I have been thinking of getting an Encore chambered in 7mm-08 for deer and antelope hunting. Has anyone used this chambering for game? How did it do?

YEs I took a 340lb blackie with my 7-08 and the 139 hornady. Love this round. and to beat it it is VERY accurate.

FirebALL

The 7-08 is a terrific chambering and is an inherently accurate cartridge. I'd recommend a barrel from the likes of Van Horn, Virgin Valley, SSK, Eabco or a chambering of a blank by Bellm because the factory Encore barrels are iffy at best. You may get a good one, but then again, that's a chance you are taking. I've taken some game with the 7-08 -- not much, but enough to convince me it's a terrific medium game round.

But you don't need a full-throttle 7-08 for deer and antelope.

On Monday, I used a 7mm Bullberry to take my best whitetail buck ever, and the 130 grain Sierra SSP at 2505 fps was more than eough for the task. Tonight, however, I asked much more of it, but the undergunned feeling went away quickly when the 300 pound boar hog folded on the spot. And by the way, I made the shot with my 20" carbine using only the light of the moon and a Bushnel Elite 3200 scope.

The 7mm Bullberry is basically a 30-30 necked down to 7mm International Rimmed. The case is then cut to 1.75" and fireformed. But the EASY way is to buy 7mm US brass from eabco.com for around $27/100. Load a slightly reduced load, and out pops a properly-formed case -- and there's no trimming needed.

However, if you are set on an Encore, I'd actually think about a 7mmBR as its efficiency is terrific, and a 120 grain bullet at 2400+ fps from a 14-15" barrel is all you'll ever need for any deer out to 250 yards. But if you go with the 7-08, you can push a 140 grain bullet to the same 2400 fps or a bit better, which does translate into more downrange punch (and a bit more recoil on the shooter's end as well).

[ 11-22-2002, 10:48: Message edited by: Bobby Tomek ]

i took a deer at 250 yards with my factory 15" 7-08,burris 3x12 scope, 120gr nosler bt,40.0gr H4895. accurate and comfortable to shoot. 2-2.5gr less than max,but accurate and plenty of power. bullet expansion was excellent. a 7br would be hard to beat in a custom barrel but the factory 7-08 will do a good job.

Thanks guys. I hefted an Encore at our local gun shop and I dearly liked the way it felt in my hand. I think I am going to have to do it. It seems I can handle pistol recoil a lot better than rifle recoil. JD Jones developed a .378 WBY case cut down to 2" and necked to .50 cal and put it on a single shot bolt action pistol. I shot it 6 times and enjoyed it. It looks like a .243 on steroids.