7mm-08 gaining popularity in your neck of the woods?

Well, then, I stand corrected, as you must be getting a solid 3,100 fps out of your rifle with 140 grain bullets. There are several powders that will safely yield 3,000 fps with 150 grain bullets for my 270. I have clocked 140's to 3,285, but we both know that's got to be excessive pressure. The original post ponders the idea of whether shooters are gravitating away from other calibers to the 7mm-08, if I caught the gist of it right. Not so much about my dog being better than your dog......
 
The original post ponders the idea of whether shooters are gravitating away from other calibers to the 7mm-08, if I caught the gist of it right. Not so much about my dog being better than your dog
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Spot on. Wasnt looking to debate cartridges, just what seemed to be a rise in popularity...Debating which is better than the other is a endless battle.

Wasnt meaning for this post to be a 7mm08 debate but I will disagree with this part though.
I just can't see those deer hunters that only have and want one rifle, ditching their tried and true '06 or 270 for a relatively newer and obscure cartridge that generally costs more for ammo that's harder to find and won't do anything their current rifle does
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Ammo IMHO is not a problem at all to find. Especially to anyone who can read this post. Its everywhere online and with the exclusion of Walmart I cant think of one retailer ive been to that didnt have 7mm08 ammo on the shelf and for between $20-25 a box. I pick it up regularly in the "off season" on sale for $15-20 a box for Am whitetails, fusions or Core lokts.
Now, come the middle of deer season it may be low or out of on the shelves but then again I dont see a lot of 260, 280 or other calibers overflowing at that time of year either. Then again Im not the type to wait till the middle of rifle season to buy my ammo or just have one box of it either so its a non problem for me.

and won't do anything their current rifle does
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true, it doesnt do anything that my 06 didnt do, but it does it in a smaller more compact lighter recoiling package with a short action. All of which Ive found out I prefer for my type of hunting.

Back to the original topic. Stopped at LGS this morning looking around and asked if had any used 7mm08's. His quote was good luck on that.
We got into the topic of it a little but he said the 7mm08 is more asked for at his place than 243's are. He said 10 yrs ago he hardly ever had anyone even ask about a 7mm08 but now sells them and 243 almost equally.
 
Well, perhaps it is rising in popularity. It's certainly a worthy caliber. And, if it weren't for so many other calibers in the same class, it would become wildly popular.
 
7mm-08

In my experience, the 7-08 was what most hunters in my area (Central PA) got for their kids to hunt with since the early 1990,s. It was marketed real well. In a light handling rifle it has all the things the .243 has plus a 140 grain bullet. I got my son one 12 years ago when he was 12. I got mine two years ago! I shoot a 20 gauge too. I'm not saying people around here are selling out to go buy a 7-08. BUT, It sure has gained popularity around here. And for good reason. It's more than "just enough" and not "too much"!
 
I'll probably never buy a 7-08. Not that I think there is anything wrong with the cartridge. It's just that with three 7x57s, a .280 Rem. and 7MM Rem. Mag keeping them company, where's the need? I have shot a few and I like the nice light rifles but there isn't anything they'll do better than my M70 FWT can't do and do it just a little bit better. Brass is harder to find for a 7x57 but I snagged a lifetime supply when the chance popped up. :cool:
My thoughts? Shoot what you like and enjoy life.
Paul B.
 
I just can't see those deer hunters that only have and want one rifle, ditching their tried and true '06 or 270 for a relatively newer and obscure cartridge that generally costs more for ammo that's harder to find and won't do anything their current rifle does
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It's been around about 35 years and has been very popular around here that entire time
 
I got a Stevens 200 in 7mm-08 a couple of years ago. I really enjoy shooting this rifle!
Stupid me reamed the chamber to "AI". Should never have done it!!

Here in the central PA area, the 270, 30-30, 30-06 are still king. Although I'm starting to see more non typical calibers and rifles showing up.
6.5-284, 30-378 Weatherby, etc...

