7mm08 with ablr-suggestions?

Firebird

Handloader
Jun 22, 2013
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I have some 150 ablr on the way. Going to try them in my 7mm08. Has anyone tried this combination yet? Wondering if anyone has found what works or what to try first. . .ive got some new brass and all of the more common powders, just not sure what to start with. And of course it was a high of 11 degrees so it may be awhile before I try to shoot them- ha!
 
I would look at RL 15 and RL 19 with the 150 gr ABLR.
This is a great bullet and should work well in the 7mm-08.

JD338
 
I just picked up a new Thompson weathersheild venture for $357 off gunbroker in 7-08.
These have a 1:9 twist and I've got some 168 lab here.
My go to powders to try will be mr2000 and re17.
Hoping to see at least 2625 fps.
If everything works out I think that start speed could keep the bullet really intact on impact...and would maintain 1800/1900fps all the way to about 600 yds keeping it pretty effective beyond what most would think for a 708.
 
JohnB...that's as great link.
Alot of the charges you worked up to mirror the latest hornady manual.
They list a Max of 47.5 under their 154s....and 46.0 under the 162 class bullets.
They show NO powder outperforming re17 with the heavier 708 bullets speed wise.
 
Just the kind of info I was hoping for! Nosler lists rl15 and rl19 in the load data but not 17. Maybe it would have been an unnecessary redundancy. Thanks for the info, I was wondering what was working best for others so I could start there and not waste time and money "in the weeds." Not just yet anyway!
 
RL17 is EXCELLENT in my son's 7x57 Mauser. It runs over 2900 with 140 AB's and accuracy is very good. I would think it would be the same in the 7mm-08.
 
Should make for a sweet little rig with those 150 ABLRs! Poke around and see what guys are using for jump with them, as they seem to like a lot. I'm running 0.07" in my 280AI. I think Doc is a little less in his .280 and jmad is a little more in his .280AI.

Joe
 
Been working with three powders and am closing in on the most accurate loads in my rifle. Not there yet but here are today's results. It was eleven degrees! I started with just under two inch groups and am down to what you see. I put some dimes on there for comparison. All are at 100 yards, shooting to get best accuracy then I will pick the fastest afterwards. Shooting a remington 700 factory barrel, 21 inch with muzzle brake. New nosler brass (thanks sps) with Fed 210m primers and oal is 2.850.
 

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Wow, they all look great! Dang, If 46.5 repeated again, I would really look at tuning seating depth a little. That looks real nice, but so do the other two.. All three of them look real nice. Looking forward to seeing what you do with them.

Oh, is that the 150ABLR?
 
Firebird,
What is your testing gameplan if I can ask? Did you work a ladder for each powder, and those are the most accurate loads so far, in each powder? It sounds like you've been working with all three powders. I've always wished there was a shortcut from working thru a ladder with each powder to hone in on it more quickly, but am afraid to miss "the perfect accuracy load" by jumping too much.

Just wondering, as I've never been able to shoot more than one powder at once, due mostly to time constraints on the range combined with barrel cooling between shots to ensure consistency and validity. I ask because I've been setting up for a bench-session next weekend, first one in 10 years, and don't want to miss out on any new tricks I haven't read about!

Thanks for your test data, keep it coming--I'm looking at 7mm08 as a low-recoil deer round, but would only be getting it over the 243Win if I felt I could get a truly valid elk load out of it also... and these ABLR bullets seem to offer the best opportunity with their low velocity end function. Very interested in your results. ;)

Also, what were you aiming at on that blank sheet of paper lol.
 
Dave, it's possible to push a 160gr. AB @ a MV of 2700fps w/ the 7-08, giving you 2000fps/ 1500ft.lbs of energy out to 400yds., very much in the realm of a "truely valid elk load"...
 
