Best Choice for 7mm Deer bullet

[chuck41]

I am going to pick up some bullets to reload for my 7mm-08. Trying to decide what to get for a good deer load for the rifle. (Stevens 700) I expect to be using it at not over 250yd and most shots likely around 100.

The 120 or 130gr Speer SPs will load to about 3000fps. The 145gr around 2900. Which of these 7mm bullets are likely to be the best all around choice for deer sized game?

[deadeye]

my vote goes to the nosler 150gn e-tip if you can find them

[herman]

I have shot a lot of different bullets in my rem 7/08 at paper but have only taken 4 deer with the 7/08 ( I like useing a different rifle every time I hunt with different bullets)Out of the 4 one was with a hornady 139 sst don't remember the yardage but it worked great,two were with the hornady 120 SP and one with the 120 hp.The reason I used these were because they did so good on paper.The 3 with the 120's that I remember the yardages were 200,140,and 100 yds,all went straight down.
Berger sent me a box of their new 140 gr in 7mm to try when they came out with them year before last,they shot very small groups on paper out to 300 yds but didn't get a chance to try them on deer.This should be a very good bullet for long range use.
Have shot the 130 and 145 speers and they shot great in 7/08 and 7 mag.But just have not tried them on deer,either should work great on deer though.
Varget is my favorite powder for the 7/08.
You picked a very good caliber for deer in the 7/08.

[Tarheel]

I like the 120 Ballistic tip, I loved the 120 Hollow pt. in the 280 Rem. before Remington quit loading that bullet.

[whyohe]

my buddy loads for a 7mm rem mag and he loves the 140 grn nosler ballistic tips and is very accurate out of his gun.

[dans]

I use 140 gr Nosler BTs in the 7mm/08 and 160 gr Accubonds in the 7mm Weatherby Mag.

[chuck41]

Thanks for the input guys. I have some 120gr and I just found 100 139gr. That should keep me busy for a while.

[boarhog]

Chuck,
I have killed several deer with my Savage 7-08. All but 1 was with the Barnes 140 gr TSX. Distance from 35 yds to 284, and all passthroughs and DRT. Perfect performance.

Only one deer using 139 gr Hornadt SST, at appx 60 yds. Also passthrough and DRT, but more explosive expansion, and left bullet frags in the deer. This bullet is a little more accurate than the Barnes, but not enough to push me to the Hornady.

I have not tried the 120 gr in any brand on deer, but I have loaded some Hornadys to use for Coyotes. They are very accurate, but I feel a little too explosive for deer. If I were going to use 120 gr bullet for deer or hogs, I would most likely go with Barnes or Nosler Partitions. I stopped using Nosler 150 gr Ballistic Tips in my 7mm Rem Mag because they were too destructive at under 150 yds.

[chuck41]

Thanks. Good information.

[deadeye]

boarhog-give those nosler 150gn e-tips a run,you will not be disappointed providing you like barnes copper's mushruming performance,short & long range! ;D

[boarhog]

Deadeye,
I have not tried any E-Tips yet. Don't really know anything about their construction.

I love Barnes TSX, especially where we hunt. We regularly get shots at wild hogs, and I want a tougher bullet than is really needed for deer. That said, I don't want to find bullets in deer either. I much prefer holes on both sides!

[chuck41]

Since changing from the 200gr XTP 40 to the 210gr REM soft point I really don't think the hogs will have anything to cheer about down my way. I would like to get down to the camp and put out some attractant and shoot me one or two this summer. We have anchored them from "football" size up to about 200# down there from time to time. They sure are tasty.

[savedbyjc7]

i like the 140 partition or the 140 bt. partition punches through both shoulders but doesn't destroy alot of meat.

[Rifleman]

Anybody ever use the Federal Fusion? I got a Xp 100 R pistol in 7mm-08 and about 20 boxes of the Fusion ( they were on sale right after I bought the gun, and I had no brass, and did not want to convert my 308 brass) . Anyways I have never shot any game with it yet and was a wondering how they did?

[savedbyjc7]

i believe the fusion bullets are made by speer. but...i could be wrong. when i bought my 7/08 i didn't have any brass either but i did have about 200 .260 rem cases and thats what i used. ran 'em up through the sizer die and presto. in fact thats what i use to this day in that gun.

[chuck41]

Aug 3, 2009 23:16:01 GMT -5 savedbyjc7 said:

i believe the fusion bullets are made by speer. but...i could be wrong. when i bought my 7/08 i didn't have any brass either but i did have about 200 .260 rem cases and thats what i used. ran 'em up through the sizer die and presto. in fact thats what i use to this day in that gun.

According to Chuck Hawks, "For the fall 2005 hunting season Federal unveiled a new ammunition brand called "Fusion." The reason for the separate brand identity is that the entire Fusion line is loaded with bullets featuring bonded cores." . . . . .
"All calibers use bullets made by Federal's proprietary "molecular-fused" jacket technology. In this "electrochemical" process, to quote the Fusion literature, "the jacket is applied to the core one molecule at a time to totally eliminate separation and assure mass integrity." The core is a pressure-formed lead alloy and the jacket is pure copper. A skived tip promotes initial expansion. Fusion bullets feature a perfect center of gravity and high ballistic coefficients (BC)"

According to the Chuck Hawks review they should be a fantastic choice for deer.

