7mm-08 120 NBT vs 140 NBT

[DustyGmt]

So opening day begins next weekend in Vermont and I had settled on 140 gr NBT's for hunting and got my rifle sighted in for those and then I started poking around online and hearing from different people that they preferred the 120's over the 140's so I ordered 2 boxes of them from Nosler and they took forever to ship and will probably not arrive til mid week. I also noticed that wherever I happened to go that sold ammo, more than a few places, were always out of stock on the 120gr fusions and NBT. 7mm08 is often pretty scarce where I go but there is always some, never 120's.

My concern is, worst case scenario I dont have time to sight in with the new ammo, should I expect a pretty significant shift in POI? I'm guessing it likely will.

I could not get 140gr nosler partitions to group well to save my life (3-4moa), all over the place possibly bad batch of ammo but I pretty much ruled out user error with several trips, the 140gr BT did better, maybe 1.25moa. I have some 150gr Federal PSP's that grouped really well (MOA or better) out of my compact American and I'm wondering if I should just stick with those, where I plan to sit overlooks a powerline and my shot could stretch. Another reason I liked the sound of the lighter 120's.

My bbl is 18" 1/8.5 twist iirc. Any suggestions. I will more than likely find a small swath of time to go sight in I just didnt know if it would be an absolutely bad idea to carry the substantially lighter loads into the woods without testing them....?

 

[LNF150]

I reload so the loads are tweaked to my gun. It seemed to me that running 150 gr. lapua and 41.0 grs of big game grouped an 1" above the bulleye and 2 1/2" above using 120 gr nbt and 48 gr of b.g. loads w/o any scope adjustment. Good groups just different velocity (and bullet design) With my gun, that wouldn't matter at 100 yards going into the vitals, but at a long distance it sure would. If your gun groups well with the federal 150's and you did not have a chance to shoot the 120 noslers beforehand, I'd skip the latter for next weekend. If you get a chance to test the 120 gr fusions out and they group good where you feel confident in them then skip the heavier bullet.

FWIW, partitions are a great bullet but in my gun it's a very narrow window of the right powder charge to get them to fly right and group well.

 

[climbnjump]

So opening day begins next weekend in Vermont and I had settled on 140 gr NBT's for hunting and got my rifle sighted in for those and then I started poking around online and hearing from different people that they preferred the 120's over the 140's so I ordered 2 boxes of them from Nosler...

Well, IMHO since time is short I'd say, don't stress over it. If you've got a load you like with the 140's, then put the 120's on the shelf for experimenting after the season. It isn't like those "different people" on the Interwebs are saying that the 120's will kill a deer and the 140's won't. Most likely, the deer won't actually have an opinion either way as long as you put the 140 where it needs to go.

 

[CptnAwesome]

If the 150gr fusions grouped best that's what I'd roll with for now. The fusions are a good bullet and will get the job done easily. I'd at least use em till I had a chance to see how the 120's do.

 

[jmr40]

Are you hunting deer or moose? Deer ain't hard to kill, either bullet will work just fine. Don't over think this, and at this point I'd stick to the bullets you're zeroed for. If you want to experiment with different loads during the off season you might find something else you like better before next year.

You may well find that a lighter, faster bullet puts small animals like deer down faster than a heavier, slower bullet. But you'll also find that a heavier bullet is more versatile over a wider range of hunting uses. They tend to be a better option for longer ranges too. Lighter bullets shoot flatter, but heavier bullets retain speed much better down range. While the 120's might leave the muzzle faster, the 140's will surpass them at some point and hit a lot harder.

 

[nhcruffler]

I agree that if the Federal 150s are grouping well you should stick with them. It's too close to opening day to be trying new ammo. Besides , you'll be too busy dealing with that snow storm. I'll be using 150 gr core locks in my 06 in Huntington come Saturday morning. Hope ya bag a big un.

 

[DustyGmt]

Yeah I kind of knew I was comparing a red apple to a green. I just heard alot of jazz about the 120's being alot of peoples go to. As one guy already said, deer aren't hard to kill.

 

[LoonWulf]

Like the other guys, I'd go with what your currently sighted for and mess with stuff later.
My one concern with the fusion is that they don't open up very fast.
I bought a whole pile of .280 fusion loads on sale (cause no one shoots a .280 much less a .280AI here), and used them to take 4 or 5 animals. All were around 100lbs or less, but the damage from the bullets were uninspiring. Shot quarter to quarter thru a 60-70lb axis doe, and didn't make more than a 1/2-1" channel even after hitting bone.
Shot a sheep that bumped up and walked away from broad side double lung, it got put down by someone else about 15mins later.

great bullets for breaking bone, but not what I'd put behind the shoulders.

