7mm-08: Ten Reasons Why It’s So Dang Popular

Hornady keeps making better better magnums. I’d like to see updated cartridges that are updated version of standard actions.

I’ve been reloading for over 50 years now. Bought a Ruger 77 7x57 in 73’. 7-08’s weren’t out yet at least to my knowledge. We were in a gun shop in Hollister CA and going from a dove hunt to deer back in 73’ and that rifle was hanging on the rack. I traded my Browning light weight 20 ga mag for it. Best deal I ever made. Most factory loads for the 7x57 aren’t loaded to the same pressures as the 7-08’ or 6mm etc. I load for best groups not highest velocity. I had a load that was very accurate (1.75” @ 300yds in a stiff wind) using Speer 145 spbt bullets. Every animal went down one shot. Bullet placement is key and where accuracy builds confidence. Yes it’s a 350 yard rifle but I could shoot 50 rounds of workup loads with the 7x57. Can only shoot maybe 5 with a 7mag I had for a while twenty years ago. I could never get comfortable with that rifle. I’m a small guy & old now. The 7x57 doesn’t give up much to the -08 if hand loading. My current 7x57 is a Rem 700 Mountain rifle. ( try to find one ) I was swapping barrels from the 7x57 in the Ruger to a Shilen 6mm heavy barrel with the slow 1-12” twist (.244 Rem) if I was just getting a new rifle today and didn’t own any the
7-08’ would be my first choice. Rem .280 my second choice. Long action, short action doesn’t make much difference to me as I’m not a competition shooter. Talk to guys that reload the 7x57 and get their thoughts. Great cartridge. I’ve loaded up to 175’s with it and they thump me pretty good. I’ve tried down to 120 gr but back in the day those Speer 145’s were my bullet of choice. Thirty years ago I went on a pig hunt and didn’t have time to reload and a sporting goods store had a box of Norma 150’s. They performed very close to my 145’s as far as poi and accuracy.

Not sure if you ever look at comments on old videos, but you should take a look at load data on the Hodgdon site for the 7mm-08 using 6.5 StaBall powder. It really wakes this cartridge up. I’m getting amazing results with it in my 18.5” barreled 7mm-08.

This msg is for the maker of this video. Just a friendly note. You can purchase whatever gun you want to review, then return it!
I know it sounds cheap or fraudulent, but it realy is within your legal rights to do so! Just clean before u return it. Thanks!

I really want you to get a 7mm-08 and make an grouping and hunting video on it

Everything built off the 30-06 and the 308 cartridge cases is better than the original. Teddy Roosevelt should have just selected a 7 x 57 Mauser in the first place instead of wasting taxpayer money researching and building a 30 caliber cartridge for the military. They only selected it because of hate for the metric system, and refused to look at the facts and ballistics, more recoil, more powder wasted to do the same thing, also carrying more weight because of the bigger volume cartridge to to match or beat the 7 x 57 that Europe was using. Teddy didn’t want the 7 x 57 or anything in a 7 mm because of how bad he got beat in Cuba by it. It’s just my opinion and I’ve seen enough ballistic charts to see what a 30 caliber has to do to beat a .284 that you’re not going to change my mind. Have a nice day.

I love the 7 08, I have a savage 99c.

When it came out, the selling point was the ballistic advantage over the 308 when comparing the 7mm 140 gr bullet vs the 308 with its 150 grain bullet. At 500 yards, the 7-08 load has a 700 ft lbs advantage over the 308! Higher BCs make a difference at long range.

Title should be, Ten Reasons Why it SHOULD Be So Dang Popular. I worked in a gunshop for 14 years, and only sold a handful through the years. Always thought it was extremely underrated.

7mm-08 is the worst cartridge because it's virtually unobtainable

When you combine an inheritantly accurate case (.308) with an inheritantly accurate bullet (7mm) how can you go wrong.

