7mm-08 120gr BT loads?

[mdgroundhogger]

I was wondering if anybody had any luck with the 120 grain Nosler BT's in the 7mm-08. I am getting ready to buy a T/C Prohunter barrel. Powders I already have are H380, Varget, H4350, W760 (same as H414), Benchmark and H322. I also have Nosler 140's and Hornady 139gr SST's but, I want to concentrate on the 120's if possible. Thanks

[smokepole50]

Before you buy the 7mm-08, have you considered a 260 Rem. Barrel?

I know 120gr bullets will work well with a 6.5 caliber. In my Tweeds, a 6.5x55 Swedish Mauser barrel in a 98 Mauser action, I shoot 120gr Rem. Core-loks at 3000 fps. They are cheap, accurate and get the job done. The 120gr Core-lok was originally developed for the .264 Mag and it works well on deer and varmints. The 6.5x55 and the 260 Rem. are basically the same cartridge performance wise, except in a 98 action you can push the 6.5x55 faster because the case is bigger.

Just food for thought.........

Smokepole

[youp50]

I have not used the 120s in my 7mm-08. Actually it is "The Rifle we call your Mom's". Why 120s?

FWIW We do like the 140s over Varget.

[mdgroundhogger]

I've got plenty of BT's, SST's and Interbonds in 140 I use in my 7Mag. I just wanted a reason to go with 120s in the 7-08. I've got around 100 120s collecting dust right now. Plus Im kind of an accuracy/bench nut and the 120 would make for a sweet target round or milk jug killer way out there! (looking for an excuse to buy more, basically)

[dannoboone]

I'm sorta in your boat. Had a hundred and ordered a hundred more
120's (Hornady) by mistake. They won't shoot worth a darn in my
7wsm, so gonna try them in my new Marlin XS7 in 7-08. Going to
try RL17 with these flat based bullets. Good luck with yours.

[herman]

The 120 hornadys shoot great in my rem 7/08.Posting the load and target below.It is a grain and a half above max with hodgens loading so work up if you try it.The group on the left is with the lead tip 120's and you can see the right is the HP's.
I set up a marlin 7/08 last year for a fellow and his shot the 120's about as good as my rem.
Have only taken 3 deer with these hornadys,one with the lead tip at 200 yds and 2 with the HP's one at 140 yds and one at 100 yds all dropped where they stood.
Haven't tried the BT's on deer yet so cannot say about them.
The BT's shot very good also with this load and 4064 was very good also.

[pposey]

I've killed a couple hogs and 8-10 deer with the 120BT over 45 grains varget in my 7mm-08s,, shoots wayy sub moa and gets 3050 in one rifle and 3100 fps in the other, is about max, 46 grains started cratering primers bad, 45.5 was cratering less but shot worse, still moa though,,Win brass and CCI large rifle primers

The 120 BT is a tougher bullet than the 140 bt in the 7mms,,,, the jacket is a little thicker on the 120 and it hammers game,,

[pposey]

I shot a 270win for years with 130grain power points and the 120 BT at 3100 performs about the same on game

[mdgroundhogger]

OK, Im getting really anxious about this caliber now! ;D I really don't know what else you could ask for from a rifle caliber. From everything Ive heard it's a pleasure to shoot, it hits hard and its really accurate.

I just read an article Layne Pearson wrote on the 7-08 and he absolutely loves it. He also put in the article how many people say it is a lady/kid cartridge. But, "as life takes its toll on our bodies shooting a caliber so recoil friendly and non-finicky (reloading wise) makes it almost inconceivable as to what we did without it."

Guess I'll find out.

[pposey]

Tis a good round, I have 2 stevens 200's, had another in Remmy MNT rifle, and all 3 shot everything I put in them well, 100 grain sierra HP is murder on yotes at 3100 fps, rips huge chunks out, also reduced loaded some of them and watched the fur jump when the bullet hit,,, 130 grain speer flat base, shot good, 139 sst shot wonderful but came apart to fast on deer, 120 BT shoots flatter and easier than the 130 flat base, and I'd rather reload boat tailed bullets anyway,, seems I always mess up a neck or 2 getting flat based bullets in there.

[pposey]

I've only used Varget,,, has worked with everything,,,,, except reduced loads I used blue dot,,,

[dans]

Varget for me shot under an inch with 120 Ballistic tips in an Encore.

[pposey]

7mm-08,,,,, varget,,, and 120BTs are a perfect match for deer and hogs,,, all I carry after ML season is over.

[boarhog]

Fri afternoon, I tried my first 120 gr BT loads in my Savage 7-08. 45.5 gr BL-C2 that averaged 2966 fps. Three went into less than 1.25", then shots 4 & 5 opened the group up to almost 2". I have not played with loads at all. Just picked a mid-range load for a powder I haven't tried before, and loaded up a few. My 140 gr Barnes TSX loads print 2.5" high at 100 yds. These 120 BTs printed 3.5" high with no scope adjustment. I'll have to try them on deer and hogs next year.
Boarhog

[pposey]

They do well on game. 45 grains varget was the ticket for me with the 120. 45.5 was only a few feet faster but opened up from .5 to 1.5 moa, twas hard for me to believe it made that much difference but it did, 43 and 44 grains also shot well but 45 was the point of best accuracy and speed,,, I'm getting more speed than that though, my readings could have been high though I only checked the loads for speed once, need to redo that now that I again have a chrono.

[pposey]

One thing on groups with my 7mm-08s,, they are Stevens 200s with skinny barrels and heat up fast, after 2 shots groups open up quickly

[ewc]

RL-15 @ 44.5gr and a 120ttsx gives me 3,050. That little bullet is amazing.

[ccchunter]

Excellent round, the 7mm08.

I have one and I bought my 13 yr old a Model 7. Built some reduced loads
for him and he loves it.

The 120's and the Model 7 are a great combo.
Nate

[thelefthand]

I have an 16" Encore barrel that is very picky. I shoot 140gr NOS BT out of it. It shoots accurately with BLC-2, and VV N145, N540, and N550. Varget gave me good speed, but the accuracy was only so so. Keep in mind that this barrel was very picky, and very rough. It fowles really quick. I found that the only way to get it to shoot more than 10 rounds between cleanings was to use Moly.

[mdgroundhogger]

UPDATE: I ended up getting a 7MM-08 Browning White Gold X-Bolt. Yeah I know its a little "Shiny" (is what my buddies call it) but I couldn't pass up the deal. Anyway I tried alot of different combinations with the 120's and Varget/Win 760/H380. It seemed to like a dose of 43gr of Varget and 120 Nosler BT's the best seated .02" off the lands. But as I stated before I have a lot of 140's also. Every book showed a cutoff of around 42-43grains of Varget with a Nosler 140 BT. for some reason mine shot best (5shots @.75"-100yards) with 44grains. It didn't show any pressure signs, no cratered/smashed primers, even though this was a full grain over MAX. I've seen where other people online love a 44-44.5grain shot of Varget with Nosler 140's but I try to stick with published data to be safe. My question is should I drop it down or go with it since it doesn't appear to be an issue?

I did find out however that the gun doesn't like 139grain SST's at all regardless of what combination I tried. Go figure. I might give some 140 Sierra's a try soon.