Longevity of the 7mm-08?

[z987k]

I'm waffling between the 7mm-08 and 280ai for my one North American rifle to do it all. I currently live on the east coast and so the 7-08 is really appealing. If I ever move west though, it would be nice to have the juice to take a moose at 400 if required. Maybe I'll get a Tikka T3x in 7-08 for now and if I do move...beautiful cartridge IMO

I'd second the 284win over the 280ai. Build the 284 on a medium action and it will outclass the 280ai with high bc long bullets with the same amount of powder.

 

[Unckebob]

I'm waffling between the 7mm-08 and 280ai for my one North American rifle to do it all. I currently live on the east coast and so the 7-08 is really appealing. If I ever move west though, it would be nice to have the juice to take a moose at 400 if required. Maybe I'll get a Tikka T3x in 7-08 for now and if I do move...beautiful cartridge IMO

Get a short action rifle and save some weight.

 

[Kimber7man]

Heck, I'd start with the Hornady factory load with the 150 ELDX. Great bullet for that round.

 

[Pharmseller]

Get a short action rifle and save some weight.

Exactly how much weight are we talking about?



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[gerry35]

I love all my 260s also. The slow rifle twist is holding them back. I'm considering rebarreling with a faster twist.

Mine's a later Tikka so it's got the 1 in 8 twist which is nice. Savage, Remington and Sako also made the faster twist too but older Remington's and Sako had the 1 in 9. The 1 in 9 260's shine with 130's and there are some good options there.

 

[gerry35]

The 7mm-08 is one I like too, I had a Sako on order and then the 260 was announced and went that route instead. Would love to find a good 7mm-08 still one day and will keep my eyes open for one.

 

[greghuber417]

I think this will be the caliber of my next rifle. Should be easy on the recoil compared to my 300wm and my son can hunt with it. Sounds like a win win purchase!

I was thinking maybe a savage storm lightweight SS? I also like the Ruger Amer. Predator

 

[Pabst]

Initially I was worried 7mm-08 might be in decline and might someday be obsolete. I'm a big fan of it, not because it's anything high performance or does anything particularly well. It's just an efficient, compact round, packs enough punch for anything non-dangerous, not too much blast or recoil.

It seemed for a while 6.5CM was replacing it and maybe it has to an extent, but then a few things have happened that kind of indicate it might stay in production. Howa initially released their superlite in 6.5 and 308 only, then seemed to respond to customers asking for 7mm-08 and decided to make it part of their offering.

Anyone who doubts the usefulness of a 7mm-08 in a light weight rifle should go try and get their hands on a Fieldcraft or NULA chambered in 7mm-08. It's much harder to find than a 6.5CM, but then it's probably also true that there were fewer of those rifles made in 7mm-08 than in 6.5CM?

 

[CentralFLMike]

I think this will be the caliber of my next rifle. Should be easy on the recoil compared to my 300wm and my son can hunt with it. Sounds like a win win purchase!

I was thinking maybe a savage storm lightweight SS? I also like the Ruger Amer. Predator

FYI...the original Ruger American Predator in 7mm-08 is a left-handed rifle. It's a solid shooter though; I got one for my brother-in-law and it shoots lights out! I liked it so much I was going to get one for myself and that's when I discovered it was a lefty only. The Gen2 is offered in 7mm-08.

 

[Rich M]

I was looking at them and noted that less and less gun mfr make em, and the ammo is harder to get than 308, 243, 6.5 cm. Was enough that I decided not to.

Worst case scenario is you have to buy online or roll yer own shells.

 

[CentralFLMike]

I was looking at them and noted that less and less gun mfr make em, and the ammo is harder to get than 308, 243, 6.5 cm. Was enough that I decided not to.

Worst case scenario is you have to buy online or roll yer own shells.

