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I continue to get great velocities and ES/SD numbers out of my Barnes 130 TTSX and TAC. The third "pulled" shot was not in fact pulled. In error, after my rifle settled from the recoil, I unknowingly rested my barrel direct on the rest when shooting. Stupid mistake on my part. I corrected my...

I put a new Trigger Tech trigger in my Kimber 8400 chambered in 257 WSM so I thought this was good opportunity to gather some data. The first group was high after replacing the trigger, so I merely brought it down a few inches. I'm content with the velocities and ES/SD. The 80gn TTSX load was...

I'm glad to hear you are getting those velocities out of a 20" barrel and 130gn TTSX and TAC. I too have recorded impressive velocities (3249 fps) with that combo out of a 20" Bergara carbon barrel and near max TAC and I was beginning to doubt my Lab Radar. They seemed too good to be true at...

What's your favorite cartridge in the levers?

That rifle and cartridge combo is definitely on my short list. I have the dies, cartridges and donor brass from my TC Contender in .35 Rem. so the jump won't be too hard. Like you, I have bolt deer guns that are great but the lever actions definitely make the hunting experience a little more...

I would have bet those were blueberries. We don't have huckleberries in the southeast. Interesting.

Since I mentioned it in my original post, I thought it’s appropriate to include a photo of my youngest’s first deer. He is on the left only to be upstaged by big brother in the blue coat. It was a doe at 120 yards from a ground blind with his youth Remington 700 in 7-08. I made some reduced...

Circa 1986 - I shot my first whitetail deer, a fork horn with a tiny brow tine (it would be too generous to call it a five point), in Greene Co. Georgia. He was walking left to right, broadside at approximately 40 yards. Buck fever was fully engaged, and I don't ever recall being that excited...

2 - 25-06 (Remington Mountain Rifle 700 DM & Kimber 8400 Classic) 4 - 7mm-08 (Kimber Montana 84m, Tikka T3x SS Lite & 2 Rem 700 youth models) 3 - 308 (Bergara Premier B-14 HMR, Bergara Carbon Wilderness HMR and Rem 700 LTR) Thinking about re-barreling one of the 308s to a 7mm SAW or 25 Creed...

Ah. They’re close but maybe 100 fps slower depending on the load. The 115 NOS BT with RL22 were about identical at 3200fps but I feel like the 100gn TTSX should be faster.

257 B? I’m not tracking. So sorry.

Thanks. It has a good looking stock. It started out as a Kimber 8400 300 WSM with French walnut that I won in a local big buck contest. I already had a 300 WSM so I modified it to the 257. I also have a Kimber 8400 in 270 WSM of the same era that has tiger stripes in the “classic” walnut stock...

Hi all. I am hoping to leverage someone's knowledge and experience to help advance my load development methodology for a non-SAAMI wildcat cartridge. Specifically, this is for a Kimber 8400 with a 23" Pac-Nor 1/10 barrel chambered in 257 WSM (not to be confused with 25 WSSM). I had this built...

I also have loaded some 454 Casull using H110 and 240gn Hornady XTP Mag bullets and Cast Performance 250 WNGC. Extremely effective on both accounts. Recoil on the hard cast loads are stout. Frankly, too much for little eastern whitetails but a lot of fun.

I know introducing "Backcountry" case advances to legacy cartridges is fraught with issues but it's fun to consider. Granted it wouldn't be introducing any capability that doesn't already exist from magnum cartridges but if you could get a heavier payload to longer distances with a shorter...

I have an early edition Kimber Montana in 7-08 that I love. It shoots great, carries better and is my second favorite rifle only bested by my suppressed Tikka (in 7-08). Your wife has a great set-up... I topped mine with a Leupold VXIII 2.5x8.

Thanks. It is a Tikka T3X Lite Stainless in 7mm-08. I had a gunsmith chop and thread the barrel to 16" and 1/2x28. The scope is a Vortex Strike Eagle 1x8 FFP. It has been working well. It is a good optic for the money but a tad heavy. On low magnification it behaves as a red dot but can reach...

Last hunting season (2024) was my first year trying mono’s in my 308, 7-08 and .257 WSM. While hunting with my Tikka (7-08), I would keep both my 120 TTSX and 120 NOS BT handloads in my stock bag and I would load as I desired for the hunt (same POI). The first shot on the doe (didn’t drop her...

I think your example perfectly demonstrates the flexibility and versatility of the .308 and its offspring. I probably wouldn't choose to hunt with a 16" barrel on a rifle if it were not for adding the suppressor. Without the suppressor, my Tikka feels unbalanced and a little flighty but screw...

Pardon me for resurrecting an old thread. I'm a little late to the forum game. I've been a hunter and handloader for years but never really had much interest in the forum world until I came across this one... I have had tremendous results with my Tikka Lite in 7-08. I had the factory barrel...