Is a Model Seven in .308 a good bet?

B

Bullwhip

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I am looking to buy a rifle for deer hunting and have always liked the looks of the Model Seven. Hunting conditions will vary from brush to open country. May do some minor gopher plinking as well.

But how practical is it in .308? Is this a lot of calibre for this gun? Will I be seeing the doctor to get my shoulder replaced and should be looking to get a M700 in .308 instead?

Any advice will be appreciated.
 
In my opinion, it is an excellent choice! Not a whole lot of fun off the bench with full power loads, but is a really nice, balanced, generally accurate weapon. A couple of friends of mine put their 30-06's in the back of the closet after they got theirs for the heavy stuff. One is a wood stock and the other is synthetic. Both shot better after free floating the tubes. The Browning equivalent is, I've heard, also a nice one, and can be found cheaper than the 7.
 
It's a great rifle, about the only thing that would make yours better is if it were chambered in 7MM-08. :D
 
Looking at the idea of deer hunting in Alberta, I'm guessing that the deer, there, tend to be larger than most of those in the southern U.S. For that reason alone, I'd tend to favor the .308 over the 7mm-08. (I do like the on-paper ballistics of the 7mm-08; haven't shot one...)

Recoil from a lightweight .308 should only be bothersome for a rather lightweight person who is shooting a whole bunch of long strings from a benchrest. I've yet to notice recoil from pretty hot .30-'06 loads when hunting; I don't even notice the noise.

FWIW, Art
 
My Model 7 stainless in .308 is my main dear rifle. It definitely kicks pretty hard at the bench but it's not that bad in the field where you are only taking one or two shots. Mine's topped with a 2-8 scope and stays on 2x unless I'm in a stand and the conditions allow for more magnification. One thing I can tell you is that the advertised weight of 6 1/4 pounds is very optimistic on Remington's part. Mine's almost 6 3/4 lbs without scope.
 
There was a time when the loads I used only for hunting were a bit more than the book's max. And that's books published before today's version of tort liability...I just ooched upwards on the powder until the primers were flat--but not to the point that they fell out of the empty case when I chambered the next round. As long as they were accurate, I wuz content.

Then I got to thinking about throat erosion, and the fact that a deer, javelina or coyote doesn't care, one way or the other, about 200 ft/sec.

But, yeah, I used to load some 165-grainers that thumped pretty good at both ends.

:), Art
 
I don't have a Mod. 7, but I do have it's forerunner, the Mod. 660. It is a .308, and recoil off the bench is a bit stout, but not unmanagable. As to how far it will shoot accurately. Further than I can hold 90 percent of the time. I did use it to make the longest shot on deer I have ever made, 427 paces, on a wounder 195 pound Mule Deer that was getting away. Bullet was a 150 gr. Sierra in a handload.
I will also admit that it was a lucky shot. I'm just not that good. But the rifle and cartridge will do the job, if you are capable of making the shot.
Paul B.
 
The lovely Mrs. 3-5-7 hunts with a Model 7 "Youth Model" in 7mm-08...knocks 'em down RIGHT NOW!!! Doesn't seem to kick any more than my Model 700 ADL in .308...at least that's how it "feels" to me!!! A co-worker's Model 700 "Mountain Rifle" in 30-06 is the kickingest son-of-a-beech I've shot in a while-no fun at all!!!....mikey357
 
My primary deer rifle is a Sako 75 s/s in .308 and it is perfect in every way. However, I saw a Model 7 s/s in my local gun shop and decided I wanted one. The Model 7 they had looked good but was in 7mm.08 so I had them order one for me in .308. Well it came in (and I accepted it) but the quality of this rifle was clearly inferior. Terrible finish work, bad trigger and lousy groups. Had to have a trigger job, bedding job, and the barrel free floated (cost $150) and now it is a good shooter with less than 1” (three shot) groups at 100 yards. Recoil is not a problem. Down the road I will probably upgrade to an HS Precision stock and get a refinish job in matte black. Anyway, if I had it to do all over again I would have bought a Steyr Pro Hunter SBS Mountain Rifle instead. Art G.
 
I was just "picking" at ya a lilbit Art! :D I do know exactly of which you speak though. Yesterday, I was doing some LONG OVERDUE :o cleaning up in my shop and I found 40 rounds of 25-06 that I had loaded years ago for hunting use. The load was 55 grains of H-4831 under a 120 grain Speer Spitzer bullet. The paperwork that I had written, and had in the boxes, stated "warm, a little primer flattening, but no cratering, or primer flowing, accuracy good, head expansion ok, no case sticking". Today the MAXIMUM load listed in the Hodgdon 26 manual (circa mid 90's {and lawyer written}) is 51 grains of H-4831! The STARTING load in my old Speer #7 manual (circa mid 60's {and shooter written})is 53 grains H-4831 and the MAXIMUM load is 57 grains H-4831. What will I do with the 40 rounds? Well, its evident that I have fired them safely already. I intend to fire 5 to chrony them (I did not own a chrony when I loaded them), and probably will end up breaking them down and reloading them at the old Speer #7 STARTING load. Yes, that load of 55 grains was safe back then, but today (even with lawyers involved) we know much more. Just a few variables (hot sun on the ammo, etc.)could turn this "warm" but safe load into a dangerous one. I can promise you the armadillo (that's a "hardshelled possum" to us Cajuns) at 100 feet, or that whitetail at 75 yards will never know the difference between 51 grains, 53 grains, 55 grains, or 57 grains of H-4831.
 
