Ruger M77 7mm/08 16.5" barrel 1:9.50 twist Ammunition Choice

[TeacherMan]

My daughter has a stainless Youth Ruger M77 in 7mm/08 with a 16.5" barrel. I'm looking for the best factory hunting round possible for this short little rifle. Currently, I have it sighted in with 140gr. generic bulk rounds (PPU 7mm-08 Remington Ammo 140 Grain Jacketed Soft Points) that are very unpredictable out of it. I'm hoping to find something that can be consistent under 200 yards that would be viable for deer, elk, spring bear or the off chance of a moose tag. Thanks in advance!

[redi]

E prefer Remington core loks in 140 and get great results on deer, elk, bear and moose. Good luck

[Sakko300wsm]

My wife has a 7mm-08 and it shoots Hornady 139g SST great! Awesome little tack driver

[7mmfan]

Look at the Barnes VORTX ammo with the 120 gr TTSX. Smoking fast and very accurate in most rifles.

[jrebel]

That short of a barrel with that slow of a twist will stabilize lighter bullets.  I would be looking at 120 grain and lighter for best accuracy.  Most factory offerings will be 120 and heavier.  If you can reload, I would look at 101 hammer hunter....our 7-08 with 20" barrel loves the bullet and stacks them on top of each other. 

[Cougartail]

My daughter has a stainless Youth Ruger M77 in 7mm/08 with a 16.5" barrel. I'm looking for the best factory hunting round possible for this short little rifle. Currently, I have it sighted in with 140gr. generic bulk rounds (PPU 7mm-08 Remington Ammo 140 Grain Jacketed Soft Points) that are very unpredictable out of it. I'm hoping to find something that can be consistent under 200 yards that would be viable for deer, elk, spring bear or the off chance of a moose tag. Thanks in advance!

Those M-77s seem to be hit and miss on accuracy for the older ones?  I've  had ones that shot everything well and those that were finicky. Fortunately handloading fixed all the problems. Faster burning powders might help with that short barrel?

My Ruger American 7mm-08  shoots around 2.5 to 3.0 inches with factory at 100 yards. lol  No dies yet.

[TeacherMan]

That short of a barrel with that slow of a twist will stabilize lighter bullets.  I would be looking at 120 grain and lighter for best accuracy.  Most factory offerings will be 120 and heavier.  If you can reload, I would look at 101 hammer hunter....our 7-08 with 20" barrel loves the bullet and stacks them on top of each other.

Exactly what I was looking for, I know that a 16.5” barrel is going to really slow down the velocity, and 1:9.5 twist seemed super slow. So with that said, and reading everyone’s comments I can’t find a factory loaded round under 120 gr. What bullet would have the best penetration but good expansion with the velocities that setup would produce?

[Karl Blanchard]

Anything loaded with 120gr nosler ballistic tips would be my choice. Ive got a little 7/08 ruger compact that has been the village bicycle for half a dozen kids and easily 20 deer and 6 or 7 elk.  It's been a phenomenal killer with that bullet.

[jrebel]

Anything loaded with 120gr nosler ballistic tips would be my choice. Ive got a little 7/08 ruger compact that has been the village bicycle for half a dozen kids and easily 20 deer and 6 or 7 elk.  It's been a phenomenal killer with that bullet.

 

That would be my first choice of factory ammo (nosler ballistic tip).  The barnes TTSX 120 grain bullet would also be a good choice....though you would want to keep your impact velocities at around 2K feet per second for good expansion. 

[TeacherMan]

Anything loaded with 120gr nosler ballistic tips would be my choice. Ive got a little 7/08 ruger compact that has been the village bicycle for half a dozen kids and easily 20 deer and 6 or 7 elk.  It's been a phenomenal killer with that bullet.

No issue with the ballistic tips on thicker game like elk? Did a quick search and it looks like Nosler makes a good looking 120gr ballistic tip load. Has muzzle velocity of 2772. Wonder what youd see out of the 16.5" barrel? guessing 2550.

[Mtnwalker]

That short of a barrel with that slow of a twist will stabilize lighter bullets.  I would be looking at 120 grain and lighter for best accuracy.  Most factory offerings will be 120 and heavier.  If you can reload, I would look at 101 hammer hunter....our 7-08 with 20" barrel loves the bullet and stacks them on top of each other.

Exactly what I was looking for, I know that a 16.5” barrel is going to really slow down the velocity, and 1:9.5 twist seemed super slow. So with that said, and reading everyone’s comments I can’t find a factory loaded round under 120 gr. What bullet would have the best penetration but good expansion with the velocities that setup would produce?

Even with the short length that 9.5 twist will stabilize bullets into the 160's. That being said I agree with the NBT if you're looking to reduce recoil and shoot a lighter bullet

[TeacherMan]

That short of a barrel with that slow of a twist will stabilize lighter bullets.  I would be looking at 120 grain and lighter for best accuracy.  Most factory offerings will be 120 and heavier.  If you can reload, I would look at 101 hammer hunter....our 7-08 with 20" barrel loves the bullet and stacks them on top of each other.

Exactly what I was looking for, I know that a 16.5” barrel is going to really slow down the velocity, and 1:9.5 twist seemed super slow. So with that said, and reading everyone’s comments I can’t find a factory loaded round under 120 gr. What bullet would have the best penetration but good expansion with the velocities that setup would produce?

Even with the short length that 9.5 twist will stabilize bullets into the 160's. That being said I agree with the NBT if you're looking to reduce recoil and shoot a lighter bullet

Not as concerned about reducing recoil. The recoil pad and ported barrel do a good job of that. Mainly looking for an accurate load that will drop the hammer of deer and elk.

[Karl Blanchard]

Anything loaded with 120gr nosler ballistic tips would be my choice. Ive got a little 7/08 ruger compact that has been the village bicycle for half a dozen kids and easily 20 deer and 6 or 7 elk.  It's been a phenomenal killer with that bullet.

No issue with the ballistic tips on thicker game like elk? Did a quick search and it looks like Nosler makes a good looking 120gr ballistic tip load. Has muzzle velocity of 2772. Wonder what youd see out of the 16.5" barrel? guessing 2550.

Zero issues. 

I'd imagine 2,550 to 2,600 is pretty spot on. 

[huntnphool]

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[TeacherMan]

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Much appreciated and great chatting with you.