REM. 7mm-08

[Traditional]

Does anybody have info on this caliber? I saw a youth model and had never heard of it but it caught my eye, because it had a heavier bullet than a .243. Are the ballistics any good? Just thought it would be a little more forgiving than the light bullet and the kids could grow into it.

 

[Model70Man]

It's an excellent deer rifle.

 

[Trapper John]

I've been shooting one for 12 years. Excellent caliber. Seriously, I don't shoot anything else.

 

[PickettSFHunter]

Excellent caliber. Its a .308Win case necked down to 7mm is what I understand. Great for kids or adults. They are my second pick for a low recoiling deer round that still has more than enough "punch" to it behind the .260 Rem. HOWEVER, if I shot only factory loads then the 7/08 would be #1 over the .260.

 

[crflash]

excellent gun , ihave one in the model 7 me & the kids use it !!!

 

[muddyboots]

Ive had one for 10 years. Wouldnt trade it for a gold brick.

 

[Hillbilly Hunter]

IMO, the best round for a kid for sure. It is an awesome round for anyone.

 

[Tikkabuck]

My 3 boys started with the 308 and boy if I had it to do over again it would be a 7mm-08. Silotte (sp?)shooters love the caliber for it's accuracy. Recoil is low and it gives a youngin' a little bit more energy than the .243. Biggest problem is you'll wind up using it to. Mine don't sit in the safe long during hunting season.

 

[Trapper John]

If you want to really get tricky with a 7mm-08 rifle put one of those Sims Laboratory recoil pads on it. The caliber has very light recoil to begin with and the recoil pad takes it down even further.

No flinch at all.

 

[LY]

Shot two with one so far, first dropped in his tracks and the second ran 20 yards.

Mine's a Model 7 and I feel like it kicks quite abit harder than my .243. It's not that it kicks all that hard, but just a good bit more than my .243. I'd question a young, new shooter handling one without developing some sort of 'fear' of it. After shooting a .243 or maybe a .260 some, then I'd think they'd be alright. I'm just leary of letting my soon to be 10yr old daughter shoot mine too soon.

She killed her first deer a month ago with a .243 and on her own and out of the blue said she "..didn't even feel it". This was several days after complaining about shooting a .223 off a bench at the range.

Otherwise it's my favorite cartridge to hunt with.

 

[Greentimber]

The recoil from a 7-08 with a 140gr bullet will be almost identical to a .308 with a 150gr bullet.

If you want an excellent low-recoil rifle for the kids that still has excellent terminal performance get them a 6.8 Remington Spc.

If you just want an excellent all-purpose game rifle, the 7-08 is one of the best ever.

 

[CZ284]

My son shoots an Encore in 7/08. I had the barrel made for him by the TC custom shop and at the suggestion of the guy there, had the barrel in 21 inches. He made one for his son, them made another for himself since it shot so well. My son loves his and is now 17 but prefers it since it handls so nice.

I shoot a 284 Winchester (being an old steel silhouette shooter), mainly because of the ballistic performance of the 7 mm bullet- they retain velocity extremely well.

Suggestion- try the 7/08 with the Barnes Triple shock bullet. I think my son shoots 42 grains of H380 with 150 grain bullet- 2500 FPS- very deadly amd mild recoil. Anyone familiar with the Barnes performance will vouch for the penetration and lethality of them.

 

[7mm08]

I am bias but believe it's a great round for anything in North America except dangerous game, including moose and elk within 200 yards.. Those that will jump on this, then should outlaw archery for elk?

Just a few numbers with other popular rounds:

.270 Winchester 140g
Muzzle V. 2925
200 yards 2424
Energy @ 200yards 1495
Recoil 16#

30-30 Wincherster 150f
Muzzle V. 2390
200 yards 1605
Energy @ 200y 858
Recoil 9

7mm-08 Remington 140g
Muzzle V. 2860
200 yards 2489
Energy @ 200y 1925
Recoil 13

As much velocity as a 270 and 30-30, but way more knock down at 200 yards than both. Dave Petzal named it and 7x57 Mauser as #1 round for "Big Game-Light Kickers" Field and Stream July 2007. BTW, I am 6'6' 300# and don't feel I need to shoot something with 45-55# of recoil. I would rather have a light recoil and something that I can basically shoot flat for 300 yards. Only problem is ammo is a little expensive(but what isn't anymore), and not often found at a Mom and Pop grocery store if you leave yours at home.

 

[Traditional]

Thanks for your input!

