Tell me what you think of the 7mm-08, and why would be nice too.

Thanks,
KB

equal to a 260 Rem with heavier bullets available..

competes quite well with a 270 in the same bullet weights.. but with less recoil..or less powder if you are handloader.

inherently accurate round...

I prefer it over a 308 any day..

duplicates and/or exceeds the old 7 x 57...

can't think of anything negative about it..

quote:

Originally posted by seafire/B17G:
equal to a 260 Rem with heavier bullets available..

competes quite well with a 270 in the same bullet weights.. but with less recoil..or less powder if you are handloader.

inherently accurate round...

I prefer it over a 308 any day..

duplicates and/or exceeds the old 7 x 57...

can't think of anything negative about it..

And it fits in a short light carbine.

Probably the best cartridge there is for deer sized game.

Shoots flatter & has more down range energy than a .308 W/similar bullet weights due to the far superior BC.

Only 7mm cartridge I like better is the .280 Rem, but then we are talking about a long action rifle.

As good as the 7x57

quote:

Originally posted by boom stick:
As good as the 7x57

...but not a 7x57

Perry

Sadly, unless a fellow was going to hunt the great bears, the 7-08 would be the only cartridge he would need. Don't tell your wife.
As posted, excellent accuracy, excellent choice of bullets-styles and weights, excellent trajectory, mild recoil, usually done up in a short, light, nimble rifle. What's not to like?

Just how good is the 7-08?
About as good as it gets!Almost as good as my 7x57 .

With a 140 grn bullet it's become my favorite round in the past 6 or 8 years.

It is a very good caliber. The heavy 7mm bullets have high BCs. You would never need anything else, as mentioned, unless you are going after big bears. You can kill game cleanly with good shot placement easily to 600 yards or more.

there are some wild inaginations about what some calibers will do, and the 7mm-08 is a fine caliber but it is in no way ready to attack every animal but the big bears, come on get real and do some real hunting.

600 yards--do you know how far that is? most can't see that far. 7mm-08 is NOT a 600 yard rifle, period.

I consider it a short 270 WCF. That should sum it up nicely.
Not quite equal, but you would be hard pressed to see it in the field.

The 7mm-08 is very good, but not quite up to the 7x57 or the 6.5x55

While I would never attempt a 600 yard shot at game nor would I suggest it for anyone else, the 7-08 was originally developed as a silhouette cartridge and it takes a pretty good thump to knock over the 550 yard ram. So the question is not can the rifle do it, it's can the shooter do it.

And as far as the finding of the 7x57 as a superior cartridge, that is a load of the purest organic ferilizer imaginable. I've owned them both and made side by side comparisons. While the 7x57 may appeal to the luddites and nostalgia buffs, ballistically there ain't no difference other than among the ones I tested, the 7-08 was consistantly more accurate.
I will admit as a elephant slayer, the 7-08 has a lot of catching up to do.

quote:

Originally posted by ztreh:
600 yards--do you know how far that is? most can't see that far. 7mm-08 is NOT a 600 yard rifle, period.

But a .308 is ?


That doesn't gell.

.

I have watched two hunters in Namibia take plains game with a 7mm-08. One was a 14 year old lad and the other a nice lady. Both made many one shot kills and never lost an animal. The lads first big game animal was a zebra @ 367 yards, one shot, DRT. It's a great round. But as one man said, I like the .280 Rem. more.........Tom

I like the 7-08 as a deer/antelope round. I like the 280 a bit better as it handles the 160gr bullets I like if after elk. I prefer the 7-08 to the 243 as a bigger game hunting round & anyone that can hadle the 243 can handle a 260 or 7-08.

quote:

While I would never attempt a 600 yard shot at game nor would I suggest it for anyone else, the 7-08 was originally developed as a silhouette cartridge and it takes a pretty good thump to knock over the 550 yard ram. So the question is not can the rifle do it, it's can the shooter do it.

One has nothing to do with the other IMO. Is the 7-08 accurate enough for hitting beyond 500yds, sure, does it hold enough vel to give reliable bullet performance at that range, unlikely. I can hit the ram @ 220yds w/ a 44mag rev too, but it would be quite a stretch to expect the bullet to do much once it got there.

it was designed to be highly accurate, as the metallic shooters figured out as the 7x308 ...

in terms of accuracy? what's not to love about a mild recoiling 7mm?

its loaded, FACTORY/BOOK hotter than the 7x57 .. oh, stow it, and don't give me the rubbish of the TRUTH that a 7x57 could be loaded hotter .. that a 7x57+p and just doesn't have the same history as a proper 7x57 ...

only thing better is a 7x64, which the wannabe 7mm express, whoops, 280 rem, tried to be 30 years later...

my wife shoots 708, i've built several, and neve had one that couldn't be asked to shoot factory ammo well.

quote:

Originally posted by ztreh:
there are some wild inaginations about what some calibers will do, and the 7mm-08 is a fine caliber but it is in no way ready to attack every animal but the big bears, come on get real and do some real hunting.

