Has anyone here deer-hunted with one of these and how is the knock down and kick power compared to a regular 7Magnum?

much less recoil than the 7mag, but can handle anything in texas. great cartridge choice.

The 7mm-08 is an excellent round. It is ideal for deer. My wife shoots one and I use one as a back up to my .280.

Recoil in an 8lb rifle would be about 12.5 ft lbs of energy compared to 22 lbs in the same weight rifle shooting a 7 mag. A .308 would be 15 ft lbs, a .270 would be close to 17 ft lbs, and a 30-06 would be approx 18 ft lbs of energy.

The 7mm-08 delivers plenty of knock down power. It has plenty of energy for 400+ yard shots on whitetails. My wife uses hers for elk too. She keeps the range under 200 yards for elk.

There are a number of excellent factory loads on the market too. Plenty to choose from. Same goes for rifle makers.

If you didn't like, it wouldn't be too hard to unload either.

I shoot 7mm-08. I love it. It is perfect for a woman. Light weight and plenty of knock down. I have killed three bucks with mine and they all fell where they were standing.
Last year I shot me a 9pt 243 yards.
My husband swears it is one of the flattest he has ever shot.

Another positive for the 7MM-08. Great round

My everyday gun for WT. Took it as a back-up to CO for Elk and Mule deer. I shoot Hornaday SST's.

Here is the list of game of I have shot or seen shot with a 7mm-08.
Whitetail
Axis
Blackbuck
Fallow
Scimitar-horned Oryx
Red Deer
Elk
Hogs
Kudu
Barasingha
Sika
Gemsbok
Addax


That's my personal favorite caliber and the one that I use for my go to gun when I need a rifle. Pleasant to shoot and accurate. Everything in that list was killed no farther than 200 yards. It will handle your whitetail deer with no problem.

It's a SWEET little round!! It's just the right blend of speed, bullet diameter, wind resistance, etc. that adds up to being LETHAL on anything you point it at! Oh, you can add coyotes to the list as well.

Jump up to the classifieds and grab Speedtraps LVSF 7-08 before I have to sell all my other toys to afford it!!!

everything said above, it is my go to caliber now, drops big hogs with no problem. my next rifle will be a Remington model seven in it.

I love mine. I got it, and accessorized it it, for shooting PD's. It a Rem. VLS. I added a Choate UV stock, screw on muzzle break, and Weaver V-24 scope on Burris Signature Zee rings.

With a 100gr Sierra HP it'll run out there about 3325fps, and any animal that's taken a bullet from had nothing good to say about it. With this load, and the scope set on 10X I can watch the bullet impact the target.

For deer, I use Sierra 140gr Gamekings, and it whops them real good.

The way mine's set-up, it's too heavy to use Elk hunting. But if it weren't, I'd probably carry it for that too.

To me, it's the ultimate "all around" rifle for north American game. Pretty much a ballistic twin to the .270.

And all that in a short action round. Which lends itself to being a lightweight more compact rifle than a long action, or superdupermegamagnum.

A 7mag is only about 300-400fps faster, and the .280 is usually within 150fps of it.

Jay

How does it compare with a 25-06? Thinking of one of them for my boys in a few years.

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How does it compare with a 25-06? Thinking of one of them for my boys in a few years.

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Very similar in "felt" recoil. The 7mm-08 will deliver more energy down range. I doubt you would see much difference on a whitetail, but move to a bigger animal (caribou, black bear, or elk) and the 7mm-08 will really start to separate itself from the 25-06.

I am in need/want of a new toy as wella nd was thinking .308.

What is the difference in the 7mm-08 and the .308?

Is the ammo easy to find?

The 7mm-08 is a .284 bullet on a .308 casing. The .308 will have a little more felt recoil.

I think it depends on what your primary use will be, what rifle make/model, and what type of ammo you would use to decide between the two.

I think the marginal, if any, advantage of .308 vs 7mm-08 on say elk boils down to factory ammo i.e. the XP3 Winchester round. Then again, if you have a need for a .30 cal round in a XP3 load (African game), there are probably better choices of .30 cals over the .308 - .300 wsm, 300 Win, and the 30-06.

i did't think much of a 7mm-08 when i first saw one (it was in a model 7 youth model) but after watching too big south texas whitetails hit the dirt i became a believer quick.

excellent round, not as flat shooting as a .270 or 7mm mag, but for anything under 250 yards (i've never shot at a deer that far) it is perfect.

much better choice for a young hunter/lady than a .243 imo

Good gun mate ive seen some Impressive distance shots out to around 400yrds on Tahr, which from all the game ive hunted on including any deer are one of the toughest animals to bring down. A little less kick than the mag, Stick with it practice makes perfect!

I bought one 4 yrs ago in a Winchester Featherwieght.
Haven't put it down since. Great gun for whitetail.