150 LRAB in 7mm-08

[Matt Wolf]

I've got a gen 1 R700 Ti in 7mm-08. I've always loaded 120 tsx in my other 7mm-08's but I've got a couple boxes of 150 LRAB and thought I might give them a try. Anyone care to share actual experience with this bullet? I'm hearing reports that they are on the soft side, but I'm thinking they might be just the ticket at 2700-ish.

 

[elkaholic]

It may work well in that rifle buy they definitely come unglued in a magnum at close range!

 

[Matt Wolf]

yeah, that's what I'm hearing. Giving them a pass in the rsaum.

 

[MudRunner2005]

Try some Berger 168 Classic Hunters or 175 Elite Hunters.

The 7mm-08 with the heavies really comes alive down range, despite the slower MV's. I shoot 210/215's in my .308 Win...And downrange ballistics are ****-near on par with a 6.5CM with a 140.

 

[catamountsierra]

I just got my first elk with that combo. Muzzle velocity was about 2750 fps, and the elk was right at 200 yards. I hit it right where it should, and it went about 50 yards before expiring. Exit hole was smaller that I would have liked, about 3/8", but the heart and one lung were toast and there was very little ruined meat. I am hoping to try the bullet again in November on an antlerless deer hunt. I don't think one kill is enough to really tell how the bullet works, but so far it seems to be a decent match for the 7mm-08. The other bullet I have shot, but not harvested anything with, is the 150 ELDX, which I think would shoot similarly but the construction is different.

 

[twister]

the 162 eldx works really well, i would think the 150 will too.

 

[catamountsierra]

I put my deer down a week ago, again using the 150 LRAB. Good sized doe at 175, but the bullet seems to have exploded much more violently than it did on the elk. Neck shot, with 3/4"ish exit hole, but the entrance was messy. Originally about 1/2" when I walked up, it tore out while I was dragging the deer back to the truck and revealed a 6" diameter pocket of absolutely shredded meat. Given that that was the only meat lost, I can live with that, but I do wonder about consistency on game. I have a feeling that the ideal hit with this bullet would be between the front side ribs, straight through heart and lungs, and then hitting a solid bone on the other side to blow the bullet apart.

 

[Ingwe]

It may work well in that rifle buy they definitely come unglued in a magnum at close range!

I don't get why guys are worried about using a bonded ABLR at magnum velocities but don't hesitate to use a non-bonded Berger.

From what i've seen, the ABLR does shed material and mushrooms pretty much to the base at high velocity but it does stay intact....isn't that what we want in a bullet??

 

[catamountsierra]

I think the plastic tip may cause earlier expansion than the small hollow point on the Berger. I think in an ideal world the LRAB, being a high BC bullet, being a bonded construction, and being capable of opening at lower velocities would be ideal; those properties are what drove me to test them. Most of the complaints about them that I have heard point to inconsistent performance on target, especially in terms of complete disintegration at high muzzle velocities and short distances. So far the have given me two clean, one shot kills at about 200 yards, but with the 7mm08 I am only launching them at 2750fps.