7-08 hunting load for 2026

ReloadKy · Sunday at 3:55 AM

Did some shooting Friday with my son's Browning 7-08. I believe I have found the load that he will use for this upcoming season. I shot this 3 shot group with Barnes 120 gr TTSX using 44.5 gr of TAC to produce velo of 3146fps! It always super satisfying to get the lethal combo of great accuracy and excellent velo. I do not think that there is a whitetail in North America that could stand up to that load combo!

highoctane · Sunday at 4:19 AM

Nice shooting! That'll fill the freezer right there!

salmonchaser · Sunday at 4:38 AM

Jeepers that is fast, not much is going to stand up to that.

sako2 · Sunday at 4:54 AM

That will work.

wvbuckbuster · Sunday at 5:12 AM

Grand! Good load development, shooting to boot. Got it all with that load. Be looking forward to pictures this fall.

bdbrown66 · Sunday at 7:22 AM

Good job, Brad!!

RL338 · Sunday at 7:56 AM

That will do the job on deer.
Late last year I tried the 120gr TTSX/7-08 with MP-521 with similar results , great bullet for the 7-08.

Firebird24 · Sunday at 3:24 PM

My daughter shoots the 120 ttsx from her 7mm-08 loaded over bl-c2. It is an excellent deer load. I think you will be very pleased

Aussie Wanderer · Sunday at 4:20 PM

That is a proper bug zapper. The terminal damage should be emphatic. Funny how you don't hear much about Browning rifles, but they are some of the most accurate I have shot.

JD338 · Sunday at 4:32 PM

Excellent job at the bench and the range. The deer are in deep dark trouble with that load. Time to sharpen up the knives.

JD338

ReloadKy · Monday at 4:05 AM

As several of you mentioned the 120 TTSX is an excellent bullet for deer in the 7-08. My son has used that combo for the last two years and we have had excellent results. We shot all of the previous batch which was loaded with CFE 223 so I decided to try TAC and bingo!

FOTIS · Monday at 7:14 AM

That will do just fine!

Ralt71 · Monday at 8:51 AM

Very nice! What barrel length on that gun? My daughter shot the 120 TTSX. I'm not working on 120 hammers, that's velocity is not on our horizon haha.

Wolfshead · Tuesday at 1:41 AM

TAC is a very good powder, in my opinion, especially for speed.
I use it in my .308, with a 20” barrel, and get 3170 fps ave. Shooting the 130 grain ttsx’s. (50.4 grains of TAC)
I think it’s interesting from looking at Dr. Mike’s quickload data 44.7 grains predicted the velocity to be 2946 fps.
Nice to get that extra fps. in reality.
I think you’re really going to like this combo come hunting season!

JMRhino · Tuesday at 2:35 AM

ReloadKy said:
Did some shooting Friday with my son's Browning 7-08. I believe I have found the load that he will use for this upcoming season. I shot this 3 shot group with Barnes 120 gr TTSX using 44.5 gr of TAC to produce velo of 3146fps! It always super satisfying to get the lethal combo of great accuracy and excellent velo. I do not think that there is a whitetail in North America that could stand up to that load combo!
View attachment 29580

What is the length of your son's barrel on his 7-08?

highoctane · Tuesday at 3:35 AM

I used the 120 TTSX for one deer season in my 280 several years ago. They shot really well and bullet performance was outstanding. If memory serves me correctly out of the 5-6 deer killed only one went further than 40 yds. I may circle back around and give them a go in my 7-08

ReloadKy · Tuesday at 3:45 AM

Ralt71 said:
Very nice! What barrel length on that gun? My daughter shot the 120 TTSX. I'm not working on 120 hammers, that's velocity is not on our horizon haha.

My son's browning has a 22 inch tube. I have found that TAC produces great velocities in both the 7-08 and 308.

ReloadKy · Tuesday at 3:47 AM

highoctane said:
I used the 120 TTSX for one deer season in my 280 several years ago. They shot really well and bullet performance was outstanding. If memory serves me correctly out of the 5-6 deer killed only one went further than 40 yds. I may circle back around and give them a go in my 7-08

Out of the deer we have shot with Barnes bullets, 120's in 7-08, 140's in 7MAG, 130's in 308 we have never had a deer make it more than 40 yards and always had excellent blood trails.

ReloadKy · Tuesday at 3:51 AM

Wolfshead said:
TAC is a very good powder, in my opinion, especially for speed.
I use it in my .308, with a 20” barrel, and get 3170 fps ave. Shooting the 130 grain ttsx’s. (50.4 grains of TAC)
I think it’s interesting from looking at Dr. Mike’s quickload data 44.7 grains predicted the velocity to be 2946 fps.
Nice to get that extra fps. in reality.
I think you’re really going to like this combo come hunting season!

I agree. I have been lucky enough to find good accuracy with TAC as well. Back in November on Cyber Monday, cabela's had savage trail hunter lite on sale and with rebate I got the rifle in 30-06 for around $280 bucks. My plan with that short barrel was to load it with 130 TTSX and use TAC to push it. I have been getting speeds of 3200 + and great accuracy out of a lite 20 inch barrel. I put a suppressor on it and you do not even feel the recoil.

JMRhino · Tuesday at 3:55 AM

Huge fan of the Barnes 120 TTSX in 7-08 and 130 TTSX in .308. I use CFE223 in my 7-08 and TAC in my .308. I assumed, incorectly, that TAC would be too fast in the 7-08. May have to give it a try...