Wayne allen
Member
I would look into the 139gr Hornady interlock.
7mm-08 short range deer bullet
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Wayne allen
Member
If you lung shoot them i would also look at the 139 gr sst. It will act more like a varmit bullet at closer ranges 20-100 yds. I have been pleased with there accuracy and performance.
Agree with others, the 120 Nosler ballistic tip which may be the perfect bullet for a 7-08 and deer.
Here is part of the thread about the 120 NBT on 24 hr years ago:
Mule Deer aka gun author John Barsness:
"Its one of the BT's with a VERY heavy jacket, comprising around 2/3 of the total bullet weight. Generally these models retain at least 60% of their original weight, even if they lose the lead core. This is apparently what baffles some hunters, because they've long believed any bullet that loses won't penetrate deeply. "
Another gun writer Steve Timm aka dogzapper talking about the 120 nosler ballistic tip performance. This bullet will deliver great results even at some faster velocities.
I push 120BTs at 3,370 out of my .280 Ackley. I've killed one Alberta moose, maybe a half-dozen big Alberta whitetails, about four antelope and about eight or ten mule deer with the load. Never seen any hint of a blowup.
The moose shot was at 91 yards. Bullwinkle was standing in a farm two-track, kinda angled. I shot him through the left carotid artery (cool..it spurts) and the bullet exited, leaving a two-inch hole and a totally missing cervical (neck) vertabrae. Moosie stood for about five seconds, long enough for me to rack in another round, and then he tipped over like a piece of plywood in a light wind.
When used in the .280 Ackley, the bullet seemingly always exits on deer and antelope, except for one antelope buck that I shot in the throat and found the bullet next to the bunghole, when I started to do the bad-nasty coring job with my filet knife. That bullet was expanded to about .75" and the core/jacket were one solid piece. The rest of the bullets, on both deer and antelope, totally penetrated and might still be in low-earth orbit, for all I know. Exit holes are not large, averaging about 1 1/2-inches to two inches, and bloodshooting is not bad. Yeah, I know the first few generations of BTs were "soft", but this bullet is much harder.
I've also used the 120BT in my 7SGLC (Layne Simpson named this 7-08 AI, Simpsons Good Little Cartridge) at 3,250 fps MV. One shot I totally remember was hitting a major Montana mule deer buck in the face with the bullet at about ten yards. It was very early one morning and I was creeping up a hill, when I ran smack-dab into a large buck that was peeping at me through a juniper tree.. The horns were MAJOR.....up came the rifle and I shot it under the right eye. Didn't break the skull cap......just killed the living crap out of him.
It must be a guy thing, but I just love shooting critters squarely in the face, if I can. My friend, Roger Roberts, from Weeping Water, Nebraska, about had a hernia when I face-shot a caribou when we were hunting in Quebec...a face-shot at about fifteen feet is graphic and Roger ragged at me for the rest of the hunt about the shot. When I got home, I sent him a long video entitled "Face-Shot Things"; it was about a dozen short video clips melded together that would be great ammo for PETA View attachment 112392View attachment 112396View attachment 112399Roger was SO insulted that he had to watch it fifteen or twenty times; then, he got his wife, Vicki, and the kids to watch it more. View attachment 112391View attachment 112397But I digress.
With the with the same load in my 7SGLC, I killed a 9 1/2 year old mule buck at 204 yards. Shot through the spine at dusk. Exit hole was maybe two inches, after removing a serious piece of spine. Biggest damned deer I've ever seen....anywhere. And in the gumbo. Karen and I WORKED to get that SOB out.
7SGLC also ended the careers of two 6X6 bull elk, not major bulls, but both were 300 B&C or so. One at about 375 yards and the other one was 400-ish. One was shot through the spine, between the shoulder blades, from above and the bullet penetrated to the brisket hide. The other was broadside...hit squarely in the center of the shoulder, broke both shoulders, but no mess, and penetrated to the off-shoulder hide. Both elk bullets expanded to about .80" and the cores were securely locked in the jackets.
