Conquistador

Hey, so after some research I ended up buying a Savage axis XP, in 7mm-08. Since, I live in Illinois, I wanted to take something other than my slug gun up to WI next year for deer gun season where it's legal. Plus, I thought it might be fun for me and the wife to shoot at the range.

My rifle comes in tomorrow so by the end if the week I'll have it in my hands. While, I am at the store I want to buy a few different brands and grains of ammo. Just curious to get any input on which ammuntion brand ,and grains sizes you use in 7mm-08. Thank you.

SilverbulletM70

I actually have three 7-08's in the safe but, none are a Savage. Every rifle is slightly different but as a whole, I have had good luck with the cheap Hornady American Whitetail ammo in all of them (at or sub-MOA). It's a cost effective round for breaking in a rifle or just having some fun at the range that won't break the bank. I also had good luck with Federals version of the same thing (name escapes me but has the antlers on the front). The last plinker round I've had good luck with is the PPU soft point, which was good for 1"-1.25" average 3 shot groups in most of the rifles.

Others borrowed rifles but the actual hunting round this year (whitetail) was the Precision Hunter in 2 of the rifles (a TC and Ruger American) and the Mossberg Patriot really liked the Browning BXR.

In the end though, the 7-08 has been a very forgiving round out of my rifles. Long way of saying, you should be fine with any reputable ammo and after experimenting, you will eventually find a round your Axis really likes.

younggun308

The Federal ammo that Silverbullet is referring to are Federal Powershoks---I shoot and hunt with those exclusively, out of my .308 (the same as 7mm-08, but in the original .30 cal and therefore slower).
Federal recently changed the packaging and name to "Non-Typical," however. You'll likely still find old blue boxes (even less likely, red ones, from waaay back) of Powershok.

Get them at Wal-Mart for the best price. If they shoot accurately out of your gun, you'll never need another hunting round. The buck I shot this year had a 1.5" exit wound on a heart-lung shot at 50 yards. You'd probably get close if not as big with a 7-08.

younggun308

As for bullet weight, I'd say 140 grains is optimal. I'd personally not go higher than 150 grains for deer out of a short-action .284 caliber.

hunters_life

As a reloader I can't really state what factory ammo would be really good out of your rifle but I do know that Hornady American Whitetail is loaded with interlocks and I know for a fact that the 139gr interlock has taken several whitetail for me as well as a few elk and a fairly large number of hogs. After looking up the statistics on Hornady's site I see that it is loaded a bit slower than I load but still well within reason for reliable speeds. I would run a box of them through and see how they perform from your particular barrel. If they shoot well from it, I have absolutely no doubt they will perform well terminally on game for you as they have always performed well for me.

bronko22000

You're doing right by getting a couple different bullet weights. You'll be best served by trying the different weights as opposed to taking someone advice on what THEIR rifle shoots. I'm also a handloader and own two 7-08s. One is a Savage and the other a Browning. The Savage likes bullets in the 150 gr range while the Browning prefers those in the 139-140 range. I suggest you buy a box of each weight and see what your rifle likes. Bullet weight means squat if you can't hit what you're aiming at. And for the 7-08, anything in the 139 - 154 gr will kill any deer, black bear or elk.

flags

Got a cousin back in CO and his wife shoots a 7mm-08. She shoots 140 gr Noslers and has laid a bunch of deer and several elk (including a really big 5x5) to rest with them. If I was shooting a 7mm-08, I'd start to look there.

REM_7600

Great Caliber/Cartridge for Whitetail! I grew up with .30-06 being the end all, be all. Never really considered the 7mm-08 until later on in life. I've always reloaded and decided I wanted to try it (lil 7) a few years back. I can say it will drop any whitetail that walks this earth!

I shoot 120gr Barnes TTSX at Northern Whitetail and Mulies. They happen to shoot to the same POI as the cheaper 120gr Nosler Ballistic Tips (I can't comment on performance of the BT's on game in this weight/caliber). I use a very cheap Remington 770 beater with an awful trigger and a horrendous bolt and the scope that came in the combo Busnell 3-9??? I call it my truck gun, cuz I leave it on the floor of the backseat of my truck during deer season just in case! I re-sighted it in for the first time this year after 8+ years of ownership!

I can't tell you how many deer the gun has taken but I'll attach a couple images that should explain it's results.

In all honesty guys... YES, I like good glass, I like a nice rifle like my .338 BAR Mark II Safari out of Belgium, I like quicker handing guns like my 20 inch .300WSM with an Accutrigger... but that little seven just gets it done!

I would suggest a 140 grain grain load from any of the major manufacturers... Remington Core-Lokt, Hornady's 139gr Interlock, Federal 140gr Fusions, Winchester 140gr PowerMax Loads; any of those will do the job and if you wanna spend more you can get better bullets. I've never recovered a 120gr Barnes Solid Copper 7mm from a whitetail! Go with any of the 140gr choices above and you won't be disappointed!

You CAN get nearly the same load I use they are Barnes Vor-TX 120gr TTSX but they are spendy.

Pics attached...

REM7600