.308 vs. 7mm-08

[Huntsalotey]

I know that the 7mm-08 is just a necked down .308 but I was wanting to know which of these 2 calibers is most effective? I know that can be a subjective question and I was just wondering from an overall standpoint. Ballistically which has most velocity and energy at short and long ranges if compared? I know that there has to be trade offs between the 2 so if you have knowledge of them could you expound of some of the tradeoffs between the two. Thank you.

[frizzellr]

You can just flip a coin on this one. The 7mm-08 Rem can have better long range ballistics due to better ballistic coefficient and sectional density, but I doubt anything you shoot will know the difference. I have one of each and shoot them both. I favor the 7mm-08 because it recoils less. If I had to choose between the two for a deer cartridge I would go out and get a 260 Rem instead.

[JagMagMan]

They are really close! You can get larger bullets for the .308. If that is a concern.
Overall the 7MM-08 will be a little flatter shooting than the .308. The 7MM-08 also will retain its energy a little further down range than the .308, and recoil is a tad bit tamer with the 7MM also.
I doubt that any animal would know the difference in being hit with either cartridge though!

[handloader1]

I like the 308 Win. Good luck.

Deer would never know the difference. You seem really interested in bullistics. And thats cool. A better outlook would be to get ya a cheaper bullistics program. Made all the difference in the world. Take a look at these websites. They have velocity data for you to input into programs. From there you can calculate drop, energy at various distances. That way, you can move around talltales, myths and opinions. If you want, I can email you a excel spreadsheet where you input these varibles.

www.alliantpowder.com
www.imrpowder.com
www.hodgdon.com
www.nosler.com
www.barnesbullets.com
www.sierrabullets.com

[akbound]

Hi Huntsalotey,

For more information concerning these two cartridges, (or many others), check out the following sites:

http://www.chuckhawks.com/7mm-08.htm

http://www.chuckhawks.com/308Win.htm

This should provide most of the answers you are looking for! Hope it helps.

Dave