I haven't had a lot of trouble finding hunting ammo; I have had to do some searching for reasonably priced ammo, however. In the past few months, I've taken advantage of Black Friday, Christmas, Daily Deals, etc., sales and secured a little over a thousand rounds of ammo. With reloading, it should last me and my BIL a lifetime.

 

[Rich M]

I haven't had a lot of trouble finding hunting ammo; I have had to do some searching for reasonably priced ammo, however. In the past few months, I've taken advantage of Black Friday, Christmas, Daily Deals, etc., sales and secured a little over a thousand rounds of ammo. With reloading, it should last me and my BIL a lifetime.

Very nice. That's the way to do it.

I did my little exercise a while back. Nothing against the 7mm-08.

 

[Pharmseller]

Nothing against the 7mm-08.

Good. Because that would be like criticizing apple pie. Or democracy. Or freedom. Or capitalism. Or yoga pants. Or boobs. Or Western movies. Or boobs.

You get my drift.





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[CentralFLMike]

Is there a place where I can nominate Pharmseller for the best post ever?

 

[Pabst]

View attachment 661379

Is there a place where I can nominate Pharmseller for the best post ever?

Pharm certainly does love the 7mm-08. And Big Game.

 

[EmperorMA]

I have owned two different 7-08s over the years. It's a great cartridge that is still some of the best whitetail and hog medicine we have. I really like the 120 NBT for whitetail and the 120 TTSX for elk under 350 yards. Add in the excellent 150 ELD-X and the little 7-08 gets the job done out to 600 yards like a champ.

That being said, I find little reason to get a new rifle chambered in 7-08. It isn't "going away" by any means but the sheer pervasiveness of the 6.5 Creedmoor makes it a better choice for just about anything. More rifles chambered for it, more factory loads and a wee bit less recoil with equal or even better ballistics would leave me scratching my head if someone were to recommend the 7-08 to a new hunter searching for a rifle, or even to an experienced hunter searching for a rifle.

Still, it's a fantastic cartridge that a handloader with a properly-configured rifle can take full advantage of on about any species of game from moose on down.

 

[Southernfried]

Pharm certainly does love the 7mm-08. And Big Game.

He had me at boobs.

 

[Elite]

I have owned two different 7-08s over the years. It's a great cartridge that is still some of the best whitetail and hog medicine we have. I really like the 120 NBT for whitetail and the 120 TTSX for elk under 350 yards. Add in the excellent 150 ELD-X and the little 7-08 gets the job done out to 600 yards like a champ.

That being said, I find little reason to get a new rifle chambered in 7-08. It isn't "going away" by any means but the sheer pervasiveness of the 6.5 Creedmoor makes it a better choice for just about anything. More rifles chambered for it, more factory loads and a wee bit less recoil with equal or even better ballistics would leave me scratching my head if someone were to recommend the 7-08 to a new hunter searching for a rifle, or even to an experienced hunter searching for a rifle.

Still, it's a fantastic cartridge that a handloader with a properly-configured rifle can take full advantage of on about any species of game from moose on down.

The 7-08 can handle a lot heavier bullets and can beat the 6.5 creedmore in velocity in every bullet weight.


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[EmperorMA]

The 7-08 can handle a lot heavier bullets and can beat the 6.5 creedmore in velocity in every bullet weight.


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I get that. That is why I included the bit about a handloader with a properly-configured rifle (custom) being able to get the most out of it. It isn't going to beat the 6.5 Creedmoor with factory ammo out of factory rifles, though.

 

[grfox92]

The 7-08 can handle a lot heavier bullets and can beat the 6.5 creedmore in velocity in every bullet weight.


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Not sure about it beating the CM but I do think the 7mm08 is one of the most underated medium caliber hunting cartridges. Bellow is a ballistics on a 7mm08 with a 162 ELD M or X, book COAL and a book load of 6.5 Staball.

It hits 1800fps at 800 yards. According to Hornady the lowest operating velocity for ELD X is 1600fps. If you trust that, the 7mm08 has potential to be a true long range hunting cartridge.

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