7mm-08 120gr HP

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Moparnut

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A little back story, I have some 140gr rounds that are not accurate at all. Tested the 140 vs the 120s. The 140gr bullets are giving me 3-5moa, yes you read that right.

Anyway, the 120gr are in the 1moa arena. I was just curious if anyone had used these bullets for deer hunting. This exact caliber and weight?

The internet opinion varies widely and our own threads about this usually talked about the 257 Roberts or the 25-06. Thx in advance.
 
I shot a bunch of axis deer with 120gr Hornady HPs at something like 3300fps, most fairly close. Penetration is where you need to be concerned, most of my shots didnt exit on our 100+/-lb animals.

Im running 120 Balistic tips out of my 7mm-08 at something like 3000 and they are destructive, but penetration should be plenty adequate for any shot presentation except maybe hard quartering away.

Whats your rifles twist rate? If your stuck with 120s, then a Sierra Prohunter or Nosler Balistic tip would be my suggestion for soft bullets and one of the Barnes would be my suggestion for harder options.
 
Who made the 140gr bullets? Also who made the 120gr HP?

I'm with a previous suggestion to shoot the Nosler 120gr Ballistic Tip. Also another thought is if the 140gr bullet has a boat tail try a 140gr bullet that has a flat base and vise versa.
 
My guess would 1/9.5? That's what Savage is running on their current 7-08s.
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That's pretty much the standard twist for all 7mm cartridges including 7mm Rem mag. Guys shoot 160-175 gr bullets with that twist rate all the time. Looking at Bergers twist rate calculator.

Twist Rate Stability Calculator | Berger Bullets

Even their long 175 gr hunting bullet is considered borderline acceptable for a 1:9.5 twist. You don't really need a faster twist until you get to 180 gr or heavier bullets.

Sometimes a rifle just doesn't like a certain bullet and yours doesn't seem to like these 140 gr bullets. Another 140 gr bullet may shoot just fine. But for deer or smaller game I'd think 120's should be up to the task.
 
15 years ago, I loaded some Nosler 120gr Ballistic Tips for my 7x57. I shot a whitetail buck in Texas with one shot no complaints. That said, I do prefer the heavier options these days. I switched back to 139 gr Hornady Interlocks for the 7x57. Those shoot like a champ for in my rig. In my bigger 7mms I usually opt for 150-160 gr partitions.
 
Those 140gr bullets sound suspect.

I’ve used the 120’s in the 7mm-30Waters from a 21” T/C Contender.
Speer 120gr Hollow Point, which is a rather open point.

I shot a couple of does out my kitchen window at about 140yds.
Neither completely penetrated, both were immediately fatal, though one did run the obligatory 25-40yds. MV was approximately 2,550 from 35.0gr of RL15.

I consider them to be too soft for deer or other edible big game. Very accurate however! MOA five shot groups from the 4.5lb carbine!

The Hornady 120gr SST or Ballistic Tip is a little less explosive, but not a lot.
I’ve even had a blow-up on a smallish doe with a 150gr Nosler Ballistic Tip. (7mm08 @ 2,800fps) But, it was a facing spine shot on an animal with its head down, feeding. Broke spine between shoulders with bullet lodging in guts. A huge mess! Lost about half the deer.

(Fwiw) I’ve found the 150gr 7mm from my 20”bbl REM Mod7 to be one of the most destructive big game bullets I’ve used. Even more so than a 180gr from a .300RUM @3,300fps.

A friend has satisfactory performance from the 120gr SST with a reduced load with H4895 from their 7mm08’s.

What make/model of 140gr are you having bad accuracy with? I’ve had bad lot#s with Hornady, Remington CorLokts, and Winchester Power Points...
 
CarJunkieLS1 said:
Who made the 140gr bullets? Also who made the 120gr HP?

I'm with a previous suggestion to shoot the Nosler 120gr Ballistic Tip. Also another thought is if the 140gr bullet has a boat tail try a 140gr bullet that has a flat base and vise versa.
Click to expand...

I won't disclose the make, because they were purchased by me at the factory. For a very inexpensive price. I knew what I might be getting. I knew they may be inconsistent, just never had them be that inconsistent.

The HP were made and bought at the same spot.

I just don't want this thread to devolve into a, those bullets have always sucked thread.
 
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I killed a few deer with a Remington 120 gr HP years ago in a 7mm-08 700 I had, they worked, not my favorite load for hunting though. They were 3000fps if I remember correctly, but I always considered it to be really more of a target load than anything. I preferred other stuff for hunting but these were the most accurate factory load I ever shot through the rifle, if everything was cooperating you could expect to shoot a couple of 3 shot 3/8" groups with it at a bench session, and one day shot one 5/16". The best load for that rifle for me was the old Hornady Light Magnum 139gr Interlock, it was advertised at 3000fps, I made some long shots with that load and it always performed just like it should have. I understand they don't make them anymore.
 
GooseGestapo said:
Those 140gr bullets sound suspect.

I’ve used the 120’s in the 7mm-30Waters from a 21” T/C Contender.
Speer 120gr Hollow Point, which is a rather open point.