I've killed oodles of big Alberta coyotes with the 120BT in the .280. Doesn't do much, except kill them, because the jacket is too heavy for predator use.
The 120BT, as we know it, came from shooting Silhouetta. Reportedly, the original version was too lightly built to get the reliably knock over the 500-meter steel ram. My buddy, Chub Eastman, was at the first big Silhouetta shoot where they were used and came back home to Bend, OR with the request to "build it heavier." line. Hey, it wasn't selling as a varmint bullet, so they apparently thought that they would build the bullet for their target market; the Silhouetta shooters. Sooooo, Nosler beefed up the jacket and, in doing so, they unknowingly created one Hell of a big game bullet.
Section one, I think you'll see what I mean. The bugger is built like the Ballistic Tip .338s-and-higher. Really heavy jacket.
I use .284"-120BTs on deer and antelope with no hesitation. And, when the opportunity avails itself to bonk a heavier head of big game, I have absolutely no worries with the 120BT.
Hope this helps.
Steve
More from Steve:
"I've shot several antelope and deer at 300 yards, lung shots, with the 120BT. No problems. "
More from Steve:
"I've tried the 140 Sierras and found them too frangible for my use in the .280 Ackley. Dunno how they'd perform in my 7SGLC, but prolly better. Hey, the 120 Ballistics work perfectly in both of my 7s, so the search is over.
Actually, I've found the 120BTs to be very much tougher than the 140NBTs."
More from Steve:
"
"I simply love Varget in both the 7-08 and 7SGLC (which is a 7-08 Ackley).
In the 7-08 Remington with the 120 Ballistic, Hodgdon lists 42.5 grains of Varget (2,996 fps - 43,400 CUP) as a starting load. Hodgdon lists 45.0 grains of Varget (3,117 fps - 49,900 CUP) as maximum.
Nosler Number Five (look at the handsome dude in .280 Ackley section) lists loads for the 120 Ballistic with Varget. Nosler's starting load is 41.0 grains (2895 fps), their most accurate load is 43.0 grains (3018 fps) and, like Hodgdon, Nosler lists 45.0 grains (3,139 fps) as maximum.
The data between the two manufacturers, Hodgdon and Nosler, is remarkably similar. I know for a fact that the data was worked up independently.
I personally love it when data matches. Data that is all over the place, like the 7Mag stuff, leaves the handloader without any confidence that anyone knows anything. The 7-08 is a rock....and that is nice.
Soooo, start your initial load development in the area of 41.0 to 42.5 grains of Varget and watch it when you get near 45.0 grains. Looks like a plan.
Hope this helps.
Steve "
========
back to me...I used a 120 nosler BT in a 7 Rem mag for several seasons for coues wt hunting. RL-22 got the bullet going 3585 fps. Made my longest shot ever @ 725. Bullet went completely though the thickest part of the coues wt's neck. Impact velocity was 2200 fps. I must admit the light breeze had that bullet drifting quite a bit. I knew it would so I held on the buck's hip. He was broadside nibbling on a barrel cactus fruit.
Also used it for several coues wt with a 284 win. All kills from 75 yd to 400 plus exited leaving good blood trails if the buck didn't expire on the spot.
Ross
Here is part of the thread about the 120 NBT on 24 hr years ago:
Mule Deer aka gun author John Barsness:
"Its one of the BT's with a VERY heavy jacket, comprising around 2/3 of the total bullet weight. Generally these models retain at least 60% of their original weight, even if they lose the lead core. This is apparently what baffles some hunters, because they've long believed any bullet that loses won't penetrate deeply. "
Another gun writer Steve Timm aka dogzapper talking about the 120 nosler ballistic tip performance. This bullet will deliver great results even at some faster velocities.
I push 120BTs at 3,370 out of my .280 Ackley. I've killed one Alberta moose, maybe a half-dozen big Alberta whitetails, about four antelope and about eight or ten mule deer with the load. Never seen any hint of a blowup.
The moose shot was at 91 yards. Bullwinkle was standing in a farm two-track, kinda angled. I shot him through the left carotid artery (cool..it spurts) and the bullet exited, leaving a two-inch hole and a totally missing cervical (neck) vertabrae. Moosie stood for about five seconds, long enough for me to rack in another round, and then he tipped over like a piece of plywood in a light wind.
