# 7mm-08??



## mongo (Apr 30, 2008)

I am looking to get a new deer rifle and think that I have settled on a 7mm-08. I wanted to get a gun that my wife and daughter could shoot as well, both of them are much smaller that me and don't like a whole lot of recoil. I've been hunting with a Handi Rifle in .500 S&W but need something with a little more range. I didn't want to go as small as a .243 in case I go for something larger than the local deer. I'd love to hear ya'lls thoughts on the round. I'm looking at the Weatherby Vanguard S2 with a 24" barrel. Thanks!


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## Splittine (Nov 24, 2007)

One of the better deer calibers out there. Good selection of ammo and good ballistics. And best of all its not a boring ass .270 or 30.06. Hard to beat.


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## Rusty T. (Aug 17, 2015)

You will be hard pressed to beat that round. I have one and I shot 7 racked bucks year before last and 2 this past season with that gun. I had one 6 point run about 40 yards and the rest piled up in their tracks. Serious power and great range. Basically, it is a 27 caliber bullet/7mm in a 308 casing. long range with a little drop on out there but plenty of power. No recoil to the gun. My wife has shot this gun and prefers it over the 30-30 any day on recoil. Maybe some ballistic guys will correct me if Im wrong on bullet size.


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## Splittine (Nov 24, 2007)

Rusty T. said:


> You will be hard pressed to beat that round. I have one and I shot 7 racked bucks year before last and 2 this past season with that gun. I had one 6 point run about 40 yards and the rest piled up in their tracks. Serious power and great range. Basically, it is a 27 caliber bullet/7mm in a 308 casing. long range with a little drop on out there but plenty of power. No recoil to the gun. My wife has shot this gun and prefers it over the 30-30 any day on recoil. Maybe some ballistic guys will correct me if Im wrong on bullet size.


.284 caliber

.277 is .270 Winchester.


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## Rusty T. (Aug 17, 2015)

Ok. So its the same caliber as the 280? But still in a 308 casing? I knew it was right around that area of caliber..


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## Splittine (Nov 24, 2007)

Rusty T. said:


> Ok. So its the same caliber as the 280? But still in a 308 casing? I knew it was right around that area of caliber..


Correct. .243 .260 7-08 and .308 are all the same case.


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## NoMoSurf (Oct 2, 2007)

Fantastic round... BUT!
I try to stay with the more common rounds. My rule is: If I cant buy it at a small town hardware store in backwoods Arkansas, then I dont want it. I dont want ammo availability to ever be a problem. I have a buddy with one of the WSM cartridges. He can only find ammo at our local high end hunting store... He went to New Mexico once and could not find ammo. Turns out he didn't see anything to shoot anyway, so he was ok with the ammo that he took. My point is, airlines lose stuff, or you could just leave the ammo on the kitchen counter. Just make sure that 7-08 is fairly common if this is a concern for you.


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## Splittine (Nov 24, 2007)

7-08 is just as common as any deer round now days. It's about 30 something years old and it's just about everywhere. I've seen it in some of the most backwoods bait shops and gas stations.


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## Bodupp (Oct 3, 2007)

Go with the 7mm08 and never look back.


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## Brandon_SPC (Nov 2, 2013)

7mm-08 will kill a deer just as dead as anything else!!!! Now picking the rifle will be tricky you got your length of pull versus your wifes and daughters. Around here I wouldn't worry about a 24" barrel. I would just try to find a well balanced rifle you, your wife, and daughter can hold comfortably.


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## Brandon_SPC (Nov 2, 2013)

Splittine said:


> One of the better deer calibers out there. Good selection of ammo and good ballistics. And best of all its not a boring ass .270 or 30.06. Hard to beat.


Boring?.... Lost me there.


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## Splittine (Nov 24, 2007)

Brandon_SPC said:


> Boring?.... Lost me there.


The only good thing about a 30.06 is you can neck it down and put a .25 cal or 6.5 bullet in it, then you got something worth bragging about.


