7mm08

[Hannah42]

Hello everyone. New to the form. I have been reading post and have learned a lot from this site. Best I've found. So thanks
Anyways I've been reloading for about 3 years and just bought a remington model seven. 7mm08 20" barrel. Im looking for your thoughts. Since I have a shorter barrel im sure I will lose 50fps on the velocity from my reloading manuals but was wondering what powders have you used for best velocities with 140gr bullets I would like to be 2750 to 2800 if possible. I understand what shoots best is the better answer. Just wondering if anyone had any experience with the 7mm08 with 20" barrel. Thanks Hannah.

 

[George P]

I have that gun with the 18.5" barrel. My best accuracy came with Win760, IMR 4350 and 4064 and even some IMR 4831, using Sierra 140s and Nosler 140 BT and Partition

 

[Hannah42]

Thanks I have 4064. 3031 and H varget. H414 I've herd was good and I think R17 I've never used that powder before.

 

[stillquietvoice]

My rem 700 is a 24" barrel, I use imr 4350, I and h 4895 for 139, 140's and win 760 for 160 gr.

I have no first hand experience with it, but ramshot hunter worked in an m7 7mm08. There is a forum member from NY that chronographed 2900 + with a Max charge of hunter.

Welcome to the forum.

 

[stillquietvoice]

What is your primary use for your 7mm08?

I hunt and shoot targets including steel out to 300 meters. My load for 140 gr bullets, Max charge of I 4350 is 46.5 gr with a cop of 2.805". Anything longer won't fit in the mag box.

I shot this buck at about 80 yds with 140 nosler ballistic tip.

 

[Hannah42]

I bought the remington model 7 for its light weight and compact. I hunt deer and most shots are less than 100 yards. But its a hike to my spots on public land so figured this fit the bill. I liked the 7mm08 for bullet selection and that's the only Rem m 7 anywhere 100 miles from me. I put a Leopold freedom on it with DNZ game reaper mounts. Good combo.

 

[Hannah42]

What is your primary use for your 7mm08?

I hunt and shoot targets including steel out to 300 meters. My load for 140 gr bullets, Max charge of I 4350 is 46.5 gr with a cop of 2.805". Anything longer won't fit in the mag box.

I shot this buck at about 80 yds with 140 nosler ballistic tip.View attachment 877470

Yes sir. Deer mostly unfortunately don't have a long range to shoot. I've bought some 139 gr sst. And 140 NBT. Did you like the 140 nbt. Did you get a passthrough how was expansion

 

[.308 Norma]

For mule deer, my wife uses 139gr Hdy over charges of Win760 in both of her 7mm-08s. Her 7mm-08s both have 22" barrels, but she's getting a little better than 2,800fps from them without crowding the line as far as pressure goes. You should be able to do the same with a 20" barrel I think.
BTW, I've explained it before, but my wife doesn't actually "have" two 7mm-08s anymore. Our oldest daughter kind of laid claim to my wife's Model 70 Featherweight, and our oldest grandson did the same to my wife's old, tang safety, Ruger 77.
My wife has a semi-custom Model 70, 7mm Rem Mag now. But for mule deer, she only uses something like "7mm-08+P" loads in it - 145gr bullets around 2900fps.

 

[Hannah42]

For mule deer, my wife uses 139gr Hdy over charges of Win760 in both of her 7mm-08s. Her 7mm-08s both have 22" barrels, but she's getting a little better than 2,800fps from them without crowding the line as far as pressure goes. You should be able to do the same with a 20" barrel I think.
BTW, I've explained it before, but my wife doesn't actually "have" two 7mm-08s anymore. Our oldest daughter kind of laid claim to my wife's Model 70 Featherweight, and our oldest grandson did the same to my wife's old, tang safety, Ruger 77.
My wife has a semi-custom Model 70, 7mm Rem Mag now. But for mule deer, she only uses something like "7mm-08+P" loads in it - 145gr bullets around 2900fps.

How well does the 760 work. Never used it but always see it can be used in about everything

 

[stillquietvoice]

I use bout the sst and nbt. The set are real soft expand rapidly. I shot one doe 2 years ago with it. The only shot I had was the white patch on her neck. The exit looked like someone filleted the meat from the back of her neck from base of skull to the shoulder juncture. I used 2 nbt's this season the first a spike, broadside double lung exited, leaving a 1.5 inch hole. Turned the lungs to goo, separated lung from trachea. There was a massive amount of blood. The 7 point shot was almost head on destroyed the scapula wrecked the lungs, severing trachea, and hitting the aorta. The chest cavity was full of blood. I had no blood trail had to track using snow disturbance and drag marks from front leg. There was no exit and never found the bullet

 

[stillquietvoice]

Yes sir. Deer mostly unfortunately don't have a long range to shoot. I've bought some 139 gr sst. And 140 NBT. Did you like the 140 nbt. Did you get a passthrough how was expansion

 

[George P]

Thanks I have 4064. 3031 and H varget. H414 I've herd was good and I think R17 I've never used that powder before.

