I don't own one but was once fascinated with calibers and what they capable of. When I first looked for a big game gun the 270 was on the list for consideration. The 270 in 130 grain form is considered magic on medium game. I have seen the 130 grain in action on mulies and antelope and it is impressive! The 7mm 08 is however very similar in ballistics. So I would look at whatever is close to 130 grain and a 140 grain is probably it.
I ended up buying a 300 Win Mag which I regret every time I shoot it on the bench. I do not regret it when ever I shoot something with it. It is an amazing round with true authority! I owned a 280 Remington which is also close to the 7mm 08. I don't have a clue why I sold it. Every mulie and antelpe fell dead in it's tracks with Core Lokt. As soon as I bumped it up to 7mm mag speeds, the animals would run off on a square lung hit.
If I were to do it again, I would buy a 7mm 08 and shoot factory 140 grain Core Lokts and I would not be afraid to shoot moose and elk with it.