What are you guys shooting ? I’m not liking blood trail with 120 grain Barnes….i shoot mostly behind shoulder if possible. Thanks

140gr Accubonds and shoot shoulders. Exits every time. You'd get a lot better results with those Barnes if you start shooting shoulders as well. Those ttsx love to break bones and will stay together when they do it

Unfortunately a variety due to my perverse love for the caliber. I have multiple rifles in that caliber with 2 more on the way! Each rifles likes something different.

140 gr fusion in the Winchester
140 gr ttsx in the model 7
140 gr Norma in the xbolt
139 gr hornady sst in the Kimber

Not sure I’m liking the Norma. Bought a bunch on gunbroker cheap a while back. Have had great blood with the others

I’ve had great blood trails with 120 grain Nosler Ballistic tips(NBT) and 140 grain Partitions and Accubonds. I too shoot behind the shoulder. Never had a problem with them performing when hitting shoulders or not.

My 7-08 is a Model Seven and it’s a great cartridge.

I’ve killed several whitetail bucks with these setups and a big mule deer with the 140 grain Accubonds. My next elk will be killed with my Model Seven 7-08 and 140 grain Accubonds.

I've had great success with 150 Hornady ELDX. Several bucks in the last few years and great performance.

I have not had any personal experience yet, but all the research says the plain Jane speer 145 BTSP is a heckuva bullet out of a medium 7mm cartridge. I am shooting them out of my 7x57.. just haven't shot a deer with it yet to confirm. Looking to do that this weekend and I'll report back.

I also shoot the 120gr TTSXs in my 7-08. Unfortunately I can’t give you and information on a blood trail because every deer dropped where they stood. However I did have a decent blood trail on the 245lb boar hog I shot with it. And then there was that poor coon. Let’s just say they are extremely brutal on a coon at 60yds.
I was impressed with the damage the bullets done on the deer but I was not real impressed with the hole size the was left on the exits. It didn’t matter in these cases but if they hadn’t dropped I wonder about the blood trails. Plenty of blood at kill spot so I would think there would have been a trail to follow. I’m planning on loading some 140gr Accubonds to see how they shoot. I really liked how they performed on deer in my buddy’s rifle.

140gr Sierra GameKings

140 grain Federal Fusion
140 grain Nosler Accubond
140 grain Federal Premium Trophy Bonded (nickel plated with Speer bullets)

All perform very well and all are devastating on the deer they hit.

139 grain Hornady SST has performed well for me.

So I’m the odd ball with the 120 grain?

No coach I always felt Remington was onto something with 120s when they released the cartridge in 1980. But everybody wanted to shoot heavier bullets and so the 140s up took over. A model 7 with a 22 inches and 120s is just about perfect but *sigh* Big green went 20&18 5 inches ruining a good setup. Then they overcorrected and went 24 inches. You can see why they went bankrupt.

140 grain Federal Fusion in mine. Were really hard to find for the longest time but now can be found easily now.

Why do you say that a 20” barrel on a Model Seven ruined a it?

N2 I'd guess 95% the bolt guns are 22 inches perhaps ruined was the wrong word. Yes we all love the lever 30/30and a 20 inch model 7 is ballistically superior even without Magnums so don't beat me in the head with your model 7 I think you have the 7 SAUM?

If you search hard enough and are persistent enough, you can find one with a 22” barrel. I did 😁

I shot 120 barnes ttsx last year and was happy with the accuracy but wasn't happy with not getting a drop of blood with the 11 point I shot with it. This year I swapped to the nosler 120 ballistic tip after reading so many good reviews and I am very happy with with them. I shot an 11 point this year on new years day with one at 180 yards and it left a blood trail that a blind man could have followed.

We were shooting the 120 grain fusions and were happy with them

I was genuinely curious why you thought that. That’s why I asked. Yes, I have a Model Seven in 7 SAUM with a 22” barrel. 160 grain Accubonds travel at 2950 fps out of it. My 7-08 Model Seven has a 20” barrel. It shoots 120 NBTs at 3000 fps and 140 grain Partitions and Accubonds 2850 fps.

It’s amazing how much more handy the 20” barreled rifle feels in a shooting house/treestand and out west on backpack hunts.

140g Winchester Ballistic Silvertip for DRT.

We like the 120 grain Barnes and Nosler TTSX. Shoot shoulders, watch deer drop, get your knife out.

Maybe I should have clarified, I love the shoulder shot, it works without a doubt…a lot of my shots are 175 to 250….at that distance I’m going to aim behind the shoulder for margin of error. I would rather miss too far back, than too far forward…the only deer I’ve ever lost was a brisket hit, operator error on my part for sure . So I prefer something that leaves the best blood trail.

We have been using 139 interlocks for 10 years. They have done good for us

The 120 grain NBTs are amazing. I think you’ll like them.

no your not my model 7 love the honrady 120 low recoil load shoot within a inch with it. It will not shoot the heavier bullets. I think the 150gr or 140 gr nosler load shot at about 5" group. I want to try the 139sst in it but the 120's inthe honrady low recoil shoot so good I've not messed with it. Last to deer neck shots DRT.

