Roberoo
Member
I'm a new poster, name is Roberoo living in E. Wa. State, raised in N. Idaho, owned business in Portland Or area and Or. Coast.I have handloaded for 35 years and like to have the consistency that handloading affords you. For very large game I shoot a .338 Win mag. in the Browning SSS 26" bbl. with KDF, which makes it almost pleasent to shoot. The .338 Winnie Mag just halts all moving molecules in Moose/Elk and w/ Noz. 250gr. Part. and IMR 4350
(I also have used RL19, IMR 4831, IMR 7828, H1000) There isn't a lot of second guessing with this outfit.
I am however anguishing over an event that I don't have answers for, and need some input. Last year I shot a very nice Id. buck, well over 250 lbs at 130 yds with a 7mm-08, 120 noz. ballistic tip, Varget powder touted at 3050 fps. and printing 1/2" at 100yds.,
It was from a prone position, lots of time, the bullet hit right behind the the 'elbow or knee' at the heart lung site picture. While I had shot the gun well over 100 times, this was the 1st deer I shot with that gun & I found it to be right on the money, and I have killed deer with the Noz. Ballistic Tips, and respect their accuracy and preformance.
The deer went down and "there I was admiring my work when the deer got up and did a boot-scoot-boogie UP A HILL.. I know a little blood goes a long way, and it was in the snow, but this guy had the tap on wide open and left a blood trail that could be seen from space. In the back of my mind I was kicking myself for not rolling my bolt and getting back on the animal ASAP, --I have "no excuse." I hunted with a .270 for years and I never worried that an animal would go farther than 100 feet, but it was always just second nature to be ready to shoot again if necessary. What turned out, was a high price to pay for my moment of being an observer. So here this buck is going up-hill leaking oil at a level that let me know he had taken a good hit. Well I waited 25 min. for him to go off lie down and die, and when I went to get him there was a lot of blood on a deer trail and the trail went up hill. A steep hill. He crossed over near the top and down into the bottom of a draw into a flat with 2 creeks, he was dead on his feet, and going to water, but he just didn't stop.
Well I sadly admit I lost that animal. That was the first deer I ever shot with a 7mm-08 , and having killed many deer with the .243 I know I wasn't undergunned..still I am now wishing I'd just went on to buy the 270 WSM rather than the 7 mm-08. Strange things happen and I have hunted long enough to know that anything can and will happen when shooting deer, but real bad things happen when you stop shooting when you should be shooting. Losing an animal after a good shot stays with you,it's haunting, and makes you wonder just what mainly went wrong. Ok it's pilot error, but why he got up is why I'm puzzled. I really couldn't believe that animal was getting up.
I would have really liked to have autopsied that buck as you can learn so much about preformance when you see it first hand, and perhaps I would have a greater respect for that 7mm-08..I've killed dear many years ago with the 7x57 and it was a great gun.
I will hunt this year again with the 7mm-08, and give it one more go around. I was always impressed with the 140 gr. in the .270 at 3100 fps it was a very accurate and deadly combo.
So here is my question(s) -- I won't buy ammo when I'm sitting on a Dillon RL 550B, and I bought #300 Noz. Accubond in .284 cal. + have lots of ingredients.
I found a very accurate load for the 7 mm-08 with the 120 ballistic tip and Varget. But other than the Hornady light-mags I can't find a load that will propel that 140 Accubond at the 3000fps I would like to have. I really don't and won't push the gun, but I have seen the 140gr advertised at 3000fps several times (somewhere).
Obviously, it's 90% in where the shot goes and while I know it, after this experience with that 120gr, I would feel more confident with a 140 gr. at 3000fps.
My 7 mag just gathers dust, it's a mod. 70 and is 2 lbs heavier, but I have yet to feel I had the right gun when I was hunting anything with it.
The 7mm-08 is the Savage 11FL synthetic stock, with a 22" bbl. -- I also am a lefty, so I started on Savage guns and am used to the feel, and the improved trigger is just frosting !
Anywho I have rambled on here WAY too long sorry, but can someone help me answer the following questions:
1) What is the difference between the 24" and the 22" bbls for loss of fps. I know it averages 30-75 fps per inch but I have read that this cartridge is very efficient and doesn't lose as much as others would by shortening the barrel. Could it lose more than 100fps from the 24" down to the 22" ?
Why Nozler used 26" and Hornady used 18.5 " bbl for their manuals is beyond me, but I would like to hear from someone who has run 22" vs 24" and knows the loss here.
2) Is there a load(s) for the 140 gr in the 7mm-08 that isn't "hot" and stiffens bolts, that runs at 3000 fps for a 22" barrel ?
3) I can load the 140's in the 7 mag and shoot them at 3350fps. But from all I read the 7mm-08 is enough gun, and I like the weight, length, recoil, ect. and I bought the Savage as a light-weight, mountain rifle. Plus, this gun is very acurate.