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## Outside9 (Apr 30, 2008)

I have one of the CVA hunters as an extra rifle but this year I'm going to put a better scope on it and carry it in the woods more. Like others have mentioned, I hear good things about the round. 


http://www.academy.com/shop/browse/...&pageView:grid&minPrice:&maxPrice:&pageSize:&


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## chaddd (Jul 27, 2010)

As long as it's not a 223...right JohnB


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## K-Bill (May 14, 2009)

Bought one several years ago for my girlfriend (now wife). She doesn't hunt nearly as much since we had kids. And now I hunt with that 7-08 a lot more than my beloved 270wsm. Just upped the scope too, and didn't catch nearly as much crap because it's "her gun." She had not shot much other than a .22 when I got that for her and had no issues getting used to the round/rifle. It's a great round choice for what you described.


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## Brandon_SPC (Nov 2, 2013)

Splittine said:


> The only good thing about a 30.06 is you can neck it down and put a .25 cal or 6.5 bullet in it, then you got something worth bragging about.


What is worth bragging about a 25-06? 270 has better BC and flatter trajectory.... Compare a factory load from Hornady in their interlock BTSP not their superformance line but just their standard American Whitetail. 
25-06 with a 117gr bullet has a BC of .391 and zero at 200 yards makes you 1.6 inches high at 100 yards, 7 inches low at 300, and 20.70 inches low at 400 yards.

270 with a 130gr bullet has a BC .409 and zero at 200 yards makes you 1.4 inches high at 100 yards, 6.6 low at 300, and 19.30 low at 400 yards
Not to mention the 270 is producing about 250 ft lbs more how energy out to 500 yards and possibly greater but I don't have a ballistic chart to reference past that.

30-06 same American Whitetail line up. 150gr bullet BC of .349. zeroed at 200 yards leaves you 1.8 inches high at 100, 7.9 low at 300, and 23.50 low at 400. 

Between the 30-06 and 25-06 there isn't that much of a trajectory difference between the two for most hunters to ever notice anything until pushing out past 400 yards . And the 270 has done what the 25-06 does just by about 45 years longer.... Seems like the 25-06 is a little boring lol


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## chaddd (Jul 27, 2010)

I think he means because everyone and their brother has one.


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## yukondog (Feb 12, 2013)

The 7-08 will do anything around here you need it to long range short range and everything in-between.


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## Brandon_SPC (Nov 2, 2013)

chaddd said:


> I think he means because everyone and their brother has one.


Well in that case forget the whole neck down and having a long action and just get a 6.5 creedmore :thumbsup:


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## Splittine (Nov 24, 2007)

Brandon_SPC said:


> What is worth bragging about a 25-06? 270 has better BC and flatter trajectory.... Compare a factory load from Hornady in their interlock BTSP not their superformance line but just their standard American Whitetail.
> 25-06 with a 117gr bullet has a BC of .391 and zero at 200 yards makes you 1.6 inches high at 100 yards, 7 inches low at 300, and 20.70 inches low at 400 yards.
> 
> 270 with a 130gr bullet has a BC .409 and zero at 200 yards makes you 1.4 inches high at 100 yards, 6.6 low at 300, and 19.30 low at 400 yards
> ...



Blah. You feel better now?


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## CatCrusher (Jan 18, 2009)

I'll take a 30 06 any day. I've got a pile of rifles and still hunt with the 742 model I've had since I was 15. (I'm 47) All this talk about balistics and barrel lengths is bullshit anyway. You can take a handi rifle and kill any deer Florida and Alabama gas to offer.


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## Justin37Hunt (Feb 20, 2014)

Get a Tikka T3 in the 7-08. Great round in a lighter weight platform that's easy to carry. Win-win.


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## Jason (Oct 2, 2007)

I have a Steyr 7-08 but handed it down to my son when I got my Steyr BEAST in 300 WM! That 7-08 has put a hurting on em!!! Love the round!!!!


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## mongo (Apr 30, 2008)

Excellent, thanks for the feedback folks!


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## cody&ryand (Oct 3, 2007)

I love my browning abolt 7mm08


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## welldoya (Oct 5, 2007)

Splittine said:


> The only good thing about a 30.06 is you can neck it down and put a .25 cal or 6.5 bullet in it, then you got something worth bragging about.


