Yes or No.

Why?

Thanks!

light recoil...can get them in quality compact rifles....decent ballistics...plent of ammo options. I can't think of a reason not to own one.

yes,flat shooter,low recoil,ans find shells any place.

Great Shooter, good Deer round. Plus it is nice to just do something different than the same ole .243, .270. 30-06....

I love how when I post on this site it gets moved into another category. Why can't this be under off topic??? Oh well. How's the knock down? I usually end up doing alot of after work hunting so I want to avoid a night of tracking if possible. (and yes I know this goes to god shot placement but there is always an odd shot sometime).

I'm a 30-06 shooter and am also thinking about getting a 7mm-08 because of the lower recoil and ballistics. Not to be a know it all but I have made plenty of "perfect shots" with my 30-06 that did't knock the animal down. With a perfect heart shot, they usually run 50-75yds. The ones that I "drop" are usually hit in the spine or liver. I don't really trophy hunt but if I had a chance at a great buck near dark in brushy or wooded area I would go for the "high shoulder". Neck is always good if you feel comfortable with the shot. If you look at the ballistics tables, the 7mm-08 has more energy than the 30-06 at 300yds and that's plenty for even large WTD.

all it is a neck down .308 but i heard lot of great things about it.

I've shot a few hogs with one and they been drt... actually set a personal best and killed 5 w/ 2 shots. (4 pigs..1 sow) And I shoulder shot a 200lb boar truckin' it across the pasture and it rolled him...and my wife (fiance at the time) shot the first deer I saw her kill with that same gun and the 4.5 yr old buck was quartering away and it exited solid through the away shoulder...DRT. Takes a little luck to not have them move any after you pull the trigger, but with the right loads the little joker packs a mean punch.

From a non reloader perspective, shells are not "easy" to find all the time. As far as a good caliber yes. I had one and sold it because I didn't like the bullet selection. For the same size gun I would go 308. I honestly dont know why that round is so popular.

My 9 year old daughter shoots its just fine. No problems.

I never had any experiance with one.

the son of one of our hunters shows up at camp with a little model 7 in 7mm-08.

looking at the shell, its not that impressive. Looking at the model 7 is really not impressive, this little rifle with a little scope on it.

for the next 3 days I watched that little model 7 absolutly hammer deer.

I give it my recommendation. another good friend of mine shoots a model 7 in .260, guy is absolutly deadly with his "radar gun" as he calls it.

It's a great little round. Sure, it's not gonna do anything that a number of rounds out there already can't do. But I like mine and have killed everything from PD's to large hogs with it. Very versatile round IME.

I think the versatility really shows up for someone who reloads for this round. The 7mm bullet choices are about endless. Factory offerings aren't quite so plentiful. About all I've ever seen are 140gr bullets. I think someone makes some 120's, but not positive. It does just so happen that the 140gr bullet is about the best performer on medium size game that I've tried. So for deer a pigs I wouldn't worry too much about the factory ammo choices.

When I bought mine (Rem 700 VLS), I had the choice between it and a .260. At the time the 260 really hadn't taken off yet and bullet choices were limited for the 260 dia. I went with the 7mm strictly due to more reloading options. Now, it would be a much tougher decision sine the bullet makers have greatly expanded the 260 bullet line up. Both are awesome rounds for medium game.

I have a Winchester 70 Compact Classic in 7mm-08, one of my favorites!

Thanks y'all!

Remington 700 in 7mm-08 here, gonna hunt for the first time with it this year. Hand loader's dream, very accurate.

Ive shot the .243 for 25 years, but since I got into reloading I went with the 7-08. A 120 gr bullet loaded between 3100-3200 fps sounded awsome. Talk about flat shooting, put those numbers in a ballistic calculator.
true velocity as well, I ran mine through the chrony under max load and got 3120fps, and grouped .67 at 100yds.
140gr seem a bit tuff for my likes. I shot a big hog with a handloaded 139 gr btsp and it went through both shoulders along with 4 ribs total for a complete pass through.
I shot the face off a couple of pigs wih the 120 nosler BT, pretty grusome damage.

I like this round.

I've used everything in mine from 100gr hp's to 140gr bullets. Including some of the lost river technology lathe cut bullets (very accurate but too expensive to hunt with). All have had good accuracy. The 100hp's are great varmint rounds, but a tad light and/or too expansive for medium game, requiring neck shots for drt kills. 120's performed well, but failed to exit on a couple of body shot deer, even though they did fall drt on those shots. 130's gave slightly better results, but still had one or two not exit at longer distances (150-200yds). 140's faithfully exit at distances out to 250yds, do lots of damage at all ranges out to 250yds so far, and are very accurate. All of these rounds were cup and core bullets, mostly Sierra pro hunters or game kings. Which might explain their tendency not to exit since Sierra bullets are known for expansion. All of the above do massive internal damage. A lighter premium bullet (bonded, partitioned, or canalured) might exit more faithfully since they'd theoretically retain more weight.

Personally, I want an exit wound just in case the animal does make it to cover after being hit. Blood trails are much easier to follow than hoof prints.

I'm sure experiences and requirements will vary from hunter to hunter. I have been shooting the 7mm08 for over 10 years now, and for my uses it's a great rifle when loaded with the correct bullet for the task. I'd rate it right up there among the top choices for medium game calibers. And also give it a nod for being very versatile when you sit down at the loading bench.

Used one for the last 15 years with Hornady Light Magnum 140 gr. Had one run 100 yards, the rest were either DRT or dead within 20 yards. All behind the shoulder shots to save meat, from 80 to 220 yards.

Pratically speaking the 7mm-08 is a modern shorter version of the 7X57.

I have hunted with the 7mm-08 since its introduction in 1982, using a Remington 788. Rifle and round have never disappointed in any respect. During that time over 50 kills wiht it and only 2 have not not dropped within sight and shot placement on both was not very good. Numerous loads have grouped under 5/8 inch over the years and still do. Used to reload for it but that was when ammo was hard to find and terminal performance not very good. Today there are many factory loads and some very good ones.

Favotite bullets with it are 140gr, Nosler Partition, accubond and balistic tip, but then I am partial to Noslers. Like one quote from years ago about this round "Put a 140 grain Nosler Partition where it belongs and the will to escape goes out the other side"

Thats the best, most accurate description of the 7mm-08 I've seen yet.

YES! Love my Stevens 200, great cartridge.