I shot a couple of does out my kitchen window at about 140yds.
Neither completely penetrated, both were immediately fatal, though one did run the obligatory 25-40yds. MV was approximately 2,550 from 35.0gr of RL15.

I consider them to be too soft for deer or other edible big game. Very accurate however! MOA five shot groups from the 4.5lb carbine!

The Hornady 120gr SST or Ballistic Tip is a little less explosive, but not a lot.
I’ve even had a blow-up on a smallish doe with a 150gr Nosler Ballistic Tip. (7mm08 @ 2,800fps) But, it was a facing spine shot on an animal with its head down, feeding. Broke spine between shoulders with bullet lodging in guts. A huge mess! Lost about half the deer.

(Fwiw) I’ve found the 150gr 7mm from my 20”bbl REM Mod7 to be one of the most destructive big game bullets I’ve used. Even more so than a 180gr from a .300RUM @3,300fps.

A friend has satisfactory performance from the 120gr SST with a reduced load with H4895 from their 7mm08’s.

What make/model of 140gr are you having bad accuracy with? I’ve had bad lot#s with Hornady, Remington CorLokts, and Winchester Power Points...
Click to expand...

I can 100% attest to the destruction you talk about. I have already shot a deer with the 140s discussed above. Through a lung went about 8ish inches and came out the bottom, with a massive hole and wound. Was really more than I expected. With alot of jelly in between.

That particular shot made me question the accuracy of these bullets was almost off by 5 inches from where the shot was placed.

I really hate that they are inaccurate.
 
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Ok. Just so we are clear, I don't want this to turn into a flame-fest.

People keep asking about the make and type of bullet. Understand, I purchased these from the company store at a VERY reduced rate. I knew they might have accuracy issues. Most bullets we bought from the employee store were over runs or inaccurate. I knew that going in.

They are 140grn Remington core-lokt PSP.

I have had some inaccurate bullets from there in the past, just not 5-6in inaccurate.

Most were moa+ (1-2"), but less than 3" at 100yds. Never had any over 3" until now and those were pretty rare
 
I have nothing bad to say about the Remington Core Lokts they just get the job done. Maybe your barrel just simply doesn't like them. Looks like you have only tried 2 bullets that were purchased at a deep discount so who really knows if its the barrel or something is a smidge off with the bullet.

My opinion and my opinion only is that when meat is concerned used the correct tool for the job, and not the cheapest you can find.

If it were me and my rifle I'd try to sort the 140gr bullets by weight and ogive measurement, separate them into lots and maybe try a different powder also. In the meantime I'd try any flat based softpoint bullet you could find, that aren't blemished in some way and see where that gets you. If you'd like I have some flat based Hornady 139 Interlocks I'd let you have cheap. Send me a PM if you want them.
 
CarJunkieLS1 said:
I have nothing bad to say about the Remington Core Lokts they just get the job done. Maybe your barrel just simply doesn't like them. Looks like you have only tried 2 bullets that were purchased at a deep discount so who really knows if its the barrel or something is a smidge off with the bullet.

My opinion and my opinion only is that when meat is concerned used the correct tool for the job, and not the cheapest you can find.

If it were me and my rifle I'd try to sort the 140gr bullets by weight and ogive measurement, separate them into lots and maybe try a different powder also. In the meantime I'd try any flat based softpoint bullet you could find, that aren't blemished in some way and see where that gets you. If you'd like I have some flat based Hornady 139 Interlocks I'd let you have cheap. Send me a PM if you want them.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the offer. I may take you up on it.

The box previous to this was pretty darn accurate. Shot it before season and was fine. The next box is where I started to have trouble. The older box only had 2 left before season. I brought the newer/second box with me to have a full magazine. That's why suspected it was a bullet problem. I always check my guns prior to going and make sure everything is ok. I didn't get a chance to check the second box until this weekend. That's when I found the accuracy problem. I brought the 120s so I could see if it was the gun or the bullets. I have another box that has a little different markings on it, still Remmy but probably bought at a different time. I just don't know if I can get to the range and recheck those.
 
With strictly behind-the-shoulder shots, the 120gr HP bullets will be perfectly fine. Nothing wrong at all with using 120gr pills in the 7mm08. Personally, I'd go with the Sierra Pro Hunter though.
 
I used 165 core loct for game in my 3006 always worked well. Tried a box in my rem 700 7mm08, had good accuracy but copper fouled my bore, figure I had a soft batch.

Mostly I reload for all my shooting. Ny rifle likes several bullets in the 139 to 160 weights. The bullet I shoot most is Hornady 139 btsp, I get 1 hole 5 shot groups, when I do my part, as far as factory ammo goes I usually buy hornandy white tail 139 inteock or superformance 139 sst. The white tail is fairly accurate, shot several 4 in groups at 300 yds so just over moa. Perfectly exceptable accuracy for a factory hunting load. My handloads shoot 1 to 2 in at smae 300 yds. Do that's what I use.
 
Plenty of folks take deer every year with .223. I wouldn't use one unless it's all I had. A 120 grain bullet should be plenty for whitetails if you pick the right bullet. I'd go with a Barnes if I were worried about a lack of penetration
 
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