And there's the fact that you can find ammo with bullet weights from 55 grain to 220 grain and you can hunt anything in North America with it. And it comes in just about any rifle imaginable. And it's been around for over 100 years. But other than that.............


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## CatCrusher (Jan 18, 2009)

welldoya said:


> And there's the fact that you can find ammo with bullet weights from 55 grain to 220 grain and you can hunt anything in North America with it. And it comes in just about any rifle imaginable. And it's been around for over 100 years. But other than that.............


Exactly


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## bobinbusan (Feb 16, 2010)

Have you had any jamming issues with your 742?

Nuthing wrong with the .243 :thumbsup:

Pricing on ammo is something to think about also :whistling:



CatCrusher said:


> I'll take a 30 06 any day. I've got a pile of rifles and still hunt with the 742 model I've had since I was 15. (I'm 47) All this talk about balistics and barrel lengths is bullshit anyway. You can take a handi rifle and kill any deer Florida and Alabama gas to offer.


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## CatCrusher (Jan 18, 2009)

bobinbusan said:


> Have you had any jamming issues with your 742?
> 
> Nuthing wrong with the .243
> 
> Pricing on ammo is something to think about also :whistling:


None


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## Splittine (Nov 24, 2007)

welldoya said:


> And there's the fact that you can find ammo with bullet weights from 55 grain to 220 grain and you can hunt anything in North America with it. And it comes in just about any rifle imaginable. And it's been around for over 100 years. But other than that.............



Still gay.


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## chaddd (Jul 27, 2010)

Splittine said:


> Still gay.


Haha...boring yes. Gay? That's the argument I would make for your 25-06


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## Splittine (Nov 24, 2007)

chaddd said:


> Haha...boring yes. Gay? That's the argument I would make for your 25-06


Hahah. :thumbup: .30 cal is for the guy that can't get it done with a .25


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## chaddd (Jul 27, 2010)

Splittine said:


> Hahah. :thumbup: .30 cal is for the guy that can't get it done with a .25


Tells us how many 30 Cals you own...I know you had at least one that was about as big as a 30 cal could get!


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## chaddd (Jul 27, 2010)

Splittine said:


> Hahah. :thumbup: .30 cal is for the guy that can't get it done with a .25


Ha...I've been having a hard time getting it done with the 30. You got any .338s for sale?


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## Splittine (Nov 24, 2007)

chaddd said:


> Ha...I've been having a hard time getting it done with the 30. You got any .338s for sale?



Maybe.... got a .50 sitting on the kitchen table. Haha


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## chaddd (Jul 27, 2010)

if I didn't keep my .50 safe in my imagination...I would keep it in the kitchen next to the salt and pepper too.


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## Outside9 (Apr 30, 2008)

Splittine said:


> Still gay.


I'm not sure that is politically correct, and you know we are all about that on the PFF

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk


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## CHUMM BUCKET (Jul 2, 2008)

I tote a 7-08 99% of the time while hunting deer or pigs. and so does my 9 year old son. we have both killed some big pigs and bucks with those guns. mine is a Winchester extreme weather and his is stainless model 7. I plan on keeping them till I`m dead.


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## welldoya (Oct 5, 2007)

But back to the 7mm08. I think it's a fine round. I bought my son a Remington Model 7 youth in 7/08 when he was about 11 and he killed his first buck with it. (6 point at 165 yards) 
When I bought that rifle, I was torn between the 7/08 and the .260. Glad I chose the 7/08 because the .260 seems to be on the way out while the 7/08 seems to be getting more popular.


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## Brandon_SPC (Nov 2, 2013)

Splittine said:


> Hahah. :thumbup: .30 cal is for the guy that can't get it done with a .25


25 cal is for a guy that can't get it done with a .243 or .224 :whistling:


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## Splittine (Nov 24, 2007)

Brandon_SPC said:


> 25 cal is for a guy that can't get it done with a .243 or .224 :whistling:



Maybe...I got a .243AI I get it done with pretty often.


