Hello everyone! Ole Miss Rebel here. The gun collection has a new addition, a Rem. 700 synthetic youth model in 7-08. I mounted a Leupold Rifleman 2x7 scope and put on a slip-on limbsaver pad which puts the lop about 13" which is perfect for me wearing hunting clothing.

I think that I have the makings of a perfect deer rifle, but I have never owned a 7-08 before, and I was wondering how it would work on deer out to a max of 350-400 yards. I have killed deer before at a little over 350 yds with a .270 and 30-06. Will the 7-08 show similar performance on whitetails at these longer ranges? Also, I am thinking of working up a hunting load with a good 140 gr. or 150 gr. boattail.

Any comments and advice will be appreciated.

Best regards,

Ole Miss Rebel

quote:

Originally posted by Ole Miss Rebel:
Hello everyone! Ole Miss Rebel here. The gun collection has a new addition, a Rem. 700 synthetic youth model in 7-08. I mounted a Leupold Rifleman 2x7 scope and put on a slip-on limbsaver pad which puts the lop about 13" which is perfect for me wearing hunting clothing.

I think that I have the makings of a perfect deer rifle, but I have never owned a 7-08 before, and I was wondering how it would work on deer out to a max of 350-400 yards. I have killed deer before at a little over 350 yds with a .270 and 30-06. Will the 7-08 show similar performance on whitetails at these longer ranges? Also, I am thinking of working up a hunting load with a good 140 gr. or 150 gr. boattail.

Any comments and advice will be appreciated.

Best regards,

Ole Miss Rebel

Good choice of rifle and calibre. 350-400 yards is stretching it but it can be done. Can't say about boattails, I use 140 grain FailSafes. I use a 2X7 Burris Compact and have been very pleased with it.

I would call it a 300 yard rifle..Stick with your 270 beyond that, and a 300 would be much better...

You have a neat little rifle there, other than that damn plastic stock but to each his own ...

I shoot a 7x57 and love it and there isn't much diffence..Just don't try to make a .270 out of it and you'll do fine, it is a fine killer up to 300 with proper bullets and a good hit...Sure some will use it at 400 and kill game with it, but sooner or later game gets wounded at those distances..

quote:

Originally posted by Ole Miss Rebel:
Hello everyone! Ole Miss Rebel here. The gun collection has a new addition, a Rem. 700 synthetic youth model in 7-08. I mounted a Leupold Rifleman 2x7 scope and put on a slip-on limbsaver pad which puts the lop about 13" which is perfect for me wearing hunting clothing.

I think that I have the makings of a perfect deer rifle, but I have never owned a 7-08 before, and I was wondering how it would work on deer out to a max of 350-400 yards. I have killed deer before at a little over 350 yds with a .270 and 30-06. Will the 7-08 show similar performance on whitetails at these longer ranges? Also, I am thinking of working up a hunting load with a good 140 gr. or 150 gr. boattail.

Any comments and advice will be appreciated.

Best regards,

Ole Miss Rebel

Miss Rebel, You do have an ideal deer rifle there, and just so happens I shoot 150gr boattail bullets, though I've only used the 150 Noslet Ballistic tip on deer, the other is a Matchking. I use 39.5grs. of Varget,(most accurate when working up) CCI primers, Rem. brass with the Nosler. With a 200yd zero, I'm about 9" low at 300yds., my ballistic tables tell me i'd be about 25" low @400, and the energy is around 1200ftlbs, which is enough for deer. That being said, u can load some 150 boattails up with some Varget or RE15, 39grs or so for each,(The two powders I use for the 708) and go shooting at 400yds. to see where your hitting, but I'd zero your rifle for 300, actually, might want to be 2" high, otherwise you won't be on paper at 400, and then you're still going to be about 13" low @400. If you can keep 5 shots inside 5-6" or less, you go girl. Believe me, the Nosler will put em' down @400, if you hit em right. Jay

Personally I would not shoot beyond 300 yds with an 08. Like Ray said, your .270 or 30-06 would be much better for that job. The 08 doesn't shoot flat enough or retain the energy needed at those distances. However, I love the cartridge! Very accurate and easy to shoot. Perfect deer rifle indeed!

I bought a 7mm-08 back in 1980, I still have it, thou I have not hunted with it for some time. I when to 6.5 x 55's. While I did hunt with that rifle, I found it to be a fine White Tail rig. I shot nothing but fact Remingtons, they were all loaded with 139 gr Hornaday SP's back then. Plenty accurate and a dam near perfect bullet for White Tails. 13 inch LOP is about right for me too when I wear warm cloths.

I too use a 7mm-08, although mine's a model 7. In Maryland, we don't get too many opportunities to shoot much of anything at 400 yards, but if the opportunity presents itself to you, go for it. I think you'll find that if you look at the actual statistics, the 7/08 with 140 gr. factory loads(although starting out a little slower and with less energy than the 270) catches up with, and depending on brand, sometimes surpasses both the velocity and energy of the 270 with the standard 130 grn load at 400-500 yards. Often, the trajectory is even nearly identical, which is why the 7/08 is such a perfect cartridge in the first place!

I'm personally a fan of Hornady ammo, and specifically, the 7mm 139 gr SST's, but if you're really worried about it try the Hornady Light Magnum factory loads for the 7/08. Either way, with a decent shot, your golden with anywhere from 1250-1500 ft-lbs of energy left at 400 yards with FACTORY loads...

Good luck with that little bang stick--I'm sure it'll catch you a few deer at any reasonable distance.

The 7mm-08 is one of the best deer cartridges on offer today. Three weeks ago I shot a Red Hind at about 160 yards with the 7mm-08. She took about twelve steps and then fell over dead. When first seen she was about 450 yards away. It took quite a while, over slash through, 3 year old Pinus Radiata, to get as close as possible without making too much noise and frightening her off. At 160 yards she was looking in my direction, aware of something making a noise but not knowing what it was. The bullet entered her on the right side took both her lungs and exited on the left side. Standard Rem factory 140 grain Core-Lockt ammo. When she was opened up the chest cavity was full of blood. Perfect bullet performance! I would not have fired at 400 yards it's way too far. But then it's called "deer stalking" where I come from. If you can get close, do so.