Limits of the 7mm-08?
- Thread starter Suther
- Start date
Not big enough. I wouldn't feel comfortable shooting my first black bear with one. If I am going smaller than the 7mm it would most likely be a 6.5x55 due to the amazingly affordable swedish mausers available from Tradex.
I was thinking about getting a 7mm rem mag in the future, which means I would only need one caliber of bullets for both, which was appealing to me. Wouldn't get a 7mm WSM though. I dont really like the WSM line, although I've never actually used one.
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Do we need to bring up Freud's theory on males compensating for "certain" inadequacies???
alberta_outdoors
Regular
- Location
- Fairview, Alberta
I bought my 7-08 because I wanted a rifle with a flatter trajectory out to 300yds than my 30-30 without a lot more recoil. I wouldn't call it a hammer at 500yds. I have only shot one moose with it. 367 yds and it didn't go anywhere. Bullet placement had a lot to do with it not taking off. I will use it for elk when I can with no qualms. Not at 500 yds though. It would do the job but I probably wouldn't and tracking and packing out an animal is not what I call fun. I like it more than anything else I've shot. That's cause I'm one the the weak men people talk about when they talk about recoil. I don't see the need for a gun with more recoil when out to 300 yds, the trajectory difference is minimal. After 300 yds it's a different story
nowarningshot
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
I dont have a 7-08, but have experience with its ballistic twin the 7x57 mauser. The common idea of stout smaller bullet or more frangible larger one applies.
In my previous 7x57 i had some stout loads in 140 partitions. Modern Brno firearm so no worries there. It was the hammer of Thor, on Mulies but i never tried it on Moose.
A man named Nathan Foster, terminal ballistic research out of New Zealand, recommends the 162 Amax for 7-08/7x57 velocity. I have loaded some up for my mauser, shoot great, but i have not had a chance to try them on game as yet.
I am thinking that the 162 Amax would be a good overall bullet, but i think the 140 Partition would do fine also. I dont think 175 gr projectiles would be recommended because the projectile would take up to much case capacity. One would effectively be shooting a 30-30 powered cartridge.
I have not read all the posts, dont believe all the hype of the 7x57...therefore the 7-08...as a elephant killer. That was in another time, another place shot by a "hunter" (ivory poacher) named Bell. Apparently he shot 1000 elephant often with the 275 Rigby(7x57). This guy shot Elephant and left them for days, often shooting many at a time. He would find them by smell and vultures to recover the ivory.
The 7-08/7x57 is a excellent caliber when used in its limitations. Excellent gun up to and including Moose at moderate range. Low recoil, accurate, ammo available everywhere a fine caliber when used on appropriate game at moderate distance.
PS ...just read your follow up post...dont buy a Savage Axis....POS firearm.
In my previous 7x57 i had some stout loads in 140 partitions. Modern Brno firearm so no worries there. It was the hammer of Thor, on Mulies but i never tried it on Moose.
A man named Nathan Foster, terminal ballistic research out of New Zealand, recommends the 162 Amax for 7-08/7x57 velocity. I have loaded some up for my mauser, shoot great, but i have not had a chance to try them on game as yet.
I am thinking that the 162 Amax would be a good overall bullet, but i think the 140 Partition would do fine also. I dont think 175 gr projectiles would be recommended because the projectile would take up to much case capacity. One would effectively be shooting a 30-30 powered cartridge.
I have not read all the posts, dont believe all the hype of the 7x57...therefore the 7-08...as a elephant killer. That was in another time, another place shot by a "hunter" (ivory poacher) named Bell. Apparently he shot 1000 elephant often with the 275 Rigby(7x57). This guy shot Elephant and left them for days, often shooting many at a time. He would find them by smell and vultures to recover the ivory.
The 7-08/7x57 is a excellent caliber when used in its limitations. Excellent gun up to and including Moose at moderate range. Low recoil, accurate, ammo available everywhere a fine caliber when used on appropriate game at moderate distance.
PS ...just read your follow up post...dont buy a Savage Axis....POS firearm.
I'm not a "wife", or a "daughter", or a "dwarf" ... and I've been shooting rifles since the early 1960's.
And I own a 7mm-08 .. and a 7x57mm, its ballistic twin .. and I love them.
And yes, I have fired a 7mmRM and am not afraid of its recoil - I don't own one, but if I thought I needed one then I'd buy one.