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## Brandon_SPC (Nov 2, 2013)

Splittine said:


> Maybe...I got a .243AI I get it done with pretty often.


I guess we are in the same boat then :shifty:


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## chaddd (Jul 27, 2010)

welldoya said:


> But back to the 7mm08. I think it's a fine round. I bought my son a Remington Model 7 youth in 7/08 when he was about 11 and he killed his first buck with it. (6 point at 165 yards)
> When I bought that rifle, I was torn between the 7/08 and the .260. Glad I chose the 7/08 because the .260 seems to be on the way out while the 7/08 seems to be getting more popular.


What's the advantage of the model 7 over the 700 youth?


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## Brandon_SPC (Nov 2, 2013)

Back to the OP if you want your wife and daughter to hunt with it and if they are way smaller than you; Weatherby also offers a vanguard that has adjustable lengths of pull so when they hunt you can change the length of pull to them and so does Tikka. Tikkas is the compact and comes with a spacer to adjust the length of pull. Make for when it is time, you know they are set :thumbsup: also you arn't breaking the bank to.

http://www.tikka.fi/rifles/tikka-t3/t3-compact

http://www.weatherby.com/products/rifles/vanguard-synthetic-compact.html


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## welldoya (Oct 5, 2007)

chaddd said:


> What's the advantage of the model 7 over the 700 youth?


Stock size is the only difference. The Model 7 is a small rifle anyway and he had really short arms at the time so I bought him a Model 7 youth. He now shoots an A Bolt 30/06 but we bought a standard size stock for the Model 7 and it is now available as a back-up rifle.


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## chaddd (Jul 27, 2010)

Good to know...thanks


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## Splittine (Nov 24, 2007)

chaddd said:


> What's the advantage of the model 7 over the 700 youth?


Lighter, shorter barrel and shorter action.


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## chaddd (Jul 27, 2010)

Even better to know...may have to trade in the 700 youth model


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## jspooney (Oct 2, 2007)

chaddd said:


> Even better to know...may have to trade in the 700 youth model


 if you decide to sell, I'm looking for a 7 .08 for my daughter.


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## chaddd (Jul 27, 2010)

Well...everything's for sale


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## welldoya (Oct 5, 2007)

Splittine said:


> Lighter, shorter barrel and shorter action.


Yep, I misread the original question. I thought he was comparing the Model 7 to the Model 7 youth.
When I bought my son the 7 youth, we looked at the 700 youth and it was just too long for him.


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## auburn17 (Oct 29, 2008)

I shoot a 7-08 and have no complaints at all. Mine is a Steyr Mountain Rifle topped with a Meopta and it is a fine combo. 

I shoot the "boring" old Remington Core Lokt's in 140 grain...:yes:


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## Final Contender (Mar 18, 2014)

You can't go wrong with a 308 it can be used for anything walking around in the south. Ammo is readily available and as cheap as it gets. 7mm-08 is a good round but not widely available, not a lot of bullet choice and not cheap.


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## mongo (Apr 30, 2008)

Picked up my Weatherby 7mm-08 today and , oh man is that trigger awesome! I ordered a scope from Vortex and as soon as it comes in the mail I'll be headed to the range to sight in. I'll keep ya'll posted but so far I am very satisfied as far as trigger pull, quality, and finish go. Thanks again for all the input:thumbup:


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## mongo (Apr 30, 2008)

Just posting an update for ya'll. I absolutely love this rifle! My fiance' was shooting 3 shot groups that were touching at a hundred yards and she never fired anything larger than a .223 before. The trigger is awesome, the accuracy was way better than I expected, and very light recoil. We were shooting Hornady 120 grain reduced recoil loads and Federal Fusion 140 grain loads. I head shot a groundhog at 175 yards with it when I took it to West Virginia. It is a heavy rifle but I am very pleased with it and would recommend it to anyone. The clarity of the Vortex scope is also very good. I got one of the Diamondback HD models.


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## chaddd (Jul 27, 2010)

Good to hear! Hope to see some dead deer pics from you soon


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