I ran some #'s through my balistics program and both are very close, too close to call.

I'm a reloader, so 308 brass is everywhere.

Here in NY where I hunt most deer are harvested with a 40 to 60 yard shot in thick brush.

If I hunted on a bean field somewhere I might see a difference.

So I think with that said and more manufacturers offering more of a viriety of models in 308 than 7mm-08, I just might go the 308 route. I wouldn't even need to buy bullets, just the dies.

quote:

I reload and no other caliber offers the bullet selection available in 308.

Another (probably) true statement....but at least IMO a very insignificant reason to go with the .308 caliber.

There is no end to 7mm bullets and if one can't find a suitable bullet in 7mm then he's just not trying. It only takes one!

308

This is really just another 30-06/.270 argument. And I doubt that anyone is gonna rush out and swap their .308 in on a 7-08. Or vice versa. But it does keep us off the streets.
I do wisht I had enough idle time to hang around Wally World counting boxes of ammo. That has got to be right up there with arranging your sock drawer and ironing your skivies. Why would anyone count boxes of ammo unless he was doing inventory?

quote:

Originally posted by thirtycal:
I ran some #'s through my balistics program and both are very close, too close to call.

I'm a reloader, so 308 brass is everywhere.

Here in NY where I hunt most deer are harvested with a 40 to 60 yard shot in thick brush.

If I hunted on a bean field somewhere I might see a difference.

So I think with that said and more manufacturers offering more of a viriety of models in 308 than 7mm-08, I just might go the 308 route. I wouldn't even need to buy bullets, just the dies.

All my critters this year (2 elk, 1 mule deer, 1 antelope) were taken between 180 yards (one elk) and 401 yards (antelope)... all with a 308 Win and a 165 gr bullet.

Trust me, the 308 has no flies on it for 40-60 yards!

Thirty cal,

It really doesn't matter your already redundant with 3 30-06's a .270 and a 30-30!

I thought I was bad with a .243, 7-08, 30-06 and a 300wsm! Especially for eastern deer inside 100 yards either will do just as well as what you have.

So the other factors will play a bigger role, what package/rifle you want and which is it chambered in? At what price? If you want to have to buy a different caliber bullet for reloading? But with 3 06's????? your taking the fun out of reloading with a .308? But KISS theory is often a good way to go. Find the rifle you like best that you can get the best deal on and don't fret the caliber. OR get one of each

Most of the points are valid, 7-08 factory is harder to find on the store shelves and will be more expensive then .308, .270, 30-30 or 30-06. But I have never seen a serious hunter not have enough ammo,...EVER!

One can never have to many 30 cal rifles. I own a lot of 30 cal's.....but one 7mm (mag of course). It's my least shot rifle.

30 cal's just feel so American to me! But realistically, IMHO the differences between the 2 are miniscule.

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:

quote:

I reload and no other caliber offers the bullet selection available in 308.

Another (probably) true statement....but at least IMO a very insignificant reason to go with the .308 caliber.

There is no end to 7mm bullets and if one can't find a suitable bullet in 7mm then he's just not trying. It only takes one!

Since this is the old Ginger/Maryann debate we can flog it a little longer. Just checked Midway out of curiosity. They offer 93 different bullets in 284 ranging in weight from 100 to 180 grains. They offer 232 different bullets in 308 ranging in weight from 100 to 240 grains. The 308 wins in bullet selection hands down. From squirrels to moose, make mine 308.

quote:

Just checked Midway out of curiosity. They offer 93 different bullets in 284 ranging in weight from 100 to 180 grains. They offer 232 different bullets in 308 ranging in weight from 100 to 240 grains. The 308 wins in bullet selection hands down.

No argument at all.....my point however is that if you can't find a bullet out of 93 suitable for your needs, then you're not trying very hard.

FWIW, I own two rifles in .308 and none in 7-08 but I sure don't own my .308s because of bullet availability or ammo availability.

Both are realistic but of minimal consequence.

.260 same or better range and even less recoil of the 7

My favorite all around rifle, although a bit heavy, is a .308 Ruger M77. My newest rifle is a 7-08 m75 Finnlight, which will be dream to carry in the mountains out west.
However, if my shots were in cover out to 100yds, then I would recommend a .358, like my BLR, which seems to me just right for eastern whitetails when hunting up in Maine or other heavy cover areas.

