Does reduced recoil factory ammo, handloading affect caliber choice?

D

Doc7

New member
I have been on a drive saving money for a year now for a Winchester Model 70 extreme weather ss in 7mm-08. I will have the money later this spring. Currently I only ever hunt deer although I buy black bear tags for shot opportunities. I hunt in the Virginia woods?usually from a stand.

I know/think 7mm-08 is close to ideal for this hunting and that's what I have in a used Savage. However I always have the thought in my head that I would like to have one rifle that I can use if I save for years to go on an elk hunt or other western hunts. If i hand load and can make reduced recoil ammo (or buy it) does it negate any 7mm-08 advantages? For example is there a chance I would need to buy a 30-06 anyway and I might as well be shooting deer in the meantime with managed recoil 30-06 and load hotter for elk, western hunts and even be able to take it to Alaska?
 
I have both an older Model 7 in 7mm-08 and a recent M70 in 30-06. If I could only keep one it would be the 7mm. I dont care about the recoil, but the weight and barrel length are very significant. The 30-06 is good gun, but not for your immediate / local needs.

Very very strongly suggest you stay with 7mm in W VA and consider the reality that you can manage a second rifle in your lifetime. And, reduced recoil would not even enter into the equation.

Now, if you keep your savage, then the 30-06 would be a nice step up for the bigger stuff.

I consider the M70 a bit on the heavy side for a 7mm-08. I dont know the specs on that specific model. Just to talk around in circles, if I had to choose a chambering for the M70, I would go 30-06. If I had to hunt west virginia for deer and black bear, I would look for a lighter gun in a lighter round. My model 7 is about perfect for me in similar location.
 
I don't know why so many people worry about killing elk. I do believe you can go too small of a bullet diameter and cartridge power to effectively kill elk but the 7mm-08 isn't one. I have a buddy who has killed a few elk with the 7mm-08 and 120 grain Barnes TTSX hand loads out of his Ruger Ultralight with not issues at all. Really most deer rifles are perfectly adequate for elk in most cases.
 
The 7-08 is more than adequate for elk. It basically duplicates the 7X57 and it has been used to kill every animal on the planet. It was WD Bell's preferred cartridge for the 1100 or so elephant he took in his life.

It is about bullet choice. I'd use tougher bullet for elk or bear than deer, but would not think twice about using one on anything short of Brown bear.
 
Agree with what is being said above, the 7mm-08 is more than capable of taking elk. Use a good bullet and put it where it suppose to go, you won't have a problem.
 
If it was me I'd get the 30-06 since I already had a 7-08 and the 30-06 does elk better than the 7-08. Is the 7-08 adequate for elk with a good bullet? Absolutely. Is the 30-06 more versatile since you handload and already have a 7-08? Absolutely.

On the other hand I hate having two loads per rifle and if 99% of the time you just want a nice easy deer killer then get the rifle you WANT and just budget a new rifle into your down-the-road elk hunt if you decide then that you need a new rifle. As stated you don't technically need one, but you might want it. If I had never hunted elk and saved for years to go do it, a cartridge larger than the 7-08 might cross my mind. I've seen lots of elk die. Probably someone on this forum has seen more elk die than me and has a different opinion. There are different schools of thought on that one.

$5 says I start an argument with that:p
 
I changed from my '06 to a 7mm08 only because my legs cheated on me and got old. I went from a 9.5 pound rig to a 6.5 pound 700 Ti. :)

I've been a reloader since before they hauled in dirt. Easy enough to download the '06 for plinking and Bambi, although recoil was never an issue for me. (6' and mostly 175 pounds.)
 
Get the 7mm08 and make yourself happy. I'm also from the camp that would buy a new rifle for my once in a lifetime hunt.

I have a 30-30 that I use as an open sights range gun. I have factory loaded ammo, downloaded ammo and severely reduced lead only ammo.

All of he ammo shoots in a vertical line. Factory ammo would be a bullseye at 25 yards, downloaded ammo would be 2 inches lower and reduced lead ammo 3 more inches lower. Makes for a real headache so I raised the sight for the reduced lead and only shoot that in it now. Feels like shooting a 22lr with a bit more bang.
 
LOL, Oh gosh I could easily get on a rant!

But Ill try not to.



Doc7, Your way over thinking your situation.
You have a real good deer rifle in 7-08.
Yet, your saving for another real good deer rifle in 7-08.

Take some of your savings and get reloading for the rifle you already have.
Take your rifle and your reloads Elk hunting.
Then decide future purchases after having been there and done that.
 
While I do not have a 7-08, I do have several rifles in 7x57, two of which I load to 7-08 velocity levels. The third is a custom Mauser that is tight chambered and has a tight barrel I'm thinking. I'm on the process of finding something it likes.

I was going to work up a load with 160 gr. Speer Grand Slams in the "tight" rifle and hopefully use it for an elk hunt this year but my wife had a stroke and I had to cancel the hunt. I haven't even had a chance to get out to try the test loads.

My point being, if all had gone well my 7x57 that handles 7-08 loads quite well would have been my first choice rifle for the hunt. All that says is I would not have any qualms about taking an elk within reasonable range with my 7x57 nor would I worry if I was using a 7-08.

Is something bigger better? Of course it is. I've taken elk with the 30-06, a .300 Win. Mag. and my favorite elk gun, a .35 Whelen. Put the bullet in the right place and you have liver in the pan.
Paul B.
 
reynolds357 said:
Whether or not the 7-08 is an acceptable cartridge for elk depends on how far away you plan to shoot elk with it.
Click to expand...

It'll kill elk out farther than most have the ability to shoot.
 
old roper said:
Taylor, what rifles are you using and what yardage are you shooting bull elk at.
Click to expand...

I'm sure what I say won't sit well with you at all, and I've never had to shoot any elk at a range you'd consider long range. I usually carry a .270 Win and it's what I've killed the most elk with. If I'm not carrying a .270 my .30-06 usually gets the nod, but I've used other rifles as well. I hunted a 4th season bull tag one time with my .30-40 Krag and would have been comfortable with a 300 yard shot on any bull with only my Rice aperture sight and 180 grain Sierra RN bullets, but unfortunately all I ran into on that hunt were cows.
 
"...why so many people worry about killing elk..." Likely the big antlers and long legs just like a moose. And Bullwinkle is way bigger than any elk.
Every one of Remington's Managed Recoil brands just use light for calibre bullets at much reduced Muzzle Velocities. Your 7mm, for example, in Rem's MR ammo, uses a 140 grain PSP bullet at 2360 fps. Regular 140 grain loads run a couple hundred FPS faster. Not enough to matter.
However, I don't think I'd be using a 125 grain bullet, of any flavour, out of a .30-06 for anything but varmints. (125's are what Remington loads in their .30-06 Managed Recoil stuff.) Energy drops like a brick past 200 yards. Barely enough at 200. So does the bullet. Sighted in at 100 the factory ammo drops 10.4" at 250. 4.9" at 200.
Anyway, the .30-06 doesn't have really ugly felt recoil in most commercial hunting rifles. A 165 grain bullet will kill any game you care to hunt without any kind of excessive felt recoil. So if a guy were to be wanting a new rifle in .30-06, he doesn't need to be concerned with recoil. Doesn't have to worry about it in 7mm-08 either. Even though the Winchester Model 70 Extreme only weighs 6 lbs. 12 oz.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top