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7mm-08 the new 30-06? #6966215 11/20/17 04:28 AM
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With all the recent praise and ever growing popularity it seems the 7mm-08 is coming into its own as a cartridge that is thought of as a "do everything cartridge"

Where do you draw the line for biggest critters you would hunt with the 7mm-08 vs the tried and true 30-06? I feel like I would still favor a 30 cal for elk and larger, but I don't think I would blink at killing and elk with the 7mm.

This the first time I can remember thinking that the older way of doing things is still better dispite all the new popularity of a 7-08... what do y'all think?

Last edited by t george; 11/20/17 04:29 AM.

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Re: 7mm-08 the new 30-06? [Re: t george] #6966221 11/20/17 04:43 AM
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7-08 has been around since 1958. I wouldn’t call it new. I don’t have one myself but it or the 6.5 CM will be my next purchase.

Re: 7mm-08 the new 30-06? [Re: aggiehunter03] #6966231 11/20/17 04:59 AM
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Originally Posted By: aggiehunter03
7-08 has been around since 1958. I wouldn’t call it new. I don’t have one myself but it or the 6.5 CM will be my next purchase.


Not to call it new, just commenting on the seemingly new and growing popularity.


learn something new everyday and you will have never wasted a day.

Re: 7mm-08 the new 30-06? [Re: t george] #6966244 11/20/17 05:29 AM
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My next rifle will be in 7mm-08.


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Re: 7mm-08 the new 30-06? [Re: t george] #6966245 11/20/17 05:29 AM
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The Swedes, Norwegians,and Finns all like to hunt moose with a 6.5x55mm and I have yet to hear that it was not enough cartridge for the job.

Re: 7mm-08 the new 30-06? [Re: t george] #6966294 11/20/17 11:37 AM
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I think the bullet choice is far more important than the headstamp. The 7-08 is a fine cartridge and probably sufficient for almost anything in North America. The Indian, not the arrow. But then again, if I was after elk or big bear, I'd choose the bigger rifle ifI had both to choose from.


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Re: 7mm-08 the new 30-06? [Re: RiverRider] #6966298 11/20/17 11:48 AM
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Originally Posted By: RiverRider
I think the bullet choice is far more important than the headstamp. The 7-08 is a fine cartridge and probably sufficient for almost anything in North America. The Indian, not the arrow.


This x2.

Remember it's just a short version of the tried and true 7x57 mauser. That round has been around for 100yrs now and was even a favorite of one of the biggest elephant hunters from long ago. It's all on where you put the bullet.


"A vote is like a rifle; it's usefulness depends on the character of the user" Theodore Roosevelt
Re: 7mm-08 the new 30-06? [Re: RiverRider] #6966356 11/20/17 01:09 PM
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Originally Posted By: RiverRider
I think the bullet choice is far more important than the headstamp. The 7-08 is a fine cartridge and probably sufficient for almost anything in North America. The Indian, not the arrow. But then again, if I was after elk or big bear, I'd choose the bigger rifle ifI had both to choose from.


+1

I will carry my 7 Rem Mag for elk. But I will stand by my statement, if I were forced to only one cartridge it would be the 7mm-08, and it will kill elk, if a guy knows the limitation on distance.


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Re: 7mm-08 the new 30-06? [Re: t george] #6966374 11/20/17 01:24 PM
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We have two and about to acquire a 3rd.

It's a great round and will def. kill an elk with good bullets, but I'm not sold that it's a "do everything " cartridge or if it is that it ranks higher than many others available.

I think it's became very popular due to its shootabilty and accuracy but if you read the posts of the people that tout it heavily of it being the second comming often times those people do a lot of shooting but not a lot of hunting.

It's about the perfect whitetail gun for the eastern 2/3rds of the country but it's not my first choice for western hunting. I like something with a little more pop


For it is not the quarry that we truly seek, but the adventure.
Re: 7mm-08 the new 30-06? [Re: t george] #6966386 11/20/17 01:31 PM
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I have both and they are actually my 2 favorites. I think improvements in bullets have made the 7mm-08 capable of hunting most North American game. Sure, you can use the 7-08 on elk or take it to Africa but it wouldn't be most people's first choice. If the hunter can shoot them equally well, the 30-06 will always win out on versatility.

Re: 7mm-08 the new 30-06? [Re: TxHunter80] #6966410 11/20/17 01:43 PM
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Originally Posted By: TxHunter80
I have both and they are actually my 2 favorites. I think improvements in bullets have made the 7mm-08 capable of hunting most North American game. Sure, you can use the 7-08 on elk or take it to Africa but it wouldn't be most people's first choice. If the hunter can shoot them equally well, the 30-06 will always win out on versatility.