When used in the .280 Ackley, the bullet seemingly always exits on deer and antelope, except for one antelope buck that I shot in the throat and found the bullet next to the bunghole, when I started to do the bad-nasty coring job with my filet knife. That bullet was expanded to about .75" and the core/jacket were one solid piece. The rest of the bullets, on both deer and antelope, totally penetrated and might still be in low-earth orbit, for all I know. Exit holes are not large, averaging about 1 1/2-inches to two inches, and bloodshooting is not bad. Yeah, I know the first few generations of BTs were "soft", but this bullet is much harder.
I've also used the 120BT in my 7SGLC (Layne Simpson named this 7-08 AI, Simpsons Good Little Cartridge) at 3,250 fps MV. One shot I totally remember was hitting a major Montana mule deer buck in the face with the bullet at about ten yards. It was very early one morning and I was creeping up a hill, when I ran smack-dab into a large buck that was peeping at me through a juniper tree.. The horns were MAJOR.....up came the rifle and I shot it under the right eye. Didn't break the skull cap......just killed the living crap out of him.
It must be a guy thing, but I just love shooting critters squarely in the face, if I can. My friend, Roger Roberts, from Weeping Water, Nebraska, about had a hernia when I face-shot a caribou when we were hunting in Quebec...a face-shot at about fifteen feet is graphic and Roger ragged at me for the rest of the hunt about the shot. When I got home, I sent him a long video entitled "Face-Shot Things"; it was about a dozen short video clips melded together that would be great ammo for PETA View attachment 112392View attachment 112396View attachment 112399Roger was SO insulted that he had to watch it fifteen or twenty times; then, he got his wife, Vicki, and the kids to watch it more. View attachment 112391View attachment 112397But I digress.
With the with the same load in my 7SGLC, I killed a 9 1/2 year old mule buck at 204 yards. Shot through the spine at dusk. Exit hole was maybe two inches, after removing a serious piece of spine. Biggest damned deer I've ever seen....anywhere. And in the gumbo. Karen and I WORKED to get that SOB out.
7SGLC also ended the careers of two 6X6 bull elk, not major bulls, but both were 300 B&C or so. One at about 375 yards and the other one was 400-ish. One was shot through the spine, between the shoulder blades, from above and the bullet penetrated to the brisket hide. The other was broadside...hit squarely in the center of the shoulder, broke both shoulders, but no mess, and penetrated to the off-shoulder hide. Both elk bullets expanded to about .80" and the cores were securely locked in the jackets.
I've killed oodles of big Alberta coyotes with the 120BT in the .280. Doesn't do much, except kill them, because the jacket is too heavy for predator use.
The 120BT, as we know it, came from shooting Silhouetta. Reportedly, the original version was too lightly built to get the reliably knock over the 500-meter steel ram. My buddy, Chub Eastman, was at the first big Silhouetta shoot where they were used and came back home to Bend, OR with the request to "build it heavier." line. Hey, it wasn't selling as a varmint bullet, so they apparently thought that they would build the bullet for their target market; the Silhouetta shooters. Sooooo, Nosler beefed up the jacket and, in doing so, they unknowingly created one Hell of a big game bullet.
Section one, I think you'll see what I mean. The bugger is built like the Ballistic Tip .338s-and-higher. Really heavy jacket.
I use .284"-120BTs on deer and antelope with no hesitation. And, when the opportunity avails itself to bonk a heavier head of big game, I have absolutely no worries with the 120BT.
Hope this helps.
Steve
More from Steve:
"I've shot several antelope and deer at 300 yards, lung shots, with the 120BT. No problems. "
More from Steve:
"I've tried the 140 Sierras and found them too frangible for my use in the .280 Ackley. Dunno how they'd perform in my 7SGLC, but prolly better. Hey, the 120 Ballistics work perfectly in both of my 7s, so the search is over.
Actually, I've found the 120BTs to be very much tougher than the 140NBTs."
