Factory 7-08 loads

remington core lokt

pabst24 Said:
remington core lokt

Yep. 

I've also had good accuracy with Federal 140gn Ballistic Tips.

Horsager,

Ever have any problem with the bullet seperating on impact with the 140's? I tried them years ago in 160's(?) in my 7mm Rem mag and had one entrance wound and 3 exit wounds. I hit a rib on a deer quartering away, blew out the neck, opposite rib cage and one near the hind quarters. I've been leary ever since.

Only ever recovered 1.  Jacket and core separated but neither exited so I found them both.  I've only ever seen them used on 5-6 deer in that caliber/bullet weight combo.  Dad used that combo and borrowed out his 7-08 to a few family members with the same ammo.

When I've used the 7-08 hunting it's been with the 120TSX.

Unless you want to pay for premium ammo, jacket separation is going to happen. Under most situations it shouldnt be a deal breaker for you. If hunting large game like moose, I would shell out a little more for something that wont fragment. I have had the best luck with federal factory ammo, as far as value and accuracy go.

Hows that Sweet 16 working out for you? I won this 7-08 at the same banquet.

I've used exclusively the Federal Premium 140 gr. Nosler Partition.  Tight groups and nothing but dead deer.  The cost is very high though.

I normally use Federal Premiums on most of my rifles. 160gr Nosler Partitions exclusively in my 7mag. The only shell it likes. I figured I'd run some Fed blue box though the 7-08 hoping to get lucky. My experience tells me no two guns are alike and each favors it's own loads. My 7mag is a hand me down from my dad. His new 7mag shot blue box just fine. Mine however prefers the spendy shells.

Directed at Horsager.

fullrut Said:
Hows that Sweet 16 working out for you? I won this 7-08 at the same banquet.

fullrut Said:
Directed at Horsager.

fullrut Said:
Hows that Sweet 16 working out for you? I won this 7-08 at the same banquet.

It's morphed into a Magnum Research 22Mag.  Swapped out the factory trigger for a Timney unit and it works great.  Cycles very well, accuracy is very good.  Shot a few muskrats, a skunk, and a fox with it last weekend.

I forgot, I also tried some 95gn Fusions in one of my 7-08s and they shot well.  Didn't ever use them on game though.

Ive used fusions in my 243 and didnt like them, that was when they first came out with those bullets, maybe they have made the jacket thicker since then, but they were very explosive on deer.

Horsager Said:
 I also tried some 95gn Fusions in one of my 7-08s

Scratch that, 140gn Fusions.

I use superformance SST 139gr from Hornady.  If you go to ammoseek.com you can buy them for a little over 20 bucks a box.  The factory ballistics of this ammo is on a whole different level compared to other factory loads.  Go to shootingtimes.com and it will compare ballistics from different rounds and you'll see the difference. It is amazing for this caliber in particular.  Good luck, I hope I helped.

SST Super Performance stuff shoots great on paper anyway.  The one deer killed with it so far as only 100 yards away looking right at us.  My wife put two in it to make sure it was dead.  Her first deer but those bullets did a great job on that animal.

I didn't even think of the Hornady's. I'll get it on the paper with some cheap shells and go from there.
Thanks guys

Lycanthrope Said:
Ive used fusions in my 243 and didnt like them, that was when they first came out with those bullets, maybe they have made the jacket thicker since then, but they were very explosive on deer.

That's probably because it's a 243. They work well out of a 7 mag and 30-06.

I've shot a half dozen animals or so with the 140 fusions out of my 7-08. No distances under 100 yards or over 250 yards. Very consistent results of animals dying, no bullet recoveries with most exit holes being 2-3" in diameter.

Fly good through paper too.

Trust me on this.  FUSION.  Bonded bullet, great accuracy, same price as Core Lokt, Power Point etc.  I wish I had your gun.

It looks nice, but I'm not at all impressed with the action. It's rough as all hell. I've already spent about three hours polishing the bolt and raceways. The bolt wasn't too bad. The raceways were another story. They were rough as could be. It's not the machining of the action but some kind of contaminant when they blued it. Not quite as course as 80 grit sand paper. It's cleaning up with some jeweler rouge and soft dremel tip. I had to quit because it ate up all my tips. I did some checking on the web and found this isn't uncommon with the Hawkeye's. Most guys just watch TV and run the action a couple thousand times. I want to smooth it out so my boy can shoot it from the bench. It probably wouldn't be a problem for most under hunting conditions. I certainly wouldn't buy a gun that had an action like that. Like I said earlier, it was a banquet gun so what the hell. In couple of years when my boy is old enough to hunt, it will be his. In the mean time, I get to play with it. It's the first short action bolt gun I've owned.

svnmag Said:
Trust me on this.  FUSION.  Bonded bullet, great accuracy, same price as Core Lokt, Power Point etc.  I wish I had your gun.

fullrut Said:
It looks nice, but I'm not at all impressed with the action. It's rough as all hell. I've already spent about three hours polishing the bolt and raceways. The bolt wasn't too bad. The raceways were another story. They were rough as could be. It's not the machining of the action but some kind of contaminant when they blued it. Not quite as course as 80 grit sand paper. It's cleaning up with some jeweler rouge and soft dremel tip. I had to quit because it ate up all my tips. I did some checking on the web and found this isn't uncommon with the Hawkeye's. Most guys just watch TV and run the action a couple thousand times. I want to smooth it out so my boy can shoot it from the bench. It probably wouldn't be a problem for most under hunting conditions. I certainly wouldn't buy a gun that had an action like that. Like I said earlier, it was a banquet gun so what the hell. In couple of years when my boy is old enough to hunt, it will be his. In the mean time, I get to play with it. It's the first short action bolt gun I've owned.

svnmag Said:
Trust me on this.  FUSION.  Bonded bullet, great accuracy, same price as Core Lokt, Power Point etc.  I wish I had your gun.

A ruger rough? Go figure. I hate rugers. Not saying it wouldnt be nice to win one, but I would never spend money on anything Ruger except a 10/22.