I made the aquaintance of a fellow that lived in Idaho a few years back & according to that fellow, the locals there use the 7mm-08 on Elk W/great success

quote:

Originally posted by boom stick:
As good as the 7x57

roger

quote:

Originally posted by wildcat junkie:

quote:

Originally posted by ztreh:
there are some wild inaginations about what some calibers will do, and the 7mm-08 is a fine caliber but it is in no way ready to attack every animal but the big bears, come on get real and do some real hunting.

I made the aquaintance of a fellow that lived in Idaho a few years back & according to that fellow, the locals there use the 7mm-08 on Elk W/great success

I agree, my son has taken two elk with his Savage Sierra carbine with 140 grain A-Frames.

a traditional 7x57 load is 140gn/2800mv,
An HP 7mm08 140gn/3000mv factory load can be had,
IIRC, Hornady book shows 7x57 160gn 2800mv [22" barrel] whilst Ray Atkinson claims his long throated Brno 21 7x57/160gn 2900mv+

..and from a post on 24hrCampfire relating to 7x57;

"According to the Hornady data I have, the max load for the 154gr. Hornady is 51.2 grains.[win760] I started with 49.0 grains. My first shot measured 2794fps! And that's out of the 20" barrel of my Ruger #1RSI. For 2 seconds I was excited, then during the 3rd second I got a little nervous. My next 2 were 2784 and 2793fps respectively. The lever of that #1 was a little tight, but otherwise everything else seemed ok"

..however range/impact velocity is what matters, not the MV or cartridge it was fired from.

I prefer an intermediate m98 7x57 over a "more accurate" rem700 7mm08...but prefer 280rem over both.

quote:

Originally posted by ztreh:
there are some wild inaginations about what some calibers will do, and the 7mm-08 is a fine caliber but it is in no way ready to attack every animal but the big bears, come on get real and do some real hunting.

Within any reasonable range both the 7x57 and 7-08 are perfectly suited to any N.American game.Neither is suited to 600 yd shots but IMO neither is anything else regardless of claims to the contrary.Some cartridges have the power but at that range it's a "Hail Mary" shot at best.

You're not just "hitting" the far ram, you're tumping it over. Quite a difference as folks that have shot silhouette will tell you. Perhaps one of the folks with the fancy programs can tell us what sort of energy is a 150gr 7mm bullet started at 2800fps gonna be carrying when it get to 600 yards.

I can't believe I'm arguing on the side of 600 yards shots.

Still no comparison to cleanly killing an animal. Youy can tag a steel plate w/ a SMK & it will fall over. What does that SMK do @ even 400yds? Hunting & shooting steel have nothing to do withone another. One is a game, yes I have played & only requirea accuracy, the other requires cleanly killing an animal. Much past 400yds, most bullets just don't provide that @ 7-08 vel IMO.

It is a great cartridge, it out performs the 7x57 in Factory persuasion, but won't with handloads. The 7x57 simple has more powder space and can be made to easily duplicate the .280 Rem and factory 7 mag loads..both the .280 and 7 mag can be handloaded to exceed both..

Problem with the 7-08, if you consider it a problem is the heavier bullets have to be seated too deeply into the case and that restricts powder capacity so it does better with the lighter bullets like the 130 and 140 gr. bullets, and perhaps the 150s depending on what you demand out of the cartridge.

lot of punch out to 300 yards in a light, low recoil cheap to feed package. My Tikka T3 lite w/ zeiss conquest scope and cheap winchester ammo is good out to 300 yards. After shooting this rig for a few years I am sure with handloading and a more powerful scope and a good bullet the 7-08 could be stretched out to 400-500 yards. JBM ballistics calculator puts the 140gr berger VLD at 2800 fps , 4000 ft alt to 1500 lbs energy at 450 yards w/ 21" drop.

Holy Shit, Ray. "matches the .280 and 7mag" does it glow in the dark too??

FredJ, you're actually preaching to the choir. But our difference is I am saying shouldn't but could, while you're saying can't!
I was hoping one of the guys with the iffy-jeffy 'puter programs would chime in but... according to my Hornady book: a 154gr 7mm bullet started at 2800fps --very doable-- will have a velocity of 1832fps and energy of 1148# at 500 yards. That will kill a deer! If I'm the one shooting, then hitting the deer would be problematic but that's not what we're talking about.

Anything built on the 308 cartridge is good!

quote:

Originally posted by wasbeeman:

I was hoping one of the guys with the iffy-jeffy 'puter programs would chime in

Ask & Yee shall receive.

According to "Quickload" loaded to 60,000 PSI from a 22" bbl

139gr Hornady SST 48gr Vv N550 2911 fps/2616 Ft# of energy

According to "Quicktarget", the following would be the estimated "external ballistic" performance .

