Page 1 of 2

7mm-08 ammo suggestions....

Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2012 5:19 am
by Dutch Dog
I'm having a bit of accuracy issue out of the 7mm-08 with the Remington Core Lokt's. It will shoot about a 2-2.5" group at 100 yds with the 140 gr Remington's and will shoot a pretty decent group (1" or so) with the Federal Premium Barnes TSX 140 gr bullets. I recently bought some Hornady Superformance bullets with the 139 gr SST's but have yet to shoot them. My only concern is that from what I've read that the copper jacket isn't bonded or whatever to the lead core and they tend to separate upon impact with structures like shoulders. Without getting into reloads (I don't reload...YET) What are some suggestions by the brain trust on here for bullets that will hold together through shoulders and such and hopefully shoot accurately out of my gun...I'm happy with a 1" group at 100 yds but would (of course) be happier with sub 1" groups. If I could find some Hornady interbond ammo I'm thinking that might be the ticket but I haven't found them on a shelf yet. With that in mind, I'd also like to know about ammo that's readily available...something that's not on backorder everywhere and can normally be picked up at most outdoor retailers such as BPS, Cabelas, Sportsman's Warehouse etc.

Re: 7mm-08 ammo suggestions....

Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2012 5:36 am
by Dutch Dog
After doing a little more research it appears they only make the interbonds for reloaders and don't have them as a factory load. Only factory loads they show are GMX's and SST's.

Re: 7mm-08 ammo suggestions....

Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2012 5:46 am
by BR549
Dutch Dog wrote:After doing a little more research it appears they only make the interbonds for reloaders and don't have them as a factory load. Only factory loads they show are GMX's and SST's.
That's correct. They both shoot identical but the GMX will give much deeper penetration. I like the GMX myself I shot it in my 300 and .270 since it came out. Works great on whitetails. But back to subject Hornaday has done some extensive research and testing over the last 3 or 4 years. They really have some of the best factory ammo availible today. You ever try looking in your local sporting goods store instead of using these mail-order gurus? You might find the better quality stuff there you know!

Re: 7mm-08 ammo suggestions....

Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2012 7:31 am
by boovan

Re: 7mm-08 ammo suggestions....

Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2012 8:00 am
by Blackduck
Vld is a mean mistreater. It is probably more fragile than the sst. It dumps most of its energy and mass in the deer. I usually get exit wounds but not much blood. I would think the sst with the "ring" would be a bit more durable. I've only shot one deer and it was smoked. I like the vld's personally. But accuracy trumps everything.

I like dead deer way more than blood trails

Re: 7mm-08 ammo suggestions....

Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2012 8:59 am
by country_20boy
I personally love the SST's and I get exit holes most of the time (not always). If you want a virtually guaranteed exit, then just shoot the TSX that you have already proven will group in your gun. 1" groups are plenty adequate for deer hunting and is really all you can ask for with a stock gun and factory ammo, despite the keyboard jockeys that will have you believe all of their guns shoot bug holes.....

Re: 7mm-08 ammo suggestions....

Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2012 9:03 am
by ScottyLee
i shoot 139 gmx hornandy. it stayed together and mushroomed just fine through a 200 pound boar hog. and that was through the front shoulders. i've also shot several deer with it and i haven't had a problem with the bullet fragmenting, not that i've noticed anyway.

cwink knows his stuff when it comes to the 7mm 08. PM him; he can tell you all you want to know about this caliber.

Re: 7mm-08 ammo suggestions....

Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2012 9:25 am
by huntersmky
I just had CWINK load me some 7mm-08 in a 120 grain. I will be shooting it this weekend out to 300 to see what it looks like. Might send him a PM if your interested in some handloads. I was shooting 139 grain Hornady SST's out of it before with no complaints. My wife put the smack down on a doe and the damage was unreal. Just looking at some different options. I want to be driving tacks at 200 yards with this thing

Re: 7mm-08 ammo suggestions....

Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2012 9:49 am
by bamabang
I've had great luck with the Federal Fusion in 7/08 in 140 gr

Re: 7mm-08 ammo suggestions....

Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2012 12:28 pm
by DUCKAHOLIC
Barnes Triple shock is a solid copper bullet there is no lead in it. it is devastating to a shoulder

Re: 7mm-08 ammo suggestions....

Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2012 7:40 pm
by Jay Dufour
Is the 7 mm rem 150gr. Cor-Lok good for deer in wide plots 100-200 yds ? I'm zeroed at 150 yds. I'm not reeeeal experienced ,but have dropped some at that range.Just starting to calm down and let some nice ones walk for mature bucks.

Re: 7mm-08 ammo suggestions....

Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 7:54 am
by DUCKAHOLIC
Jay Dufour wrote:Is the 7 mm rem 150gr. Cor-Lok good for deer in wide plots 100-200 yds ? I'm zeroed at 150 yds. I'm not reeeeal experienced ,but have dropped some at that range.Just starting to calm down and let some nice ones walk for mature bucks.

The 150 grain core lok is an awesome round at that range.....

Re: 7mm-08 ammo suggestions....

Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 8:22 am
by Dutch Dog
Man I LOVE the Core Lokt performance on deer, in this case though they just don't wanna group out of the gun. You'll be just fine with that 7 mag out to ranges far beyond most people's effective shooting range. I'm not sure exactly what the group was but I put 3 bullets touching each other yesterday with the Federal Premium Barnes TSX's at 100 yds. The gun didn't care for the superformance bullets (SST's) and the Federal Fusion's were just a shade better than the core lokt's but not really enough difference to call one any better than the other. Thus far it's the TSX's hands down.
Image

Re: 7mm-08 ammo suggestions....

Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 8:34 am
by country_20boy
I would go buy every box I could get with the same lot number, of those tsx and you will be set for a long time. That is really good for factory ammo.
What gun are you shooting?

Re: 7mm-08 ammo suggestions....

Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 10:08 pm
by cwink
I like the 120 grain bullet for the 7mm-08. The round was designed to fit be between the 243 and the 308.. Max bullet weight for the 243 is usually 100 and min bullet weight for 308 is usually 150. So to me it makes sense to shoot the 120 grain bullets out of the case.. Corbon makes a 120 grain barnes that is cool, I load the 120 Sierra pro hunters.. The deer I killed in deceember was decimated by that bullet.