(Or maybe a .257 Weatherby mag). But at my age, I will never hunt goats on mountain-tops again, so I don't need one.
For me, 7mm is 'just right' .. and I can happily shoot the non-magnum versions all day long at the range,
and, with a well-placed bullet, they will easily take down anything (read: deer, elk) here on Vancouver Island I might want to hunt.
*two thumbs up for the 7mm-08*
-Dennis
- Location
- Southern Vancouver Island
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
To this I might point out that the purpose of shooting is hitting the target, and without hitting the exercise becomes pointless. Where the SKS would shine is if you designed a practical course of fire which required fast shooting and reloading on the run, with say 60% of the targets between 10 and 25 yards, 30% of the targets between 25 and 75 yards, 5% of the targets 75-100 yards, and 5% of the targets beyond 100 yards. The targets should be simple silhouettes with no aiming points, with the target size increasing with range, to where you would be shooting at pick-up truck sized targets beyond 100 yards. The target could be designed to fall with a solid hit, with a full point assessed for each hit, 0 points for a miss, or should the shooter pass up or be unable to see a target, and -2 for a wound where the target was hit but not knocked down, and -3 for hitting a "don't shoot" target. A time limit should be imposed, with a penalty imposed for exceeding it. Such a course could be constantly changed up to keep it interesting, targets could be partially obscured, there could be a variety of "shoot" and "don't shoot" targets, and various firing points could be designed to force low shooting positions, or make them impossible. The possibilities are almost limitless given a safe shooting area. I believe most would find this challenging and much more fun than tediously shooting off the bench with a rifle that does not belong in that world.
As for the Savage Axis, I'm not a fan. The light plastic stock cannot be easily shortened to accommodate a correct LOP, and will make recoil intolerable even with mild cartridges. A much better option is to work you way through the pages of Tradex's hunting rifle section and find an appropriate Husqvarna rifle in 6.5X55 for similar money as the Axis will cost. The Husqvarna will probably come with factory irons, although this isn't a selling point for me as I prefer after market sights in most cases. A recent visit to the site showed many more .30/06s and 9.3s than 6.5s, so the 6.5s must have sold very well, and little wonder, given their wonderful accuracy and mild manners. A wood stock is easier to manage than cheap plastic, a recoil pad can be added without much fuss, the action will be smoother and the trigger will be crisper. Savage enthusiasts often take pride in the "out of the box" accuracy of their rifles, but that phenomenal accuracy doesn't appear to extend to the Axis line rifles when fed factory ammo.
Not that LOP is the most important issue to you, but Savage Axis comes in a youth version, the new Ruger American carbine is a trim handy little guy at approx $400, Weatherby Vanguard comers in a youth version for approx $400, Savage has one as well. Micro Midas - more spendy...... they all come in 7-08 and are fine rifles.
I have said it before... I have outfitted more than a few women and children of smaller stature and when I have them handle a shortened, bobed milsurp, their eyes glaze over and they lose interest. When they handle a well balanced, well fitting, trimmer (all around) rifle, they like the sport and off they go, wanting to shoot more and more.
The same applies to all individuals, men included. Make the rifle fit you. I have known and hunted with a fellow for decades that could not figure out why his shooting was so inconsistent. He is a shorter fellow and he did not want to accept that all the guns he used did not fit him at all. His shot gunning was terrible and his rifles (but for his Finnlite - go figure) was no good. He was getting pushed around by the recoil and a 338 hurt him. He finally has used better fitting guns and the difference is remarkable. He worried about branding and caliber rather than fitting.
After all these years, I finally begin to understand what feels good, bad or just GREAT in a gun.
There is no one magic rifle for all.
However, the 7-08 is a great round that will do most anything you may want (minus big or tough man eating / stomping critters). I have seen it in use from Africa to North America on all sorts of critters by all sorts of individuals to great effect.
I have said it before... I have outfitted more than a few women and children of smaller stature and when I have them handle a shortened, bobed milsurp, their eyes glaze over and they lose interest. When they handle a well balanced, well fitting, trimmer (all around) rifle, they like the sport and off they go, wanting to shoot more and more.
The same applies to all individuals, men included. Make the rifle fit you. I have known and hunted with a fellow for decades that could not figure out why his shooting was so inconsistent. He is a shorter fellow and he did not want to accept that all the guns he used did not fit him at all. His shot gunning was terrible and his rifles (but for his Finnlite - go figure) was no good. He was getting pushed around by the recoil and a 338 hurt him. He finally has used better fitting guns and the difference is remarkable. He worried about branding and caliber rather than fitting.
