7mm-08 Savage

[Alderman]

I loaded some 120 Sierra SPTs
Spread them out a bit but all within 1" of aiming point
The Nosler 120 BTs did a bit better, even with the barrel getting warm. I did shorten the OAL to 2.790 as suggested by a fellow member.
This is just a $399 Savage Scope combo with the first loads I put together, brass out of the box and run across a sizing ball, shot by a shaky old man with poor eye sight. I'm sure with some work by somebody who knows what they are doing this could be improved a lot.
It doesn't cost a lot to get a rifle that will shoot plenty well for deer hunting.

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[bdbrown66]

That's "minute of deer" every day of the week. I'd roll with the Nosler's and be done with it. You might tinker with it a little bit, but you're definitely in the "good enough" zone.

 

[jimbires]

looks like 7 dead deer in these two pics .


it looks like it's trying to shoot 2 groups on each target . make sure the action screws are tight . make sure the magazine box floats a little , if it's pinched tight it could cause this . if these are ok , it might benefit from a bedding job .

 

[rjm158]

Those 120 BT's are proven deer smokers. I shot a decent buck in '15 with one and it performed fantastic. Like the other guys said, just a little finagling will get them shooting even better.

I bought a rifle similar to yours about a year ago in 338 Federal and it looks like it's gonna be a shooter too.

Ron

 

[DrMike]

You didn't get hurt on the rifle. Some fine riflery demonstrated. Any of those shots would work on deer.

 

[drakehammer]

This is typical of what my daughter's little inexpensive savage/scope combo did at first as well. What has been said here by all is true.
#1 You picked arguably the most reasonably priced, most accurate combo on the market.
#2 You picked the 7mm-08 cartridge, that's arguably the best balance between pleasant shooting and effective deer hunting on Earth.
#3 It's m.o.d. all day long before optimization
#4 Check to make sure your action screws are very snug as stated previously
#5 You will benefit greatly from investing in a good set of rings and bases on this rig. To keep it inexpensive, recommend a set of plain old Leupold windage adjustable bases and Leupy rings. I found out the hard way that the rings and bases that were supplied with my daughter's rig needed frequent re-tightening, otherwise you will chase accuracy issues that don't actually exist.
#6 Use in the range of 43-45 gr of Reloader-15, Norma 203B, or Varget for best results with either of these 120gr bullets.
#7. Go kill Bambi!



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[hunter24605]

My daughter's 7-08 is a Savage 11 trophy hunter XP, and it's been a real shooter since I ditched the scope and rings that came with it..I went with Talley one piece piece base/rings and a Redfield scope..And adjusted the Accutrigger down a little bit.