The one that really threw me was the guy and his kid, showing up at the range, with a 300 Weatherby. All 28" of fluted stainless steel, muzzle brake, laminate stock, and Nightforce scope, doing zero with a paper plate at 50 yards.
" You hit the plate! We'll call that good to go!!"... :confused:
 
I just can't see those deer hunters that only have and want one rifle, ditching their tried and true '06 or 270 for a relatively newer and obscure cartridge that generally costs more for ammo that's harder to find and won't do anything their current rifle does
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The 30-06 and 270 were new and obscure at one time too. In fact the 270 was all but dead 25 years after introduction and almost dropped by Winchester. Had Jack O'Connor not started writing about it the 270 would have been a footnote in firearms history. Don't give up on a round just because it isn't popular.

But you are partly right. That is exactly the only reason I haven't bought one choosing 308 instead. At my age I'm not interested in adding a new round. But as the next younger generation of shooters come into the fields it may well find it's niche. As much as I like my 30-06's I've had for years, I'd not advise a new shooter to touch one. I'd say the 6.5's are the wave of the future.


Yea, a 30-06, 270 and all of the magnum calibers do offer a little more power. But the best 7-08 loads with 140 gr bullets are over 2000 fps and 1300 ft lbs of energy at 500 yards with almost identical trajectory as a 300 wm shooting 150's. That is only about 200 fps slower and 300 ft lbs less energy than the magnum round.

Not many shooters have the skills to take full advantage of the 7-08, let alone anything bigger. If you can get that kind of performance a rifle in a smaller package with far less recoil I'd call that a huge advantage over the bigger rounds, who's only advantages will never come into play for most shooters.
 
I also think that the 6.5mm's have a lot going for them and may well be the ideal caliber in the right cartridge for the majority of applications. I've got nothing against the 7mm-08. My observations were mainly to point out that it is up against some great competition that got an earlier start. Today we have many more choices of better bullets than ever and are spoiled for choices in propellants, too. And yet it would seem that the best rifle and machine gun cartridges were nearly perfect a century ago with the 6.5 Swede, 7mm Mauser, 8mm Mauser, and 30-'06 Springfield. Still, we keep re-inventing the wheel with slight improvements here and there as we travel through history. Many of the improvements get overblown in commercial advertising enthusiasm. Those who bought the 264 Winchester Magnum when it first came out were thrilled by its fantastic leap forward in performance. Of course, the advantages were largely just numbers on paper and in their owners imaginations. With the advent of affordable chronographs it was disappointing to discover that the new 264 was pretty much a re-invention of the 270 Winchester, but with shorter barrel life. The 7mm-08 is eminently more practical than the 264 and it comes within a couple of hundred fps of the 270 Winchester. Not bad at all.
 
when rem came out with the 700SA youth in left hand, i bought one in 7mm08 and added a recoil pad to lenthen the lop and topped it off with a 2.5x8 leupold. and with a stiff load of varget and the nosler 120 BT bullet i have killed 10-11 mid size deer for 40-225 yrds with broadside double lung shots and all died very quickly with a blood trail ray charles could follow in the dark. to me its more important where you hit them than what you hit them with(legal calibers).eastbank.
 
I always like the posts that say that a 7mm-08 is no 280 or, a 300 Win Mag is no 300 RUM or, a 9.3x62 is not a 375 H&H. And, you know what? They are absolutely right. They are different and that is exactly why I choose to buy a particular caliber. I usually buy a rifle for what it does do well. My 7mm-08 is a good versatile rifle and, it will be used for hunting deer, hogs, varmint and will likely be my backup, lightweight rifle for an upcoming elk hunt.
 
