Why the 7mm-08 over the 280 Rem?

If that data is really from Chuck Hawk's website, he needs a new calculator. For equal gun and bullet weight, recoil energy behaves like muzzle energy.
Edit: Played with the calculators, the reason for the difference is that the 7-08 case assumes 40 gr powder, the 280 60 gr. In reality the loads are 48 and 56, which takes the difference in recoil down to about 10%.
 
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I sure as hell wouldn't mind owning one of Elmer's .280 Dubiel's. I would probably carry it on every hunt wether I need the "horse power" or not.
 
weakest?

My manuals tell me that the "mildest" 7mm family is the original, the 7mm Mauser, or 7x57mm. I won't call it weak, 'cause that round has killed big game all over the world, and was hailed by a number of pretty savy shooters.

Apples to apples, the 7-08 gains about 200 fps or so on the old Mauser.

The .280 is a dandy round, but its caught in the nether world between the .270 and all the .30 cals. The .270 is so well established, and the cartridge does such a good job on deer sized game, that the .280 is a sort of afterrun. And if faster and flatter is what you want, the round that gets it for most is the 7mm Mag.

I don't own a 7mm rifle either. But if I was so inclined it would be a 7-08. The short action and the recoil reduction from .30 caliber seems appealing.
 
  • 7-08 R (SA)
  • .284 W (SA/LA)
  • .280 R (LA)
  • .280 AI (LA)
  • 7 RM (LMA)
  • 7 RUM (LMA)

I also wanted a 7mm and I went through the same debate and decided to go with the .280 AI because I'm a reloader, I really dig the .30-06 case, and I wanted a long action. The 7mm RM case (.375 H&H M) has a lot of capacity, IMO too much for a 7mm, I think it's more appropriate for the .300 WM. The 7 RUM is just ridiculous!

The 7-08 is a great hunting round however the .284 will serve you better at long range but if you want to shoot it with long high BC bullets, the .284 needs to be in a long action. If you do not reload, I think the 7 RM is the one to get due to its availability and the fact that stock ammo is not loaded to its full potential.

The 7mm is a magic bullets indeed: High BC, relatively mind recoil, and lots of choices in terms of what brass to use and also what action to get.
 
Both the 280 and 7mm-08 are great deer cartridges but I feel the 280 is a little more versatile because you can get factory loads using up to 165 gr bullets. The 7mm-08 is more "shooter friendly" to those whose worry about recoil and is a great choice for beginners and veterans alike.
 
My manuals tell me that the "mildest" 7mm family is the original, the 7mm Mauser, or 7x57mm.
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Much of the 7x57 data out there is not up to the cartridge's potential due to the 100+ year old '93 and '95 Mauser actions out there ..... In a stronger action of modern manufacture, I am sure the x57 could be pushed past the capabilities of the 7-08 due to case capacity. Data for my '93 Mauser is capped at 46K CUP.

Both the 280 and 7mm-08 are great deer cartridges but I feel the 280 is a little more versatile because you can get factory loads using up to 165 gr bullets.
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"Versatility" and "factory loads" are working at cross purposes for the individual .... the factory wants versatility in the sense that it wants one or two loads that work reasonbly well in most all guns in a particular chambering out there. "Reasonbly well" becomes the enemy of "well" in your particular rifle. If you want versatility for your rifle (the ability to make separate loads that work well for separate purposes), then handloading is a must.
 
Both are excellent cartridges for deer hunting,i've used both and seen both take a lot of deer.

My thoughts on why the 7mm-08 Rem is more popular than the 280 Rem. which has better ballistics.

Because of the popularity of the short action with less recoil in the silhouette shooting sport which then spilled into the hunting community searching for a efficient cartridge w/less recoil has made the 7mm-08 Remington much more popular than the 280 Remington for deer hunting.

My Dad has had a Rem 721 in a 280 Rem. since the late 50s early 60s? and its been a deer slayer,I love that old rifle! :)

Fourteen years ago it was time to set my son up for deer hunting,I chose the 7mm-08 Rem.
My decision and reasons for the 7mm-08 Rem for a nine year old
1) Less recoil,I also handload so the first practice batches and first year of hunting ammo were reduced loads which helped a lot for a young shooter.
2) The short action rifles are a bit smaller for younger and smaller hunters
3) I'm also a 7mm(.284) fan when it comes to deer/elk hunting cartridges.
 