Heck the .280 ballisticslly is much more versatile and shoots the same bullet



It's a great round, no doubt, but it's popular for being popular, not because it's ballistic magic


For it is not the quarry that we truly seek, but the adventure.
Re: 7mm-08 the new 30-06? [Re: t george] #6966492 11/20/17 02:39 PM
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Back in the 1980 when Remington standardized the 7MM/08 I owned the only chronograph at our gun club and a buddy bought a 788 in 7MM/08 and at the time I was hunting with a 7X57 Ruger No 1
I guess seeing that comparison I was never enamored with the round. I think it’s a good cartridge especially now with all the new powders available that allow better performance than what you could do back then but of course that’s across the spectrum of all cartridges.
The 280 has been my 7MM choice the last few years and running a 175Gr ELDx at 2850 it will get the job done


"Anyone taking up handloading necessarily plays with unknown factors and takes chances. But so does anyone who drives a car,goes to a cocktail party,eats in a restaurant,or gets married."

Jack O'Connor 1963
Re: 7mm-08 the new 30-06? [Re: t george] #6966733 11/20/17 05:36 PM
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7mm-08 with 140gr Sierra HPBT. Deadly bullet. I use the 165gr in my 30-06. The 7mm-08 is my son's. I load these in the mid-range for each caliber, nothing hot, with deadly results.

Re: 7mm-08 the new 30-06? [Re: t george] #6966764 11/20/17 06:01 PM
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Despite all the "shot placement is everything" mantras, there are lines to be drawn - and each of us must draw them for ourselves. Most used to more or less agree the "line" for elk starts at .270 and goes up from there. Of course, nowadays things are changing with the "light caliber" craze.

I would never personally use anything under a .30 cal for elk and larger (not the light .30s lest the "gotcha" technicality folks weigh in). The only reasons not to IMO are: 1)not wanting/able to buy a new rifle and 2)recoil aversion.

Reason # 1 is perfectly legitimate. Reason #2 is pretty much a crock IMO for grown men.

Will a 7mm-08, 6.5 Creedmoor work for elk? Yeah, within their limitations. I simply see no reason to accept unnecessary limitations.

A true "all around" rifle for elk and larger game should err on the side of larger rather than smaller in caliber. This never seemed like a "rocket science" concept to me - yet debates on the subject seem to last forever. If I could own only one rifle for all NA it would be in .300 Win Mag/WSM (.338 Win Mag would be better for the largest game but I would make do since most of my hunting is not for the largest).


Originally Posted by Russ79
I learned long ago you can't reason someone out of something they don't reason themselves into.


Re: 7mm-08 the new 30-06? [Re: t george] #6966786 11/20/17 06:15 PM
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Short actions in general rule. Less recoil, more fun to shoot, lends itself to practice more often. Any of them will put a sufficient smackdown on anything walking around in Texas, at damned near any distance.

7-08 if you reload, because the possibilities are endless. 6.5 Creedmoor if you depend on factory loaded ammo, because good ammo is cheap and plentiful.

Re: 7mm-08 the new 30-06? [Re: t george] #6966795 11/20/17 06:18 PM
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Some numbers I've recorded in the last few months.

David's 7mm-08 A.I. virgin brass, 24" barrel 162 gr ELD-X 2700 fps MV.

Bill's 7mm-08 A.I. virgin brass, 24" barrel, 162 gr ELD-X 2700 fps MV

Bill's 7mm-08 A.I. fired brass, 24" barrel, 162 gr ELD-X 2822 fps MV

My 7mm-08 A.I. fired brass, 17" barrel, 162 gr ELD-X 2640 fps MV.

Spencer's .280 A.I. fired brass, 25" barrel, 168 gr VLD-Hunting, 2830 fps MV (he got up to 2900 fps MV, but it began shooting poorly)


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Re: 7mm-08 the new 30-06? [Re: t george] #6967103 11/20/17 09:41 PM
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Next month I will have been shooting and hunting with the 7mm-08 for 35 years. Love to see the popularity of one of my favorite cartridges increasing.

Though I intended to use the 7mm-08 for elk when I first bought it I never have done so though ever bull elk I have killed I am sure would have died from the same placement from a partition or accubond from the 7mm-08. On short 6 day hunts I am upping my odds by being ready to shoot longer with a faster bullet than the 7mm-08 can provides just in case that 500 yarder is the only shot chance on the hunt.

The 06 with 220 gr bullets would be much better on Brown Bears than the 7mm-08.

The 7mm-08 is quite versatile and can cover almost all hunting situations on this continent but there are better choices for some applications, but if I had to clean out all rifles in the safe for the hunting I expect to do the rest of my life the 7mm-08 might just be the one that stayed.