I never heard it called the ladder method but that seems about right so I will say "sure!"- thats what I am doing! I joined this forum because of the number of experienced people who openly share information And ideas. So while I don't normally shoot three different loads at one sitting, I decided to try rl17 based solely on an outstanding post by one of the other contributors. I often shoot loads in two rifles, alternating them to drag out the time. Right now this is the only gun and bullet I have to tinker with. I also shoot several days a week-and when it is cold the barrel can cool down while I look for range brass or fossils or sometimes I gather up other people's leftover trash and burn it while I wait.
I try to start with the fastest load, I knock five percent off the top load and work down, usually half grain at a time. When I find what works well I start to go back up, . 1 or .2 grains in a load. I shoot three bullet groups- I know guys who shoot five. When I feel like I have the right speed for my gun and bullet combo, I move seating depth in or out, probably only with the load that showed the most promise, rather than all three.
For example, h414 at 44.5 is my favorite, and now I will bump it up to 44.6 or 7 and see how it does. When I think I have wrung everything out of a load I can get, I shoot that same load several different days and usually that is when I move out to two hundred.
I love to use my cheap ish chronograph but when it is this cold I have no interest in laying on the snow! Maybe in the spring. .
I am posting my findings because all the powders I tried performed really well. It seems that the bullet or perhaps my rifle want to shoot at the same speed or close to it, based on the published load data, no matter which powder I have tried. I was hoping for 2800 fps with this bullet.
 
Man that turned into a book!-
I was looking for a "girl gun" when the little seven found me. My wife had picked a .243 then a friend offered to let us borrow his 7mm08. With its mild recoil and additional benefit of a muzzle brake my wife and twelve year old both shoot it pretty well. And we ended up making him an offer.
But it was me who fell in love with the rifle. I've always liked big guns and big bullets and that little 7 has changed my heart!
I've taken several good whitetails with it and my nephew has borrowed it several times to harvest mule deer and cow elk.
I prefer the AccuBond in 140 gr but there are many outstanding choices on the market if you hand load-and you do, so enjoy! It is the rifle I learned to load for and I really love mine.
 
I run H414 in my 7 Mauser with 150 PT and like it a bunch haven't played much with it but I think you should be able to push it to 2900 or so in your 7-08. Especially with that sleek ABLR.
 
Firebird":16pa42zq said:
I was looking for a "girl gun" when the little seven found me. My wife had picked a .243 then a friend offered to let us borrow his 7mm08. With its mild recoil and additional benefit of a muzzle brake my wife and twelve year old both shoot it pretty well. And we ended up making him an offer.
But it was me who fell in love with the rifle. I've always liked big guns and big bullets and that little 7 has changed my heart!
I've taken several good whitetails with it and my nephew has borrowed it several times to harvest mule deer and cow elk.
I prefer the AccuBond in 140 gr but there are many outstanding choices on the market if you hand load-and you do, so enjoy! It is the rifle I learned to load for and I really love mine.

Accuracy is greatly preferred over mass, velocity and recoil in the hunting world. It is hard to dismiss the sevens--they tend to perform very well. I certainly have my share of 7s (two .280s, 7X57, 7WSM, .284 etc.) and each shoots well and brings home game. Can't ask for more than that.
 
To me the H414 load looks the best since it's in a triangle. I use H414 in my own 7mm-08 w/a 160-168 gr. bullet that was built for my girlfriend at the time, it was a .243 Win. but I felt the larger caliber would be better suited to the larger bodied deer as well as a Elk round for a woman.

Great round in my opinion, I'll be using mine at the JC Steel Target Challenge next year.
 
I would shoot the RL17 load again looks like you might have pulled the far right shot a little....or maybe some wind...the H414 load looks promising !
 
Rl-17 did its best work at 46.6, h414 did best at 44.5 and h380 at 45.5 and was the least accurate of the three. These are my best results in my rifle and will certainly change a bit for others. Ill get some speeds for you soon-today was 6 degrees and I had no interest!
 

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