I'm going black bear hunting in a steep place where I'll want to take my lightest gun, a Ti 700 in 7mm08. I shoot 130 or 140 gr. bullets at deer with good results but I'm wondering if I might pick a heavier bullet for bear ranging 300-400 lb.s, and rarely larger. Ranges will be under 100 yrd.s and probably under 50 so I don't think the 9 1/4" twist rate should mean much. I don't reload but I found some Fed. Power-Shok loaded with 150 gr. bullets or I could order a box from Conley loaded with 160 or even 170 gr. bullets. Any recommendations?

Hello fellow Marylander. I would not hesitate to use factory Federal 140 grain Nosler Partitions for black bear if your rifle shoots them accurately. A properly placed bullet will take them down everytime.

I have loaded 175 grain Hornady spire points in my model 70 compact (20in barrell) using about 41 (don't get me lying) grains of H4350. Velocity was higher than I expected. About 2450fps I think. Shot OK, but never came back to that load. Got a 308 Model 70 compact and use it instead. Just shot 20 for velocity. Model 70 magazine would just hold the 175 grain bullets. Didn't seen hint of pressue signs. The load was in the Hornady book.

The remington 7mm-08 140 grain corlock seem to be faster that the others. About 2750 fps in my 20in barrelled rifles.

Mikethebear,
What's shot O.K? Inside 4" at 100?

I have not had a go at Bear, but FWIW my Finnlite in 7-08 with Federal factory 150's stops pigs in their tracks, and gives less than 1" group at 100 metres, so ...... good enuff I guess. Pleasant to shoot also!

T260

Tikka 260,
What's your twist rate in the Finnfire?

I would choose the heaviest bullet available.
I would go with Partitions, TBBC etc.
Shots under 100 dont require 1/2" groups, but they do require a stout bullet.
Good luck.
KC

quote:

Originally posted by holzauge:
I'm going black bear hunting........ I found some Fed. Power-Shok loaded with 150 gr. bullets

holzauge

The Federal site shows those 150 Gr. Power-Shok's to be loaded with Speer Hot-Cor SP's. I didn't know that Speer made a 150 Grn SP in 7mm-08 at least their website does NOT show them. Maybe the 150 Grn Hot-Cor is made just for Federal. At any rate, I handload Speer's 145 Grn Hot-Cor's for my 7mm-08 and they are very accurate. Muzzle velocity is 2800 FPS and groups average between .5" & .75" @ 100 Yds and less than 2" at 200 Yds. At 7mm-08 velocities the Federal Power-Shock 150's should be very effective on black bear

The only other "heavier" 7mm-08 bullet I've tried is the Hornady 154 Grn Round Nose. These are extremely accurate at 100 Yds averaging about .6" CTC at 2736 FPS. I'm sure they would be outstanding on black bear; however, as far as I know this would strickly be a handloading situation.

I would give the Federal 150's a go!

firstshot
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Make your first shot count!

Thanks First Shot. I ordered a box of the 150's today. They sound like they're worth a try. What twist is giving you the .6 groups? I'll probably sight in for 100 yrds, or fifty if the groups suck. What gun and twist rate are giving you the .6 groups?

holzauge

My rifle is a Rem 700 Mtn LSS with a 9 1/4" twist. Your 700 Ti probably has the same skinny barrel as my LSS. They do tend to heat up fast with repeat shots at the range. When shooting for groups, you need to let it coos between shots.



I still find it interesting the Speer does not list a 150 Grn SP Hot-Cor on their site. Only shows 130, 145 and 160 Grn Spire Points.Web Site Under "Caliber" select 28 cal./7mm, under "Class" select Hot-Cor. Then change "Class" to Select All and see all 7mm Speer bullets. The Trophy Bonded Bear Claws would also be excellent on bear but I don't know if they are offered in factory 7mm-08 ammo.

7mm-08 Federal Premium Vital-Shok Ammo is also offered with 140 Grn Nosler Accubonds and 140 Grn Nosler Partitions, either of which would be good on bear, especially the partitions.

Let us know how the 150 Hot-Cor's shoot.

firstshot
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Make your first shot count!

Holzauge

Apologies for not responding sooner, the twist rate in the Finnlite 7-08 is 9.5.... which has worked for me just fine.

Rgds to all
T260

I have shot two +- 300-pound black bear with the 150-grain Nosler Partition bullet from the 270 with a MV of 2800 FPS. This should be very close to the performance of a 7mm/'08 using a 150-grain bullet. Neither required more than one shot.

Federal does indeed offer the Power-Shok loads for 7-08 with a Speer 150 grain Hot Core soft point. Speer does not catalog this bullet, but makes them special for Federal. This is not unusual. I bought some Sierra 160 grain flat based spitzers in 7mm a while back from a big supplier. They were not a cataloged item, so I called Sierra. They said they made them for Federal to be loaded in factory ammo.

I own a Remington 700 Mountain Rifle just like the one First Shot shoots. I tried several factory offerings in it when I first got it.

The Federal Power-Shok ammo was not a good match with my rifle. It was pretty close to the speed they claimed. The info on the box says it should go 2650 fps. In my 22 inch barrel I got 2634 fps average over the chronograph. The groups were so, so, about 1.5 inches. The problem was the pressure signs were obvious!! Very stiff bolt lift, primer cratering, ejector marks on the case, etc.

Maybe it is just this rifle. I fired them in my older Remington 700VLS with a 26 inch barrel.
They were perfectly safe in that gun. The speed was good, recorded as 2722 fps. And the groups were great! I shot one three shot group that measured 0.296 inches! Go figure.

If they shoot well in your gun, those Federal's should be a good choice for bears.

If not try to get some factory offerings loaded with Nosler Partitions, they always work.

Having said that, I shoot 140 grain bullets in my 7-08 and would not hesitate to shoot a bear with them. I shot a bear a couple of weeks back with a 270 WSM loaded with 140 Nosler Partitions and the performance was great. The bullet broke both shoulders and rolled that bear into a ball. It was running like heck but folded up when I shot.

Good luck on your hunt, R F

I averaged 1.5 - 2 inches at 100 yrds. off the bench with the 150 gr. Federals. Some of the size of the group may be my unwillingness to let the brl. cool completely, but the range was busy and I was pressed for time. That makes the Ti. 700 with 150's my least accurate rifle, but still perfectly adequate for the short ranges where I'd likely get a shot at a black bear. I'll probably use the 150's for the extra wt. and length when hunting there.


Sei wach!