I own a savage 7mm-08. I only hunt whitetail deer. I currently shoot 140gr. winchester cartridges. I'm thinking about 120gr. Remingtons? My longest shot wouldn't be over 300yds. Any comments or suggestions of other types of cartridges? Thanks.

I own a savage 7mm-08. I only hunt whitetail deer. I currently shoot 140gr. winchester cartridges. I'm thinking about 120gr. Remingtons? My longest shot wouldn't be over 300yds. Any comments or suggestions of other types of cartridges? Thanks.

hey whitetail hunter,
i have a 7mm 08 in the remington model 7 laminate, and i shoot the Hornady Light Magnum Ammunition 7mm-08 Remington 139 Grain, this stuff really works. i shot my mule deer in wyoming at 85 yards through the trees 1 shot did the trick. i have also used the Federal Premium Vital-Shok Ammunition 7mm-08 Remington 140 Grain, i like this stuff as well. i shot my second mule deer with this ammo at 350 yards on the run, 2 shots for that one first shot i didnt hit him,

it just was not available at the time of my last purchase of ammo, and they shoot almost the exact same so no need to resight scope.

one ammo that i will never use again is the remington core lokt, it does not expand on impact at all. i shot my first mulie at 150 yrads running,,, 1 shot one kill. but when we skiined him and such the bullet never expanded.

id go with either the federal premium or the hornady, my new favorite is the honady.

good luck...

If you intend to shoot 120 grainers, then I suggest the 120 TSX other wise bullet integrity may be comprimized

I have a 7mm-08 too. I use 140gr Remington Core-Loc, straight from the factory. My experience with lighter bullets has not been favorable.

Welcome to the forum WhitetailHunter. Rules are simple, be nice and join in.

I don't shoot the 7mm-08, but do shoot a 280 Remington which is about it's twin. All the guys gave you good advice, stick to bullets in the 140 grain range or the light mag ammo and you'll have far better kill results than going to the 120.

Thanks. I like the idea of trying federal or the hornady loads that remington708 recomended. I'm wondering where I can find those though, none of our local hunting stores have any of those. I'm lucky enough to find 7mm-08 shells as it is. Does Cabelas or Bass pro sell them?

Thanks. I like the idea of trying federal or the hornady loads that remington708 recomended. I'm wondering where I can find those though, none of our local hunting stores have any of those. I'm lucky enough to find 7mm-08 shells as it is. Does Cabelas or Bass pro sell them?

My first thought says that they would sell these bullets. A quick browse of there website would tell you.

I know a lot of guys that are shooting the 120 grain TSX and are very pleased on game up to the size of Moose... I agree with Bob stay with 140 grain or above with lead core bullets.....

Thanks. I like the idea of trying federal or the hornady loads that remington708 recomended. I'm wondering where I can find those though, none of our local hunting stores have any of those. I'm lucky enough to find 7mm-08 shells as it is. Does Cabelas or Bass pro sell them?
if not you can order them from midwayusa more than likely.
i shoot a 7mm rem mag but eventyaly want a 7-08 for my kids. when i do get one i'll be looking into the 140-150 range, but if you did get some 120's i bet they would be a joy to shoot, not that the 140's kick that much anyway.

I would like some 120's for coyotes and Like Jim H said a joy to shoot.

I just recently read a article saying that the Winchester supreme balistic tips are the best cartridge for my rifle in 140gr

Thanks. I like the idea of trying federal or the hornady loads that remington708 recomended. I'm wondering where I can find those though, none of our local hunting stores have any of those. I'm lucky enough to find 7mm-08 shells as it is. Does Cabelas or Bass pro sell them?

well whitetail hunter, i know that bass pro has the hornady ammo since thats where i got it from but i know that cabelas sells both of them.
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat20712-cat20839_TGP&id=0031554213263a&navCount=2&podId=0031554&parentId=cat20839&masterpathid=&navAction=push&catalogCode=XH&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat20839&hasJS=true
thats the federal.
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?id=0012676212369a&navCount=5&podId=0012676&parentId=cat20839&masterpathid=&navAction=jump&cmCat=MainCatcat20712-cat20839&catalogCode=IH&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat20839&hasJS=true
thats the hornady.

For a small animal as Deer, just about any bullet you can put in a .7mm-08 will kill them. ( within reason). I've dropped them instantly dead with everything from a 115 Speer H.P. all the way to a 175 gr. Hornady R.N. The 7mm-08 is a great little cartridge that with heavier bullets, and will kill way out of proportion to it's diminutive size. Unless going for big bears, I can't tell any difference from reactions on game from it or the .30-06. I do use the 140s in my Kimber M84, but only because it groups them the best.

If you're gonna be within 300 yards, then I don't see a compelling reason to drop from 140 to 120 grain bullets. What was your motivation for considering this in the first place? Are you not happy with the performance of the 140's you've been using? Are you trying to reduce recoil a bit? I agree with other comments as well, if you're gonna go to 120 grains make sure that you're using a properly constructed bullet. Although there's no reason why a 120 grain 7mm bullet shouldn't be able to kill a whitetail, the lighter bullets in a caliber might be more lightly constructed as well and more intended for varmint than deer sized game.

For a 7mm-08, simple Remington 140 Core-Lokts will never fail you on deer if you can shoot. So just go with the KISS principle.

i have had good luck with the 139 gr hornady sp and the 130 gr barnes x in my 7/08 15" encore. i'm thinking pretty seriously about going to the 162 gr sst simply to reduce some bench clutter. about a week ago i shot an average sized whitetail at about 50 yards with my 280 using that bullet. he was bedded in the cedars and never knew what hit him. i was really impressed at how well that bullet behaved at the short range, m.v. was just over 2800 fps. i would also consider the 154 gr hornadys too.
ya gotta figure that most of these aftermarket bullets are intended for the 7 mag since it's hands down the most popular of the 7's. that being said most any good bullet ought to be fine in the 7/08.

For a small animal as Deer, just about any bullet you can put in a .7mm-08 will kill them. ( within reason).

Shooting a 139gr. Hornady SP out of my .280Rem, I dropped a 6X6 bull in his tracks. So, I think it would be safe to say that a 120gr. out of your 7mm-08 will kill any whitetail that walks the planet. Unless you are shooting a Barnes, or bonded bullet, just aim for the double-lung and then go fetch your venison.

Jim