Owned, hunted/killed many deer w/7-08.

Picked it for less recoil and good killing power, and accuracy all in a short action.

Taking it further, by one step - I dropped back again to 6.5x55 and 260. Using a 130 Accubond, it's as deadly for me as a 140 in a 7/08, and recoil a tad less again.

7/08 and 260s are HARD to beat IMHO in a short action. 7x57 and 6.5x55 are great in long action. All do a bang up job, w/o beating the shooter up.

If someone has a good shooting 308, no reason to change if happy, they work too. Drop back to a 130 TTSX and run ballistics....

If you aren't going to be hunting anything larger than deer, then the 260 should be considered. If I needed to hunt elk, I'd consider the 308, but the 260 is more than adequate for anything smaller.

AS has been mentioned several times, the differences in the two are more of a personal feeling for the package they are wrapped in than the actual difference in performance.

For me, it came down to what I had on hand already to load with. Like you, I have several '06's, so I already had a decent supply of bullets and powder on hand from which to choose. My choice came down to economy and the particular rifle I wanted. Yes it came in both calibers, but the 7-08 would have meant I needed dies, and more bullets to purchase. At the time I only had one 7mm and only one weight bullet which was the 162gr, and I didn't feel the need to add to the collection on my shelves.

Since the purchase of the Ruger Compact, I have shot many hogs using factory Remington 150gr CL's almost exclusively. Why, they were going for $9.99 a box, and shot plenty good for me to cleanly take hogs out to 400+ yards. While the rifle isn't a LR rig it will reach out and touch something with plenty of horsepower. It has been downloaded to less than 30-30 velocities using 125 and 130gr bullets for my oldest grandson to use to take his first hog with. While either would have sufficed equally, I chose the .308 as it fit my criteria.

Pick one that feels good and handles right for you and you cannot go wrong.

when im not using my .260 rem. for deer hunting,. im using my 7MM-08..I had a .280 rem. I sold it to my brother-in-law.
With a 140 my 280 was shooting about 2920 over my croney with 57 grs of RL-19 with a 22" barrel. my 7mm-08 shoots a 140 about 2940 fps with a 24" barrel with RL-15..

Mke / Tx, I looked at the Ruger compact in the Stainless Laminate, but only has a 16.5 inch barrel, was wondering about muzzle velocity and accuracy out to 100 yds, do you have any info on that.

I would love it if it came with an 18 inch barrel.

quote:

Originally posted by thirtycal:
Mke / Tx, I looked at the Ruger compact in the Stainless Laminate, but only has a 16.5 inch barrel, was wondering about muzzle velocity and accuracy out to 100 yds, do you have any info on that.

I would love it if it came with an 18 inch barrel.

Mine has the standard blued barrel. The only other modification I have made to it was to have the stock camo'ed up by one of the local shops.

With standard factory Remington 150gr CL's it shoots 5 shots around 1 - 1.5" all the time. To be totally honest I haven't seriously even worked up a load for it due to this. I have shot mostly factory Remington and Federal ammo through it since I got it. The only draw back I have found with the rig at all is the recoil sometimes when shooting from the bench. Depending on how high the bench is it will sometimes seem to kick the snot out of you. In the field I have never had an issue with it and several friends who have used it all commented on how fast and easy it was to shoot.

I love the little rifle. With a Burris 1.5x6 mounted on top, and 5 rounds 4+1 fully loaded it only weighs 6.5 pounds, and it is about as perfect a stalking rifle as could be had. It will lay right in the crease of our arm and can be carried easily through the thickest underbrush. Shooting from across the seat of my Polaris or off the top of my bino's laying prone I have dropped hogs pushing 400# out to over 400 yards. For the most part that is all it has been used on until this past year when I took my first deer with it. Not that I haven't seen plenty to shoot, I just simply was more interested in the hogs.

