Wife's new 7mm-08... Bullet recommendation

[Nikolakangrga]

My wife is just getting into hunting and I've decided it was time to get her a rifle she can call her own. We decided on a

Tikka t3 lite
7mm-08
Bell and Carlson stock
Trijicon Accupoint (crosshair with dot)

Her shots will be within 0-300 yards TOPS. 99% of all shots will be within 150 yards. I would like to load up one bullet she can rely on for blacktail deer, hogs (50lbs - 350lbs) and black bear.

I will stress shot placement and PRACTICE to her but would also like a bullet which will reliably do the job on all three game animals with a behind the shoulder shot. I have never been big on shoulder shots due to meat loss.

I was thinking about trying the 120gr ttsx but I'm not sure if they would be reliable without hitting heavy bone. Losing a deer or any animal happens to all of us atleast once but I would like to reduce the chance of failure for my wife as I want hunting to be a happy positive experience for her.

Thanks all for your input
Nick

[Daveinjax]

I shoot the 139gr sst from hornady for deer . I've killed north of a hundred of them up to @ 225lbs and all I did my part on were drt. The 145 gr btsp from speer works well also and is a good bit tougher for bear and large hogs. They both perform well in the 7-08 velocity range and are inexpensive to shoot. The barnes bullets are work around for a bad california law and way over priced. Barnes bullets are poor performance and high cost , the worst combo. The nosler bt is no better bullet than the sst but cost half again as much. I don't have bear where I hunt but plenty of hogs. If you don't try to shoot a boar through the shields the 139gr sst will do the job all day , through the shields you better bring a cannon.

[Joe King]

Indifference to the Bear and Pigs I'd look at Bonded bullets, or partition type bullets, in the 150 - 160 gr range. 300 yrds is pretty short so you wont need to worry about retained energy or velocity so much.

[barnesuser28]

+1 ^ the 150-160 Partition would be my choice or the 145 grain Barnes LRX.

[rscott5028]

The 120 TTSX is a good choice for a light weight rifle inside of 300 yds.

You should get plenty of impact velocity for proper bullet expansion without the recoil/torque of the heavier bullets.

-- richard

[Edd]

My choice would be 140gr TTSX.

[reeldawg]

I shoot both the 139 SST and the 140 BT. They work well. I have some 140 Bergers, but haven't tried them on game.