Have to buy new rifle. Looking at 7mm's

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jonesie

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Hi guys,

Wife recently gave me a no option but to buy a new rifle. She has comandered my .308 savage for her own use. This now leaves me without my target/ hunting rig. Now i have several other rifles to use to hunt with (243,303,30-06's) but not a sub moa target rifle and all light weight set ups, with decent but not great accuracy. I was in the process of planning a m14 build but with the wife really getting involved in shooting now and her tack driving the .308, im out my rig and have to switch gears to a replacement for the .308 in a bolt setup.

As such and after talking with my old man who has recently gotten into the 270/300wsm. I have settled on the 7mm due to bullet selection and the high bc. What i want to know is which to 7 mm to go with. I am torn between the 7mm-08,7mm wsm, 7mm mag and the 280. I have no experience with the 7 mm other then reading ballistic charts. What draws me to it is its ballistics after 500 yds and something different then the .30 amd 6mm cal.

I am looking for a sub 9lbs rifle before load and optics. I prefer a factory offering and lean to savage cuz i like the accutrigger. ( i know but they work for me). I have looked for something with a bull barrel, but none are offered. So i would like to rebarrel with a med- heavy contour in the 20-22" range as well as try an after market stock in the near future. Budget is limited to $1500 for just the factory offering. Optics and aftermarket part are seperate. I would consider a custom build in $2000-2500 range. But have never had a rifle built outside building 10/22 myself and a restock on 303.

I am hunting whitetail and moose. With shots on deer in the 0-700 range and moose 0-500 yds.

Just looking for the pros and cons with some personal experiences. I do reload and am looking at bullets in the 160-180 gr range. The 7mm-08 and 280 have one pro in that i have 1000 + 308 brass and 800 30-06 brass. So load cost would be low aside from bullets and dies.

Guy a little help and direction.

Cheers
 
7mm RM - you only need two shots. One to verify scope and one to fill your tag. Nosler Accubond 160gr @ 3050fps (factory load).

I have an older Rem 700 (7mm-RM) much nicer than the new ones. Timney trigger set to 2lbs. Bushnell Elite 4x16x40 with DOA reticle on Leupold rings.

I am waiting for the long range high BC Accubonds to become available before hand loading hunting rounds.
 
if you want a 7mm rem mag or a 7-08 then i would roll on with a Tikka Varmint.. my .308 was a bloody good shooter in standard factory stock, only improved when i threw it into a chassis..
Tikka make some pretty nice rifles.

especially with the 7-08, depending how you want to load your rounds, you have a long action to work with, and you can get the long action mags to accommodate the rounds loaded way out.

Just my input.
 
If you want to do plenty of practicing and target then go 7-08 especially if you want a lighter rifle that will help you not develop bad habits or flinches.Also a more efficient cartridge and easier on the wallet with powder use and I would have to say easier to load for.Components are easy to find also, easy to find brass to size.

I have a 7WSM also and it would be a decent target chambering in a fairly heavy unit but harder on barrels and the shoulder.

You can load a 7-08 with 140's to get over 2800 ft/sec which will give you the ballistics you want for game getting.150's will also work and is what I use for 7-08 for target(SMK's) and hunting(SC II's).

As for budget I have a 700 in 7-08 with a Kreiger varmint contour , accurized action , all machine work, rings , scope, base and stock for a grand total of $2900.00.

So, IMO if you want to do lots of shooting at the bench/range as well as hunt I would go 7-08 for cost/accuracy tuning/tame.A strictly hunting rifle , any of the choices will work.

I have used 7-08 as my main hunting rifle since I was 18 , so that is 21 years with it in the field , it takes game just like any other.

If you are interested in detailed load information shoot me a PM I have test loads all the way from 139-168gr.
 
Though I don't currently own a .308 nor a 7mm-08, I would opt for the 7mm-08. You already have the brass. Finding the right projectiles for target or hunting should also be a breeze.

On another note, if you want sub MOA accuracy get a K31 and you'd have one hell of a tack driver, not only is it ridiculously accurate, but the rifle can be had for $330.00 delivered to your door. Depending on your location you can also snag 500 rounds of surplus GP11 for $350.00 plus tax and maybe shipping. The brass is Norma if I'm not mistaken, though it is berdan primed. If you want Swiss boxer primed, pick up Prvi ammunition. Another nice thing, K31 uses standard .308 projectiles. You can also get the Ste.Marie mount which uses a single hex machine screw to mount your scope without drilling and tapping. Just a thought.
 