 

[Brownie]

Great little caliber...My uncle bought me one in a Ruger 77 when I was 10...never got to shoot until a couple of years ago when I killed my first buck. I now shoot a .270 in the Ruger 77 and love it.

 

[Kimberman]

I am bias but believe it's a great round for anything in North America except dangerous game, including moose and elk within 200 yards.. Those that will jump on this, then should outlaw archery for elk?

Just a few numbers with other popular rounds:

.270 Winchester 140g
Muzzle V. 2925
200 yards 2424
Energy @ 200yards 1495
Recoil 16#

30-30 Wincherster 150f
Muzzle V. 2390
200 yards 1605
Energy @ 200y 858
Recoil 9

7mm-08 Remington 140g
Muzzle V. 2860
200 yards 2489
Energy @ 200y 1925
Recoil 13

As much velocity as a 270 and 30-30, but way more knock down at 200 yards than both. Dave Petzal named it and 7x57 Mauser as #1 round for "Big Game-Light Kickers" Field and Stream July 2007. BTW, I am 6'6' 300# and don't feel I need to shoot something with 45-55# of recoil. I would rather have a light recoil and something that I can basically shoot flat for 300 yards. Only problem is ammo is a little expensive(but what isn't anymore), and not often found at a Mom and Pop grocery store if you leave yours at home.

Where did you get these ballistics from? I dont think this is an apples to apples comparison as far as the bullets selected. Every site I have gone to has the 270 with more energy @ 200 than the 7mm-08. Not that I'm saying that the 7mm-08 isnt a great round, but I dont see where it can beat out a 270.

 

[7mm08]

Kimberman,
I use the Remington Ballistics site. Real easy and takes the quess work out of trying to find columns
http://www.remington.com/products/ammun ... allistics/

I could not match up the "bullets" by name, but by weight when it came to comparing the "core locks" etc. It seemed most of the ammo for the 270 was not in the 140g class, same as 30-30, there were no 140g ammo for 30-30 listed made by Remington. So if an error occured it is not intentional. I made quick comparisons based on weight/manufacturer and the Accutip to Accutip could not be made.

Doubt there is a p-value difference between the two either way.

If this is perplexing enough then look at the Ballistic Coefficient that is also listed on this website which shows comparison for 270 vs 7mm-08 were the BC is higher for the 7mm-08 vs 270.... "A bullet with a high BC arrives at the target faster and with more energy than one with a low BC."

Of course we are all familiar with that formula....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballistic_coefficient

Kimberman,
Just checked the extensive guns and ammo site and chart and there is a difference increase in V and E for the 270 with a W 140g FS whatever that is. But look at the Remington site and compare...maybe Remington is wrong or loads them 08's hotter..who knows. I truly go by BC more than anything and drop at 200-300 yards. A bullet may get there .0001 second sooner, but does it have the ummmph behind it to do the job?

 

[stik]

the 7mm-08 is THE BEST youth caliber ever made. my younger boy(twig) has been shooting one since he was 12.

 

[jakeway]

...there is a difference increase in V and E for the 270 with a W 140g FS whatever that is. ...

I believe that's a 140 grain Winchester Fail Safe bullet.

I think you're not making a precise comparison by using 140 grain bullets for all three calibers. Since these three rounds are different calibers, a 140 gr bullet would have different ballistic coeffecients and sectional densities, and the optimum deer load in each would have different weights.

If you compare the more common 130 gr .270 to the 140 gr 7mm-08, you'll see that at 200 yards the .270 is about 150 ft/sec faster, and has 1991 ftlbs KE compared to 1925. But again, that's splitting hairs. These two rounds function nearly identically in terms of deer hunting practicality.

However, the advantage (in my opinion) of the 7mm-08 is that it's a short action, so it can be in a shorter, lighter gun.

I'm thinking 7mm-08 or .260 Rem for my grandaughter to hunt with.

 

[marathonhunter]

Bought the Savage 7-08 for my son two years ago. The first deer that he killed was at more than 200 yards (finally walked the shot off this year, after calling it 175 for two years), and the deer didn't go 40 yards.

Since then, we've killed seven or eight more deer with it, from 25 yards to 125. If the shot is good, the deer are dead.

 

[Tree Man]

I've hunted with a 7mm08 for three years and love it. Light recoil and good preformanace on game. As someone else said you will wind up hunting with it. I have taken two antelope, three mule deer and three whitetails with mine. The 30-06 is retired two elk hunting from here on out.