I'm just not as young as I once was, and to get where I'm in these deer I have to do a lot of humping the hills. That 2 lbs makes a difference over a 10 hour hump.
Any and all thoughts would be appreciated. . Thank you and good hunting this fall to all of you ! This is the last time I will post my life story !
(I also have used RL19, IMR 4831, IMR 7828, H1000) There isn't a lot of second guessing with this outfit.
I am however anguishing over an event that I don't have answers for, and need some input. Last year I shot a very nice Id. buck, well over 250 lbs at 130 yds with a 7mm-08, 120 noz. ballistic tip, Varget powder touted at 3050 fps. and printing 1/2" at 100yds.,
It was from a prone position, lots of time, the bullet hit right behind the the 'elbow or knee' at the heart lung site picture. While I had shot the gun well over 100 times, this was the 1st deer I shot with that gun & I found it to be right on the money, and I have killed deer with the Noz. Ballistic Tips, and respect their accuracy and preformance.
The deer went down and "there I was admiring my work when the deer got up and did a boot-scoot-boogie UP A HILL.. I know a little blood goes a long way, and it was in the snow, but this guy had the tap on wide open and left a blood trail that could be seen from space. In the back of my mind I was kicking myself for not rolling my bolt and getting back on the animal ASAP, --I have "no excuse." I hunted with a .270 for years and I never worried that an animal would go farther than 100 feet, but it was always just second nature to be ready to shoot again if necessary. What turned out, was a high price to pay for my moment of being an observer. So here this buck is going up-hill leaking oil at a level that let me know he had taken a good hit. Well I waited 25 min. for him to go off lie down and die, and when I went to get him there was a lot of blood on a deer trail and the trail went up hill. A steep hill. He crossed over near the top and down into the bottom of a draw into a flat with 2 creeks, he was dead on his feet, and going to water, but he just didn't stop.
Well I sadly admit I lost that animal. That was the first deer I ever shot with a 7mm-08 , and having killed many deer with the .243 I know I wasn't undergunned..still I am now wishing I'd just went on to buy the 270 WSM rather than the 7 mm-08. Strange things happen and I have hunted long enough to know that anything can and will happen when shooting deer, but real bad things happen when you stop shooting when you should be shooting. Losing an animal after a good shot stays with you,it's haunting, and makes you wonder just what mainly went wrong. Ok it's pilot error, but why he got up is why I'm puzzled. I really couldn't believe that animal was getting up.
I would have really liked to have autopsied that buck as you can learn so much about preformance when you see it first hand, and perhaps I would have a greater respect for that 7mm-08..I've killed dear many years ago with the 7x57 and it was a great gun.
I will hunt this year again with the 7mm-08, and give it one more go around. I was always impressed with the 140 gr. in the .270 at 3100 fps it was a very accurate and deadly combo.
So here is my question(s) -- I won't buy ammo when I'm sitting on a Dillon RL 550B, and I bought #300 Noz. Accubond in .284 cal. + have lots of ingredients.
I found a very accurate load for the 7 mm-08 with the 120 ballistic tip and Varget. But other than the Hornady light-mags I can't find a load that will propel that 140 Accubond at the 3000fps I would like to have. I really don't and won't push the gun, but I have seen the 140gr advertised at 3000fps several times (somewhere).
Obviously, it's 90% in where the shot goes and while I know it, after this experience with that 120gr, I would feel more confident with a 140 gr. at 3000fps.
My 7 mag just gathers dust, it's a mod. 70 and is 2 lbs heavier, but I have yet to feel I had the right gun when I was hunting anything with it.
The 7mm-08 is the Savage 11FL synthetic stock, with a 22" bbl. -- I also am a lefty, so I started on Savage guns and am used to the feel, and the improved trigger is just frosting !
Anywho I have rambled on here WAY too long sorry, but can someone help me answer the following questions:
1) What is the difference between the 24" and the 22" bbls for loss of fps. I know it averages 30-75 fps per inch but I have read that this cartridge is very efficient and doesn't lose as much as others would by shortening the barrel. Could it lose more than 100fps from the 24" down to the 22" ?
Why Nozler used 26" and Hornady used 18.5 " bbl for their manuals is beyond me, but I would like to hear from someone who has run 22" vs 24" and knows the loss here.
2) Is there a load(s) for the 140 gr in the 7mm-08 that isn't "hot" and stiffens bolts, that runs at 3000 fps for a 22" barrel ?
3) I can load the 140's in the 7 mag and shoot them at 3350fps. But from all I read the 7mm-08 is enough gun, and I like the weight, length, recoil, ect. and I bought the Savage as a light-weight, mountain rifle. Plus, this gun is very acurate.
I'm just not as young as I once was, and to get where I'm in these deer I have to do a lot of humping the hills. That 2 lbs makes a difference over a 10 hour hump.
Any and all thoughts would be appreciated. . Thank you and good hunting this fall to all of you ! This is the last time I will post my life story !
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