ths78

7mm-08 hunters, tell me about this cartridge. I plan on possibly getting one soon. Will be used for deer almost always, and the occasional black bear.

How does it perform? Mostly 1 shot kills?

Does it give good blood trails?

How far do deer generally run after being hit?

What other cartridges is its recoil similar too?

What factory ammo has worked well for you?


Thanks, ths78

bigcountry

7mm-08, one of my favorites. It shoots, it kills, not sure what else to say. Any of the standard 25-06 to 30-06, to 270, or 308, or 7mm-08 will do about the same damage. People will got on here and tell ya different that thier gun does this or whatever. But several years ago I got in this stupid debate, so I butchered two simular deer one shot with a 270 Win and another with a 7mm-08. After skinning out, with the carcuss only exposed, I asked a guy to identify which deer was shot with what. He couldn' t. In both cases the lungs were jelly.

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frizzellr

The 7mm-08 Rem is a 308 Win case necked down to 7mm. It can be loaded with 100 grain bullets for varmints to 175 grains for black bear. I generally use a 140 grain bullet and as far as blood trails go I couldn' t tell you because they tend to drop in their tracks. Not saying it is a magic bullet but it is a great cartridge with excellent ballistics and very mild recoil. It doesn' t recoil much more than a 243 Win and less than a 308 Win. I have had success with Remington CoreLockts but I generally reload using IMR 3031 and Sierra GameKing 140 grain bullets. I don' t think you will be disappointed with a 7mm-08 Rem.

popeye

The only thing that I can add on the 7mm-08 is that you won' t be disappointed. The longest shot that I' ve made with one was around a 100yds but the round is able to shoot much farther than that. It' s a really good hunting round. I have more confidence in my 280 but that is more of a mental thing on my part.

Oh, I shoot 140 gr Federal factory loads, which I think are loaded with Sierra ProHunter bullets. Very good accuracy, light recoil and will kill deer as well as anything out there. I have never used it on bears.

woodseye

Great caliber,my favorite and it provides low recoil with excellant ballistics.I use federal premium loads with 140gr nosler paritions.It will work well for you and you will like its performance,I picked one up and hunted with it 4 years ago and haven' t been able to put it down since.

woods

halcon

I was going to buy one ,but got to comparing it to the 7MM mauser that I already have . They are almost identical in ballistics and I have the 7MM .

seattlesetters

I' ve shot two mule deer, one whitetail and one bull elk with the 7mm-08. Two of the deer with 140gr Nosler Partitions, one deer with a 139gr Hornady Spire Point and the elk with a 150gr Partition.

All left nice exit wounds but they really were not needed...the animals did not go far before piling up.

As far as similarity in recoil, it is like the 7x57mm Mauser and a bit less than the .308 Win. For most shooters, it will be quite comfortable.

In my opinion, given the low recoil and wide variety of bullets and rifles available for this number, coupled with its superb effectiveness on game, make this one of the best all-around cartridges we have for hunting in North America.

Tumbo

I' ve gotta agree with whats already been said here but will add that i' ve owned 3 7mm-08' s over the years,i' ve also had 243,308,25-06,270,7mmremmag,30-06 & a few others,the 7mm-08 will generally do what the others listed here will do,you might get a bit more range out of the 30-06 & the 7mmmag but the 7mm-08 will easially take deer out to 300 yards or so & any further than that & you need to get closer no matter what your shooting.

I think the 7mm-08 does perform better with bullets in the 130 to 150 grain range where it comes close to the 280 rem without the added recoil & those sized bullets are my preferred hunting sizes.

Game even up around the 400 pound mark seem to drop pretty quickly If you place your shots well so little tracking is required.

I dont think that you could do much better than the 7mm-08.

Vapodog

The 7-08 is a very fine cartridge.....however the question about blood trails and how far they run is not a matter of cartridge, it' s a matter of ammunition and shot placement.

Personally, I recommend a bullet that leaves an exit wound. It helps with a blood trail and it usually drops deer in their tracks. Equipment is just one equation....placement is another.....you need to do your job first.