7mm-08 Caliber

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dts686

New member
First, I'm the guy who asked if a 25-06 could kill a moose. I thank you for all your input, you folks are amazing. I now realize that it's not the right caliber. My son is getting a 22lr for his 9th birthday. But I am planning beyond that, for when he's 12 or so. I'm planning to take him on yearly hunts and through the years to hunt bigger and bigger game concluding with a moose. All of this to show my son in many ways that he is a man and that he has everything he needs to have a successful life.

The question I now have is about the 7mm-08 caliber. It still has a fairly easy amount of recoil and I believe it can take any game in the contiguous 48 states. Am I correct in this thinking?

Thank You Again!
David
 
I believe the 7mm-08 will drop a moose with good shot placement. Might need to use heavier bullets and shoot within 250 yards. I would shoot for the lungs.
 
Yes. A little on the light side for really large animals, but with good bullets and at closer ranges I would use it on anything but the big bears. For 95% of anyones hunting needs the 7-08 or 308 are fine choices.
 
You know you've stepped up to a big game caliber when you light off a 7mm08 compared to something like a 243. There are reduced recoil factory loads available for this caliber and it's easily downloaded if you're a handloader. It all depends on your young shooter but I wouldn't put him behind a standard factory loaded 7mm08 until absolutely necessary.
The 7mm08 is really on the light side for moose. It begins to fall short when using heavier bullets that would be recommended for use on that size game. Some carefull loading might produce a good load using a premium or homogeneous metal bullet that would produce the wound characteristics needed for moose.
 
Given that you plan to hunt various big game species before your son fires on the subject moose, I think you are making an excellent choice. Though "30" bore is more popular in the US, 7 mm really gives you the necessary range of bullet weights and has a better BC for a given weight. Of the popular 7 mm calibers, the 7mm-08 has the least recoil. It is often recommended for a "one gun" hunter. Bringing your son along with his shooting and tolerance of recoil is something you will have to think about, but starting with reduced recoil ammo was a good suggestion. Last year, my brother was preparing for his first elk hunt and getting used to Dad's old 7mm RM. I loaded him some light 120's, and it turned the beast to a pussycat. And varmints of various types are always available to hunt. No better way to get used to a rifle and learn hunting basics.
 
Given that the 7-08 is basically a revamped 7X57, I would say you are good with that choice of chambering. Mice to moose, it will do it all.
 
The question I now have is about the 7mm-08 caliber. It still has a fairly easy amount of recoil and I believe it can take any game in the contiguous 48 states. Am I correct in this thinking?
Click to expand...

With the possible exception exception of the big bears, I would think that a 175 grain Nosler Partition started at 2500 f/sec (and a BC of over .5!) would do for just about anything within 400 yards ( 15 inches of drop from a 300 yard zero and about 1300 ft/lbs of energy*) ..... heck even the big bears can't ignore 1 1/4 ton of ME and a controlled expansion bullet.......

...and if you learn to handload, you could make 100 grain reduced loads to plink with that he could handle, with the aid of shooting sticks, before he was even strong enough to hold the rifle up by himself...... or any power level in between.....

....... "Beware the little boy with but one rifle, because he surely knows how to use it!"


*That's about what a 170 grain 30/30 load delivers at 100 yards!
 
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I agree with what's been said but there is one exception to the comment comparing the 7mm08 to the 7x57. With bullets weighing 160 and up, the
7x57 turns in better performance(with handloads) than the 7mm08. This advantage is negated by the array of premium bullets 150 grain and under, many of which provide performance equal to or better than conventional cup and core 175 grainers
 
You really need to reload to have the 7MM-08 realize its full potential. The ballsitics I hve studied are very similar to the 7MM Mauser (7x57) and I haven't noticed much difference in performance for heavier bullet weights, but I haven't looked at the charts lately.
 
I think the 7-08 is very near the "ideal" cartridge for North American hunting.

It's only downfall is cost of factory ammo. Buying a 7-08 is a good reason to get into reloading. You will load your own premium ammo for far less than factory stuff. I load 110gr Barnes TTSX bullets in 7-08 for something like $18 a box, the closest factory equivalent is 120gr and $47 a box.

Anyway, I really like 7-08 but I wouldn't own one if I didn't reload. Then again, if I was going to hunt moose, I might anyway.
 
Probably be helpful to set the rifle up with a Limbsaver recoil pad, or equivalent. Cuts down on felt recoil. Plus the usual deal of changing the length of pull, as need be...
 
Well as always you folks are nothing less that AWESOME! You helped steer me from the beginning and now I know what I want/need.

Weatherby Vanguard calibrated for 7mm-08.

I can't thank you enough for sharing with me your experience and wisdom. You always make me glad I am a member of this forum. By the way, I do plan on reloading my own ammo for this rifle. Need to start thinking about a scope for the rifle next. :rolleyes:

David
 
I bought my son a 7mm-08 handi rifle this year for deer season. It's 36" long and 5.5#....even with reduced recoil loads it's a heavy hitter for a 7yo kid.

What everyone has said is right on about the cost of shooting it. I bought 3 different flavors of full power and two boxes of remington reduced recoil stuff. 25 bucks was the cheapest I got away with with the others in the 28-32 range.
 
7mm-08: listed as 2339 ft/lbs with a 150 gr Speer.
30.06: listed as 2820 ft/lbs with the same weight bullet. Mostly apples to apples for comparison. As you can see, pretty significant difference. The 06 has the case capacity to push that bullet to 2900 fps, while the 7-08, using the .308 case, can push it to "only" 2,650 fps.

The 7-08 is a great round...just bought a Savage in that caliber to punch paper at long range. Better ballistics than the .308, and less felt recoil.
 
Another way to look at the 7mm08 is to figure that it's basically a .308 with ten grains less bullet weight than the common 150-grain loading in the .308. For deer, there's no real point in going heavier than the 140-grain in 7mm08...

On scopes: As a kid, I learned that I could hit jackrabbits at night in the spotlight out to around a hundred yards with a K2.5 on my '06. With a K4 on my Mini-14, I killed a bunch of jackrabbits out to 200 yards.

I learned that 3X was good enough to kill a deer at 350 yards, hitting within an inch or so of where I intended. 7X is plenty good for prairie dogs to 300 yards.

When I first got my 700 Ti in 7mm08, I really went overboard for weight and stuck a Weaver V3 on it. At 3X I was able to get sub-MOA groups.

For a hunter, my opinion is that the field of view at 4X makes a fixed 4X about as good as ever a deer hunter would need. Sure, I have 3x9 variables, but that's for convenience at the bench rest and because I can afford it--it's not a matter of "need".
 
2,300ft/lbs for 7-08 is very low...

Factory ammo is usually 140gr and listed at 2,900 fps and, at least Rem Core- Lokt, reach that speed in 24" barrels.

That's 2,600 ft/lbs.
 
I have both the 7-08 and 7mm mag - the mag will do what the 7-08nwill do..........about 100-200 yards further

the 7-08 is a great cartridge for everything except the big bears, IMO
 
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