Talk me out of rechambering my 7mm-08

[Newtosavage]

I have a stainless Tikka T3 in 7mm-08 that is a great shooter. It sends 139 SST's and Interbonds down the tube at 2850 fps and 162 ELD-X's at 2680 fps. and shoots all of them into 2" groups at 300 yards routinely. I love the rifle and never plan to get rid of it.

Having said that, I've been toying with the idea of having it rechambered to .284 Winchester or .280 AI for about a year now. This is my mountain rifle and the only thing I plan to use it for are hunts for Elk or (someday) Moose or Caribou or Sheep. For everything smaller, I have a 6.5 Creedmoor that shoots lights-out.

Should I leave well enough alone and just leave it as a 7mm-08?

A highly regarded local smith charges $300 to rechamber and he has both the .284 and .280 AI reamers. After talking to him and a few of his happy customers, I would have no qualms about sending him my Tikka.

What say you?

 

[Yellowknife]

Before you commit to the .284, make sure you can locate a good brass supply and stockpile plenty. When I had one a few years ago brass was strikingly rare, and the small quantity of Winchester stuff I could find at the time was of remarkable poor quality.

I believe Norma made a run since then, so you might be ok, but I would personally put away a lifetime supply if I went that route again.

Otherwise, I found the .284 fit in a LA Tikka mag just right. I always thought it would be an excellent conversion on that platform with plenty of COAL latitude and essentially .280 ballistics. Certainly a better fit than the Remington I had one in.

 

[orelkaddict]

isn't the 7-08 a short action and the 280 would need to be a long action?

 

[ckleeves]

isn't the 7-08 a short action and the 280 would need to be a long action?

Tikka only has one action length, so he is gtg there.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[16Bore]

Run the numbers and see what you get for your efforts.

 

[elkduds]

Your barrel twist rate is:

7mm-08 Rem / 9.5" / (3 in magazine, 1 in chamber) per Sako.

Is your barrel 22.5 in?

Planning to stay in the 140-160 gr "sweet spot" for .284 bullets?

I'd say AI, yielding near 7rm velocity more efficiently, w less powder, noise, recoil than the big 7. The fatty case of the 284 will reduce magazine capacity by 1 round, and many 284s are finicky in feeding.AI cases can be fire formed from 280 cases.

Keep us posted, following w interest.

 

[slick]

Have the same exact rifle, and looking to do the same thing. Although I’m dead set on a 284. I have aa decent supply of brass- just need to find a smith. Care to pass off yours?

 

[elkguide]

Owning rifles in 7mm08, .280 Rem & .284 Win, I would be hard pressed to turn a good shooting 7mm08 into anything else. I like each of the calibers and find the differences in them in hunting situations to be very minimal. Great things to think about, run numbers on and discuss on forums but if the rifle works well as is..... sounds like a perfect reason to buy a new rifle!

 

[tyeager2964]

I would keep the 7mm08 as is and buy another rifle in a larger caliber if that's what you want. If you decide on this I would jump to a 300 win mag personally but if you love the 7s an STW or 28 Nosler might be the way to go.

I personally wouldn't change a great shooting gun to chase another when the difference in price is only $400 or so.

Im also assuming you are just reaming the current barrel and depending on how many shots you have down the tube and your plans for the AI bullet weight wise this may limit the life expectancy of said barrel. Obviously depends on many factors but may be something to think about.

 

[mcseal2]

I would leave it alone. As it is its a great rifle to back up your 6.5 in the event of a problem during a hunting season. If you want more power buy a larger rifle. Let the 7mm 08 be the backup for both. Id go 30 cal on the big gun with what you already have.

 

[rayporter]

the odds of getting a shooter after a rechamber are not as high as having one that shoots in hand.

then what -if it don't shoot as well as the original? new rifle or new barrel? leave it as is or rebarrel it. that way you could always put the old barrel back on if you were unhappy.


so put me in the new rifle crowd.

 

[Newtosavage]

Have the same exact rifle, and looking to do the same thing. Although I’m dead set on a 284. I have aa decent supply of brass- just need to find a smith. Care to pass off yours?

Precision Barrel Work in Hempstead, TX. He has a great reputation around here and when I talked to him, he said he could do either conversion pretty easily for $300. I'm also just down the road from Solid Accuracy, and he told me he could do the .280 AI for the same.

 

[Newtosavage]

the odds of getting a shooter after a rechamber are not as high as having one that shoots in hand.

then what -if it don't shoot as well as the original? new rifle or new barrel? leave it as is or rebarrel it. that way you could always put the old barrel back on if you were unhappy.


so put me in the new rifle crowd.

That is one of my concerns. I hate to break apart a shooter.

 

[Newtosavage]

Your barrel twist rate is:

7mm-08 Rem / 9.5" / (3 in magazine, 1 in chamber) per Sako.

Is your barrel 22.5 in?

Planning to stay in the 140-160 gr "sweet spot" for .284 bullets?

I'd say AI, yielding near 7rm velocity more efficiently, w less powder, noise, recoil than the big 7. The fatty case of the 284 will reduce magazine capacity by 1 round, and many 284s are finicky in feeding.AI cases can be fire formed from 280 cases.

Keep us posted, following w interest.

Yes, barrel is 22.5" and I only plan to run 140-160 class bullets.

 

[rayporter]

you have good smiths close? so way not talk to them about a switch barrel rig? get a 284 barrel and save the 7-08 to change out if you want.

it is easy. no gauges needed with a shouldered barrel once set up.

 

[Shrek]

Keep it as a 7-08 and build a bigger rifle if you’re feeling the need. Look at every chambering under the sun and actions , barrels , stocks , and brakes and build exactly what you want. It’s great fun imo. The 7-08 will kill anything you want to hunt with efficiency.

 

[Newtosavage]

you have good smiths close? so way not talk to them about a switch barrel rig? get a 284 barrel and save the 7-08 to change out if you want.

it is easy. no gauges needed with a shouldered barrel once set up.

I thought of this too. I do all my own work on Savage rifles, so a switch barrel rig with a barrel nut from Solid Accuracy is an attractive option. With a Criteron barrel that would run me $370 - a lot cheaper than a new .284 Win or .280 AI

 

[Newtosavage]

Why the heck doesn't Tikka offer a .280 AI in their T3x ? Seems like a no-brainer to me. I've looked hard at the Kimber Hunter in .280 AI several times but would trust a Tikka a lot more.

 

[Newtosavage]

Another question I wanted to ask is whether that 22.5" Tikka barrel length was better suited to any of the three calibers (7mm-08, .284 or .280 AI)

 

[Rob5589]

The 7/08 is a great round. One of my T3's is the same chambering and does everything I would need. I would pass on the 284. My last comp gun was 284 and brass is a pita to find. When someone makes some, you need to buy all you can. Most of the time 284 shooters were resizing 6.5-284 Lapua brass; expensive and took a lot of work to avoid neck "donuts." I always ran Win brass but when Win stopped making it, I stopped shooting 284.

You could play around with the numbers on a 7/08 ai. Should get you around 150 fps more and you can switch to a la Tikka mag for longer seating depths.

If you need more, the 280 ai is where it's at if you really want to sling some 16x bullets with decent velocity.