7mm08 bullet selection

VAspeedgoat

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This goes back to two different threads of mine, so I hope everyone that commented on them finds this one.

I have finally decided on my mountain rifle rebuild to stay with the standard 708. To all of you that tried to sway me from the Ackley improved version thst I argued with, YOU WERE RIGHT. I really did consider the .284 but for the same reason as the Ackley I went back to the standard 708. It all came down to the question, what if I dont want to reload one day? So, aswas pointed out, I really , dont see the big deal over 150 fps. Also some ammo gets closer than that to my 3000 fps benchmark. Sorry to all that pointed this out to me while I blindly kept moving forward.

So back to my new thread. I have been looking over ballistics rescently and wanted you guy's opininion on this. I was wanting a bullet that would be primarily for mulies out to 300 yards. The twist being if I can get it to shoot well, I wiuld also use it on pronghorn and the slight chance of an elk. The elk is a really slight chance. I have always liked pass thruogh shots on whitetails at home, and was wanting the same in mulies necause I panic when there is not an obvious blood trail. I also assume anything good enough for mulies will work on pronghorn .

That said, my obvious go to is accubonds and interbonds in 140 grains. I also am considering partitions. The realdebate comes ifi look at some sort of coper bullet. I have heard tht you should go down in bullet weight which translae to higher velociy thus better terminal performncer out of the all copper bullets. Is this true and if so is the 120 grain bullets heavy enough for mulies and possibly elk. Or am I asking too much out of one bullet and I need to have different loads to accomplish all of this?
 
I'd have no problems hunting elk with a 120gr mono bullet. A well known gunwriter did quite a few penetration tests with various bullets. His results showed that a mono will penetrate like a Partition that weighs 1.2 times more. So, a 120gr mono should penetrate about like a 144gr Partition. He also noted that the wound channel was not as voluminous with a mono as a lead based bullet.

For what you are proposing, I'd look at either the Partition or the Accubond in that order. I'd pick the Partition unless the AB shot magnitudes better. If I could get a 140gr Partition to shoot 2700fps or faster and keep 3 within 1.5" I'd be happy. The increased BC, et. cetera, of the Accubond isn't going to be that big of a deal with your self imposed limit of 300yds. I'd also expect the Partition to have a better % of exits over the AB.
 
I'd have no problems hunting elk with a 120gr mono bullet. A well known gunwriter did quite a few penetration tests with various bullets. His results showed that a mono will penetrate like a Partition that weighs 1.2 times more. So, a 120gr mono should penetrate about like a 144gr Partition. He also noted that the wound channel was not as voluminous with a mono as a lead based bullet.

For what you are proposing, I'd look at either the Partition or the Accubond in that order. I'd pick the Partition unless the AB shot magnitudes better. If I could get a 140gr Partition to shoot 2700fps or faster and keep 3 within 1.5" I'd be happy. The increased BC, et. cetera, of the Accubond isn't going to be that big of a deal with your self imposed limit of 300yds. I'd also expect the Partition to have a better % of exits over the AB.

Exactly. If you don't have to use the monos, I would not use them at the moderate velocity, as you may have some expansion issues. The Partition will reliably function at a wide range of velocities.

The 120 would do what you want, but I would stay with the 140 personally.
 
I agree with the others, 140's would work great for your self imposed limits...150's or 160's might as well.

I would stick with either partitions or accubonds, IME, the accubonds act much like a partition penetration wise.

Haven't caught many, even on elk. Shot a mature cow a few weeks back at 629 yards with the 7-08 and 140 accubonds, passed through broadside.
 
Any luck finding 140 AB's in stock? I noticed Cabelas had them on sale backorderable.
 
I shoot 140 Etips in mine and have had nothing but excellent results. 2 mulies at 208 and 218 yards and an antelope at 80ish yards. The muleys were dead within 15 yards and the antelope got a followup shot from my botched first shot. I had intended on switching to 140 Accubonds but coudn't find any as factory seconds. I'll continue to use the 140gr Etips in my 7mm-08.

Back before I switched to almost exclusively Nosler bullets, I would have loaded the 139gr Hornady Interbond.

I've never used the 120grain bullets but I would think they would do what you need.
 
I see them at most sportsmans all the time as well...don't usually have a need to buy any though. I think I have 150 loaded and another 650 in boxes/bags.

DSC00693.JPG
 
I see them at most sportsmans all the time as well...don't usually have a need to buy any though. I think I have 150 loaded and another 650 in boxes/bags.

DSC00693.JPG

That looks like my stack of 160 Partitions that I load in my 7 mag.

I think that the Partition and Accubond are a coin flip, depending on which shoots best in your rifle.
 
I have more 160 AB's than 140's and 500 or so 160 partitions as well...don't see myself shooting up the partitions in this lifetime.
 
Lets put it this way...when wal mart is the best sporting goods store in the town you live in, you need to make sure you don't run out of stuff.

..spoken like a true hoarder.;):D

I look for supplies to loosen shortly..seems to be a historical shortage this time of year.
 
Ha ha! Buzz, you're WalMart is a wonderful thing and never fails to provide me some entertainment.

SM- I've always wondered about some of these folks keeping the amounts they do on hand. I guess a few probably shoot that much, but I'm thinking for too many it's a 'street cred' thing... That said, I don't shoot way near enough. Living in suburban Hades and having two younguns' really put a damper on the amount of reloading supplies I have to buy...
 
Back on track to the original question. I just went through the same process as you are now. I shot 150BT's, at a moderate velocity, for about 15 yrs and never had an issue. I'm planning on a 'Lope hunt this fall and was looking for a bullet that would "do it all" so to speak. Deer, Lope's, and black bear.

On the advice of many, many people more experienced in western hunts than I, I chose the 140 AB as my hunting bullet. I'll use 140BT's for the load development, then zero for the hunt with the AB's.

A little range time with Varget, 4064, and RL-15 will determine just what kind of velocity/accuracy I'm going to be playing with.

Good Luck.
 

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