I have a 308 Model 7. Like everyone said, it is brutal off a bench. I sighted it in and havent shot it since. I weigh 160 on a fat day and that little rifle knocks the crap out of me. having said that, woe be unto the first deer or coyote to step in front of it.
 
Dreadnaught I never shot one in 308 but have shot one in 7MM-08. You know when it goes off but recoil in the 7MM-08 is not bad at all. Now, all my days are fat days I guess I go 230 or so, but seriously even when I was lots lighter the only thing that was kind of bad for me on the recoil end was when I was using that Spanish 10 gauge double barrel loaded with 3 1/2" magnum buckshot loads for deer in the brair patches and grown up cutovers on our lease. I swear that damn thing killed one on end and crippled on the other............. I just haven't figured out which end did which yet. :D
 
My daughter, who just turned seventeen, has carried a Rem 700 Mtn SS with the laminated stock for two seasons. She is quite recoil sensitive but doesn't seem to mind the kick of her rifle at all -- from the bench or field! She shoots the Rem .260, which is a necked down version of the .308. I've been with her on most of her deer kills (about six animals, I think), and have to say that it puts them down right now. She shoots a 140 gr. spitzer bullet factory load and I have witnessed her fire a 100 yd., five shot group that could be covered with a quarter.

Some folks argue that what the little 6.5mm lacks in diameter, it makes up for in penetration.

This year, I am carrying a Browning A-bolt Stalker in 7mm-08. Have only taken one deer with it so far, but it seems to perform just fine with a 140 gr. bullet. From the bench, it is the most accurate rifle I have ever owned, and I have owned several Rem 700's, a Win. 70, and two Ruger MK-II's. This is out of the box accuracy, too. The trigger is adjustable, but I don't really see any need to fix what ain't broke! It has a synthetic stock, stainless action/barrel and with a Leupold 3x9 matte finished scope and sling, is still a delight to carry.
 
Bullwhip;

I have a model 7 in .308 it is not my favorite rifle to shoot off a bench but I have no problems putting a box through it at a sitting. As far as gopher shooting, if your shots are not one after another you should be fine. The model 7 has a pencil barrel and does heat up very rapidly. All guns are a rule to them selves. My model 7 will start throwing shots after 4 consecutive shots due to barrel heat. I also have a winchester featherweight in .243 that shoots 1.25" groups until the barrel heats up then the groups shrink to .75"
 
If the largest game you will be after is a deer, even a large deer, then do yourself a favor and buy your Model 7 in .260 or 7-08. ANY deer load in the .308 can be duplicated in either of those two calibers and with LESS recoil.
The only reason i could think of to own a Model 7 in .308 would be to shoot bullet weights over 180 grains which the .260 or 7mm will not do. But remember this is a LIGHT rifle. CAN YOU SAY OUCH.
If you want a heavy bullet rifle get 700 Remington in 35 Wheelen. Select the laminated stock to help soak up some of the recoil. If you want a SWEET little do everything field rifle that shoots flat, has almsot no recoil and will take 85% of the game animals found in North America consider a .260 Remington Model 7.
 
SouthLa1!

When Hodgdon first started selling that surplus 4831, I think it was just a wee bit slower than later, civilian production.

I used to load my .270 with 130-grain bullets. I just scooped the case through a bowl full of 4831, tapped it to settle it, and seated the bullet on the compressed charge. No idea how many grains. Even then, the rifle didn't act like it was a "surenuff" max load...This was back around 1963 or so...

From bits and pieces that I have read, what's available nowadays, no matter H-4831 or IMR, it's faster burning. So, less of them little ol' granules...

:), Art
 
Eggsellent advice, guys.

I have about 14 years to figure out what kind of rifle and in what caliber to get my daughter. She won't be a little thing, but I don't want a combination that causes her to not enjoy shooting her rifle. I may have to start a thread on this subject one day.

Rick
 
"I used to load my .270 with 130-grain bullets. I just scooped the case through a bowl full of 4831, tapped it to settle it, and seated the bullet on the compressed charge. No idea how many grains. Even then, the rifle didn't act like it was a "surenuff" max load...This was back around 1963 or so..."

That sounds like what I was loading back then except it was 30-06. One of the "oldtimers" back then said to use a full case of 4831 with a 190 grain Sierra MatchKing. Shot like a charm in the Springfield......still does. Soon I will have to start all over again as I am down to less than 1/2 pound of the old (original) 4831.
 
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