Don't let the short barrel steer you away, with several powders you can easily hit decent velocities with bullets up to 180grs. Within the ranges suggested here, the top end velocity will not be an issue what so ever. I used both some of the standard loading data as well as some of the Hodgdon Pistol data which is for barrels of 15". I found the same powders worked well for both loads and noted nothing vastly improved over what I already got with the cheap standard factory loads. One thing I did find that I really liked was using the Remington bulk 150gr RN which was designed for the 30-30. With it loaded to around 2300fps it REALLY whops a hog. But like I mentioned, I was getting the factory loads for around $10 a box on sale after season. I would pick up 10 or 12 boxes at a time and they usually lasted most of, if not all year. I stocked up on them every year so I had plenty of hog ammo. I have a few boxes of Rem's and about 5 of the Federals left now and once they are gone I will start utilizing the brass for handloads that fall into about the same range as the factory.

Bottom line with this rifle has been, put it where you want on hair, drop the hammer, and go skin it out.

Thanks Mike some very usefull info

all three are great guns I have a 308win shoot plate with it all the time out to 1000 yards love it I can remember my grandfather having a 30-30 then getting a 308 Wow have times changed he shot more game for his family then I will ever even think of.
with both 30-30 and 308
My Daughter turned 12 this year first year in alberta canada a youngster can legally hunt we got her a 243 model 7 fantastic gun She shot a 5x5 elk at 70 yards went 5-10 yards then she got a 130 class whitetail at 100 yards she shot her mule with my 308
I am getting long winded so i will get to my point
She was able to handle 308 recoil although little bit much
Her gun is in the shop I am putting a new barrel on it and went to 7mm08
for the only thought, about 5 lbs less felt recoil I am very happy
but still have to remember my grandfathers 308 shot alot of animals

It really shouldn't matter how many bullet options the .308 caliber has because for hunting deer plus sized game only the 180 and 200 grain bullets offer any ballistic advantage over the 7mm-08 so I personally wouldn't choose the 308 as a primary deer cartridge but might consider it for larger game were the 180 to 200 grain bullets would benefit me.

As for the 150 grain debate there is only a 150 fps difference in start out velocity so the energy advantage goes to the 308 but the poor sectional density factor more than negates it. I have read on multiple forums about poor performance using 150 grain bullets in a 308 and it all boils down to sectional density and bullet construction. The sectional density for the .308 150 is only .225 which makes it a boarder line performer at best as apposed to the .266 with the 7mm. That might not sound like much difference but in the bullet world thats huge.

Regardless of caliber a bullet needs to expand and have enough core left to punch through but the .308/150 is to short resulting in core separations leading to some questionable kills. Even the 130 grain bullets from a 270 winchester have been known to show core separations and it has a .248 sectional density. This is a fact of life for lead cored bullets and to offset this sectional density deficiency we need to consider more robust bullets such as the Barnes TSX, Hornady GMX or Nosler lead free. These bullets will hold together better and offer better terminal performance for their weight but will not out perform the higher sectional density lead cores.

Always remember regardless of the velocity the bullet is doing most of the work. Choosing a good bullet for the targeted game is more important than caliber or cartridge.

quote:

Originally posted by Captain Finlander:


Regardless of caliber a bullet needs to expand and have enough core left to punch through but the .308/150 is to short resulting in core separations leading to some questionable kills.

I used 150gr Speers @ 2750fps for years out of my -06 and never had a core separation. That being said, I now shoot 150grTSX @ the same velocity (because of local ordinance) and it has always worked fine on pigs and deer.
I'll take Maryanne but wouldn't kick out Ginger either

Im a 7mm fan from way back. With that said though, I have a .308 but no 7-08. Hard to go wrong with either one.

The only real advantage the 308 has is you can load bullets heavier than 175 grs. As far as brass goes any where you have 308 brass you have 7-08 brass, one pass in the sizer die and 308 becomes 7-08.

hard to beat argument for 7-08:

you cannot go to France and Belgium with a .308, as that's a military caliber

I think one of each would be perfectly appropriate.

I have a 7mm-08 and have come to believe this is the absolute perfect white tail ctg.

I'm a 7mm fan.I really don't get the ammo availability arguments.Even if you can't find what you want locally it's only a phone call away often at a better price delivered right to your door.

quote:

Originally posted by Bernie P.:
I'm a 7mm fan.I really don't get the ammo availability arguments.Even if you can't find what you want locally it's only a phone call away often at a better price delivered right to your door.

+1 That is a very true and sensible statement.

quote:

Originally posted by fourbore:
I have a 7mm-08 and have come to believe this is the absolute perfect white tail ctg.

Me too.

Funny thing is, I hunt W/my 280 more than my 7mm-08.