Browning A-Bolt 7mm-08 with a wooden stock was the first rifle i ever bought at 17 years old. Im now 47, and still cant put it down. Its an Absolut tack driver and i wouldn't carry anything else to the field

Could you do a comparison of 7mm08 vs 277 fury

7-08 kills game better than it should by looking at the ballistics, 140 for deer size game,150 for elk or similar size.

Your wrong on the elk range, you've left out the elevation factor. At 7000 feet elevation, 30 degree temperature, a hornady 150 grain eldx hunter load carries the 1500 ft lbs of energy out to 550 yards! Not sure how you got your numbers but they are way off.

And killed the .284

Alaskan friend killed his only interior silver tip mountain Grizzly, big for an interior bear at 600lbs, with one shot from 180yds with a factory load 150 grain 7mm/08.

I look for a minimum of 1700fps at target. This way even a solid(Hammer Hunter) will expand

Nobody should care about drop as it is a constant that is effected by pressure which is easy to read. Wind is where you should really care and a higher bc bullet(long) is going to really shine along with shedding less fps

I started my 4'8" wife on a .243. The rifle i bought her i never could find a load it liked. One time in the deer blind, she "just wanted to look" at a buck with my 30-06 @165 yds.. BANG and it was dead. I sold the .243 and bought her a Savage in 7mm-08. Far more accurate and she shoots it like a champ. We're not going back.

I have a LH Browning Micro-hunter in 7mm-08. When I first got it, I bought some Federal Fusions 140gr to sight it in figuring I'd choose a better bullet when hunting. After I got done, I decided not to change the round. The gun was a little tac-driver with those fusions. That little 20in barrel would put a box of Fusions in a 2 in circle at 100yds every time. Tried some 120grs and they were all over the place. 7mm-08, 140grs & 20in barrel = perfection.

I load a Nosler Ballistic Tip 120 gr bullets. I load it with IMR 4064. It is right at 3100 muzzle velocity. I put the bullet just in front of front shoulder, 4" from top of neck. It is extremely accurate and I have never had a deer shot with that load take even one step. They just drop straight to ground. The combination of caliber, load and neck shot it is a perfect storm. It is very flat, plenty fast and the accuracy is just unbelievable. I do not buy custom rifles either. Mine are all $300-$500 rifles. Mostly Savage 110, Savage Edge, Mossberg Patriot. Ever one will shoot sub one inch. 7.08 has become my absolute favorite deer rifle. I have many other options but if I'm deer hunting it is 7.08 for me.

How about the 280 Remington? Falls dead in the middle of the 7-08 and the 7 mag. Light recoil and will handle heavier bullets better than the 7-08! I’ve got both and I love the 280!

Hunting in NZ, handload 162g Eldms getting 2650fps out of a 22" barrel, 1500ft/lbs out to just short of 500lbs. Have shot red deer and Himalayan Tahr out at that distance with great results. Used to use a 300win mag as well but don't even bother any more.

150 gr ELDX has 1540 FPE at 400 yd

Thank you but i will stick with my .28 Nosler.

I have a Browning BLR in 7mm 08 and love it. The BLR I own is the steel receiver which I prefer.
Where I ran into problems is trying to get a decent scope that can work well with this caliber. Ended up with a German made optic a Docter .

yeah too bad you can't find ammo 10/9/2023

I have a 7mm-08 Tikka lite that always shoots the first round 3.5" high at 100 yds from a clean barrel. I am shooting a 140 gr nosler ballistic tip with Ramshot Big Game powder. After the first shot, they group at 0.5 inches. I have adjusted the action screws, tried different solvents and other powders. Nothing works. Can you explain? George

The 6.5 x55 is hands down better than a needmore 85-160 those 160 round nose is a black bears nightmare

Is the 7mm ammo easy to get ?

It's super popular in Canada for everything from coyote to giant bull moose anything under 400yards with a factory 139 grain American whitetail takes 2 steps tip right over

.284 has been my favorite caliber for a long time. I dont have a 7-08, but thats ok. I like my 7X57 and 280 Remington just fine. 7-08 is an awesome round though. Very suitable for everything from silhouette shooting to varmints to Elk. Not too many rounds can say that.

