7mm08 questions

B

BigMikey76

New member
OK... I have been looking around at a first rifle purchase for a while, now, and I am starting to feel as indecisive as my wife shopping for shoes. I started with looking at .243, .270, or .30-06. Almost pulled the trigger on a .25-06 with a great price, but putting glass on it would have gone over my budget unless I went with the absolute cheapest Walley World option. Now I am looking at a Savage 10 in 7mm08 - solid walnut monte carlo stock and glass included, brand new in the box. This is probably the highest quality I have found in my price range, and it will probably be The One. I just have some questions about the cartridge:

1) Assuming that I will be reloading (my wife recently conceded that it is a good idea), how does the 7mm08 compare in cost vs. some of the longer established calibers?

2) How do the ballistics and other performance factors of the 7mm08 compare to other similar bullets? From what I have read so far, it seems that they have a fairly flat trajectory, and power at medium ranges is somewhere between a .25-06 and a .270.

I appreciate any information you guys have to offer, but please don't let this degenerate into a caliber vs. caliber debate.

Thanks.
 
The 7mm08 is by far my favorite whitetail deer cartridge. As far a loading, its really no more expensive than anything else of its type casing. There are a wide variety of powders that work for it as well as bullet weights and types. Load lighter weights and you can ring out some velocity, heavier will do too.

Most people I know shoot a 120-140grn bullet on deer, my load is 45.5grns of 4831SC and a 150grn Nosler BT. Deadly and impressive results with quick kills.

The recoil is mild and its a fun round to shoot as well. I'm a fan and consider it one of the finest undersung rounds available.
 
Brass and bullets are no more expensive than the other calibers in its class.
I've recently become enamored with the 7-.08, and just bought a Savage in that caliber myself. I may end up taking off the factory contour barrel for a bull (it's going to be a long range target gun, not hunting), but I'm going to see how the factory barrel shoots first, it's only a 20 incher...

It's long range ballistics are superior to the .308, right up there with the 6.5 Creedmore, 6.5 x 55, and .260 Remington (and others). Like you said, no need to get into a big brouhaha over which is best- 99% of the shooters that'll pick up the rifle would never be able to tell the difference.

Remember that with a wood stock (as opposed to the AccuStock) you may need to bed the action IF you're looking for maximum accuracy. For minute of deer, you should be fine.

Good luck if you pull the trigger, can't go wrong with a Savage.
 
Hi, Big Mike!

As I said before, the particular caliber is not really important (within reason, of course- oddballs such as 8mm Lebel or some such are not a good choice).

The 7-08 is an outstanding round for deer, IMO .... and is very versatile when handloaded- 7mm (.284 diameter) bullets are very common and there is a wide variety of them available, from 100gr hollow points to 180gr target bullets .... The case is very efficient, nearly equalling the performance of the .270 WIN with 10% less powder .....

The 7-08 I brought with me was much too small for you.....

My niece has an A-Bolt II in 7-08 that I liked very much ...... I'd buy one if I needed yet another deer rifle and there was a good one at a decent price!

Let me know when you want to get started handloading!
 
7mm-08 is the ideal, all-around big game cartridge for North America in my opinion. It's just fantastic. Short action, low recoil, flat shooting, lots of power.

Reloading costs are on the order of 92 cents a round for ULTRA premium ammo... talking Norma brass and Barnes TTSX bullets. Factory ammo in "generic" brass with those bullets is $2.50 a round.

Reloads with "normal" bullets run about $7 per 20.

Trajectory is very good. I've read that it is quite popular with metallic silhouette shooters. Ranges out to 500 yards in that game, I believe.
 
It is a very good caliber and yes, it was adopted early by the metallic silhouette crowd. That game is shot standing on your legs and guys found that using hunting rifles and engaging the 500 yard rams, the 7mm-08 had enough energy to topple the rams, good enough accuracy that they could hit the rams, and not so much recoil that they couldn't complete the course.

The only 7mm-08 I ever had was a wonderfully accurate rifle that liked cheap, green box Remington ammo. Liked it so well that I never reloaded for the caliber. I lost that rifle during a divorce and the subsequent financial turmoil and I miss the rifle a lot more than I miss the wife.
 
Factory loaded ammo is a little more expensive than 308 or similar chamberings and not always available, but that is really the only downside. I don't own one, my 308's are just too close in perfromance or I'd want one. I don't think you can go wrong with that chambering.
 
Big Mike I have both a 7MM-08 and a 25-06 both are very fine deer rifles. I found the 7mm was very easy to load for / very accurate / with most any bullet/powder/primer combs.
 
I've been very happy with the 7mm-08.
It's what I started my 10 year old son out with 13 years ago,he's tagged a lot of whitetail in the past 13 years with that 7mm-08 :D

It's really good "all around" cartridge!
 
Big Mike, the 7MM-08 is a terrific deer round. Go for it if you plan to reload. If you will be buying factory ammo go for a more common caliber like the .308. Factory 7MM-08 is expensive and hard to find.
 
7 mm 08 is a fine cartridge for deer. It will accurately shoot with sufficient energy out to 300 yards for deer, if you are capable of putting your rounds in the kill zone. It will be cheaper to load than a 30-06, but of course, loaded ammo may probably cost much more.

Less recoil, lighter bullets, less powder, short action, it has many things to recommend it against a 30 caliber, and it has several advantages over the 30-06 springfield based 270 or .280 remington.

I feel that the 7mm 08, in an accurate bolt action, with good 3-9 scope, is the peak of efficiency for hunting that will only occasionally present a 200 yard or longer shot on a deer.

Moderate recoil. Accurate. modest ammo costs. good availability of advanced bullets, and very versatile powders are available. good brass longevity. In all of the discussions about "what you would own for an only weapon" this cartridge should come up a whole lot more frequently, but a lot of people that answer those polls may be overestimating how versatile they really need their weapon to be. I'm never going to hunt elk, moose, or grizzly, and there's nothing else in the continental US that can't be very efficiently killed with this cartridge.
 
My next cartridge/rifle, and I am--and will remain--a huge .270 fan. A pre-factory closing Win 70 Featherweight Classic or new FN-Win in same would be just the ticket. Just something about this round. As has been stated, a non-magnum short action, .270 (or .280 if you insist) for 300 yds and under (ie, most shots). Doesn't get much better than that for deer sized game in North America.
 
I don't understand why some of you limit the caliber to 300yards and then write opinions on the 1000 yard capabilities of the .308. 300 yards has been the repeated mantra of various writers since the cartridges inception. Yet you read how it is ballistically superior to the .308, does that shut off when the 300 yard threshold is reached. No it doesn't, the 7mm08 is capable of reaching out there and touching something if the person behind the trigger is up to the challenge.
 
Depends where you are, I guess....

Factory 7MM-08 is expensive and hard to find.
Click to expand...

Maybe in Chicagoland, but out here on the prairies, it's available in a couple of flavors at the local Wallyworld, 1/2 a dozen at Cabela's, it's at most every LGS, and even at Pamida ..... almost as common as .243 WIN. Not really any pricier, either....


It will accurately shoot with sufficient energy out to 300 yards for deer, if you are capable of putting your rounds in the kill zone.
Click to expand...

A properly fed and zeroed 7-08 will be pushing a bullet having close to 1,500 ft/lbs of energy and hitting only 11 inches below POA at 400 yards...... that's considerably more than a 30/30 bullet has at 100 yards .... as for accuracy, 2MOA is roughly 8" at 400...... plenty for an 8"x12" target. It's a rare hunting rifle that cant be made to shoot better than that with handloads.
 
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