Here is an interesting discussion link about the Fusions. www2.huntinfo.com/ubb/Forum18/HTML/005473.html

Oh, by the way, I just noticed that Midway has them in 240gr with sabots for 50cal Muzzleloaders as well.

[dxt20]

i have a 7mm-08 to. great deer gun. i reload hornady 139grain SST ''super shock tipped.'' they have very good accuracy and do enough damage to humanely take a deer down. they shoot very well out of my gun however every gun is different. they mite not shoot worth a crap out of your gun. but you might give them a try. nothing wrong with speer i just like a ballistic tip. thats just my opinion.

[boarhog]

Federal Fusion does not group well in my Savage 7-08. 3-4" while other factory loads group 1-1 1/2". In addition, we have not been impressed by the Fusion performance on deer. Of 5 deer hit with Fusion .243 and 30-06, one was wounded and lost. Not sure where it was hit by my Grandson with his .243. The others all showed evidence of bullet blowup. None were pass throughs. We found mangled bullet fragments and lots of meat damage in all recovered deer. I can't recommend Fusion.

[deadeye]

boarhog, your results ,my range& field results exactly,why mess with a bonded,partition, or fused bullet any way when solids are available usually with a higher bc& less cost ,the only test with these i have not conducted is @ 400 plus yds & most people do not shoot @ these yardages. nosler e-tip's & barnes triple shocks to start with. all high power rifles w/these in best conditions under 1.5'' @ 300yds & often @ 400yds.

[boarhog]

I lost count, but I have shot well over 50 head of deer and hogs with 140 gr and 160 gr Nosler Partitions in my mauser 7mm Rem Mag. Mostly 140s. Haven't had a Partition fail yet. Almost all went out the other side. I perhaps recovered 3-4 bullets, and those were from odd angle shots The recovered bullets all looked the same. Peeled back to the partition and all of the nose lead gone. No complaints and I still use either NPs or Barnes TSX in the 7 Mag when I'm not to lazy to tote the heavy thang! There are lots of more accurate bullets than NP, and that is part of why I don't use them in my 7-08. It loves the Hornady 139 gr SST? and the Barnes tsx I have also used the Nosler 115 gr Partition and the Barnes 100 gr TSX in 257 Roberts on a truckload of deer and hogs. Great performance there also.

That said, there is no absolute necessity to shoot dollar+ bullets and still have good success. I loaded 100 rds of 30-06, intending to use in my M-1 Garand. They were loaded to appx .308 Win speed with H-4064 and the 165 gr Remington pointed Core Loc. My youngest Son glommed onto them and killed many deer and hogs. Ranges were from 15 yds to over 400, and at the range more than once, he shot a 1" group at 200 yds. I never did get any of those loads back! Sorta like giving your wife a $100. dollar bill! You'll never see any change!

[savedbyjc7]

any one use the berger vld? best of the west has some neat vids to watch. suppose to be a hammer on game. drives in about 3" then explodes. i also like the 140 partition in my 7-08. but for deer sierra or hornady is all you need if using a standard cartridge. magnum shooters should use a barnes or something stiffer and perhaps up in weight.

[boarhog]

Savedby,
If you have accurately described the performance of the Berger hunting bullets, I would never use them. I stopped using Nosler Ballistic Tips because they are too explosive IMO. I know a guy that swears by the 22-250 on deer. I can assure you that he will never get an invitation to hunt with me!

[deadeye]

fyi- i was not knocking the partition or any of the above,but partitions are known to be poorer in flight & especially@ long ranges which i consider 500+yds or more. i understand its design & would use it 400yds & in if solids were not available///but new technology-solids are in & perform great @ short &long range. the berger vld is a great target bullet & i use them on the range but have never put one in an animal but i have talked to serious testers & all have said berger is accurate but they did not like the performance after entering the animal,just sharing some of the local serious gossip

[dougedwards]

What is the rate of twist of this 7mm barrel?

Doug

[savedbyjc7]

Doug,
rot is 1-9" on my 7-08.
boarhog, i've shot and seen several deer shot with the 140 bt and it just kills them. but... only going 2600-2700 fps. if you go on bergers web site, they down elk with their bullet. they drop right now. i think for deer sized game they would be ok. again, its hard to beat the good ol nosler partition.

[boarhog]

I have an idea that Nosler Ballistic Tips would perform much better on deer when shot at roughly 2700 fps out of my 7-08 than they did at 3100 fps out of the 7 mag. They certainly are one of the most accurate bullets I have shot. Like Deadeye, I didn't intend to criticize anyone. Just relating what works for me. Nosler paved the way for all of the premium quality bullets we have to choose from today.

[savedbyjc7]

on the buck master web site Russel Thornberry has a good article on the 25-06 called
'the 25-06 deadly on deer' he uses the 115 partition exclusively and has shot over 100 head of game with it. i was impressed and went out and bought a 25/06. i also think the sst would be a good bullet. not offended in the least, we all have our own experiences with hunting ect, and animals react differently when hit.

[deadeye]

the best of the west video was a very good one but in imo the point should not be -berger bullets or any bullet for this matter- lays em out.the point is w/a 7mm,after getting your gun accurate capable,this caliber has a very high bc which could be considered ideal for long range hunting work,then shooter capable of course you can send a solid to a solid landing area with a high degree of accuracy "high shoulder hit" in this case & drop the animal in its tracks with precision. risky- imo as i am a long range shooter also , i get there as well with a 300rum in the old school lung area with a solid or a bt! you fellas are right there is always a different route