I'm about to buy a remington 700 VLS in 7mm-08 which I intend to use as a silhouette rifle,i'm having the barrel flued & thought I might have it improved at the same time.

Can anyone tell me what advantages i could expect by doing this??

I'de also like to hear from anyone using a
7mm-08AI,are you happy with it?? do you notice any improvement in accuracy??& do you have any problems reloading for it??

Like any information anyone can supply on the 7mm-08AI

Thank you

Tumbo

I had one briefly but decided I wanted more oomphf than it provided. Like you anticipate, I had a factory barrel set-back and rechambered.
I got the anticipated increase in velocity plus an improvement in accuracy but I would be hard pressed to say what caused it as I had it rechambered with a quality reamer, had the lugs lapped, the crown redone, and the trigger taken down to 2.5 lbs. All this took the accuracy from about 1.5" for 3-shot groups at 100 yards down to just below an inch most of the time.

As it was a fairly light rifle I suspect the trigger job had a lot to do with the improvement in accuracy and then probably recutting the chamber with a quality reamer.

I would shoot the original rifle as is and really wring it out. I can't imagine what benefit grooves in the barrel will make unless it does not make the weight maximum now. Improved cartridges are a complete waste of money. Since it's a hobby and it seems you don't have one now then go ahead. I have three improved cartridges and wish I had my old chambers and money back.

Sounds like a waste of money to me.

if you plan to shoot silhouete shooting 7.08 is far enought powerfull to get the ram at 500 m

if you want to increase accuracy first thing to do is to take off te barrel , clean the factory thread ( very poormachining on rem action ) square the receiver / the bolt axis , square th receiver lugs and match the lug of the bolt to the receiver lugs .
ground the recoil lug flat and reinstall the barrel with headspace set to the minimum .

the best way to shoot silhouette is to get a cold barrel more you burn powder more you heat your barrel .

good shooting

DAN TEC

I completely disagree with Savage 99, some of the improved cartridges are very good and well worth having. However, the 7mm-08 Improved isn't one of them. The velocity gain is minimal and for some reason I've always gotten better accuracy out of the standard 7mm-08. Not much difference, but noticeable.
It certainly isn't going to hurt anything to have the barrel fluted if it is done right.
Having the action blue-printed will not make much difference in accuracy if you're re-installing the factory barrel, but re-crowning will. The factory crowns are usually pretty hideous.

I too desagree with Savage 99 and agree wholeheartedly with John Lewis.

The 7mm-08 is already a somewhat "improved" case design as it has signifigantly less case body taper when compared top say a 7X57 or any 30-06 based cartridge case such as 280 Rem.

"Improving" a 308 based cartridge case may well be a waste of money, reducing case body taper on other case designs is not necessarily so.

Most gunsmiths disagree with me. Mausers are another area. It's simple to follow the money trail in the case of improved cartridges also.

As I wrote in another thread for a hobby people climb mountains that you can drive your car to the top of! It does not have to make sense.

I had a 30/06 rechambered to the improved version and it shoots the same. As everyone knows the brass does not stretch in the standard 30/06 and they will last for up to 50 reloads. So now I have a rifle that the handbooks say will yield 100 fps more. Of what possible benefit will this ever prove to be? The net result of that is I am out $60.00 and now I will get less for the rifle when I sell it.

Now if a chamber is defective a rechambering job to the same or improved cartridge may correct it.

I thought about suggesting some "factory" come out with an new rifle chambered for an "improved" cartridge. Then of course the orginal cartridge could be fired in it. My choice would have been the 30/06 Improved because the cartridge is so popular and not because there is any real improvement. This idea came to mind before Hornady came out with the light mags. I still can't believe they did that what with all of the low numbered Springfields still out there.

I have three rifles with improved chambers. One is the .219 Improved Zipper. This is such a dramatic change in dimensions for the brass case that it cannot be fire formed by ordinary methods. The brass cases split at the shoulder! Lucky for me they can be made in one pass in the FL die from 30/30's and the result is a more uniform case anyway.

If I were to rebarrel this old High Wall I might still select the same chamber but only because I can make cases that require no fireforming from a common cartridge. To date I have never fired a factory .219 Zipper in it in 35 years.

Expect about a 100fps gain.
http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=Custom&Number=88727&page=6&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1

MtnHtr

Kenny Jarret cannot say enough good about the 7mm-08 Improved. If memory serves, they claim 'bout 3100 fps from a 20 inch tube. It is a favorite in his light mountain rifle configuration. I think he calls it a "walkabout" or some such thing.

Jordan

Layne simpson did a 7mm-08 AI before the 7mm-08 becane a factory cartridge, and called it the 7mm SGLC (super good little cartridge). He converted a WBY Varmintmaster (the old style) and was getting 3000 fps with 140 gr bullets, which is a lot faster then what I can do with my 7mm-08, so I think there is room for improvement (pardon the pun). If you increase the case capacity you increase the room for powder. More poder = faster. It's that simple. Whether it's worth it, or the other advantages talked about (less case stretching, less bolt thrust, etc) are worth it, is pretty much an individual choice. They DO go faster. FWIW - Dan

I have the varmit special w/laminated stock. I bought it used and have done nothing but cleaned it. I'tll shoot Hornady Light Mag SSTs under an inch at 100yds croyned at 3000+ fps. I was going to rechamber to 284 but that woulsd be stupid. "If it ain't broke don't fix it". BTW I shot my best 3 shot group ever with it Sunday, .195. I.used a lite load with 100gn Hornady's but only had three. Maybe Just luck, but I'm framing the target! capt david

Hmmm, where to start. Can you get 3000fps in a 7mm-08 Improved. Yup, done it plenty of times. Usually the case lasts two shots, but brass is cheap and the wear and tear on a barrel blowing out new cases isn't any problem. 3100fps out of a 20 inch barrel, well Kenny always has been a little optimistic about the cartridges he pushes, but then again maybe that was with a 100 grain bullet. The problem with loading a 7mm-08Improved that high is chamber pressure. With a 7mm-08 at 2850 -2900 with a 140 grain bullet you are probably running around 58,000 to 59,000 psi chamber pressure. With the 7mm-08 Imp at 3000fps you are probably running about 69,000 to 70,000. Now these are approximate, but they will be pretty close I think. The point I'm trying to make is that for a little gain in velocity, you're getting a huge gain in pressure. If you keep the pressures about the same the velocity increase is minimal, 25-50fps. I've shot a few of them and I know what I'm talking about. Always remember the old saying, "Believe none of what you read, and only half of what you see."