I haven't used it in a while, but if Varget works great with 308, it should also be great with a 7-08

 

[stillquietvoice]

How well does the 760 work. Never used it but always see it can be used in about everything

it worked good in my rifle but had to go to magnum primer. Without the mag primer it gave more felt recoil than 4350 or the 2 4895's. Now I use 760 fory 160 gameking loads.

 

[Hannah42]

it worked good in my rifle but had to go to magnum primer. Without the mag primer it gave more felt recoil than 4350 or the 2 4895's. Now I use 760 fory 160 gameking loads.

Thanks do you think the CCI250 will work since I bought 1k by mistake lol

 

[Hannah42]

I haven't used it in a while, but if Varget works great with 308, it should also be great with a 7-08

Unfortunately for me my experience with Varget hasn't been the OMG powder others have said. But maybe this is the gun for it. Going to try some since I have it.

 

[.308 Norma]

How well does the 760 work. Never used it but always see it can be used in about everything

Actually, all I've ever used it in is "my wife's" 7mm-08s. It works well in them - it meter's well, and with the right bullets, either rifle will put 3 shots in an inch at 100 yards.
However, with the wrong bullets, that old Ruger 77 of my wife's won't put three shots in 4" at 100 yards. For some reason, that rifle hates 139gr Hdy SPBTs, and we tried different charges of both IMR 4350 and Win 760 behind them. As soon as we ran out of those 139gr Hdy boattail bullets though, we substituted 3, 139gr Hdy plain-based bullets in the last 3 cases we had already charged, and all three of those plain-based bullets went into about 1.5" inches at 100 yards. After that, it was just adjusting the powder charge a little, and playing around with different seating depths to shrink the 3-shot group to 1MOA.

 

[Highland Lofts]

You have a nice gun and a nice caliber as well. My brother hunts whitetails with the same gun and I am buying a Remington model 7 in 6mm to take back to New York for deer hunting.

Pick your projectile, a few different types of powder and do your ladder loads off a good rifle rest. Most of my accurate loads were either on the begining of the minimum and up to the middle of the load charges useing 4064, 4381 and 4350.

I don't like going with the max charge, you don't need the high end velocity to kill a deer from 200 yards or less with 243, 6mm, 7mm08 or 308.

2,700fps will do the job. Why put the extra psi through your rifle if you don't have to?
When you connect on a deer it doesn't matter if your bullet is traveling at 2,600 fps or 3,000fps. It will put it down and the deer won't know the difference believe me on this one. I have killed deer with 22 magnum on up to 7mm magnum and lots of calibers in between, 243 being my favorite deer killing caliber.
Years ago I bought a blued & wood stock Ruger 77 in 22 Hornet for deer hunting and killed a few with that as well.
With the smaller caliber rifles you need to slow down and place your shot for a humane kill..
Even with a large caliber rifle a deer can go a LOOOOONG WAY with a bad shot.

Just play with your loads and get your sweet load and shoot it through out the year.

My brothers 7mm08 doe 2nd day of 2019 New York gun season.

 

[stillquietvoice]

Thanks do you think the CCI250 will work since I bought 1k by mistake lol

Yes they will work. Iirc They have primer compound so start your load lower than book min, they tend to give higher pressures. Work up slow and check for pressure signs.

My particular rifle shoots best with Max or near Max charges, all rifles are different though.

 

[Jeff Flannery]

I have a Ruger American in 7mm/8. I shoot 31.0 grs of varget behind a Hornady 139 gr btsp interlock bullet. This combo is VERY accurate. It shoots 3 shots touching each other at 100yds. Also drops deer in their tracks. I just shot one yesterday and it dropped just like the other three did. I love the gun and what it does to deer

 

[woodshunter]

I built a Savage rifle for deer hunting and used a 20" barrel for the handling in thick cut-overs. Its a lot nicer to carry and don't hang up or slow me down in the thick stuff. You will like yours I predict.…..can't go wrong with a 7mm-08 either. I found 45gr of IMR4350 in Norma brass with CCI BR-2 primers and Nosler accubonds to be the perfect medicine for deer. The bullets open up but pass thru in most cases to give a blood trail if you were to need it. Deer this season was broadside and it broke both shoulders and left an exit hole, I find the accubonds work just like the paritions I used for years but don't deform the tips in the magazine. Good Luck with your rifle and hunting!

 

[Hannah42]

You have a nice gun and a nice caliber as well. My brother hunts whitetails with the same gun and I am buying a Remington model 7 in 6mm to take back to New York for deer hunting.

