I Think I Got It!

[DanTheFarmer]

Hi All,

I bought my 7mm-08 thinking it would be near ideal for deer and suitable for moose should I ever be lucky enough to win a permit in my state's (NH) lottery.

After a lot of experimentation and the it-shouldn't-have-been-too-surprising discovery that the velocities given in reloading manuals are often "optimistic" I think I've got it.

I'm shooting a TC Icon, 7mm-08, 24 inch barrel. I'm using Ramshot Hunter powder, Rem 9 1/2 primer, Hornady 154 grain Inter-Lok bullet. Ramshot doesn't list Hunter with anything less than a 160 grain bullet on their website. I called Scott at Ramshot and he gave a safe maximum charge and worked up a load based on his word. When I shot it I got an average of 2766 fps and a quarter covered or touched all shots in a 3 shot group from 100 yards. My state Fish and Game recommends 150 or greater grain bullets fired with a muzzle energy of 2200 ft-lbs minimum, 2600 adequate, or 3200 preferred.

My combination is accurate and meets or exceeds the listed recommendations. I'll shoot a larger sample size and I may fiddle with the 154 grain InterBond vs. Inter-Lok bullet but I think I'm onto something!

Dan

 

[CZ57]

Sounds like a deal to me! I need to buy something that I can load for with Hunter.

 

[FROGO207]

Hunter is a great propellant and reasonably priced locally. When you finally assemble that great shooting component combo it sure feels nice. Finding a great combo the first or second try is really super. I often see many others that reload try to find that miniscule improvement and seem to never get what they seek. Me I research first and find a great load that shoots well enough for the intended use and just enjoy crafting more of them and choot' em up. Trigger time while using consistent ammo is most important IMHO.

 

[SSN Vet]

what twist is your Icon?

1 in 9"?

I have a Savage model 14in 7mm-08 and haven't found it's "sweet spot" yet.

 

[DanTheFarmer]

Hey SSN Vet,

Looks like you asked the right guy a question! The Icon 7mm-08 was actually the first rifle I bought. It has a 1 in 9 or 9.5 twist barrel, I forget which. Well...after I bought it I thought it was so pretty I wanted a bit more of a knock-around rifle. I bought a Savage Weather Warrior in 7mm-08 with the slow twist. (1 in 12 or so)

I just found a good load for the slow twist Savage. 120 grain Sierra Pro Hunter bullet, 46.3 grain BL-C(2) powder, Fed 210 primer. This gave just over 3000 fps with good accuracy (a quarter touches all shots of a 3 shot group at 100 yards). As always work up carefully and double check that this load is in the safe zone of your favorite reloading manual if you decide to try it.

My goal with the two rifles was to have both rifles excel with the same loads. That has proven to be too optimistic but at least I've got good, appropriate loads that work in each rifle.

Incidently I indulged my contrarian nature and wanted to see what would happen if I shot a bullet that was much too long for the slow twist. I fired a load of 175 grain Sierra Game Hunters over H414 out of the Icon and the Savage. Out of the Icon it was o.k. at best. The load didn't meet my accuracy or velocity goals but the bullets definitely formed a group. Out of the Savage the bullets were almost at the four corners of the target paper and the keyholing was obvious. Twist matters!

Recent Savages in 7mm-08 are back to the more common faster twist.

I've got good loads at the light end for the Savage and at the heavy end for the Icon, now I'll see if I can build something good in the traditional 139/140 grain bullet that will work in both.

One of the few benefits of unemployment is that I've got time to do load development. I'm just back from an interview so hopefully an actual job will cut into my load development time. I'll keep you posted but hopefully later rather than sooner!

Good Luck.

Dan

 

[SSN Vet]

My M14 is an older one that I picked up 3 years ago, and which had been in the dealer's showroom for >2 years, and it's a 1 in 9....

Savage switched to 1 in 12 about the time I bought the rifle an there was quite a stink on the boards about it....

Glad to hear they switched back.

I just loaded up 2 boxes of 140s using RL-15, and a third with the Hornady 162 gr. A-max

 

[dagger dog]

7mm 08 and a 160 gr bullet for moose ? Better be a close,well placed shot! You did mention the word optimistic though !