7mm08 Deer hunting load

I am looking for a load for my Tikka 7mm08 stainless for whitetail deer hunting this fall. a long shot would be maybe 200 yards.
If you would share any loads that work well for you it would be very nice. I just got the rifle a couple of months ago for deer and elk. I have hunted many years with a 257 Roberts. I was told that I may
want to get a different rifle so after lots of shopping I got the 7mm08.
Thank you

This is a mild load that should be fine in your Tikka ,Remington brass Fereral 210 primer,120 Sierra spitzer ,42.5 grns of Hogdons Varget ,col2.800, Congrats on your Fine choices of the ss/Tikka in 708 . Many powders that work in the 308 will work Very well in the 708 . Another sure bet is look up all the older post about the 708 here on our forums, Cheers and Enjoy your new 708 !!!

I have a custom 98 Mauser in 7-08 and shot several deer with it. I like the 165 Accubond with 42.0 grs Varget and a CCI primer.

I have two 7-08's, a M70 Featherweight and a Kimber. The Win likes H4350 and the Kimber likes Big Game with Nosler 140g Partitions, Lapua cases and CCI BR2 primers. I found nodes with both near or at max listed per each powder and no pressure signs whatsoever. Both have taken deer out to 250ish yards and never had to track one yet.

Varget and 140 grain accubond

for me and my three 7-08,s, its 120 gr nosler BT with a heavy load of varget, two prong horns, one 280 yards and one at 310 yards both one shot kills and many white tails.

Let the rifle tell you. Elf and jjmp are right on it. Since you threw elk into it, stay with premium bullets. If you want two loads then it's double the fun. 130ttsx, hammer or the 140 accubonds will cover it all. I find the e-tips (and gmx) in 140 too long for the 7-08 but thats just me.

eastbank said:

for me and my three 7-08,s, its 120 gr nosler BT with a heavy load of varget, two prong horns, one 280 yards and one at 310 yards both one shot kills and many white tails.

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This is my favorite 7/08 load also. I also have great Accuracy and velocity using H 414 with the 120 grain Ballistic Tip. I have killed deer at distances beyond 500 yards with the 7/08, so it is more than capable of 200 yard shots.

I would look for any load combination that produce velocities over 3000 ft/sec at the muzzle. This produces good bullet performance and trajectories to the point of impact.

For elk I would load the 140 Accubond and keep the distance to around 200 yards as suggested. the 140s will only do 2800 ft/sec so the effective range is less

J E CUSTOM

The rifle will tell you as mentioned. I shot 160's and they worked great on elk out to 300.

Personally, I would NOT use the 140 Accubond for elk and I have had consistent poor performance with any Accubond over 3000fps from the muzzle. Don't get me wrong, I like the bullet and use it in other calibers.....I just don't push it above 3000fps. For example, last whitetail (maybe 150lbs) I shot was with a 130g Accubond out of my 270Win. Quartering toward me at about 150 yards and the bullet blew up on the shoulder. A partition, TTSX, Hammer, or A-frame will do a much better job. Just my occasionally humble opinion based on personal experience.

six pack,

If you hit the humerus bone and not the scapula, you are probably in for a poor outcome regardless of the bullet used.

Not defending the Accubond, as I have never used it. However, the Partition is not perfect (nothing is) either.

Have a great day,
Steve

Nosler brass, WLR primers, heavy load of Varget, 120 gr Nosler Ballistic Tip at 3100 fps. I have multiple 1-shot kills on whitetails and antelope over 500 yds with this load..Very accurate out of my rifles.

BoomFlop said:

six pack,

If you hit the humerus bone and not the scapula, you are probably in for a poor outcome regardless of the bullet used.

Not defending the Accubond, as I have never used it. However, the Partition is not perfect (nothing is) either

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You are correct, Boom. That is very possible. However, I have never had a failure with any of the alternative bullets I suggested.....especially on an average Texas whitetail. Regardless of caliber, I have just found that avoiding big bones, using appropriate weight bullets, and checking the MV a bit is "best practice" for Accubonds. For example, last elk I shot was with my 300WM at about 30 yards using the 180g Accubond at 2990fps. Behind the shoulder, complete pass through, and lights out.

six pack said:

Personally, I would NOT use the 140 Accubond for elk and I have had consistent poor performance with any Accubond over 3000fps from the muzzle. Don't get me wrong, I like the bullet and use it in other calibers.....I just don't push it above 3000fps. For example, last whitetail (maybe 150lbs) I shot was with a 130g Accubond out of my 270Win. Quartering toward me at about 150 yards and the bullet blew up on the shoulder. A partition, TTSX, Hammer, or A-frame will do a much better job. Just my occasionally humble opinion based on personal experience.

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If you can get a 140 Accubond over 3,000 fps from a 7mm08, I wouldn't want to be around when you shot it...

46.5-47.0 grains of Ramshot Big Game will get you 2,800-2,900 fps muzzle velocity, depending on your barrel and brass. That's a great place to be...