ronlaughlin

Have desired a 7-08 for a long long time, but never did get one. If i were to get one, which i never will, i would load it with 140 grain AccuBond, and use it to hunt elk. For hunting deer, i would load it with 140 grain AccuBond. If i were hunting antelope, i would use the 140 grain AccuBond bullet. Perfect for me.

Did kill several elk with a 7 mag, but our son kinda just took it for his rifle many many years ago now; i don't want it back.















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hunters_life

Strolling through some old posts my dad made landed me on this little gem. I do see that it was started a long time ago but I have seen some of the latest posts and felt I would include my thoughts. Like the old man, I have never really gotten in to the magnum cartridge craze although I do own a few. The 7mm magnum is one of those choice few. I purchased it specifically for elk hunting on open ranges. The old man rarely ever shot past 200 yards on live game even though he was a gifted long range marksman. I don't mind the longer 500 yard shots which, for elk sized game, is starting to really put a stretch on the .30-06 capabilities for penetration. My opinion on this post would be to opt for the 7mm magnum if your shots are going to be over 300 yards on elk and 400 yards on whitetail. If both expected ranges will be under, a person would be hard pressed to beat the exceptional performance of the 7mm-08 or the .30-06. My twins have 7mm-08's that the old man built for them for their 7th birthday and both rifles are exceptionally accurate. Hopefully they get blooded this year in Tennessee on my Uncles land.

d80hunter

You can't go wrong with either one. The .284 diameter bullet is one of my favorites. The 7mm-08 is perfect for my neck if the woods. The extra case capacity of 280 and 7mm mag makes for better trajectory at longer ranges, depending on your preference and where you hunt.

MaineRida

Agree, split the difference and get the 280. I have all three with the 280 being the newest acquisition, it is where I'll play for the next couple of years. Great potential / versatility for reloaders along with acceptable factory ammo.

d80hunter

That is sound advice for anyone torn between 7mm-08 and 7mm mag.

MaineRida

For me, action length is inconsequential. Most of my hunts are short excursions and the extra couple of ounces is not detectable. While hunting,I do hunt with long and short actions and throwing the longer bolt for a follow-up is unnoticeable. While in my 40's I have been on the long excursion hunts and the longer action was not an issue, maybe it will be when I reach my 70's.

To me the criteria centers around the performance of the selected round. I can "get by" with many calibers but if I was choosing between two and there was one sitting smack dab in the center performance wise, it would have to get serious consideration.

If I was building a collection, I would get all three. Oops, I did

bronko22000

Hogwash! Now don't get me wrong. The 7mm bullet (projectiles) is a good bullet in just about any cartridge chambered for it. but any animal and any range? Give me a break. Anyone who knows anything about ballistics will tell you that a bullet from any cartridge, even a 338 Lapula or 50 BMG, has its limitations. I believe a 250 gr bullet from the Lapula has an effective range of around 1500-1600 yards. After that the bullet goes subsonic and starts to tumble resulting in basically zero accuracy.
Also the average shooter has no business shooting at game beyond 300 yards. Practice shooting a lot of ammo under field conditions, varying terrain, wind, elevation etc all tie into the formula when shooting extreme distances.

younggun308

Until repairs end up costing you as much as you would otherwise spend on 2 rifles.
I don't have a truck, but I do have a high-mileage SUV. Had to do a valve replacement in December...buddy you know I thought about the fact I spent enough money on that to buy a swell rig.

Nomercy448

Money never comes easy for anyone, but it does come faster for some. I'be been blessed with the diligence to earn enough to afford a lot of rifles, but in my early career when money didn't come easy, I still wasn't content to live with one rifle. Growing up, I built my 4 long gun battery according to what most folks would recommend: 22LR, 22-250, 30-06, and 12ga (plus a .22lr pistol, a 1911, a 44mag revolver, and a 221FB XP100). Even though this set of long guns was capable of any task I could put in front of it, it just wasn't interesting.

So if I were in a world where my money came harder again, I would still do it the way I did it back then, and still buy/own multiple rifles, they just wouldn't be as fancy as those I buy now.

bronko22000

Lately I've been becoming more of a nostalgic buff. Yeah I have a couple AR style rifles and some very accurate bolt actions in calibers from .22 up to .30. I also have a bunch of semi auto handguns and a few revolvers. But I've been increasingly drawn to the sleekness of a nice lever rifle in the classic calibers. I have them in .357 and .44 mags for newer chamberings but have the 30-30 and 32 Spl in Win 94s and a couple Marlin 1895s in .45-70. And I've been keeping my eye on the used racks for a nice clean Marlin 336 in 35 Rem. If practicality was the issue I could probably get rid of all of the rifles except my 30-06 and do all I need to with it. But where is the fun in that? Heck, all a guy really needs is a 12 ga shotgun to take just about any game on the continent with the correct ammo for it provided he is a skilled hunter.