7mm 08 bullet choice

Roelander

Well-Known Member
7mm 08 Fallow bullet choice

Hi Everyone,

I need some advice on what bullet to choose for shooting mostly Fallow and some Roe with a 7mm 08. I have a semi custom Sako 75 with a 22" Walther Sporter barrel which I bought from Wardy 1 on here. Wardy had some loads developed for it and it sings with Nosler 140Gr BT's, but... I need to find a bullet that is a bit kinder to the carcase and will drop a large Fallow, so soft tips spring to mind. Nosler Accubonds don't work that well through it so they're out.

Time is limited for me (5 kids and a business keep me busy and knackered!) so the lads at Broc and Norris are going to make some test ammo up for me so I can see which bullets work best for accuracy but I wondered if anyone had any experience of what bullet works best for doing the job in the field?

Just another thought - has anyone got a good Fox round choice too?



Thanks for any help.
 
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why don't you take the rifle back to the guy who developed the load for it in the first place,have you actually shot the 140 BTs at a fallow yet as they will work perfectly
 
Nosler balistic tips are all I use in my 7-08. Works well on fallow. They are designed to stay together and are not like the light weight varmint bullets designed to fragment.

I also use them on fox. Never had a runner.....



If intent on changing I would go with a TTSX solid copper bullet.
 
I used to use accubonds they are an excellent bullet with minimal carcase damage but very exspensive now I use sierra gk 140 grain they perform very well when not driven to silly velocities
 
Never had a problem with any of the Nosler offerings, BT and Accubonds shot to same POI , Partitions v slightly different. Muzzle velocity with 140Gn over RL15 was spot on the Nosler Book loads. I've been told that the TTSX is another good choice, and I'm looking to try them in the 7x57.
 
why don't you take the rifle back to the guy who developed the load for it in the first place,have you actually shot the 140 BTs at a fallow yet as they will work perfectly

No I haven't shot Fallow with them yet but I know someone that has and said the opposite - so I thought I would ask to see what everyone thought. This thread is less to do with load development and more to do with bullet/carcase effectiveness. There are a few stalkers who really don't like BT's too so I thought I'd try and find an alternative but having said that I'd really like to keep using the current load if possible as they are bullet on bullet.
 
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I shot a fox and a roe buck at the weekend with 120gr Hornady SP bullets. Good expansion and instant kills. I would have no hesitation in using them on Fallow.
I moved over to the 7mm-08 after shooting a fallow doe with a .243 and the bullet failed to exit. The doe ran 25 yards but the heart shot was effective. I want a bullet that exits so I can track anything that runs.
 
No I haven't shot Fallow with them yet but I know someone that has and said the opposite - so I thought I would ask to see what everyone thought. This thread is less to do with load development and more to do with bullet/carcase effectiveness. There are a few stalkers who really don't like BT's too so I thought I'd try and find an alternative but having said that I'd really like to keep using the current load if possible as they are bullet on bullet.
if I was you I wouldn't listen to what others say until you have tried them yourself,accuracy kills,velocity causes meat damage.I know for a fact how your rifle performs so get out there and knock something over.
do not confuse hunting BT with varmint BT there a totally different constructed bullet
 
if I was you I wouldn't listen to what others say until you have tried them yourself,accuracy kills,velocity causes meat damage.I know for a fact how your rifle performs so get out there and knock something over.
do not confuse hunting BT with varmint BT there a totally different constructed bullet

Thank you for your advice but with respect, I am not talking about how my rifle performs nor am I suggesting I haven't used it to knock over any deer yet. I have used it and it is a brilliant rifle in every respect and I have no complaints what-so-ever. I have complete confidence in it.

My question was quite simply - what other alternative bullets are there to the Nosler BT's. If I wish to experiment that is my choice, I am only asking for advice from people on what they have found to have worked for them.

Regarding the person who told me of their experience with Nosler BT's on Fallow, the guy is a regular on SD as well as working in the trade, plus he also shoots the same round as me. I fully appreciate some people may mistake the Nosler BT as a Varmint round but not in this case, hence my original question.

I will using my present load, which is far from hot, to try out on the Fallow soon.
 