More from Steve:
"
"I simply love Varget in both the 7-08 and 7SGLC (which is a 7-08 Ackley).
In the 7-08 Remington with the 120 Ballistic, Hodgdon lists 42.5 grains of Varget (2,996 fps - 43,400 CUP) as a starting load. Hodgdon lists 45.0 grains of Varget (3,117 fps - 49,900 CUP) as maximum.
Nosler Number Five (look at the handsome dude in .280 Ackley section) lists loads for the 120 Ballistic with Varget. Nosler's starting load is 41.0 grains (2895 fps), their most accurate load is 43.0 grains (3018 fps) and, like Hodgdon, Nosler lists 45.0 grains (3,139 fps) as maximum.
The data between the two manufacturers, Hodgdon and Nosler, is remarkably similar. I know for a fact that the data was worked up independently.
I personally love it when data matches. Data that is all over the place, like the 7Mag stuff, leaves the handloader without any confidence that anyone knows anything. The 7-08 is a rock....and that is nice.
Soooo, start your initial load development in the area of 41.0 to 42.5 grains of Varget and watch it when you get near 45.0 grains. Looks like a plan.
Hope this helps.
Steve "
========
back to me...I used a 120 nosler BT in a 7 Rem mag for several seasons for coues wt hunting. RL-22 got the bullet going 3585 fps. Made my longest shot ever @ 725. Bullet went completely though the thickest part of the coues wt's neck. Impact velocity was 2200 fps. I must admit the light breeze had that bullet drifting quite a bit. I knew it would so I held on the buck's hip. He was broadside nibbling on a barrel cactus fruit.
Also used it for several coues wt with a 284 win. All kills from 75 yd to 400 plus exited leaving good blood trails if the buck didn't expire on the spot.
Ross
Last edited:
Another vote for the the 120 BT! I killed 4 this last week with the 7-08 and 120s. Three dropped in their tracks and one ran 20 yards. Absolutely no need for custom bullets as they do nothing in the 7-08 that the 120 cannot do. Simple as that. The rifle was custom lightweight rem 600 with leupold 2-7 firefly scope and easily busting 8 inch steel plates all the way to 500 using the stadia lines. I was using H414 but varget is good also. That rifle and combo is my favorite deer outfit.
AZShooter, thank you very much for taking the time to put that great post together!!
Maybe my issue is that aim like I am still bow hunting? Should I be moving my point of aim forward 4" or so to get into the shoulder?
Maybe my issue is that aim like I am still bow hunting? Should I be moving my point of aim forward 4" or so to get into the shoulder?
RockyMtnMT
Official LRH Sponsor
If you want a better chance of anchoring an animal, take the shoulders out. If you can track 50y shoot the lungs and save the meat. Use our bullet and either shot is good and meat lots will be minimal.
jjmp
Well-Known Member
When me n Friend pistol hunted deer in shotgun counties he used a 130 GN Speer Spz worked great & it didn't waste a lot of meat ,anywhere it was placed another name was Hot/core , shot like a rifle if you could hold it good enuff . Speer droped their 120,s .284 dia n maybe their 130s ,a shame for sure great bullets , but they make their 145 in Hot/Core & Grand Slam more Great bullets ,Noslers while a great bullet expands to Violently & blood shoots to much good eating meat . They have changed that bullet many many times, to each his & her own , thks.
frogfan
Active Member
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2013
- Messages
- 32
I did not see these mentioned previously. I have had very good luck with the Federal 140gr. Trophy Bonded Tip.
https://www.federalpremium.com/prod...rophy-bonded-tip-component-bullets/pb284tt140
https://www.federalpremium.com/prod...rophy-bonded-tip-component-bullets/pb284tt140
Dr. Mac
Well-Known Member
120 gr. Ballistic Tip may be too frangible up close. I get bang-flop every time with the Hornady 154 gr. Interlock over 39 gr. of Varget for about 2500 fps. Using a can near populated areas. No blow-ups either.
Steve Sheasly
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Dec 15, 2017
- Messages
- 184
.243 bear bet
