catamountsierra
Well-Known Member
My daughter is currently working her way through the online Hunter's Safety course. I found a Ruger American youth model in 7mm-08 and snagged it up in a hurry; I already have reloading supplies for it since my Remington 700 was a 7mm-08 until it got completely rebuilt as a 284 Win. I had good success with the 700, at least in terms of bullet performance, but never could get that barrel to group better than 1 1/4 MOA. I used the 140 AB for deer one year, which worked very well, and then moved to the 150 ABLR, which got me my first elk and another deer. I know both of those bullets should work out, but thinking about going for lighter recoil, lighter bullets are often what is recommended, but I still have a bunch of both 140 BTs and 150 ABLRs.
I've seen the 120 BT come highly recommended for the 7mm-08 in general, though by the sounds of it the 120 is a fairly tough bullet that works well driven fast. The same goes for the light monos as monos in general seem to perform better at high speed. I am not all that familiar with other, say 100 - 120 gr bullets as I started working with the 700 at 140 gr.
The other way to reduce recoil is by reducing velocity, and with H4895 it appears that velocities can be reduced fairly well. I also believe that was the trick that my dad used when he got my brothers and I started shooting larger rifles (in our case, 30-06 and 308). My experience has also been that recoil from heavier bullets results in more of a push whereas lighter bullets give more of a crack.
Given that the ABLR is supposed to be good at lower impact velocities, and most of the problems that I have heard of seem to be from too high an impact speed, I was wondering about using those for some reduced loads, aiming for say 2200 - 2400 fps at the muzzle. Impact velocity at 100 - 200 yards should still be well with the listed ratings, and energy should be good enough at that range too for deer.
I'm know I'm not the only person who has thought about reduced hunting loads for kids starting out. Does what I'm thinking of make sense? What have you guys done for your kids? Any other recommendations I haven't thought of? I seem to have a fair amount of time on my hands for some reason, but I am hoping that maybe I can take her out deer hunting this fall.
I've seen the 120 BT come highly recommended for the 7mm-08 in general, though by the sounds of it the 120 is a fairly tough bullet that works well driven fast. The same goes for the light monos as monos in general seem to perform better at high speed. I am not all that familiar with other, say 100 - 120 gr bullets as I started working with the 700 at 140 gr.
The other way to reduce recoil is by reducing velocity, and with H4895 it appears that velocities can be reduced fairly well. I also believe that was the trick that my dad used when he got my brothers and I started shooting larger rifles (in our case, 30-06 and 308). My experience has also been that recoil from heavier bullets results in more of a push whereas lighter bullets give more of a crack.
Given that the ABLR is supposed to be good at lower impact velocities, and most of the problems that I have heard of seem to be from too high an impact speed, I was wondering about using those for some reduced loads, aiming for say 2200 - 2400 fps at the muzzle. Impact velocity at 100 - 200 yards should still be well with the listed ratings, and energy should be good enough at that range too for deer.
I'm know I'm not the only person who has thought about reduced hunting loads for kids starting out. Does what I'm thinking of make sense? What have you guys done for your kids? Any other recommendations I haven't thought of? I seem to have a fair amount of time on my hands for some reason, but I am hoping that maybe I can take her out deer hunting this fall.