Thank you for your advice but with respect, I am not talking about how my rifle performs nor am I suggesting I haven't used it to knock over any deer yet. I have used it and it is a brilliant rifle in every respect and I have no complaints what-so-ever. I have complete confidence in it.

My question was quite simply - what other alternative bullets are there to the Nosler BT's. If I wish to experiment that is my choice, I am only asking for advice from people on what they have found to have worked for them.

Regarding the person who told me of their experience with Nosler BT's on Fallow, the guy is a regular on SD as well as working in the trade, plus he also shoots the same round as me. I fully appreciate some people may mistake the Nosler BT as a Varmint round but not in this case, hence my original question.

I will using my present load, which is far from hot, to try out on the Fallow soon.
nothing wrong with testing different bullets,but what you have has been tested and performs well as you say you have complete confidence in it,as to who told you they don't work is a very good friend of mine.
I know the load is far from hot "I developed it to shoot 1/4 MOA" :D
 
I shoot 7-08 and use the 140 Nosler BTs with good performance on roe through to red. I used to shoot 140gn Berger VLDs (hunting). They work well too as well as being super accurate. I have also used Sierra Gameking 140gn bullets and they perform well in normal stalking scenarios.

The nosler BTs are probably the best out of the bunch, followed by SGKs for all round species and shot placement. The Berger VLDs, although being super accurate and efficient didnt always expand that well on smaller masses of animal such as neck or roe followers. I never had any bad experiences but it did cross my mind. For chest shooting fallow, the VLDs work very much like a conventional soft nosed bullet, but with a whole load more BC (if like me you use one load for both stalking and also long range vermin/targets).

Things ive had bad results with are 139gn SSTs, they were too explosive. My 7-08 is a 1:10 Lothar Walther barrel.
 
Thanks everyone. I'll be sticking to the current load/bullet for now as it sounds like the right choice. I was more worried about the Nosler BT being mistaken for Varmint bullet and I don't really want to have to convince every stalker out there that it's not a carcase write off round. No probs with it on Roe myself - except for a neck shot at 12m which had a bit of a hole in it! :eek:)
 
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nothing wrong with testing different bullets,but what you have has been tested and performs well as you say you have complete confidence in it,as to who told you they don't work is a very good friend of mine.
I know the load is far from hot "I developed it to shoot 1/4 MOA" :D

Thanks, I thought as much as you have been in touch in the past over the loads you did. PM sent.
 
You could go to a heavier bullet? What about a 160gr Partition? Or alternatively try a harder bullet such as a Barnes TSX.
 
Thanks everyone. I'll be sticking to the current load/bullet for now as it sounds like the right choice. I was more worried about the Nosler BT being mistaken for Varmint bullet and I don't really want to have to convince every stalker out there that it's not a carcase write off round. No probs with it on Roe myself - except for a neck shot at 12m which had a bit of a hole in it! :eek:)

you cant as the tips are colour coded for varmint and hunting,take a look on Noslers web site
 
I have virtually the same rifle, just an inch less barrel, I like the noslers too but I use the 150's, I think as others have said its velocity that causes damage, so try a heavier bullet. The 150's shoot really well in my 9 twist barrel and although they fairly shred the HL area I wouldn't complain about the damage, a 1/2 inch entry and a 1-2inch exit, with a bit of lung outside.
 
I shoot a majority of roe and some reds and i use nosler g ballistic tips giving both excellent acurracy, i do not suffer from excessive damage at all.
 
I use 120gr Nosler BT in my 7-08 driven at just over 3,000 fps. They are deadly accurate but do sometimes cause significant but not excessive meat damage. Depends on where you place the bullet and if you hit bone IMHO. Surprised yours doesn't perform with Accubonds as my 24" Walther barrel loves them with IMR4350 but rifles, like people, are all different and maybe yours just doesn't like them. However it is worth experimenting with powder type, charge and seating depth but I have noticed the time constraints mentioned!

As for polymer tips, do not fall in the trap of believing that these are the equivalent of high explosive war heads, they are a small piece of plastic that helps initiate expansion, improves ballistic aerodynamic performance and stops the tip getting damaged in the magazine. The earlier ballistic tips were a bit more destructive and I think Nosler made them a bit beefier a few years ago.
 
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