I own 2 7mags, 2 280s, 1 757 and 1 708. Is one better then the other? depends if i want to shoot a deer at 500 yards id take the 7mag hands down. If i wanted to shoot something bigger then deer and felt i needed a 160 grain bullet the 7mag or the 280 would get the nod. IF i was going out deer hunting and knew for a fact the longest shot i possible could have would be under 300 yards id take the 708 or 757. Personaly I dont think theres enough recoil with any of them to make it an issue. Even a 7 mag kicks no more then an 06 and if you cant handle that you should be spending more time at the range and less time on here giving your expert internet opinion.;) back to the original question. the 280s more powerful. You can juggle numbers all you want to defend your baby but the 280 holds more powder and shoots the same weight bullet faster. that translates to more power. You can argue that its not much more then a 708 but then you can argue that the 7mag isnt that much more then the 280 too but if you went by that mentality you might as well use a 243 as its pretty close to a 708 or a 22250 because its pretty close to a 243.
 
If I were in the market for a gun for myself, wife, grandkid etc Id consider the 280 esp if the price was right.

Come opening day next week Ill be using my 6mm-08 (243 Winchester).
Im 3 for 3 at my sons with the 243-2 deer and 1 coyote-3 shots.

Ill take the sporterized 03 along for back up. It has one deer and one moose notches in the stock.
 
For deer hunting, I'd have to say that they're equal. The vast majority of all deer are killed at distances inside of 200 yards. Ballistics don't kill; bullets do. Inside of 200 yards, which is basically a "gimme" shot, almost any centerfire is as good as any other.
 
yup Arts got a point. Under 200 yards about any centerfire rifle with get it done with good bullet placement. Personaly when i know my shots will be at those ranges youll usually find me with a 250 sav or 257 roberts. Either are plenty of gun for those ranges.
 
LOL at some of the answers on the 7mm08, 200yd gun, 300 or under. If you shoot the right loads in the right gun it'll do anything the .308 will to 500/600yds. At 200-300yds with my 7mm08 I still pick the hair I want to split.

Having shot deer with the .280, 7mmMag and 7mm08 I can tell you from experience not one of them has been less dead than another. And surprisingly the bigger wound channels and devastation has been with the 7mm08 unless you count one 80lb doe with a 7mmMag, 160grn Barnes X and 80yd straight on vertabrae shot, that was impressive. It also darn near ruined the deer.
 
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Just bought a 7mm-08 myself. Going to shoot it for the first time this afternoon. I like the small size, short action and 7mm bullet. Also, it is sufficient for most north american game. Most 7mm-08 loads carry 1000 ft lbs of energy at 500 yards. I have read that most expert game hunters recommends a 1000 ft lbs for killing a white tail. So from that standpoint, the 7mm-08 can take deer at 500 yards. That is if the shooter can hit the pump station at that distance.

I reload. If I didn't reload, I wouldn't even consider the 7mm-08 or .280. They are $28 a box at the cheapest. As for the SD, the .270 is nearly identical to the .280. The only real advantage of the .280 is the variety of 7mm bullets available. If I was buying a single gun for hunting in North America, I would go with the .270. You can get 150gr that is sufficient for elk and you can buy 130 managed recoil to use on white tail for children and women to use. Also, most standard .270 loads are around $18 per box. From a ballistic standpoint, the .280 has very little advantage over the .270 if any and I am not sure I have ever seen .280 at Walmart around here and .270 is in nearly every store that sales ammo. The .270 is extremely popular and will be around a long time to come, don't see the .280 picking up popularity because a few people think the .284 is superior to the .277. Most shooters don't even know that. Most folks don't know a .280 is really a .284/7mm bullet. I am keeping my .270 as standby even if I use the 7mm-08 for my future white tail applications.

As for effectiveness on whitetails, I believe this is more based on bullet construction and placement than on the actual piece of brass it is dispensed from.
 
For target at long range (up to 1000), the 7-08 is on par with the .260 / 6.5 CM...and it doesn't get much better than that out of a short action.
 
They make low recoil ammo for the 7mm-08, but it is NOT accurate. I can't get it to group at all. 10" groups at 100 yards if I'm lucky. (on a bench)
 
the blur said:
They make low recoil ammo for the 7mm-08, but it is NOT accurate. I can't get it to group at all. 10" groups at 100 yards if I'm lucky. (on a bench)
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7-08 is low recoil 30-06, 243 is low recoil 7-08. ;)

Seriously though, like any ammo might, it just doesn't like your gun, probably too slow twist. Lighter bullets might work.

I load ultra-low recoil 7-08. My 6 year old shoots it. It does fine. It'll shoot not much over an inch at 100, maybe 1 1/2.
 
>>Seriously though, like any ammo might, it just doesn't like your gun, probably too slow twist. Lighter bullets might work. I load ultra-low recoil 7-08. My 6 year old shoots it. It does fine. It'll shoot not much over an inch at 100, maybe 1 1/2.<<
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I tried Remmington Managed Recoil, and Hornaday Lite.
Both will cycle the action of my semi auto. But neither will group.
 
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