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Re: 7mm-08 the new 30-06? [Re: t george] #6967201 11/20/17 10:58 PM
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A all around rifle for cloven hooved North American game animals does not end with elk

I would not really want to bring a 7mm-08 on a aoudad hunt, nor a mountain goat hunt, not really an elk hunt, nor a moose hunt, nor a bighorn sheep hunt, nor a mule deer hunt in the desert, etc.

In any of the above instances, I would reach for my .270 or .257 wby, or 7mm R.E.M. First.


It's a great short action round chambered in some handy rifles, perfect for the woods or box stand. But lots of more capable rounds exist.

And a 7mm-08 in a rifle is not recoil free. In ours the recoil is a tad snappy and on par with my .270


For it is not the quarry that we truly seek, but the adventure.
Re: 7mm-08 the new 30-06? [Re: t george] #6967210 11/20/17 11:08 PM
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Seems like Jack O'Conner thought the 7x57 was a darn nice sheep rifle. 7mm-08 is the modern equivalent .



Re: 7mm-08 the new 30-06? [Re: txtrophy85] #6967226 11/20/17 11:24 PM
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Originally Posted By: txtrophy85
A all around rifle for cloven hooved North American game animals does not end with elk

I would not really want to bring a 7mm-08 on a aoudad hunt, nor a mountain goat hunt, not really an elk hunt, nor a moose hunt, nor a bighorn sheep hunt, nor a mule deer hunt in the desert, etc.

In any of the above instances, I would reach for my .270 or .257 wby, or 7mm R.E.M. First.


It's a great short action round chambered in some handy rifles, perfect for the woods or box stand. But lots of more capable rounds exist.

And a 7mm-08 in a rifle is not recoil free. In ours the recoil is a tad snappy and on par with my .270



Well, I've killed several big mule deer bucks with my 7-08 and 140 accubonds. Not sure why you find it inadequate. Same goes for aoudad.....culled about 60 head so far with the same combo.

Re: 7mm-08 the new 30-06? [Re: t george] #6967228 11/20/17 11:27 PM
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Re: 7mm-08 the new 30-06? [Re: scottfromdallas] #6967240 11/20/17 11:41 PM
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Originally Posted By: scottfromdallas
Seems like Jack O'Conner thought the 7x57 was a darn nice sheep rifle. 7mm-08 is the modern equivalent .


Yup, Jack's opine on the 7X57 of which the 7mm-08 is a ballistic twin

Jack's Opine link in Gun Digest in the early 70s



Critters have not gotten any harder to kill these days than they were back then.

Last edited by kmon1; 11/20/17 11:41 PM.

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Re: 7mm-08 the new 30-06? [Re: txtrophy85] #6967246 11/20/17 11:44 PM
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Originally Posted By: txtrophy85
A all around rifle for cloven hooved North American game animals does not end with elk

I would not really want to bring a 7mm-08 on a aoudad hunt, nor a mountain goat hunt, not really an elk hunt, nor a moose hunt, nor a bighorn sheep hunt, nor a mule deer hunt in the desert, etc.

In any of the above instances, I would reach for my .270 or .257 wby, or 7mm R.E.M. First.


It's a great short action round chambered in some handy rifles, perfect for the woods or box stand. But lots of more capable rounds exist.

And a 7mm-08 in a rifle is not recoil free. In ours the recoil is a tad snappy and on par with my .270


My bud Bill will be toting his 7mm-08 A.I. on an aoudad hunt in a couple weeks.

The recoil on the four rifles I have shot July to now is impressively mild. My 16 year old daughter shoots my rental rifle with ease.


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Re: 7mm-08 the new 30-06? [Re: J.G.] #6967250 11/20/17 11:47 PM
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Originally Posted By: FiremanJG
Originally Posted By: txtrophy85
A all around rifle for cloven hooved North American game animals does not end with elk

I would not really want to bring a 7mm-08 on a aoudad hunt, nor a mountain goat hunt, not really an elk hunt, nor a moose hunt, nor a bighorn sheep hunt, nor a mule deer hunt in the desert, etc.

In any of the above instances, I would reach for my .270 or .257 wby, or 7mm R.E.M. First.


It's a great short action round chambered in some handy rifles, perfect for the woods or box stand. But lots of more capable rounds exist.

And a 7mm-08 in a rifle is not recoil free. In ours the recoil is a tad snappy and on par with my .270


My bud Bill will be toting his 7mm-08 A.I. on an aoudad hunt in a couple weeks.

The recoil on the four rifles I have shot July to now is impressively mild. My 16 year old daughter shoots my rental rifle with ease.


At what 16 lbs with a suppressor I would hope recoil is mild with the 7mm-08 peep

cheers


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Re: 7mm-08 the new 30-06? [Re: t george] #6967264 11/21/17 12:02 AM
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just got mine.
two deer dead so far..

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