I'm looking at buying a 7mm-08 and is wondering if anyone has had experience with one. It would be used for deer hunting. What do u think the farthest you could kill a deer at using 130 accubonds?
- Thread starter Retterath
- Start date
Never owned a 7-08. But have some experience with a 30-06 and more with a .243. You could kill a deer at 1000 yards, if you can hit it. Five hundred would be more reasonable as you still have sufficient energy there. But do the animal a favor. Get as close as you can and make your shot count.
It all depends on what twist.
My bad it is 140 accubonds
The 708 is my favorite cal!! The 308 is effective as a sniper round on men to 1K, If it can kill a man, it can kill a deer. I forget the foot poundage you need, but full penetration of a 3/4" piece of plywood is the magic number, or so I read.the 708 has similar ballistics, use the 140 gr bullets.
Gents,
The largest Blacktail Deer I ever killed felled to a heart shot with a 7/08. Field dressed 167 lbs of prime Oregon critter!
While I'm a .308 fan I see little difference in killing power between the 7/08 and the .308. Both are fine cartridge and will do the job if you do yours.
I used a 140 grain Nosler Ballistic tip for that shot, by the way.
Wes
The largest Blacktail Deer I ever killed felled to a heart shot with a 7/08. Field dressed 167 lbs of prime Oregon critter!
While I'm a .308 fan I see little difference in killing power between the 7/08 and the .308. Both are fine cartridge and will do the job if you do yours.
I used a 140 grain Nosler Ballistic tip for that shot, by the way.
Wes
I have two 7/08s. Great cartridge. Easy to load for - loves Varget. I have been loading 120gr TTSX with great results.
Has anyone had any experience with tikka rifles and also would there be much difference in velocity from 24-22" barrel tikka has 22" and remington 24"
Use the 162 amax for deer. H4350 will run it 2700 fps from my 22" 7-08. I took my friends son to get a deer this year and put him on a 3x4 mule deer. He shot it at 350 yards with a 7-08 and the 162 amax. It worked. I then shot the other 4x4 that was with it with the 162 amax from my 7 wsm. It worked too.
Bb
Bb
Retterath I'm not saying by how muck, but I bet the tikka will out shoot the remington. Without any doubt hands down the tikka is the smoothest factory action on the market. Can't go wrong with a tikka....
22" IMO is the perfect length for a 7-08, going longer I doubt will gain you much velocity or any at all.
How far can you place the bullet in the kill box? That is all that will determine the 7.08 performance. The longest shot I had was around 425 so that would be my furthest to could kill a deer response but I hunt to get under 300 to fill the freezer Vs shoot to kill at range to boast. A 7.08 will tip over a 1200# moose at 250-300 yards as well as 338 placed in the kill box, moose did not know the difference in headstamp.
Not enough to make up the difference in what you get with the Tikka. A rifle is a tool and must allow the hunter to pack it then place the bullet in the kill box. Ballistic gurus debate numbers. I have never had a moose or caribou stand there longer due to 2" of barrel, FPS, energy, headstamp, off the shelf rifle. Never seen one go more dead with a $3000 custom rifle in a super blaster magnum headstamp either.
I have a few 708 rifles and have tried 162s, 168 and 140 Bergers. I like the 162s the best but I am saving those for my comp rifle. I use 168s for my hunting rifle. They hold more energy than the 140s even at a slower speed. The 168 berger hunting classics are pretty easy to load for. I have them kissing the lands at 2.775 OAL and over 40gr of varget getting me 2525fps in a 17" barrel. The groups are great with this load, pretty much one ragged hole for 5 shots at 100. We load 140s for my friends tikka and it has dropped every hog and deer he put a berger in. 708 has great performance compared to a 308.
7-08 with the Hornady 139 SST is a wicked combo.
7-08 with the Hornady 139 SST is a wicked combo.
Those are some nice kills!
Mine is built with a 24" Rock Creek #4 barrel. Pushed loaded over Varget pushes 140 accubonds to about 2900. Mine replaced my 308 for hunting. It will shoot and kill deer as far as I feel it is ethical to shoot them.
The 139sst is 2985 fps here in the 307. Using H4350
I wouldn't feel under gunned by any means using a 7mm-08 with the right bullet and properly placed . I've taken more then a few big Montana White Tails w/my 7mm-08, most walked less then 30 feet before falling over. I use RL-15 with either the 140 NBT or the 140 SPH, and for some reason my gun likes H414 with the 160 NAB or a 168 SMK, these loads will shoot under 1/2 MOA way out there.
So if you do your part and put the bullet in the boiler room you'll do just fine...... I shoot mine out to six-eight hundred yards without even thinking about it.
So if you do your part and put the bullet in the boiler room you'll do just fine...... I shoot mine out to six-eight hundred yards without even thinking about it.
I have a Sako 75 Finnlight in 7mm-08. Swapped the Tupperware stock for the Sako Graywolf laminated stock. Great setup for deer. I use Nosler 140gr ballistic tips over 8208XBR. My suggestion is not to go to light on the gun if you are looking to shoot out at 400 or 500 yards. Mine has the fluted barrel and I plan on switching it to a heavier contour from one of the major makers. Can't go wrong with the 7mm-08.
