Axis youth 7mm-08 lead free load help

[Divr6347]

Hi guys
I have an axis youth in 7-08 that I bought for my 13 yr old sons first hunting rifle

here in california we are restricted to lead free bullets as we live in the California condor zone that said

I'm looking to load some Barnes Tsx 120 gr bullets using Winchester brass and Winchester large rifle primers

probably try some varget powder in it and see how it does

I have shot the Barnes vor tx 120 gr factory loads in it with mixed results and have some hornady full boar 139 gr gmx rounds ordered to try in it also the rifle has 20 in barell on it and shoots 120 gr federal fusion rounds pretty well but
they do us no good as we can't hunt with them
sons first pig hunt is coming up in nov so I'm looking to get it dialed in before then

thanks for any info

divr6347

[prdatr]

Varget is a good choice. You want to use powders like 4064, RL-15, W748. It has a slower twist than what I see on other 7mm's at 1: 9.5 as opposed to 1:9.25 so it should do well with 120's but I would lean toward 140's.
G David Tubbs brought that caliber into the mainstream during the late 80's and early 90's when High Power Silhouette was more popular and he shot 120's on Chickens and I believe Javelina and moved up to 140's for Turkey and Rams. His goto powder was IMR4064 about 43-44.5 grains. In my experience the only bullet I shot that did not group well in my Remington 700 (1:9.25) were some 140gr PMC softnose bullets. All others from 100gr Hornady up to 168gr Sierra HPBT Match show well under .5 moa. With the 20" barrel I would lean more to 4064 and RL15. I always used CCI BR primers.

[hornet112]

Varget should wok fine . The thing to remember is coal. Barnes recommends .50 off the lands. I load Barnes in 4 different calibers and what I found is it is best to seat the bullet at the middle to bottom of the last ring on the bullet. Try 40 to 43.9 grs of Varget according to Barnes website.

[Divr6347]

Thanks for the replies guys good info

started working up a load for it today but ran into a small issue that I can't figure out
the coal for the 7mm-08 according to my nosler manual is 2.80 in I measured the chamber on the axis compact using the 120 gr Tsx and my Stoney point oal guage and a caliper and got a reading of 2.785- 2.787 This didn't really make sense to me if they show max oal
in the manual at 2.80 in A round loaded to max oal length from the manual would not fit in this chamber ?? I don't get it but maybe I'm missing something
also Barnes recommends loading the Tsx at .050 off the lands so if my chamber measures 2.785 in to the lands and I load the Tsx to .050 off my coal would be at 2.735 in seems pretty short to me I don't think I've ever seen a round recommended to be loaded that short
anybody know if it's safe to load them that short ??
Am I missing something ?? Or do I have an undersized chamber ??
Thanks for any info
divr6347

[hornet112]

Yes Barnes recommends .050 off the lands. That is a starting point for there bullets. Coal for one bullet may not be the same for another. I have Barnes Bullets that seat .080 off and shoot well under .75 @ 100 yds. To sum it all up Barnes like to jump. Like I stated before load them to the last ring on the bullet. Start low and work up you will be fine.