 

[someguy2800]

The day of deer hunting is no time to be guessing. Shoot with what your currently zero’d for and experiment next year.

 

[DustyGmt]

The day of deer hunting is no time to be guessing. Shoot with what your currently zero’d for and experiment next year.

Yeah, good call. The federal 150's PSP are by far the most accurate of what I have tried. I may as well just stick with those or the 140's which grouped well enough also.

 

[someguy2800]

Yeah, good call. The federal 150's PSP are by far the most accurate of what I have tried. I may as well just stick with those or the 140's which grouped well enough also.

Use whatever it’s sighted in for. They will all work fine.

 

[Gtscotty]

My bbl is 18" 1/8.5 twist iirc. Any suggestions.

Out of curiosity, what rifle do you have?

Like everyone else, I'd just run the 140gr NBTs, it should be a great bullet for your purposes

 

[DustyGmt]

Out of curiosity, what rifle do you have?

Like everyone else, I'd just run the 140gr NBTs, it should be a great bullet for your purposes

Ruger american all weather compact 7-08

 

[d2wing]

I use a Tikka in 7-08. I currently shot 140 gr but if I were you I would go with the round that grouped the best, the 150's. They probably have a better B.C. for long range anyway. Never change just before the hunt and be careful about what others say. Lots of silly ideas out there, some on here. Just had a big discussion with my son about what others told him.

 

[stillquietvoice]

I have loads worked up for 139 hornandy interlocks, sst's and several 140grain bullets including prohunters, gamekings, and ballistic tips. I also load for 160 gamekings. I like a little heavier bullet for longer range shooting. I haven't used 120 gr at all. As has been mentioned use what your sighted in for.

 

[DustyGmt]

I also load for 160 gamekings

Do you think my rifle could stabilize 160's or would I need a faster rate of twist. I believe mine is a 1-8.5 which is faster than quite a few 7-08's I looked up. IIRC most 7-08's I looked at were like 1-9 or 1-10.

I'm certain though velocity @ 100 would be adequate at best and very quickly dropping off to inadequate past 100yrd with an 18" bbl.

 

[stillquietvoice]

I have a rem 700 sps 24 in tube Iirc twist rate is 1:9 .125". That twist rate should stabilize the bullet weight.

You could ask one of the guys to check quick load. If you use published velocity it should be close enough to tell you

 

[LoonWulf]

Do you think my rifle could stabilize 160's or would I need a faster rate of twist. I believe mine is a 1-8.5 which is faster than quite a few 7-08's I looked up. IIRC most 7-08's I looked at were like 1-9 or 1-10.

I'm certain though velocity @ 100 would be adequate at best and very quickly dropping off to inadequate past 100yrd with an 18" bbl.

That's a surprisingly fast twist. I just looked it up and your right it is listed at 1-8.5
That fast a twist should stabilize any 7mm hunting bullet, and might even be fast enough for the really heavy target bullets.

 

[troy fairweather]

Stick with what it's sighted in for any bullet will work.

 

[DustyGmt]

That's a surprisingly fast twist. I just looked it up and your right it is listed at 1-8.5
That fast a twist should stabilize any 7mm hunting bullet, and might even be fast enough for the really heavy target bullets.

I may try some heavier bullets next year and see how they work, not for hunting per se, just am kind of curious about it now since I cant find any evidence online of anybody using them.

 

[stillquietvoice]

I don't load ammo for other people, i will get it ready but not load it.
I put togethet a large flat rate box for brass I want back there
..i put a bunch of 223 in it some 308, 7mm08, 6mm, 45lc, 32 S&W short, 40 caliber in it. My kids want the pistol brass and I will be useing the rifle brass.

I was trying to find a thread, I thought it was this forum but couldn't. The poster, a NY hunter north of me, was shooting a rem m7 20" and getting 3k fps chronographed 140 nbt. He was loading ramshot hunter. I've not been able to find that powder locally so haven't tried it myself.

I am quite satisfied with imr 4350's performance in my rifles, but you might try some and see if it works for you.

 

[Highland Lofts]

Don't worry about switching out bullets. You already have what you loaded sighted in. The deer won't know what hit it either way.
Just use what you have and switch when you have extra time.
Go get your deer and enjoy the hunt.