Sunset Boar

[Jorlcrin]

Nailed a large Boar just after sunset yesterday.

~100 metres with the 7mm-08 (120gn Vmax).
~45-50kgs of hot pork; waddling across to a waterhole..
Not a bad set of choppers on him as well.

The 7mm dropped him like a schoolcase...
Amazed to see that the round didnt exit the body.
Hit him in the shoulder(no mud), and it did the job perfectly.
But surprised to see it had stopped before reaching the other side of the pig.

Once I've used up my remaining hundred 120gn pills, I have about 150 of the 139 SST's to trial, which I expect might be a bit more hefty.

Of all my centrefires, the 7mm is the one easiest to tell if I've landed the shot; the loudest 'POKK!!' of any of my rifles.

[Oldbloke]

Any pics?

Any idea of tge velocity of the 120gr pill?

[Jorlcrin]

Any pics?

Any idea of tge velocity of the 120gr pill?

Yep; Here you go.

Hit him on his other side; about right where the tip of that bullet is.
Last time I chrono'd my 120gn reloads, they were clocking 3087fps at the muzzle, so would've been just over 2800fps on impact.

[Oldbloke]

Interesting, I have a load I use in one of my 30.06s.
2980fps 130gr. Very similar. Shot two fallow bucks both I guess about 120yards. Found under the skin on far side.

[Blr243]

95 per cent of my v max 87 from 243 stay inside.pigs That’s what I like about them Slips and suckers is the only time I get exits. 99 per cent of my shots are broadside

[Late_Starter]

What powder and how many grains are you using with the 120 grain V-Max? I am currently doing load development for my 7mm-08 using 139gn SSTs and 120gn V-Maxs. I am still in the initial stages of developing the loads so I am interested any information you would be prepared to share.

[Die Judicii]

Very similar to this one I got a few nights ago.
Dropped instantaneously with a single shot at 180 meters.
.308 130gr Speer HP

I was surprised it actually got through into the boiler room without fragmenting on the surface.
But the pink froth says it all.

thumbnail (1).jpg (386.98 KiB) Viewed 1476 times

[Jorlcrin]

What powder and how many grains are you using with the 120 grain V-Max? I am currently doing load development for my 7mm-08 using 139gn SSTs and 120gn V-Maxs. I am still in the initial stages of developing the loads so I am interested any information you would be prepared to share.

My current 120gn load for 7mm-08(Tikka T3 Hunter Stainless Fluted):-
NOTE: These are MY recipes that work in MY firearm, that were worked up in MY rifle.
I'm providing them for your reference.
I'd STRONGLY recommend the Powder Manufacturers starting load, and working up..
Projectile: 120gn Hornady Vmax
Powder: AR2208 / [Varget]
Load: 44.7gns
COAL: 2.790"
Primer: CCI LRP 200
[Recommended Starting load for 120gn is 42.5gns for AR2208 - to a Max. Recommended load of 45.0gns]

With this load, I'm getting around 3085fps mv, and no excess pressure signs.
Most of my brass is either necked-up ADI .243 brass, or Necked-down Federal .308 brass.
Most of my 7mm-08 brass seems to be lasting at least 6 reloads (so far).
[Excepting some crap factory Remington Brass that I had to bin on the 3rd reload.]

When setting the rifle up just after I bought it, we had some difficulty in getting it to group overly well.
With some stuffing around, eventually settled on this loading, and I've used it ever since.
I've been told that while I'm getting just under 1" grouping with the current recipe, I could likely tighten the grouping, if I was prepared to seat the projectiles further out(closer to the Lands).
Likely possible, but given I'm only using it for hunting, I chose to keep with something that fitted in the standard magazine.

I do have a load for 100gn Hp Sierras, but aside from load-testing, I have no real-world results for them.
Wheras I've shot over a thousand of the 120gn Vmax's so far..

[Late_Starter]

What powder and how many grains are you using with the 120 grain V-Max? I am currently doing load development for my 7mm-08 using 139gn SSTs and 120gn V-Maxs. I am still in the initial stages of developing the loads so I am interested any information you would be prepared to share.

