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.280 ? Why not 7mm-08 ??
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Hello from Scotland~

There seem to be plenty of .280 fans on this web site- Why ?

Why not a 7mm-08 ??

Be interested to hear your reasons as im interested in both.

Regards Englander
 
Posts: 193 | Location: Scotland | Registered: 04 August 2002Reply With Quote
<JimF>
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The 7-08 is not cool enough. In the field, there is not a nickels worth of difference. The 7-08 sells 100 times as many rifles, is far more popular, is found everywhere in factory ammo. Therefore for an experienced, sophisticated, handloader, "it's a boring caliber"

For anybody else, it's one of the better choices of the "mild" calibers.

JimF
 
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Englander

I love my M77! Its good for most everything I shoot and I would think I could put the 458 down and try it on something big as long as I had my rocket shoes on [Wink] .

30-06 280 7mm are all great guns.

Turtle [Cool]
 
Posts: 1115 | Location: SE PA | Registered: 29 May 2002Reply With Quote
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200 plus fps advantage to the 280 - can seat the bullets out further - can spit out a 160 gr near 3000 fps - thats why.
 
Posts: 363 | Location: Madison Alabama | Registered: 31 July 2002Reply With Quote
<STARTING BIG BORE>
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I have one in a 788 short barrle. (18.5") I have killed a lot of game with it. It has had the barrle turned down, 11 deg target crown and a new stock, the stock has the butt drilled out and every thing is as light as possible. I would not sell or trade it for another gun.
 
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Rifleman's right, you can't get really good vel. from a 160gr bullet in a 7-08. In fact, this is the same argument as the .308/.30-06. The bigger case is always going to be faster in sim. bbl. lengths. That's why I shoot a .280 as my light rifle.
 
Posts: 7752 | Location: kalif.,usa | Registered: 08 March 2001Reply With Quote
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I have both and would be hard to give up either.Often struggle to choose which to use.The 280 has a little more power but I like the short action on my 7-08.I primarily use the 7-08 on whitetails and the 280 on elk but wouldnt hesitate to hunt elk with the 7-08. my .02 cents worth
 
Posts: 610 | Location: MT | Registered: 01 December 2001Reply With Quote
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My wife has one of the little M70 "Compacts" with the twenty inch barrel. Very light and handy. She took an elk with it a few years ago with 160's. One of my favorite short action calibers.
I wish I had some of the magic powder that gives the 7mm-08 "a 200 fps advantage over the .280" though. Her's is really tough to make produce velocity. Even with Varget its on the slow side.

I must admit I like the .280 for the same reason I like my two .300 H&H's; different than all the .270's, 7 mags,etc that the rest of the guys use. BUT still VERY capable. Don't even get me going on the merits of the .222 Remington Magnum, or the .284 Winchester!!

FN in MT

FN in MT
 
Posts: 950 | Location: Cascade, Montana USA | Registered: 11 June 2000Reply With Quote
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Englander,
This is my personal opinion, so take it with a grain of salt, but I mean it with all sincerety. Until you get out to 350-400 yards, there is really no practical difference between handloaded 7mm-08, 7mm Mauser and the 280. They are all great cartridges and will definitely do the job on animals up to the size of moose provided you pick your shots and stay within reasonable range. Sure on paper the 280 shows 100 fps or so gain in velocity, but you have to get a long way out there before you are able to really tell any difference. The only problem with the 08 version is that the heavier bullets tend to get seated quite a bit deeper in the case due to the short action length of the rifles it is chambered for. However, if you shoot 140-150 grain weights, there really isn't a difference until the range gets a long way out. I prefer the old Mauser, but I'm a bit of a traditionalist. I shot game with all three and neither I nor the game would be able to tell you the difference.
 
Posts: 1508 | Location: Alaska | Registered: 09 August 2002Reply With Quote
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Same debate as 308 vs 30-06. 08 has accuracy edge, 06 shines with bigger bullets but from the animals point of view they might as well be called the same. Dead is dead.
 
Posts: 10190 | Location: Tooele, Ut | Registered: 27 September 2001Reply With Quote
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To reverse the question, why a 7m-08 and not a .280?

If the rifle will be used on animals that only require a 140 or 150 grain 7mm bullet, i.e. deer and similar up to about 400 pounds. In a 22" barrel you can get 2800 fps easily with a 140 grain 7mm bullet that has just about the same sectional denisty as a .270 130 grain or .30 caliber 165 grain.

BTW, that 400 pound limit is a real arbitrary figure. I know of one 12 year old girl who shot her first moose with a 7mm-08, I'm pretty sure it went well over 400 pounds!

Within 300 yards there is so little difference in trajectory it is truly meaningless. We're talking less than 1/2 inch if both are sighted in at a reasonable distance of 200 or 250 yards.
Only beyond 300 yards does that extra 200 fps show itself, and then the difference is still not significant on deer size game. Past 350 you'd better know the trajectory of both and you'd better have estimated the distance properly or you will miss.

FWIW, I shoot at a lot of 9" paper plates out to 330 yards (300 meters). Close does not count. Either you put a hole in it or you've missed. I know there are lots of tactical shooters who can hit one at 600 yards with their dialed in scopes and bipod mounted rifles but 330 yards is a l-o-n-g way to shoot from the sitting or kneeling position with a sporter weight rifle and maybe a hasty sling. So trajectory of hunting cartridges beyond 300 meters is pretty much wasted gravy for me.

In equal length barrels, the shorter cartridge is much more pleasant to shoot. It will recoil less and muzzle blast is less. In the hunting fields this is moot as a .375 H&H does not really bother one when game is in the sights, but I and I suppose most everybody shoots far more at the range than at actual game. A minor point, I know, as a .280 or .30-06 or .270 is not all that unpleasant to begin with, but a 7mm-08 or .308 is very mild mannered as centerfire deer capable cartridges go.

So, why a 7mm-08 instead of a .280? It meets all of the needs of the shooter/hunter without any excess, that would be my basic reason.

FWIW, this is kind of an intellectual exercise anyway. [Smile] I like the .270 and .30-06 personally. Don't shoot my .308 all that much although it is fun to shoot. Would really, like to change that over to a 7mm-08 one of these days.
 
Posts: 1027 | Registered: 24 November 2000Reply With Quote
<Cobalt>
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My .280 is the European twin--7X64 Benneke. Never had a 7-08
Cobalt
 
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I have and use the 7mm-08 and 280 Remington, as well as a 284 Winchester, 7 X 57, and 7 X 57 Ackley Improved, a 7mm Gibbs, a 7mm Int-R, and a 7mm TCU, a 7mm STW, 7mm Wby and 7mm Rem Mag. I don't see much differance in the field between the first six. The Gibbs moves the heavier bullets the fastest, my 7mm-08 is the most accurate of the bunch, although in this particular rifle also the slowest (a 788 with an 18.5" bbl). I think for a lot of us gun guys the "cool factor" is the deciding choice. "Oh man, EVERYBODY has a 270. But this 280, yeah it's the shine on the apple." Like with the other case comparisons, there really isn't a lick of practical differance, just opinions. Opinions are what make horse races though. FWIW - Dan
 
Posts: 5285 | Location: Alberta | Registered: 05 October 2001Reply With Quote
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Here in Texas the 7-08 does not sell more rifles than the 7x57 at least by the amount and different types of ammo one can buy at Academy or Wal-Mart. In fact you seldom see anyone using one anywhere. The 7-08 will never overcome the 308 as the best short action cartridge or beat the popularity of the 243. It is a nice round though I hope it does not become extinct like the 260 is doing.
 
Posts: 2899 | Registered: 24 November 2000Reply With Quote
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