Discovering the 7mm-08 Remington

Several years ago my hunting partner began speaking praises of the 7mm-08 Remington. At the time, other than having heard of the round, I knew nothing about it. Over the years I started to do some research, and as things often work out, I became increasingly impressed with the round. I now own and hunt with a 7mm-08.

When reading hunting forums, one more often than not comes across the magnum crowd who refer to the 7mm-08 as a great "kids" or "lady's" round. After all, it's quite short and very limited in recoil. Adding to this theme is that so many 7mm-08 rifles come in compact size with short barrels, which actually do it a great disservice.

It's not until one begins to dig a bit deeper into the actual ballistics of the caliber, that it causes a definite raising of the eyebrows.  The little 7mm-08 is definitely a lot more than just a "kids" round. 

Maybe the best way to bring this point home is to describe the performance of my very own 7mm-08.  It's a 24 inch barrel Rem 700 set into a bedded and free-floated Bell and Carlson stock. I have used primarily two hunting bullets in it, which I load myself. 

First is the 120 grain Barnes TTSX.  Using Winchester's new StaBall 6.5 powder, the rounds zip out the end at 3250 fps with a maximum charge (absolutely no pressure signs). When zeroed at 250 yards, it gives me a max trajectory height  of 2.4 inches at 150 yards and an impact only 3 inches low at 300 yards. It's not until 500 yards that the little 120 slows to 2060 fps with an output of 1134 foot pounds of energy. That's plenty of hit for any whitetail or mulie. If there is quarrel to be had, it's that the Barnes bullet may produce a small wound channel at this velocity. 

My personal experience using this bullet is that it easily zips through deer out to 350 yards (my furthest shot with the 120s).  My hunting partner's wife has taken several bull elk with this round, out to 250 yards, and in each case the round passed cleanly through and dispatched the critter quickly. At 300 yards the little 120 carries 1670 foot pounds of energy and velocity of 2500 fps. In my humble opinion, this is plenty for elk size critters out to 300 yards and given the Barnes fame for penetration, the 120 may be an ideal round for those limiting their ranges. 

A final asset of the 120 grain bullet is that it delivers very little recoil, making it suitable for light framed hunters and light weight firearms. 

The second bullet I have hunted with is the 150 grain Nosler Accubond Long Range bullet. It is my go-to round for deer size animals. The reason for this is that the excellent ballistics make it a wonderful round for longer ranges; and second (as strange as it may be) this round matches perfectly the ballistic reticle of the scope I have mounted on the rifle (more on that another time).

I push the 150s out the tube with a maximum powder charge of  StaBall 6.5.  In my particular rifle the least pressure signs are to be had using Winchester brass (slightly flattened primers). The 150s zip out the barrel at an average FPS of 2950.  Accuracy is easily sub-moa. My most recent group was about 2.5 inches at 400 yards. 

At 300 yards the round is traveling at 2460 fps with an energy output of 2015 fpe. At 500 yards, velocity is down to 2159 fps with energy coming in at about 1553.  That's plenty for any deer size critter, in fact, at 700 yards the bullet is still traveling at 1880 fps with an impact of 1175 fps. Nosler claims it's ABLR are good down to 1300 fpe. 

All in all, not bad for a "kids" caliber. 

 

Remington 700 in 7mm-08, 24 inch barrel, Bell and Carlson Stock

Internet forums are full of complaints about the ABLR bullets ... that they are poor at close range. All I can say from experience is that at 150 yards, out my rifle, they deliver clean pass through wounds, although large. This year's white-tail buck (a large bodied northern brute) took the round broadside but a bit low. The result was two completely severed legs, a massive gaping hole in both sides of the lower chest, and a very dead deer.

I am not sure I would recommend the ABLR bullets for larger critters like elk, and I won't be testing them out on elk anytime soon as I have a perfectly good 35 Whelen for animals that size. 

In summary, if you want a low recoil, inherently accurate, short action, delightful round to hunt with and target shoot with, I highly recommend the 7mm-08 Remington. But, I will let a member of an internet chat forum have the last say:

"A 7mm08 is boring.

Bang-Flop. Bang-wobble-Flop. Bang-Bronco kick-Flop. Bang-Spin in a tight circle- Flop. I actually had a minor bit of excitement last year when I got two wobbles on my Lope.

Reloading is boring too. Every load combo is 1 1/2" or better.

It doesn't kick outrageously, so there is no challenge there.

I have several more interesting rifles, but I cannot understand, for the life of me, why I've kept hunting with one for the last 17 years......"