My current 120gn load for 7mm-08(Tikka T3 Hunter Stainless Fluted):-
NOTE: These are MY recipes that work in MY firearm, that were worked up in MY rifle.
I'm providing them for your reference.
I'd STRONGLY recommend the Powder Manufacturers starting load, and working up..
Projectile: 120gn Hornady Vmax
Powder: AR2208 / [Varget]
Load: 44.7gns
COAL: 2.790"
Primer: CCI LRP 200
[Recommended Starting load for 120gn is 42.5gns for AR2208 - to a Max. Recommended load of 45.0gns]

With this load, I'm getting around 3085fps mv, and no excess pressure signs.
Most of my brass is either necked-up ADI .243 brass, or Necked-down Federal .308 brass.
Most of my 7mm-08 brass seems to be lasting at least 6 reloads (so far).
[Excepting some crap factory Remington Brass that I had to bin on the 3rd reload.]

When setting the rifle up just after I bought it, we had some difficulty in getting it to group overly well.
With some stuffing around, eventually settled on this loading, and I've used it ever since.
I've been told that while I'm getting just under 1" grouping with the current recipe, I could likely tighten the grouping, if I was prepared to seat the projectiles further out(closer to the Lands).
Likely possible, but given I'm only using it for hunting, I chose to keep with something that fitted in the standard magazine.

I do have a load for 100gn Hp Sierras, but aside from load-testing, I have no real-world results for them.
Wheras I've shot over a thousand of the 120gn Vmax's so far..

Thanks for your comprehensive answer. I have the same rifle. I am waiting for my brass trimmer to arrive and when I get that I am going to do the load testing. I have the ADI manual, from that my first set of tests is going to be 42.5 gn to 43.5gn at 0.3 grain increments while watching for pressure signs. If I do not get anything promising in the first test I will then test up to the max load, watching for pressure signs. I am using Hornady brass. To start with am I using the standard 2.800" (71.12mm) COAL, but will look at moving closer to the lands if I cannot get good groups.

[Jorlcrin]

Thanks for your comprehensive answer. I have the same rifle. I am waiting for my brass trimmer to arrive and when I get that I am going to do the load testing. I have the ADI manual, from that my first set of tests is going to be 42.5 gn to 43.5gn at 0.3 grain increments while watching for pressure signs. If I do not get anything promising in the first test I will then test up to the max load, watching for pressure signs. I am using Hornady brass. To start with am I using the standard 2.800" (71.12mm) COAL, but will look at moving closer to the lands if I cannot get good groups.

My load for the 100gn Sierra HP pills is 45.0gns of AR2208, which is the starting load, but gave me the best grouping.
45.0gns AR2208, CCI LRP200, and 2.685" COAL (a very short projectile).
I got a grouping of 14mm (Centre to centre) at 100m, which is pretty good, in my mind.
The grouping widened out a lot as I worked up the load, but there looked to be another node somewhere just over 45.5, that might have been getting close as well.
But, I didnt see the point in pursuing it further; 14mm was pretty awesome for what I wanted(a light varmint load).

Another point I'd make; became obvious when working through various batches of the same 120gn Vmax loading the past fortnight.
I find certain batches of brass seem to deliver more consistent groupings with this rifle.
I cant be certain that any one particular type of brass has been more inconsistent, but I have noticed a change in grouping, when I change batches.
[Something I havent noticed before; usually not often I'm firing off enough ammo to see this]
I suspect it's the slightly different case volumes, as a result of how it came to be 7mm-08 brass.
I have factory Norma 7mm-08 brass, ADI and Winchester brass formed into 7-08 from .243, and Federal, Hornady, and PPU brass formed from .308Win.
I spend a fair amount of time getting my cases as uniform as possible when forming them, and they are all multiple reloads in.
And I also do more QC on my reloads than is likely needed for hunting loads.
But I havent done any inside-neck trimming, so It's possible I have donuts in the ex-308 brass.

My suggestion, is that if you are dialing in a load that is starting to group well, it might be worthwhile to try the same load across all your different batches of brass?
[And maybe measure the average volume in each batch, to see how much they vary?.]
Just an idea for you.
I havent pursued this, but if I was likely to be using the rifle more, I'd look into it.

I'll be interested to see what results you get from your 120gn Vmax loads.

[Late_Starter]

My suggestion, is that if you are dialing in a load that is starting to group well, it might be worthwhile to try the same load across all your different batches of brass?
[And maybe measure the average volume in each batch, to see how much they vary?.]
Just an idea for you.
I havent pursued this, but if I was likely to be using the rifle more, I'd look into it.

I'll be interested to see what results you get from your 120gn Vmax loads.

Thanks for the heads up about the brass. At the moment I have only got Hornady 7mm-08 brass from shooting the Hornady 120grain Custom Lite Reduced Recoil Ammunition in my rifle. This was the only Hornady 7mm-08 ammo that my LGS carries. I will post up my results with the 120gn V-Max when I get it working.