I’ve been shooting 7-08 since 96.
I like 140 gr SP bullets and 140 gr Winchester ballistic tips.
I shoot both. The Hornady 139gr whitetail SP has been perfectly fine for me also.
Hard to find a bad one imo, but I have never shot 120 gr.
I use a 20” micro Abolt ..

The great thing about the 7-08 is that with it's velocity window , just about anything will do well out to 400 yards.

I shoot 140gr Barnes TSX and kids shoot 120gr SST reduced recoil. I'll probably transition kids to different bullet next year, but the reduced recoil served its purpose.

Had to move to accubonds during the pandemic. Never had an issue with corelokt before.

I was just searching for the 140gr Accubonds and came across the the actual 140gr federal fusion bullets available to load. I love the fusions and I may have to order a box to try them out. Only problem is it’s 100 bullets in a box.

This is what I shoot, and I’ve never lost a deer with it. Shot placement is always a must though.

My wife shoots 140gr Core-Lokt in her Browining A-bolt Medallion 7-08. They leave a blood trail that Stevie Wonder could follow.

The 140 Grain Sierra is the winner. I've shot deer with about all these I used a 7-08 for years shooting deer out of beans and tried all kinds of different combinations. Yea... I've shot the Barnes.

The 140 Sierra was generally more accurate than the Core-Lokt both work well. To be fair each gun is different.


If you can't satisfactorily kill a deer with this you have major problems. I'd suggest Golf, Grabass or some other sport for you. You are a terrible hunter and shot if you can't make it work... just go away now and don't look back.

Thanks for playing.

Next,

Good grief, It's a damn pine goat, not a Cape Buffalo.

Any hunting bullet in the 120 to 150 gr range works just fine to kill em. I've used the 139 gr Hornady Interlock and the 140 gr Partition to kill several dozen deer with my 7x57. Probably half were DRT and the rest ran a short distance. The 7 08 doesn't produce enough velocity to over stress any hunting bullets.

Amen

We've been on a .270 kick lately around here... and honestly quite a few people that frequent this board would be best severed to sell all their project guns.... get the ole .270 stick a 130 in it and NEVER look back. That would honestly make the most sense for many here given what they type. We all love guns but dam.....

Unfortunately, even then and very soon after a purchase is made.... a discussion regarding a 110 Barnes would appear out of the mist.

I prefer the 140 grain Accubonds in my 270Win.

A 110 TTSX would be bad medicine out of a 270 on a whitetail.

My Sako Model 75 in .270 might be my favorite; rock solid dependable with 130g TTSX. The 120TTSX works great in my 7mm-08.

[img]https://i.postimg.cc/gj6HbBkv/temp-Image-Om-FYb-S.avif[/img]

Hey Shaw, do you load those yourself or buy them over the counter? I’ve been shooting the Sierra Gamekings in my 270 for years but did not know they came in a 7mm-08. Federal no longer sells the Sierra Gameking. I asked the Federal ammo rep at the last NWTF show and he said Federal got tired of buying those bullets from Sierra to put in their cartridges so they switched to the accubond instead. If I could find those bullets from some other manufacturer, I would buy them.

N2TRKYS loads them for me.

My Kimber classic will shoot about any bullet I have tried but the one that sprays blood on the other side every time is a 140 gr Nosler Partition. I have never recovered one on a deer sized critter. Used them in a 7 mag and a 280 Ackley too.

139 grain Hornady BTSP. Great blood trails though generally they don't travel far

139 gn SST

Anybody use the 150 grain Norma ?

Last year for the first time. Son shot 2 pigs with em a few months ago, they got the job done! I have my favorites but they were non existent at the time (and one is discontinued) so i grabbed 3 or so boxes of the norma 150s just to have some more ammo, and decide to dial it in with them. Ironically had purty much same POI as my Federal Premium 140s...

My buddy shoots them in his 2 7-08s. Very accurate and gets the job done. This is the Norma Whitetail soft points.

I shot one this year, went 40yds and piled up.

Like James, there was very little difference in POI between a 140 Nosler Accubond and the 150 Norma.
Have not shot a deer with them.

I use these- 2 deer killed in two shots- run about 50 yds or less and DRT.

HSM Ammunition has them. I just got a couple of boxes last week.

I finally have some practical first hand experience with that old offering from Speer. The 145 gr SPBT will do it. Check out the classic 7x57 post I made in the serious deer talk forum for a pic of the exit wound that 145 made. Admittedly, it was a close shot, but it was right in the shoulders and that bullet did it's job. DRT..

Been shooting 140gr TSXs in factory federal loads for a few years now and they are very accurate out of my rifle so I haven't wanted to change. I bought a life time supply when they were discontinued but if I was going to change it would either be a 120gr TTSX or the 120gr NBT. Many people have had excellent experiences with factory federal Fusions but honestly for deer it really won't matter, having a bullet that hits exactly where you aim is most important

I had the same experience sighting in at 100yd.

My son killed a buck in KY with the 150 Norma......30yd and down.

Nosler 120 grain BT sitting on top of 48 grains of H414. Accurate and it just dumps a deer.

This is what I've started shooting and am very happy with performance on game and accuracy. Only difference is I'm losing mine with ramshot big game.