I opted for a Cooper Jackson Game in 280AI. Not here yet - still being built. Pretty sure I saw a mint Cooper Classic in .280 in EE recently for a decent price. The 280AI is about 100 fps slower than the 7mm Rem Mag with the same projectile in a non magnum calibre.
 
I think im leaning to the 7-08 it will mirror my .308 but will out preform it past 500 yard, has less drop and wind drift. Keep in mind i was only shooting 155-168gr bullets. I did try the 175-208 bullets but they did not group well for my rifle. Hardest part i am having is finding a factory 7 wsm in a savage or rem. thats what i really want. But i can get a savage or rem in a factory tactical .308 rifle and with just a barrel change and a little smithing run a 7-08. My old man has a co worker that has a 7-08, 7 mag, and 280 that will let me try them before i decide although his are all light weight hunting rigs it should give me a better idea.

So far just because of the ease the 7-08 is looking like the one and if i buy a used rifle i can go get a stock, barrel and action done amd have a few extra all with in my budget.
 
Savage or Remington don't have a 7wsm in their line up, Browning makes the 7wsm in a few models, not sure Tikka offers it.
 
Savage use to offer a 7 wsm and i have been hunting around for one. They stoped makeing them in 2010 or 2011. So i have been trying to find a new one in stock somewhere. I figure theynwere not big sellers so someone must have a nib in canada.
 
dan belisle said:
I agree with the 7mm-08, an under rated extremely useful all around cartridge. - dan
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+1 I have a semi custom done on a browning A bolt with a 20" heavy-ish barrel, it weighs in at 9.5 pounds so its a bit heavier than an average hunting rifle but yet its very manageable to carry. It performs well on paper and is VERY effective on game. The 140gr bullets at 2900 seem to be just the perfect weight/speed for good expansion and bullet weight retention.
 
cdn shooter said:
+1 I have a semi custom done on a browning A bolt with a 20" heavy-ish barrel, it weighs in at 9.5 pounds so its a bit heavier than an average hunting rifle but yet its very manageable to carry. It performs well on paper and is VERY effective on game. The 140gr bullets at 2900 seem to be just the perfect weight/speed for good expansion and bullet weight retention.
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Really? Holy smokes! I was going to suggest the .280 because you should get a bit more "poop" than the 7-08 but I don't know now. I have an old .280 on a Rem 700 (that I just frickin' love!), it has the 22" barrel and I'm getting consistent 3/4" or better 100 yard groups at 2770 fps. 2900 with a 20"? Must be smokin' hot or no?

Rooster
 
"...a sub 9lbs rifle..." That'd be a light hunting rifle. Like a Rem M700 Mountain. Taret rifle it ain't though. Mind you, neither is any 7mm Mag.
"...shots on deer in the 0-700..." Nobody should be taking 500 to 700 yard shots an any game.
 
ivo said:
Why not?
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x2

if you 110% comfortable at taking a safe clean kill shot on an animal at any given range, then wheres the problem? some one with that experiance has the same chance of missing as a new shooter / hunter inside 100 or even 50 yds. if the shooter and caliber are up to the task then have at er
 
358Rooster said:
Really? Holy smokes! I was going to suggest the .280 because you should get a bit more "poop" than the 7-08 but I don't know now. I have an old .280 on a Rem 700 (that I just frickin' love!), it has the 22" barrel and I'm getting consistent 3/4" or better 100 yard groups at 2770 fps. 2900 with a 20"? Must be smokin' hot or no?

Rooster
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It's running pretty hot for sure. I'm loading much longer than mag length. Win 760 is magic with the 7-08.
 
I wouldn't say magic.

More like biblical. ;)



That is my hunting load with 5 shots 150 SC II's w/W760 @ 2750 ft/sec, not uber magnum fast but fast enough for the critters around here and just a smidge less accurate than SMK's.

cdn shooter said:
It's running pretty hot for sure. I'm loading much longer than mag length. Win 760 is magic with the 7-08.
Click to expand...

Actually to get 2900 ft/sec is not unrealistic at all, especially for acceptable hunting accuracy.
 
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Kelly Timoffee said:
I wouldn't say magic.

More like biblical. ;)



That is my hunting load with 5 shots 150 SC II's w/W760 @ 2750 ft/sec, not uber magnum fast but fast enough for the critters around here and just a smidge less accurate than SMK's.
Click to expand...

Nice! Yeah looking at your load weights I must be a tad on the warm side, mine is 47.5 with a 140 berger.
 
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