[cfx90]

I'm thinking this will be the first rifle I buy myself...Seems like a good tradeoff with the .25-06 I was considering and something bigger in the .30 cal range. What can you tell me about it? .308 based, .284" dia bullet right? I do like short actions and the .308 family. Seems like a great shooter. Game will be local, southern (read smaller) whitetails and possibly an elk way off, but I'm sure I'll have more guns by then if I feel the need for something bigger.

What bullets perform best on 100-160 lb deer? I love my Partitions in smaller calibers but is there really a need for premium bullets in a bigger round for small critters?

Also I read a few things saying it's actually a pretty popular round in recent years, but I've never heard much about it. I know the neighbor has one, I'll try to shoot his sometime.

 

[BarkBuster20]

It would probably be a good idea to have good bullets. If your dead set on a 7-08 i would suggest 140 grain accubonds, partitions, or tsx, just to insure good penetration, and save meat in case you take a shoulder shot.

Personally i would suggest you get a .338 federal, based off the same parent case. Would be a great 350 yard whitetail cartridge, and be right at home in the elk woods.

 

[Todd170]

I use a 7mm-08 as one of my two primary deer rifles. Believe me it is all you need for southern whitetails. And no you do not need premium ammo for small southern deer from a modest velocity cartridge like the 7mm-08. If your particular rifle groups them well, Remington core-lokts, Winchester power points, or Hornady interlocks will be all you need. I like the 140 grain bullets best. I have killed quite a few deer with my 7mm-08 and have only had one bullet fail to exit. And that was a quartering away shot on a buck that weighed 180 lbs. Even then it was just under the hide on his offside and he dropped right there in his tracks.

I also have never subscribed to the concept of trying to do everything with one rifle. I'd pick a gun and caliber based on what I planned to do with it 99 percent of the time and not what I might do with it once some day. I've never met anyone here in Alabama that could afford trips out west for elk that couldn't also afford at least two rifles. LOL! I can't afford such a trip and I probably own 10 rifles.

 

[Wazz13]

I have and use a 7mm-08 in a bolt action handgun, Savage Striker. I know you are looking at a long rifle, but the round it's self has performed very well here in Western NY on whitetail deer. I have has success with both 120gr HP and 140 gr Core Locks. I settlerd in on the 140gr as my hunting load strickly because of the added weight. For myself and my gun it is a 125 yd and less gun. I have thought about picking up a youth rifle in the same caliber for my kids as a good deer rifle.

 

[broom_jm]

The 7-08 is perhaps the very best cartridge based on the 308 Winchester, and that includes the parent! It is 90% of what the 7 Rem Mag is; a cartridge that is considered powerful enough for just about everything on this continent.

You do NOT need premium bullets from the 7-08 to harvest deer or black bears, although you might consider one if going after wild hogs. It is absolutely suitable for elk at medium ranges, where a premium bullet would be well worth the added cost.

While the 338 Federal is a fine woods elk rifle, it is not really well-suited to 350-yard shots on deer, unless you happen to be a fine marksman who practices for such distances regularly and you have a laser range-finder to confirm the yardage. With an 8" kill zone (no higher or lower than 4" from line of sight) the 338 Federal has a maximum point-blank range (PBR) of 282 yards. When sighted in for such, it will be 3.6" high at 100 yards, 6.1" low at 300 yards and if you were to attempt a shot at 350 yards, the bullet will have dropped 13.6", so you would need an adjustment to your scope, or more "Kentucky windage" than most riflemen care to employ.

For your needs, it is absolutely one of the best choices on the market. Buy one in a Marlin XS7 or Savage and then buy a few boxes of ammo to see which one it shoots best. If you're eventually going to own various rifles and pistols, you might even consider investing in the equipment to reload your own ammo.

 

[hailstone]

The 7-08 is very good chambering despite what the magnum crowd will say. Very comparable to the 7x57 Mauser which has taken game world wide including elephants. Works extremely well on our white tail deer population up north. Pleasant too shot with excellant choice of bullets. Next to the thirty caliber bullet line up I believe the 7mm bullets choices are close behind. Good core-loc, cup and core bullets perform adquately on deer. Personally quit using the premium bullets on our white tail deer couple seasons ago after several failed too perform as expected. Switched too the old standby core-locks corrected the troubles with no failures to date.

While some will disagree the 7-08 will work okay on elk using the proper bullets, shot placement and correct range usage. If a woman shooting a 243 can put elk down in one shot then there's little doubt on the 7-08.

 

[Bird Dog II]

I got a 7-08 recently. As luck would have it, it really likes 150 gr Partitions loaded fairly hot. No deer will ever walk away from that and I would not hesitate to use it on elk 300 yds and in. With 160 gr A-Frames, I wouldn't shy away from moose at reasonable ranges either. Any of the 140 grain non premium hunting bullets would be just fine for deer. In addition to being one of the very best pure white tail rounds available, this one gives you the ability to move up to larger game as well and not feel under gunned.

