7 SAW vs vanilla 7mm-08

[CBB15]

Anyone have an real world experience?

I am considering the SAW 1 chambering to get back a little speed on a short barrel, suppressed .284

Comparing to a vanilla 7mm-08. I don't plant to run anything over 160s through the rifle either. I will load to 2.96 or so OAL.

Factory ammo is not a consideration. Neither are 180s.

 

[HandgunHTR]

If you have your 7-08 chamber throated so that you can seat 162 grain bullets only in the neck and have the mag setup to allow for that cartridge length, you aren't going to see a ton of difference between the SAW (or AI) and the standard 7-08, provided you are using premium brass and are willing to load the 7-08 to 65K (4k over SAAMI). To be honest, if you use premium brass (Alpha, Lapua, etc) and you load until you see pressure signs and then "back off a little" you will probably be in the 70K range anyway.
Either way, you will see a 50-125 fps difference between the two, which may not be worth it for you.

I shoot a 7-08AI. Not because I want the increased velocity (I load for accuracy first), but because I hate to trim brass and the case design means I have to trim once every 10 firings instead of every 2. Plus, if I am going to custom chamber, I might as well go full wildcat. Can I make use of the extra 100 fps? Not yet. But I am working on that too.

 

[CBB15]

With the vanilla 7mm-8, the 150 eld-x will seat with the bearing surface/BT junction at the neck/shoulder junction at right around 2.96" OAL. Of course, the 162 will seat a touch deeper, but not enough to worry.

I went down the AI path years ago with the 280. That was before commercial brass was available for the 280 AI. I hated fireforming more than I hated trimming, so I went back to the standard 280 Remington. Never missed it.

The 7 saw seems to solve that problem. Less trimming and no fireforming which is what ingrigued me to begin with.

 

[PAHunter777]

If you can load to 2.96 really no reason to go 7 saw unless you want 180s. 162 eldm and 7mm-08 has been an awesome combo for me.

 

[Pharmseller]

I load 150 ELDX to 2800 fps in my Tikka 7mm-08s. That’s all I need.