I've heard a lot of positive feedback on this particular cartridge, but have no personal experience with it. It's supposedly a bit more flat shooting than a .308 round. Anyone with any positive/negative experiences?
I know people that swear up and down on them as a mid range deer gun. Easy recoiling, 7mm bullets (which are awesome) and readily available, cheap brass. If you would shoot it with a .308, you can shoot it with a 7-08. Load it with the lighter side of the 7mm bullet selection and don't look back. 140-168 grainers are what my buddy shoots and has good success on both pawed and hoofed animals.
my goto hunting round. I have several that I shoot with has killed anything I have pointed it at . I shoot bullets from 120g up to 162g it does the job you will like it I do
It has been said by those who know, "the only way to improve the 308, is to make it a 7mm/08" ! ;-)
It also carries a bit more energy at distances over 2-300 yds, mostly due to better BC of the sleeker bullets.
But unless you're shooting at stuff past 3-400 yds, this is a non-issue.
Personally, I've done the 7-08 thing, and have gone back to the .308 for my hunting guns. I find the .308 Win. to be much easier to make shoot well.
Also, despite all the claims about softer recoil, I've yet to shoot one that I would've been able to tell the difference between a 7-08 and a .308 of equal weight and design. The difference is minimal. Maybe a ft-lb or two less of recoil energy, all else being equal. My opinion is that it is somewhat over-hyped. The .308 isn't as glamorous, but I've found it a lot easier to work with and more lethal at most hunting distances.
.308 is a pretty light recoil round already, I think that is where the 7-08 gets the "soft-shooter" designation. Low 40's for powder capacity, good sized holes and an easy 400 yard killer. I have never tried shooting one for precision, but I stand by the fact that they are great mid range guns. They are capable of more, and easy to shoot for new shooters. .308 carries many of the same capabilities, the 7-08 is just a little flatter and wins the BC game on similar weight bullets.
*disclaimer* I have also never hunted with a .308.
All of this is true, and I'm not saying that the 7 is not a good hunting round; it is. I've just found the three rifles that I've used and loaded for to be more finicky than any of my .308's.Originally Posted by schnyd112
The .308 makes a slightly larger hole in whatever you're shooting, too. For me, there's just not enough advantage with the 7 to justify the extra trouble I've had with load development.
Edited to add:
To illustrate how much "flatter" shooting the 7-08 is with a typical load, I plugged some numbers into my ballistic calculator (BulletFlight). The results were consistent with my experience:
7-08, 139 gr. Hornady SST bullet at 2900 fps, with a 100 yd zero-
Compared to-
.308 Win., 150 gr Hornady SST bullet at 2850 fps, with a 100 yd zero.
These are probably the most common bullet weights/velocities for hunting loads in each round. The bullet drops are as follows:
200 yds
7-08- -3.2
.308- -3.4
300 yds
7-08 -11.7"
.308. -12.7"
400 yds
7-08 -26.3"
.308 -28.8"
While the 7 is slightly flatter, it's hardly enough that the average shooter would even notice it in typical hunting scenarios.
Last edited by barrel-nut; 02-05-2016 at 03:46 AM.
I can't argue with that. Like I said I have never hunted with personally, nor hunted with someone shooting a .308. I do have a buddy that just bought one his winter so if the draw favors us, next year I should have the opportunity to at least be with someone packing the tried and true .308. There is no problem with the case, I hunted with a .243 for several years until I graduated to a 25-06. I will be shooting .260 in the near future but it won't be a rifle I pack deer hunting. All are capable cartridges if the hunter is comfortable knows their abilities and the limitations of their rifle.
^ this is ultimately the bottom line and the most useful takeaway from all of this. All of the rounds you listed above are .308-based, (except the .25-06), and all work well for their intended purposes and all will kill with authority when used within their intended ranges. None are more magical than the others, each just slightly different from the next in the lineup. But all work well. Just pick the one that makes you excited about hunting with it, practice a lot, and have fun hunting.
I am really happy with my 7-08. I load it with a 140 gr Sierra Spbt. Very accurate round for me. I have shot axis deer from 30 to about 250 yds. All the deer I have shot with the round have not gone farther than 30 yards.
I do not think the round shoots any flatter than the 308. I picked the 7-08 purely because of the mild recoil. For myself, the low recoil helps me get the bullet where I want. I am recoil sensitive.
Another aspect you may need to consider is availability of ammo. I think 308 is much easier to find than the 7-08. Here on Maui, Hawaii, 7-08 rounds have to be special ordered with a minimum of a case.
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