Pick your projectile, a few different types of powder and do your ladder loads off a good rifle rest. Most of my accurate loads were either on the begining of the minimum and up to the middle of the load charges useing 4064, 4381 and 4350.

I don't like going with the max charge, you don't need the high end velocity to kill a deer from 200 yards or less with 243, 6mm, 7mm08 or 308.

2,700fps will do the job. Why put the extra psi through your rifle if you don't have to?
When you connect on a deer it doesn't matter if your bullet is traveling at 2,600 fps or 3,000fps. It will put it down and the deer won't know the difference believe me on this one. I have killed deer with 22 magnum on up to 7mm magnum and lots of calibers in between, 243 being my favorite deer killing caliber.
Years ago I bought a blued & wood stock Ruger 77 in 22 Hornet for deer hunting and killed a few with that as well.
With the smaller caliber rifles you need to slow down and place your shot for a humane kill..
Even with a large caliber rifle a deer can go a LOOOOONG WAY with a bad shot.

Just play with your loads and get your sweet load and shoot it through out the year.

My brothers 7mm08 doe 2nd day of 2019 New York gun season.

Well said and great advice. Im thinking I can for sure and easily hit 2700fps. I've had good luck with sst bullets. And nosler BT. You are correct about slowing down. This light rifle when getting ready to shoot a nice 9pt. Man the barrel was floating wildly. I had to slow down but hammered the buck. Factory load hornady whitetail ammo.

 

[Hannah42]

Yes they will work. Iirc They have primer compound so start your load lower than book min, they tend to give higher pressures. Work up slow and check for pressure signs.

My particular rifle shoots best with Max or near Max charges, all rifles are different though.

Ok thank you for the heads up.

 

[Highland Lofts]

Hand loading sure does come into play for a right combination for what you to use for a projectile and accuracy.

This year is the first year I exclusivly used handloads for deer hunting for myself (243) and reloaded for 7mm08 for my brother.
I used 87 grain Hornady FBSP bullets and didn't like the bullet seperation. For next I want a bullet that stays together that passes through the deer and lodges inside the hide on the oppisite side of entry.

Last year I made a water trough that holds nine - one gallon milk jugs inline at test bullets.
I used 100 grain Sierra Game Kings, various 100 grain FBSP and BTSP and 87 gesin FBSP bullets in 243. They all had about the same penitration in three gallon milk jugs and all had seperation issues.

Next spring I will try other tupes of bullets to find one that holds together and I will shoot for three milk jug penitration and two milk jug penitration and will load up some hunting ammo to try out for no exit wound on next years deer.

I would like to shoot two deer with the three milk jug penitration with exit wound and two deer with the two milk jug penitration with no exit wound and see which one has a faster death rate.








We shot a lot of milk jugs testing bullets.

 

[stillquietvoice]

Nice looking bullet trap pat. Great idea.

Hand loading sure does come into play for a right combination for what you to use for a projectile and accuracy.

This year is the first year I exclusivly used handloads for deer hunting for myself (243) and reloaded for 7mm08 for my brother.
I used 87 grain Hornady FBSP bullets and didn't like the bullet seperation. For next I want a bullet that stays together that passes through the deer and lodges inside the hide on the oppisite side of entry.

Last year I made a water trough that holds nine - one gallon milk jugs inline at test bullets.
I used 100 grain Sierra Game Kings, various 100 grain FBSP and BTSP and 87 gesin FBSP bullets in 243. They all had about the same penitration in three gallon milk jugs and all had seperation issues.

Next spring I will try other tupes of bullets to find one that holds together and I will shoot for three milk jug penitration and two milk jug penitration and will load up some hunting ammo to try out for no exit wound on next years deer.

I would like to shoot two deer with the three milk jug penitration with exit wound and two deer with the two milk jug penitration with no exit wound and see which one has a faster death rate.



View attachment 877637

View attachment 877638


We shot a lot of milk jugs testing bullets.

View attachment 877639

 

[Highland Lofts]

It works great for recovering bullets and it fits easily in the back of the truck with the two mini saw horses.
I had to wrap the trough with sreel banding because of the preasures involved. The first time I used it the side blew out.
A 22lr with a solid bullet penitrated farther then I thought it would.

Here are some of the bullets that I shot in to it.



The 17HMR disinigrates on the first surface of the milk jug and only a couple tiny pieces will pass threw the plastic.
Next spring I will try rifled shotgun slugs and other calibers.
The wasted milk jugs I take plastic bailing twine and tie them through the handle and drop them off at the recycle station.
Now our rain srason is here and I am almost caught up on stuff around the house O can get going on reloading.
I need to make a rack for my dies and a storage unit for my powder and another storage unit for primers. I will stock up on both the way the anti left are constantly trying to pass anti gun laws.