colablanca160

I had the same problem in my Savage 10SFM in 7mm-08. I would not shoot the Barnes bullets to save it's life. I didn't matter whether I seated .050 off of the lands or.010", it still would put the bullets in a 2-4" groups @100 yds. Some guns will shoot them, and others won't. I switched to Nosler's Partition and everything went down hill after that. My groups shrunk and I keep good velocity. Try the NP's with Varget, I think that you will be happy!

280AId

Perhaps I can be of some assistance. I have loaded for the 7-08 for almost 8 years. Both the standard and AI version. My powder of choice is H-varget. My second is H-4895. Try the barnes tsx in 140grain. The xlc's are finicky. I have great luck with them but I have custom barrels. Some factory guns love 'em and some hate 'em. Try the tsx and I dont think you will be dissappointed. I reccomend seating .035 off the lands. My rifles work well there. For primers, I use win wlr primers. Have found them to be more consistant than the remingtons. But before reworking your loads, let me make some suggestions. First have the action bedded. I prefer pillar bedding coupled with devcon but a straight up acra glass bedding job will work fine. Next have the trigger reworked. I prefer lighter pull weights but a crisp 3-3.5lb trigger is all you need. After that is done, check all scope mounting equipment. Make sure everything is tight and in proper alignment. If you have any more questions, email me and I will be glad to help. My 7-08s see everything from hunting duty to 200yd benchrest when time allows. And I have loads with the x bullet that will consistantly shoot in the .3s. So dont give up on them yet.

bchannell

First, I'd bed the action at the tang and recoild lug. Up front I'd bed a couple of inches of the barrel rearward to the mag well opening. I'd float the rest of the barrel. As to powders I'd use Varget or RL 15 for the lighter side, and H4350 for the heavier bullets. I use Varget with 120 gr Hornady HP bullets, and H4350 with Speer 145 gr Hot Cor flat base. One thing I've noticed about my Winchester Featherweight Classic is that it doen't particularly like boat tail bullets, but shoots flat base bullets fantastic. Take a look at my webpage for some groups and loads, but work up carefully.

thmpr

Try H-414, you'll be hooked for life.

thmpr

BTW, You might try posting this at 24hourcampfire.com, there's a bunch of us 7-08 fans over there.

eldeguello

1.5" to 2" groups are not bad for factory ammo in a rifle that has had nothing done to it. It should do better with some handload, you just have to find the right combination. If your rifle is shooting round groups with factory ammo, that suggests there is no problem with the bedding. Otherwise, the groups would be stringing vertically or some other direction, and not be round.

7mm Madness

Elkaddict,

I have shot lots of 139 SST and Interbonds thru my Rem 700 Ti 22" gun and have had some success and some less than steller results. The SST's work great for me when I load them to MV of 2650-2800 fps. Same for the Interbond, I just can't keep the groups tight if I push em too fast. 140 gr Partitions work really good around 2850 (H414 47.0 seated at 2.775).

I have gotten my best results from H414 (W760 clone?). You can get amazing accuracy out of 40.5 gr of H4895 or IMR4895 (2760 fps in the H model & 2670 fps in IMR). I have used some H380 but think it will produce a little less velosity than the H414.

Surprisingly, my best accuracy yet has come with the new Barnes 140 gr Triple Shock (TSX). Using H414 I worked up to 48.0 gr @ 2918 fps (Gama Chrony). Fine turning that load, 47.7 gr with the bullet seated at 2.770 produced 2889 fps and a three shot group at .39" Barnes says to seat this bullet a little deeper than usual because of the 'rings' to ensure consistant neck tension. I seat my bullets to the back edge of the forward most 'ring'.

One trick I have picked up over the couple of years I've been relaoding is to sort my new cases by neck thickness. I check each new case for neck thickness and any case that varies by more than .002" is tossed. Any fired cases that don't allow a new bullet to slide in and out without 'catching' are also tossed. I hand measure each powder charge and that's about it. Hope this helps.