After all these years, I finally begin to understand what feels good, bad or just GREAT in a gun.
There is no one magic rifle for all.
However, the 7-08 is a great round that will do most anything you may want (minus big or tough man eating / stomping critters). I have seen it in use from Africa to North America on all sorts of critters by all sorts of individuals to great effect.
Yup, it took me a few years of trial and error $$$ to come to the same conclusion. Finally the light came on when I started to play with shotguns and do some local fun trap shooting and learned how they fitted their shotguns for LOP etc, I find the same methods work for rifles. Once I made some adjustments to my rifles the improvement in accuracy and comfort was quite telling.
Hence I often advise new folks to learn the proper shooting stances (especially off hand) then goto the store and shoulder the rifle before shelling out money. Off the shelf some fit much better then others and it often doesn't take much to tweak them a bit to fit.
7mm08 limits
My deer hunting buddy's wife has joined us deer hunting. She is petite and quite recoil shy. He bought her a Browning micro medallion in 708 with a 3-9 Zeiss as a Valentine's present 2 years ago. I got to sight it in and work up a load. I've got 2 708s of my own a thought I could find a load no problem. The rifle was marginal at best and disappointing most of the time. 1-2 inch groups at 100 yds. Her brothers got her to shoot some trap and I suspect they slipped in some heavy goose loads as a lark, thus the sensativety to recoil. To tame recoil, I tried a lighter bullet than the traditional 140 grainers and tried the 120gr Barnes TTSX. Using their accuracy load of Reloader 15, the rifle shot amazingly small groups. In the 1/4 to 1/2 inch range. This should be fine for any deer encountered. May be keep this combination in mind for your wife as it has all the benefits and no draw backs.
My deer hunting buddy's wife has joined us deer hunting. She is petite and quite recoil shy. He bought her a Browning micro medallion in 708 with a 3-9 Zeiss as a Valentine's present 2 years ago. I got to sight it in and work up a load. I've got 2 708s of my own a thought I could find a load no problem. The rifle was marginal at best and disappointing most of the time. 1-2 inch groups at 100 yds. Her brothers got her to shoot some trap and I suspect they slipped in some heavy goose loads as a lark, thus the sensativety to recoil. To tame recoil, I tried a lighter bullet than the traditional 140 grainers and tried the 120gr Barnes TTSX. Using their accuracy load of Reloader 15, the rifle shot amazingly small groups. In the 1/4 to 1/2 inch range. This should be fine for any deer encountered. May be keep this combination in mind for your wife as it has all the benefits and no draw backs.
Cheeto ..
Maybe suggest to your buddy to start his wife on a .22, then step her up to a .243, and then to a 7mm-08 with a good recoil pad ??
One of my colleagues here did that, and now his wife comfortably shoots a Tikka Lite in .270 short mag, takes a mule deer or moose every season .. AND .. at the range, she easily outshoots her husband !! .. =)
The 7mm-08 has limits???
Comparing 7-08 to 30-06 , yes if using 140-154 gr bullets the down range ballistics will be better on paper due to the sleeker 7mm bullet.Heavy bullets , the 30-06 case capacity will take over.
Up to 300 yards, really? Who cares? It is going to work, you aren't going after M1 Abram tanks.
Standard barrels lengths and factory rifles and twist offerings, 140's will be your animal, use a quality bullet and go hunting moose and elk with a bonded, partition or mono metal, no problem. Stay away from ass and gut shots as normal and this rifle will work just fine.
Slightly longer barrels, 150's work also well.
The heavies, don't bother, they will loose energy fast and drop like stones.Not a chambering for much over 150/154 , the light bullets will have the velocity and BC you need for all your game getting.
That's my question, too! I was told by a combine pilot that the 7mm-08 has no limitations, whatsoever! And I'm stick'en by him!
I don't think the 7-08 has any real limitations in NA. With the right bullet I would hunt anything knowing it will do the job. Is it ideal for everything? No, but nothing is, so I wouldn't worry about it. - dan
I've had a 7-08 since the early 80's, over the years I've shot lots of game with it including moose....I've mostly used either Speer, Hornady, or Berger cup and core bullets (139/140 gr)...the little 7-08 just seems to be way more effective at taking game than you'd think it should be.
