Made a great trade for a 1991 M7 Remington in 7-08, wood stock and 18 1/2 inch barrel. So good I almost felt bad about it. At any rate I put a 3 power Weaver on it and sighted it in today. The Weaver is an old steel tube version with a post reticle. The ammo was the 139 grain American Whitetail round from Hornady. I shot 13 rounds to get it sighted in and in that 13 rounds I got three 3 shot groups of just over an inch to an1 1/4 . Bet I could do better with more magnification but today with that low power scope and almost perfect lighting on my range I am pretty happy with it. My impression was that recoil was pretty light for a rifle this light however muzzle blast was pretty impressive the one round I forgot to put my hearing protection on. I had to stop shooting due to it getting dark and the muzzle flash was getting well flashy. I am going to make some brass from federal 308 and load up the 13 rounds I emptied today with Nosler Ballistic Tips using IMR 4895 and IMR 4350 as I have them on hand. I am also going to see if I can get 140 and 160 grain Partitions to shoot in it. The rifle in my opinion for a light sporter with factory ammo shoots just fine. I would really like to get it shooting really tight with 160 gr. Partitions as I have a lot of them.

Those older Remingtons had great barrels and shoot really well. Get a new scope and shrink those groups.

The model 7 is the only Remington I’ve ever liked and the only rifle I’ve ever owned that shot Hornady superformance really well. If those powders don’t work try Varget with the 160s. 7-08 loves it.

160+ gr bullet
38.5+ gr H-Varget

Peanutbutter and jelly.

I know what you mean about the 7mm-08 in an 18.5 inch barrel, have had a 788 in that length barrel for 36 years. IMR-4350 is what I used for years and the data has been reduced since 1982 for it. My load with 140gr BTs is a little above what I see Nosler data now but was well below the data I had back then. That load has been responsible for lots of 1/2 to 5/8 groups and lots of critters.

Congrats on a sweet little hunting rifle

I did switch it to Varget when it became available but do not get any better accuracy with it over the IMR-4350. Accuracy limitation is me with a 2-7X32 scope as that is all I have ever put on it.

I think I will use IMR 4350 first. Looking at my powder collection I have AA, H and IMR 4350's in big enough quantity to test but I have the most IMR. Someday I will get some Varget but have to burn up the powder I have first.

I will eventually switch to a 2x7 power Leupold. The base that came on the rifle is a one piece with only 2 slots in it and they were just too far apart to mount the intended 2x7. The Weaver got the nod so I could shoot it today. Have to look into some different base styles.

That's really good for one of those. They're almost the perfect deer rifle. Too bad they put the bolt handle on wrong side. I guess some of you backwards people can use them, though.

Bear in mind when you neck down the 308 casings, they may be a little tight in the chamber. When i do it, sometimes it chambers a little snug for a couple of times till the brass flows and it is trimmed. Also i use Varget and IMR 4064 for best results. I also like shooting Nosler Ballistic tips, 140 grain, in mine.

Well I decided on 46.0 grains of IMR 4350, popped with a CCI 250 primer and launching the 140 grain Partition.Could not ask for better accuracy 3 shots right at an inch. I also shot some 140 grain Ballistic Tips which were just a bit more accurate but since I only have one box of brass I couldn't see where the Partition would be the wrong choice and feral hogs are my next project after deer season. Load testing and final sight in was done in 9 shots! I tried sizing some Federal 308 brass but I have a RCBS shellholder and Hornady dies, the combination would not allow me to size the 308 brass enough to close the bolt. I will have to take some metal off the face of the shellholder but for now 20 rounds will do me just fine.

That load sounds familiar. Partitions into an inch will get the job done on game.

When they shoot that well I just have to use em! The 70 or so will probably last me till I'm done hunting but I have all these Ballistic tips to shoot up in the meantime. The Ballistic tips hit 2 inches below the Partitions and on center so I sighted in the Partitions 2 1/2 inches high at a hundred. Can use either bullet with that sight in.

So I realize I haven't shot the rifle without the bipod attached and might want to know if the extra weight of the bipod affects POI. Well it does. Had to bring it down 2 1/2 inches to get it 1 inch high at a hundred yards. Last three shots were touching! Going out sneaking around under the full moon soon.

Co get them. I have killed some of my biggest bucks between 10am and 2pm during full moon times

That means the forearm is touching the barrel, when rested on a bipod. That stock is not stiff enough to be using a bipod as support.

Bipod is heavy too, but the forend soars and is walnut, pretty stiff. I have seen bipods cause vertical changes on a lot of guns. No matter what it is good to do the final sight in with the rifle in your hands like you will be hunting with it.

There are stocks made that are unaffected by any place they are supported, bipod, pack, hands, tree, t-post, ect.

It's not so much the stock being supported in any way, more that there is almost two pounds attached to the rifle via the bipod. The rifle recoils differently without the added weight. Heavier rifles are less affected than light ones. I have a relatively heavy 270, over 9 pounds and it hits to the same POI with or without the bipod. Pretty much the same as my heavy barreled Savage 243. My Ruger Ultrlight 257 Roberts hits an inch or so higher without the bipod attached. I only use it to fine tune loads anyway.

The weight of a bipod is not going to affect POI. The added weight may be a perception by the shooter, but it is not going to affect POI, assuming a stiff stock that keeps the barrel free floated, and keeps the action locked into it. If you get a POI shift due to adding a bipod, there is a problem somewhere.

Varget won't get you anything that IMR 4350 isn't already providing (except it meters better). Varget is a very versatile powder, that is why most folks have some on hand. For the 7mm-08 I like 4350 and Reloder-15 (I use RE15 in mine almost exclusively)

For Deer I like the 140 gr. C/T Ballistic Silvertip. Hogs....a Barnes bullet.

I have to disagree and can prove it anytime. How can you not see that adding nearly two pounds to the front of a light rifle can change POI?

Because I have seen it for tens of thousands of rounds. You are welcome to come to the range to see it for yourself.

Two different bipods, each having different weights, one being an Atlas, the other being a Harris, or no bipod at at all, and the best shooting rifle I have will put them in one ragged hole.

Once again, if a bipod affects how a rifle shoots then it is a stock issue.

It’s the stock not the bipod. My good stocks shoot the same off of bags or bipods. It’s almost impossible to get consistency with a stock that has ANY flex.

When you added the bipod to the rifle and get a POI shift, it is due to a change in the stock to action mating. If the barrel is free floated, you are putting a force on an unbedded stock to the action and causing the POI shift. Also, if the barrel is making contact to the stock with the bipod on or when you are shooting it, this also will cause it's own problems and POI shift. When I test a rifle, specifically a factory hunting rifle, I will not test it with a bipod on the rifle. The bipod creates it's own issues with accuracy/consistency issues due to the stress it puts on the action to stock mating up, and barrel contact issues. And I have seen this on MANY hunting rifles.

I have also seen it at our THF hunting challenge matches where a shooter adds a bipod to a rifle for the first time and has issues with it grouping or a change in POI. I personally instructed one shooter to lose the bipod and shoot off his backpack. Problem solved.

Yes, adding a bipod will add some weight and should help with reducing the recoil some, but not much.