What you all think of this 7m 08 load?

[Al Bundy]

So.. my hunting buddy been reloading a good while. He worked up a nice load for his 308 and is working on one for my NULA 7m 08.

He loaded up162 grain bullets.  38-42 grams vargut.  Less powder seemed to shoot better.  I thought 162 was a bit heavy.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Did you shoot all those powder weights yet?

[Lawdwaz]

What are planning on hunting with this load?

[grampy]

My 7mm/08 recipe is........140 gr. Nosler BT

                                                45.5 grains Big Game powder.

                                                Getting about 2,839 FPS.    MV

Shoots very accurate and consistent. 

[Al Bundy]

This will be a pig load in a few weeks and then regular whitetail. Very small chance we may try and go for bear. Maybe that is what he is thinking. I mentioned a recipe that Lawdwaz sent me using 120 grain but his opinion is that was light. Thanks for that by the way.

Yes I shot them all. 3 shots each. I recall starting at 38. Think we ended at 42.  He checked the results. Incredible bad timing my wifes scope failed in the middle of testing. I had to run up and spend time buying a new scope for her before everything closed. I didn't see the targets up close.  He said the lighter powder did better.  Honestly, for whatever reason, I think the factory Remington 140gr loads shot best so far. I felt some good solid recoil with them though. Not pleasant.

Im heading to blue mountain again this weekend with some factory Winchester nossler loads.

Grampy, 45grams sounds like a HOT load to me.  Only this weekend left to practice.

On another note, my buddy took his 243 and shot a nice grouping at 300 yards in the wind and light snow. 3 kill shots and 2 tight. Very impressive. He can shoot.

[Will_C]

Never loaded a heavy bullet like that in a 7mm-08. My Nosler manual shows 35-39 grains of Varget with a 160 grain bullet.

Will

[Culvercreek hunt club]

34 minutes ago, Al Bundy said:

Grampy, 45grams sounds like a HOT load to me.  Only this weekend left to practice.

 

I don't have my book with me but on the Hogdgon website with the 162 grain bullets and Varget the max load is 41.0. That is why i asked if you shot them all. It's only a grain but boy I am not a fan of exceeding max. No pressure signs?

Edited February 20, 2019 by Culvercreek hunt club

[grampy]

15 minutes ago, Culvercreek hunt club said:

I don't have my book with me but on the Hogdgon website with the 162 grain bullets and Varget the max load is 41.0. That is why i asked if you shot them all. It's only a grain but boy I am not a fan of exceeding max. No pressure signs?

Bob, I got that load from the Nosler book. 99% volume. Not the hottest load with this powder. And seems to shoot very well from my grandsons Savage, with no issues at all.

But!!!.........I am fairly new to reloading, and ALWAYS open to critique and suggestions from you guys with much more experience. 

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Bob, I got that load from the Nosler book. 99% volume. Not the hottest load with this powder. And seems to shoot very well from my grandsons Savage, with no issues at all.
But!!!.........I am fairly new to reloading, and ALWAYS open to critique and suggestions from you guys with much more experience. 

I wasn’t actually referring to our load. I meant the original one he posted.

[Lawdwaz]

1 hour ago, Al Bundy said:

This will be a pig load in a few weeks and then regular whitetail. Very small chance we may try and go for bear. Maybe that is what he is thinking. I mentioned a recipe that Lawdwaz sent me using 120 grain but his opinion is that was light. Thanks for that by the way.  Google "Steve Timm" and  see what he says about 120gr loads out a .284" barrels. I'll see if I can find some of his information.  Trust me; he has more experience in this stuff than your budddy.

I didn't see the targets up close.  He said the lighter powder did better.  Honestly, for whatever reason, I think the factory Remington 140gr loads shot best so far. I felt some good solid recoil with them though. Not pleasant. Are you saying the 140's recoiled more than the 162gr bullets?

 

 

 

My responses are shown above.....

[Lawdwaz]

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=steve+timm+120gr+nosler+bt

Here's a link, follow it to some additional links if you wish.

Good luck!

[Al Bundy]

Ill ask him what the max was. I don't recall 100% if it was 41 or 42. I suspect 41 after reading the comments. He has the book so I cant imagine he loaded 42.

For some reason, yes the 140 factory Remingtons FELT more recoil than the 162's I shot.  I find it odd but that is what my shoulder was telling me.

Ill google around some and look into the 120grain. Thanks for the info.

Hopefully this weekend I can get my target after shooting and take some jpegs.

[Rattler]

What 162 grain bullet is he using?  A bullet that long tends to occupy a lot of the case space resulting in less room for powder and a compressed load.  Not sure what he's expecting to get with that bullet other than increased penetration.

Although it's a lighter bullet, but about the same OAL, I would consider using a 140 grains Barnes TTSX bullet for pigs, as it will give higher velocity with the same powder charge and excellent penetration with better retained bullet weight.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

8 minutes ago, Rattler said:

What 162 grain bullet is he using?  A bullet that long tends to occupy a lot of the case space resulting in less room for powder and a compressed load.  Not sure what he's expecting to get with that bullet other than increased penetration.

Although it's a lighter bullet, but about the same OAL, I would consider using a 140 grains Barnes TTSX bullet for pigs, as it will give higher velocity with the same powder charge and excellent penetration with better retained bullet weight.

For that round I would be staying in the 120-140 range. There ins't anything around here, including the targeted pigs that they wouldn't take. IMO, extremes, high or low, whether bullet grains or powder charges are tying to make a caliber do something it isn't best suited for. If I felt I needed to go that heavy, I would be using a 308. I am no old hand at reloading but with any load I have worked up, my firearms seem to always find a sweet spot with moderate bullet grain weights for the caliber and moderate powder charges. 

[wildcat junkie]

140 gr Ballistic Tip

46.0 gr Alliant Rl 17

2.872" OAL

2915 fps

This is a max load in the particular Savage Axis II that I personally worked the load up for.

Very consistent Mv and .5 MOA groups at 100 yds.

Reduce by 10% and work up.

[tuckersdaddy]

For that round I would be staying in the 120-140 range. There ins't anything around here, including the targeted pigs that they wouldn't take. IMO, extremes, high or low, whether bullet grains or powder charges are tying to make a caliber do something it isn't best suited for. If I felt I needed to go that heavy, I would be using a 308. I am no old hand at reloading but with any load I have worked up, my firearms seem to always find a sweet spot with moderate bullet grain weights for the caliber and moderate powder charges. 

Use this as an excuse to buy more guns..... I like it!!

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[Nytracker]

We need excuses  to buy a new gun