Low Recoil 7-08 Hunting Loads

[Jason75979]

I'm looking for a starting point. Thinking bullet weights around 100gr.
Savage axis rifle with factory 120 HPs were too much for the girls. So, looking to ease the pain through reloads.
If there's any more info needed, feel free to ask.

 

[GP100man]

Look on Hodgdons sight under reduced loads, there`s a rifle & shotgun section.

I think the powder used is IMR 4895

My bad it`s H4895 IMR is very similar & flexable .

Here`s the link to IMR 4895 data , the reduced loads use 60% of published H4895 data.

http://www.hodgdonreloading.com/data/rifle

GP

 

[PapaG]

John Haviland published some data on reduced loads in the March, 2015 Outdoor Life. His 7mm-08 load was:
130 Sierra hpbt, 35.2 H4895 for 2429 fps, 1703 m.e. and 8.6 ft.lb recoil. (47% reduction in recoil from 140 factory load).
Hope this helps.

 

[oneounceload]

Might want to verify your barrel twist. Some are better with light bullets, some are not. Mine never liked light bullets. 140s, though, work awesome.

 

[Electron]

Loaded some 100 gr. Sierra varminters with data out of Sierra manual they start at 2900 fps. and grouped phenomenally. I suggest starting there. Good luck

 

[roc1]

Try some of Hornady low recoil factory loads see if gun shoots them well. My Remington loves them should be a great deer round looking for recipe to duplicate recoil like 243 not that 7-08 is bad anyway.
Good luck
Roc1

 

[Doc7]

Hunting what? Deer?

 

[ironworkerwill]

120 grain Sierra Pro Hunters are very accurate and are lethal on the largest of white tails. 139 grain Hornady interlocks are probably the most bang for the buck. You can use this formula for H4895 with either bullet.http://www.hodgdon.com/PDF/H4895%20Reduced%20Rifle%20Loads.pdf

Or you can use a starting load of H380 for either bullet. H380 will create substantially more velocity than reduced H4895 but will be much milder a full tilt load. H380 is one of the go to powders for 7mm-08, it's very accurate for me.


*Sorry GP100man, I didn't see that you'd posed a link till just now

 

[Jason75979]

John Haviland published some data on reduced loads in the March, 2015 Outdoor Life. His 7mm-08 load was:
130 Sierra hpbt, 35.2 H4895 for 2429 fps, 1703 m.e. and 8.6 ft.lb recoil. (47% reduction in recoil from 140 factory load).
Hope this helps.

Thank you for a start. I'll research it and see if I can find it again.

Might want to verify your barrel twist. Some are better with light bullets, some are not. Mine never liked light bullets. 140s, though, work awesome.

1:9.5 I was thinking about using the 110 Barnes TTSX.

Loaded some 100 gr. Sierra varminters with data out of Sierra manual they start at 2900 fps. and grouped phenomenally. I suggest starting there. Good luck

Looking for deer rounds. Sorry I wasn't clear.

Try some of Hornady low recoil factory loads see if gun shoots them well. My Remington loves them should be a great deer round looking for recipe to duplicate recoil like 243 not that 7-08 is bad anyway.
Good luck
Roc1

I'd prefer to reload them. And as to the 7-08s recoil, there's twin 10 to girls that feel differently

Hunting what? Deer?

Yes sir, doc. Deer.

 

[CarJunkieLS1]

Load a 120gr Nosler Ballistic Tip at 27000 and you'll have a mild kicking load and will be more than enough to drop deer. I have a torn ligament in my shoulder so recoil this hunting season is gonna be a NO NO for me. I tried my wifes .243 and it kicks harder than the load I mentioned above.

 

[Gummi Bear]

H4895 with 120gn Nosler ballistic hunting bullets made a nearly no recoil load for my daughter's rifle. (Savage Lady Hunter, it is actually a better fit than the "youth" rifles). I will have to look up my data, but it is somewhere around 31 gn, IIRC. It clocks at about 2,200fps

It will print right about 1 MOA @ 100.

 

[Jason75979]

H4895 with 120gn Nosler ballistic hunting bullets made a nearly no recoil load for my daughter's rifle. (Savage Lady Hunter, it is actually a better fit than the "youth" rifles). I will have to look up my data, but it is somewhere around 31 gn, IIRC. It clocks at about 2,200fps

It will print right about 1 MOA @ 100.

Well, not to sound ungrateful, but I won't shoot a BT at a whitetail.
But, I bought my son the same rifle in 223 rem when he was 6. He put 55 rounds down the pipe(reloaded) before I had to say enough due to an ammo shortage on my part.
Now, I'm faced with a couple of girls that are really feeling the pain and need to fix this before it becomes an actual problem....in the magical no-recoil 7-08.

 

[bluetopper]

I like shooting full charges of BLC2 or 748 behind a 120gr bullet in my 15" Encore pistol, full 1" diameter barrel out to the muzzle. Recoil is very mild.

 

[Gummi Bear]

Well, not to sound ungrateful, but I won't shoot a BT at a whitetail.

But, I bought my son the same rifle in 223 rem when he was 6. He put 55 rounds down the pipe(reloaded) before I had to say enough due to an ammo shortage on my part.
Now, I'm faced with a couple of girls that are really feeling the pain and need to fix this before it becomes an actual problem....in the magical no-recoil 7-08.

The Nosler hunting ballistic tip has been a fantastic bullet for me. Several deer, and hundreds of pigs taken with excellent results. http://www.nosler.com/ballistic-tip-bullet As my daughter grows, I will graduate her to a 140 gn bullet, and full velocity.

You are correct, in that many hunters make the mistake of trying to use a ballistic tip varmint bullet as a substitute for a proper game hunting bullet. Performance will be poor, since a varmint bullet is designed to come apart and disperse energy with minimal damage to pelt in a thin skinned critter.


Call Hodgdon. The published tables are heavier than you have to load. They will give you some even further reduced recoil data over the phone. They have been tremendously helpful any time I have ever called them.

 

[blarby]

The only problem you are likely to experience at reduced charges is bullet performance.

Very reduced recoil loads are great for training, but all of the bullets mentioned need considerable velocity to perform as advertised.

If it were me, I would work up the 120gr Hornady SST using reduced charges of H4895 if the gun likes it, and use the Hornady Customlite 120gr SST for hunting.

Or, if you have access to a chronograph, work your load ( and your shooters !) up to the listed velocity of the Customlite.

No use in working up a nice accurate reduced recoil load for hunting if all its gonna do is poke a .284 hole through one side and .... Well, you know the rest.

 

[Ifishsum]

I think a Nosler BT or Hornady SST type bullet would perform very well with a reduced load. They can be a bit explosive at high velocity but I would also worry about performance of a more typical bullet at reduced velocity (little/no expansion possibly?) so the BT might work quite nicely in that scenario. Just a thought anyway.

I have used IMR4064 for 70-75%% reduced loads in the 7mm-08 with 139gr SST bullets, I don't have the exact recipe here (it's inside the ammo box with the nephew) but it has worked well so far for him on deer anyway.