Howdy ya'll, this might not be posted in the right place, it also may have been asked before, but I am wondering what factory ammo ya'll are hunting with? I picked up a new Ruger American 7mm-08 because of the threaded barrel. I picked up a couple boxes of Hornady 150 eldx and used it on a pig. Good hit but no blood and couldn't find the pig.

I shoot the Hornady 139gr. SSTs, been pretty decent, not a great blood trail though.

We use both the hornady custom lite with the 120 grain SST bullets or the Nosler 140 grain accubond.

Had great success with each one

I’m a huge fan of the 7mm-08 and currently have 3 of them. I prefer 120 grain loads for Texas whitetail. The 120gr Nosler Ballistic Tip is my favorite, usually instant lights out results on a high shoulder. My wife’s rifle likes the 120 Barnes TTSX. In the 140 grain loads, just pick the cup and core load that groups the best. I won’t shoot the ELD-X or SST at anything, but that’s a different discussion.

I bought my youngest son a Ruger American a few years ago. It shot the Federal Fusion 140’s almost as good as handloads. He killed a few deer and hogs with the box of Fusions and we didn’t have to look for any of them.

Thanks for the feedback guys. The last thing I wanna do is shoot a deer and not be able to recover it. The eldx did not perform for me on the pig this morning. I would have preferred to recover it but no blood and she got off in some real thick stuff about 40-50 yards away.




I would like to hear about your eldx issues sometime.

We hunt Axis on a big, rugged ranch southwest of Rocksprings. The bluffs created by the Nueces river limit close shot opportunities. Last year, my wife shot a nice buck from 225 yards with a 300 PRC shooting the 212 ELD-X. I saw him take off without the use of one of his front legs, but, it took a while to find him. When we did find him, there was very little blood. I found the jacket in the offside hide. No exit wound on a well placed broadside behind the shoulder shot. The jacket weighed 27 grains and we never found any other bullet fragments. I wrongly assumed it was a fluke.

This year, I shot one high shoulder from 318 yards, same rifle and factory 212 ELD-X load. He ran off the same way, on 3 legs. Never found him. He was killed 19 days later, trying to rut on 3 legs. My shot impacted the scapula, didn’t exit. His anterior chest and lower neck were full of old blood. These are 250-275lb bucks, smaller than or equal to a large Midwest whitetail. A 212 grain bullet should make 2 holes at those speeds.

Thanks for the facts sir. I shot this pig behind the front shoulder at 70ish yards. I figured it would run 30 yards or so but thought it would be a clean pass through and I’d have blood. That wasn’t the case. Bullet hit, she let out a squeal and about went down. She ran into the brush and after looking for blood/pig for an hour in a 100+ temps, I gave up and started doing some research. I have a couple boxes of nosler 120 bt here at the house. I’ll give them a try on my next time out.

Next time you shoot a pig aim for the ear hole. The only one I’ve shot like this that didn’t die was with a 22-250 vmax. It knocked him out but he came back to life when I walked up on him. The bullet blew up on his face. I switched to the 45gr TSX in the 250 and that will go through just about anything and stay together.

I like your choice on the 120 NBT for the 7-08 that’s what I load for deer.

Normally I do shoot them in the ear. But I just bought this gun and used the opportunity to try the eldx out something other than a deer to see if there was a good wound cavity, exit hole, etc.

Hornady SST. It works very well. It rarely exits, so no blood trail. A blood trail is only necessary when you have poor shot placement or the wrong bullet. Everything I’ve shot is DRT and that’s a few hundred pigs and large panhandle white tails.

The ear shot is good, but their head is always moving and high margin. No doubt it’s fun to drop one with that shot but consider the neck area, down at an angle from the ear towards the shoulder.

Same for me. I used factory Hornady SSTs during break in. Killed a lot of stuff with them too. I reload for it now though.

I had really good success with the 120gr 7-08 Federal Fusion. I sold the Gen1 American but not before killing 5-6 deer with it. Great performance, they either went straight down or generated a blood trail a blind guy could follow. Mine didnt shoot the 140 as well.

Here's my results on 100% of the deer I've shot with SST's: Aim here
Kill one like this
Bullet goes here
No exit, shot took out CNS, and upper arteries
No blood trail required.

I've been using Nosler 120gr Ballistic Tips (factory ammo) and have done great with them.

I like the American Whitetail by Hornady. They have served me well on deer and pigs at about 2/3rds the price.

Wife shoots the Hornady reduced recoil rounds and has never lost an animal. Most were DRT at 100 yards.

I have 2 rifles in 708, and have found the 140gr Sierra Game King just flat works for whitetail. I reload, but if I had to try a factory offering I'd be trying to find these in stock first and hoping the rifle in question liked them.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1018077849?pid=670440

or these

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/102603691?pid=889252

I shot a 125 pound sow a few years back with a 300 grain 12 gauge slug at 45 yards right through the boiler room. Completely scrambled heart and lungs and the crazy thing still ran almost 100 yards. I’m convinced a CNS shot is the only thing that will anchor a pig.

I've shot all types of the Hornaday ammuntion and it just hasn't perfomed. I've never lost an animal but they haven't reacted to the shot like other brands,

My go to is the Federal Fusion 140 g and the Norma Whitetail 150. Bang...Flop

what caliber?

I shoot regular interlocks in my .270 and most every one is a bang flop

For me interlocks and SST’s have lesser than average penetration and weight retention. They are in my experience and opinion prone to over expansion and core separation. I’ve never lost anything shooting them but have spend a lot of time searching blind for deer and hogs with no blood trail as a result.

I have had good luck slowing them way down to get what I would consider good performance. I know some love them and that’s cool but ther are many that feel the same way I do also.