I own a 7 mm-08. It's a great deer cartridge. I would say, close to perfect. But for larger game, like Elk, Moose and Bear, I am looking for, maybe 10% more. I am leaning towards the 280 AI but now that the 7mm PRC has come out, I am a little hesitant. Could you do a review of the 7mm PRC, 280 AI and 7mm Rem mag? Also, which rifles are available in 7mm PRC and 280AI? Thanks

Just bought one

How about. 7mm in a 6.5 prc case.

My 7mm-08 is s tack driver...haven't taken it hunting yet but I will soon

It's really up to SIG and if they start pushing their 277 fury round out to the market I see it killing the 7-08......it's pretty much identical to it in its normal pressure form but the 80k pressure steel base hybrid version is better across the board and out of 24 inch barrel gets over 3100 fps with 150gr payload....... that's 7 rem mag levels of power

The only thing that seems to get over looked is the sectional density the 7mm bullets are normally shorter but bigger in diameter than that of the 6.5 cal but the 6.5 bullets are longer and the penetration factor is more and the mushroom is alittle more than 7mm because of bullet length that's why they compare so closely like the 120 grn 6.5 to that of the 7mm 140 grn that's what gives the 6.5 cal hitting power over it weight but the 7mm can hit hard because of its weight but depending on how you load the two one can do better than that of the other and it can also go the other way as well because of the increase of twist rate that's why they went to bigger powder capacity of the newer calibers that came out the efficiency of powder burn is great that's why the 6.5 hit above their weight you just can't go wrong with either one that's the balance factor. Aim small good hunting. GOD BLESS.

After you flatten a few deer with it you'll love it even more. Nothing 'sexy' about it, just solid performance.

I bought a bolt action in 7mm08 for my Wife. She loves the accuracy and the mild recoil with the 120-129 grain bullets. She has no complaints about the deer running mmaybe 30 yards at most. Usually DRT. I handload, so I can get what is most accurate for her. VV and Hodgdon powders have given accuracy that is as good as you could ask.

The 7mm-08 very well could be the best choice for any deer hunter which could also be used for a possible elk or black bear hunt under 300 yds. It has so many attributes. I would like to see this video played every week. Excellent presentation.

Most common deer cartridges I see on the shelf in SW VA.
Almost always there,
1. .308
2. .350 Legend
Sometimes there
3. .270
4. 6.5 Creedmoor
5. .30-06
6. 7mm Rem Magnum
6. .300 Win Mag
8. 7mm-08. I have seen one box on the shelf, once. At a single sporting good store.

I have never yet seen .30-30 on the shelf.
I’m sure 7mm-08 is a sweet cartridge, if you can find it.

Randy shoots most of his Elk with the 308 win.

If i recall correctly, the 7mm-08 was designed to replicate the performance of the 7x57 Mauser in a short-action rifle. I think the 7x57 edges it out just a little bit, but they did a mighty fine job achieving that goal (I hunt with a 7x57). It is one heck of a hunting cartridge.

I shoot three bolt action hunting calibers. 308 Win, 6.5 Creedmoor and 7mm-08 Rem. I have been wanting my one do it all rifle in a custom build. Between this and the Backfire video a few days ago listing the 7mm-08 as one of the cartridges the young man said he had never seen an elk lost with, I chose the 7mm-08. Just ordered my barrel today.

Idk anything about hunting or long range shooting. I’m looking for something I can shoot out to 1000-1200 yards. I want to get into long range shooting just for fun.

30-06 is still pretty amazing.

And this is also why the 7x57 is still very popular. The 7mm08 is a better choice due to modern powders.
For those with 7x57 in a modern action, it can be loaded to 7mm08 velocities.
I’ve got a 1898 Mauser in 7x57 that I load to 7mm08 specs. And it’s a great cartridge.
The 7mm08 is just the modern version of the 7x57 just as the 308 is the modern version of the 30-06

Considering karamojo bell depopulated Africa with the 7x57 I think the 7-08 has nothing it needs to prove. It's arguably ideal ballistically