Scott, what are the details on the rifle, if you don't mind me asking?
I have a Tikka 7mm08 its my son gun he has taken several white tail deer with it. I like Tikka very accurate out of the box and is clip feed. Great hunting rifle.
This ^^^ The Accubond requires 1800 minimum fps to effectively expand so most likely you're looking at about 550-600 max, with a BT you'll extend that distance a bit just by the way it expands. They still state a minimum of 1800 for the BT, but I've seen them expand pretty well at about 1400 (extrapolated from ballistic table for speed on a downed animal @ distance) The AB simply doesn't expand the same. At least if that's what I was looking for (longer than 500) I'd go with the BT or a soft point bullet over the AB. YMMV
AccuBond ? Nosler
I think accubonds are to solid for 7-08 velocities, especally for longer shots. I think you would be dissapointed with how liitle they'll expand at longer ranges.
Trued 700 action SA
McMillan Edge stock [FONT="]olive green w/black splatter paint
[/FONT][FONT="]Brux #3 contour 1-9" twist stainless barrel, finished @ 22 5/8", fluted
[/FONT][FONT="]Cerakote action/barrel in Graphite Black Cerakote
[/FONT] [FONT="]Kampfeld .312" stainless pinned recoil lug
Kampfeld Campfire bolt knob & Ti bolt flute
Kampfeld side bolt release
Kampfeld action lightening - takes a couple ozs of weight off.
Callahan bolt shroud/firing pin done by Karl
Nightforce 2.5-10x32 scope
Talley one piece
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Sounds all too sweet. I've got a NIB Dicks SS ADL 243 and a Brux #3 7mm 9 twist in the safe. Thinking of doing the LRI group buy to do up a 7-08 or 7-08 AZi...
Weight?
Weight?
My girlfriend has hunted with a 7mm-08 for the last 5 years in west Texas, hasn't shot a deer more than once. She's taken 10 with 130gr loads
I reload the 150gr Nosler Ballistic Tip for the wife's rifle for elk and mule deer and it gets the job done, I load 140gr whatever is on sale for her to target practice with and the gun is accurate no matter what it digest. The 7mm-08 was the cartrage before the 6.5 Creedmoor came out and to this day the debate over which is better still rages because they are so close depending on what you want from your cartrage.
Great info on this caliber and good to know what bullets are working best in this gun. I have made up my mind, I'm going to buy my wife a 7-08 in a tikka and I'm sure she will love it
I think she we have a great hunting gun. we like ours and I love the clip feed for unloading a hunting gun.
Not Scott but I've held that rifle before and seem to recall its right around 7.5lbs +/- an oz. Its a really nice rig!!
Sounds and looks like it! Don't know why I'm thinking of doing this when I've got a couple of 6.5's in the safe though... Should save my money to hunt the 307 again next year!!!
Gotta like the 7MM-08's though for a fine hunting rifle. Here is the twin to Sendero's rig, this is an exact clone except for the stock color and its a ADL versus BDL. This one weighs 7 lbs 4 ozs with the Leupold scope which is a bit lighter than Scotts NF.
Gotta like the 7MM-08's though for a fine hunting rifle. Here is the twin to Sendero's rig, this is an exact clone except for the stock color and its a ADL versus BDL. This one weighs 7 lbs 4 ozs with the Leupold scope which is a bit lighter than Scotts NF.
That is one sexy rig!!! Let me know when it needs a new home
I am new on here, so don't know how much my thoughts matter but....... Personally I don't like the tikkas much, the T3 Lite has the cheapest feeling stock out there, and if you're looking to buy a 7mm-08, look at rifle built on a short action, Tikkas are not. My Xbolt feels way nicer and shoots just fine. Short action also.
Huntr,
Those are some excellent pictures - congrats to your son. The SPS stainless, when you find a good shooting one can be a nice rig as is or with a few mods added. Here is my SPS 7MM-08, it sits in a McMillan Classic Edge stock. I sent this one to Karl Feldkamp@ Kampfeld Customs and had him do a few things to it, its probably one of my favorites currently. Shoots just about everything really well, especially 120 grain Ballistic Tips.
Those are some excellent pictures - congrats to your son. The SPS stainless, when you find a good shooting one can be a nice rig as is or with a few mods added. Here is my SPS 7MM-08, it sits in a McMillan Classic Edge stock. I sent this one to Karl Feldkamp@ Kampfeld Customs and had him do a few things to it, its probably one of my favorites currently. Shoots just about everything really well, especially 120 grain Ballistic Tips.
Bought my daughter one when she turned 12. She went on to kill 4 elk and 4 mulies over the next 4 years with it. Shots from 30 to 250 yards. 140 Accubonds and a 150 Partition.
I shot two more elk with it two years ago for old times' sake. Bull at 30 yards, cow at 100. 140 Accubonds.
The mighty 7-08 has worked well for us.
I shot two more elk with it two years ago for old times' sake. Bull at 30 yards, cow at 100. 140 Accubonds.
The mighty 7-08 has worked well for us.