Fresh Experience:

Just last Sunday l got a chance to shoot the 7mm08 for my first time, as well as a 7mm Mauser, also for my first time. It was an interesting comarison. The 7mm08 was a scoped Winchester model 70 Featherweight built in Utah. The Mauser was a rebarreled 1909 Argentine with iron sights. I did not waste my time with accuracy comparisons as they were set up too differently for that. Over the chronograph, my impression is that they are essentially equal running partners. If you think they can match the 270 Winchester, well, that's your inalienable right to believe anything you want, even if others know better. But here's the important observation: From a full magazine of 5 rounds the 7mm08 was extremely difficult to chamber the first round. The virtual jam could be overcome by slamming the bolt very hard, hard enough to be hurtful to the hand. After the first round it wasn't so bad, but nowhere near as smooth as the Mauser which fed all cartridges like greased lightining. Nothing against Winchester model 70's, as that's my favorite bolt gun. In my 270, the rifle feeds at least as smooth as that 1909 Mauser. I think it has mostly to do with the dimensions of the cartridges. It seems like Mauser got it right more than a century ago. Clearly, I would rather have a reliable, smooth feeding rifle, even though that particular 7mm08 shot well. So, the 7mm Mauser is the better cartridge in my view. I could see having one of those; still I will keep my 270.
 
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But here's the important observation: From a full magazine of 5 rounds the 7mm08 was extremely difficult to chamber the first round. The virtual jam could be overcome by slamming the bolt very hard, hard enough to be hurtful to the hand. After the first round it wasn't so bad, but nowhere near as smooth as the Mauser which fed all cartridges like greased lightining. Nothing against Winchester model 70's, as that's my favorite bolt gun. In my 270, the rifle feeds at least as smooth as that 1909 Mauser. I think it has mostly to do with the dimensions of the cartridges. It seems like Mauser got it right more than a century ago. Clearly, I would rather have a reliable, smooth feeding rifle, even though that particular 7mm08 shot well. So, the 7mm Mauser is the better cartridge in my view.
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Gun problem, not a cartridge problem. My 243, 7mm-08 and 308's all feed the same with no problems. If blindfolded you could not tell the difference in any of them.
 
I noticed today at the academy there was one 708 load. For 223, 243, 2506, 270, 308, 3006 there were maybe as many as 10 each.
 
Only Hornady; no Remington, Winchester or Federal available.

But it was one load more than any 6.5/.260.
 
I often hunt the organized drive technique with several other guys. We drive the same hollows and thickets every year with good success. No one carries a bolt action rifle. They're either levers or pumps. The 7mm-08 is a fine cartridge but I've never seen one at our camp.

Jack
 
If gun makers had to rely on Maine deer hunters to make a fortune, they would be kinda poor. Folks here often use their dad's or grandfather's deer rifle and probably some of their ammo.

Being more shooter than hunter, that doesn't apply to me. I have four "deer rifles", two .270 Wins, and two .243 Wins. One of the .270's is new this year, so isn't a deer veteran, but will get it's chance this fall.

I gave the eldest son my Rem 700 in '06 and he's killed at least 20 deer with it. He's unlikely to stop using that rifle, since it will hit a dime every time at 100 yds.
 
I start deer hunting on September 1 and go to January 1. So far I've sat about 10-11 times, my 7mm08 has been on every one of them. No deer yet, does just came in season and the bucks have been small. I've shot the heck out of pigs though, the 7mm08 has been getting it done as usual.
 
I had a 7mm-08 for a few years (one benefit of owning an Encore is cheaper to try a round) and while I liked it, just could not bring myself to leave the other calibers so I sold it. I prefer the .243 and .260 for Pronghorn, coyotes and shooting steel from 300 to 1000 yards. I prefer a little more horsepower for elk and use a .338-06.

If I was a Midwest or Eastern deer hunter looking for a first rifle, the 7mm-08 would certainly be in the top 5 I would consider. Fully capable of everything in the lower 48 and not expensive or punishing for target practice or shooting a pack of hogs. Good efficiency and good bullet selection. Similar to the .270 as a one rifle choice, if you are going to have 3 or 4, it starts to lose the appeal for me.

Oh, there are currently 27 loads for the 7mm-08 available at MidwayUSA...Hornady, PPU, Remington, Winchester, Nolser, Barnes, HSM, Norma and DoubleTap. Most are 120-140 grain loads. :D
 
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