MPBR @ + or - 4" = 318yds

3.3" high @ 100 yds 2679 fps/2216 ft# of energy

4" high @ 152 yds 2563 fps/2028 ft# of energy

Zero @ 272 yds 2306 fps/1642 ft# of energy

4" low @ 318 yds 2214 fps/1511 ft#s of energy

14.8" low @ 400 yds 2049 fps/1296 ft# of energy

35.4" low @ 500yds 1801 fps/1068 ft# of energy

67" low @ 600 yds 1684 fps/876 ft# of energy

It looks like indeed the cartridge would be capable of taking game to 500 yds in the hands of a competant shot, but @ 600yds, not only would it require nearly 6" of holdover, neither the remaining energy would meet the 1000 ft# normally accepted to be the minimum neccessary for deer sized game, nor would the velocity be sufficient for dependable bullet expansion.

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
It is a great cartridge, it out performs the 7x57 in Factory persuasion, but won't with handloads. The 7x57 simple has more powder space and can be made to easily duplicate the .280 Rem and factory 7 mag loads..both the .280 and 7 mag can be handloaded to exceed both..

Problem with the 7-08, if you consider it a problem is the heavier bullets have to be seated too deeply into the case and that restricts powder capacity so it does better with the lighter bullets like the 130 and 140 gr. bullets, and perhaps the 150s depending on what you demand out of the cartridge.

Except for the opening*" It's a great cartridge***" Ray has hit the nail on the head. roger

Per JBM Ballistics

if you can get 2900 fps with a Berger 140 gr VLD at 3000 ft altitude you can get to 660 yards
w/ 1129 lbs energy and 1892 fps for acceptable vel for expansion. I suspect it would take some doing to get this probably a 26" barrel and single shot loading. Realistically if wanting to shoot these ranges go get a magnum. I view my 7-08 as a 300 yard rifle.

quote:

Originally posted by Michael b Freeman:
I view my 7-08 as a 300 yard rifle.

That means to me that the 7mm-08 covers 100% of the shots I would take, for the type of game I would use it for.

KB

quote:

Originally posted by Michael b Freeman:
Per JBM Ballistics
if you can get 2900 fps with a Berger 140 gr VLD at 3000 ft altitude

In an over the counter rifle, using a std. Max. OAL can this be done at at normal pressure limits?
That VLD is a rather long bullet and would probably take up some powder room. roger

Let me see...all my hunting is at 30 meters to 350 meters max. So the 7mm 08 is just perfect!

It is as good as the 6.5X55 with 120, 140, 150 & 160 gr bullets

It is as good as the 308 with 150 gr bullets

It is as good as the 270 Win with 120 gr balistic Tips or Barnes TTSX

It is just a bit less effective at long range than a 280 or 280 Ackley Imp

It is easy to reload and easy to shoot. My 280 Ackley stay home most times now because the Kimber 7mm 08 is just so much more flexible & easier to walk all day with.

It ain't ever gonna be a 284. At 6mm shorter case length I don't see how you could match a 7x57 if you load both to the same pressure level either.
Personally, I don't see a reason for it, or any of the other X-08's over 25 caliber. That's just preference. My 7mm is an STW, and within 24 hours someone will post here that they are matching velocities with their 7-08 in an 18 inch barrel.

Rich

The 7mm-08 is not a rifle I would take to africa
. What is the volcity it can shoot? Its seems to
me it would be a good deer rifle, or bore.

quote:

Originally posted by jro45:
The 7mm-08 is not a rifle I would take to africa
. What is the volcity it can shoot? Its seems to
me it would be a good deer rifle, or bore.

Hornady "Light Magnum" loadings "claim" 3000 fps W/a 139gr bullet. My own experience has been around 2950 for those loads.

2900ish is a realistic MV for bullets in that weight range in 22-24" barrels when loaded to 60,000 psi.

I loaded some 140gr Nosler BTs to 2925 W/Vv N550, but they where just a bit on the HOT side, sometimes showing ejector marks on the head. Not every time, but occasionally the pressure got just a high enough to make some slight ejector hole impressions. Boilt lkift was not overly stiff though.

Again, 2850-2900 fps is a realistic Mv ceiling for (lead core) 139-140gr bullets that are NOT overly long.

quote:

Originally posted by jro45:
The 7mm-08 is not a rifle I would take to africa
. What is the volcity it can shoot? Its seems to
me it would be a good deer rifle, or bore.

Look at the historical success of the 7X57 in Africa. You can substitute 7-08 for any of those stories and still be spot on.



Funny thing is when someone asks what rifle they should get for their non-gun nut wife/son/daughter to take to Africa, the 7mm-08 is always one of the top recommendations.
I guess the animals feel sorry for a hunter that doesn't like recoil and they die out of politeness.




To answer your question, it is a great short action round that covers 90% of a good hunter and good rifleman's needs. If you can't hunt or shoot, you may need something else.