I have a pair of 7 TCU's.....one is a 12" Contender that shoots well. The other is an absolute tackdriving XP-100 with a 14" lightweight barrel Shilen SS barrel, blue printed, fluted bolt, and Lee Six stock. I have it topped with a Pentax 2-7x scope.

I've NEVER taken either of them hunting....ever. I don't know why...well maybe I do a little. I've never settled on one bullet in the TCU that I would have 100% confidence on. I really like the idea of a 120gr V-Max...used this on a couple deer from a 14" Waters and they opened well...but were a bit explosive. Maybe the TCU velocity would have them act more like a larger game bullet?? I've also thought about the 120gr Hornady HP.

I think Nosler makes a BT in the 120gr weight but those a pricey for the amount of shooting I like to do. Sierra also makes a 120gr in the Pro Hunter that may be worth a try.

Provide input PLEASE. I really want to hunt with this XP-100 but just have a tough time not grabbing something with at least a 30-30 size parent case to go deer hunting. Lately the Competitor .308W w/ 125gr BT's has been my go-to gun but I don't shoot it very much. This XP TCU is going to be an all purpose knock around gun with deer being the largest game it would handle. The max range would be limited to whatever the final load clocks in at and how much energy it creates....I'm hoping 250yds maybe?

That's about as far as I dare push my Waters. Might be asking a lot from that little case. You do need to put that gun to use tho ;-)

I know.....gotta start somewhere for a goal. Doing some quick calculating.....a 120gr VM at 2150fps yields 1647fps and 722FPE at 250yds. This looks a little warm but I can seat them long and going to run them stiff just to see what I can get out of it.

Ultimately the gun will tell me what it wants....but that doesn't mean I can't steer it in a direction!!

The primers and Oehler 35 will tell me where to stop!

The sierra 120 is good one to try. Decent expansion but doesn't blow up like the vmax. 250 yds might be pushing it.IIRC you need about 1800 fps for expansion with the sierra.

Dan, I have had the best luck with the Nosler 120 Btip, and the 120 Hornady V Max, also the Speer 145 gr. shot well, The 1st 2 bullets mentioned are extremely accurate with BL-C2 powder in my Contender.

Here is the XP-100 7 TCU. It's a retired silhouette gun that I bought from a fella in Texas. It was built by a gunsmith just 8 miles from my house. He was a big silhouette 'smith on Contenders and XP's back in the early '80's. I've since turned into in to a hunting gun.....now I just need to hunt with it. Did some work to the stock and bolt handle. With all the lightening work done to the bolt, the handle was very weak. If you had a warm load get a bit sticky in the chamber, you could actually bend the handle trying to get it open....it was VERY weak. This morning I welded one of the holes shut and added some material to the back side and filed it smooth again. You can also see a spot in the handle that was drilled and plugged....terrible work. I took the plug out and welded that shut also. I know the smith that built it and he would not do choppy work like that so someone else did it......but with a welder and grinder I can fix about anything!!

Here is a before pic. I'll post an after pic later.

Dan
Not a 7 TCU shooter but do use 7mm bullets. Maybe my results can help.
I use the Sierra 120 SPT Pro-Hunter out of a 16” Encore 7x57 Ackley Improved @ 2900fs. Outstanding accuracy and + 2 inches of terminal performance on Hoosier Whitetails.

Good luck
B..

Thanks for asking this question Dan, as I also have two 7mm TCU's that I would like to use for taking "Hill Country" whitetails at no more than 150 yds. I have both a 10 inch and 14 inch Contender barrel and haven't really used them for anything other than paper punching and plinking. I have looked at/considered all the projectiles mentioned thus far and would like to add another to the mix. Speer makes a 110 grain TNT-HP that has a SD of .195, BC of .338, and their number 13 manual lists velocities as high as 2346 fps with H322 from a 14 inch Contender. I know that this bullet is designed to blow up varmints, but that is at much higher muzzle velocities. I have used the 30 cal 125gr TNT-HP in my 300 Blackout AR to take a doe this past season. Muzzle velocity was recorded with my Pact PC at 2286fps, and I intentionally shot the deer broadside behind the shoulder at about 40 yds to see if the bullet would blow up. At the shot the deer ran about 30 yds and piled up at the base of a tree. At the place where the deer was standing there was no blood, but within about 10 ft there was some blood, and what appeared to be a chunk of lung. The bullet had completely penetrated and left a quarter sized exit hole in the hide. If the performance of the 7mm would be similar in a TCU, then I think it's worth a try. Just wanted to muddy the water a little more!

Hey Mech.....muddy away! Just more reason to experiment. Thanks.

While the bullet design may have changed, I had poor results with the 7mm 120gr Sierra in a 7-30 Waters about 10+ years ago. It simply punched a 7mm hole through deer sized animals. After shooting four different ones with it, I changed bullets.