 

[PAShooter]

The 7mm08 is a great deer cartridge. The 308 Win family of cartridges is my favorite. 120-140 grain bullets would be my choise for deer with the edge to the 140 grainers.

 

[O'Connersun]

Like others, I think the 7mm-08 is an excellent choice for whitetail, anywhere. The 140gr bullet is my preference and as long as the bullet is designed for deer-sized game, you should be fine. Not a fan of light, fast hollowpoints on deer but some are. As for premium over standard bullets, use what your rifle likes! Mine hates Remington bullets but likes Nosler Accubond.

As for elk-size game with the 7mm-08, I would like something badder. When I lived out west I had a .308 Winchester and felt terribly undergunned so I bought a Ruger 77 in .300 Winchester Magnum. When I came back East I tried it on deer and felt it was just to much. Heavy to carry, harsh to shoot and far to much killing power, so I sold it.

 

[700sage]

7mm-08 should be fine for deer. I'd suggest the Nosler Ballistic tips for deer. I've seen great performance from these bullets on deer and elk sized game. If you do use the gun for elk I'd suggest switching to accubonds because the animal is so much larger. My real suggestion for elk would be to buy another gun more suitable to bigger game and use the 7mm-08 as a backup gun just in case somethng goes wrong. Never hurts to be prepared and it gives an excuse to buy another gun in the future. Can't beat that!

 

[Swampman]

Remington Core-Lockts are perfect for deer. Nosler Partations should be used on larger game.

 

[jswbga]

the 7-08 has one very significant drawback: it limits your future purchases. I cycled through a bunch of different rifles, 30-30, 30-06, 270, 7mm STW, 30-30 (again), and finally bought a 7mm-08. since then, I havent bought squat (hardly).

recoil is mild at worst, an excellent bullet selection exists, and everything I shoot with it just falls right over.

other than that.... its perfect. you need nothing more in the southeast.

 

[big dan]

just a week ago i took a large whitetail with the 7/08 and a 120gr ttsx at around 200 yds... only using 45 grs of ramshot big game so maybe 2750ish for velocity shot went between the font leg and base of the neck and exited out the rear opposite side of the ribcage, heartshot, ran about 30yds and flopped...

 

[big dan]

as i sit here and think about it probably the only round that i truly have higher regard for in the "deer" range is the 6.5x55... it is simply perfect in my opinion. i use a lot of different cartridges, 25/06AI, 260, 280, 300 savage, '06 and then on up with a few larger cartridges in addition to the 7/08 & 6.5x55 but those two are at the top of the list for me!!

 

[Mush from PA.]

The 7-08 Rem model 7 is my go to whitetail rifle for Penna. You wont go wrong with this caliber.

 

[Bird Dog II]

For those that claim the 7-08 isn't "bad enough" for Elk, look at the facts. First I am not claiming it would be the first choice in my safe, but I wouldn't think twice about taking one along as a back-up gun in case I had scope problems or something on the first string gun. Or, if I was in the market for my first short action deer gun but wanted to have the ability to hunt larger game with it cleanly, the 7-08 sure beats anything in the .25 cal or 6mm class. In a 7-08 you can get 2700 to 2820 FPS out of a 150 gr Partitions and H4350. Or you can drive 160 grain A-frames or Partitions to 2600+ FPS. Inside 250 yards, you would see zero difference in the killing power of these loads and a 7mm Rem Mag. Both would kill cleanly if you hit the heart/lungs and both would result in a wounded animal and a long (potentially frustrating) track if you shot poorly. Even at 300 yards the 7-08 POI is only 1.5" lower than a similarly sighted 7 Mag. Past 300 they both drop very quickly with the Mag clearly having an advantage. But inside of that range, their really isnt much.

Again, if you were a young person wanting a short action deer gun, or a parent/grand parent/uncle buying one for a youth, and you wanted them to have this future capability, the 7-08 is a better choice than any 6mm, 6.5mm or .25 caliber option. If it is deer and deer only, it really doesnt matter much in that realm.

 

[BarkBuster20]

For those that claim the 7-08 isn't "bad enough" for Elk, look at the facts. First I am not claiming it would be the first choice in my safe, but I wouldn't think twice about taking one along as a back-up gun in case I had scope problems or something on the first string gun. Or, if I was in the market for my first short action deer gun but wanted to have the ability to hunt larger game with it cleanly, the 7-08 sure beats anything in the .25 cal or 6mm class. In a 7-08 you can get 2700 to 2820 FPS out of a 150 gr Partitions and H4350. Or you can drive 160 grain A-frames or Partitions to 2600+ FPS. Inside 250 yards, you would see zero difference in the killing power of these loads and a 7mm Rem Mag. Both would kill cleanly if you hit the heart/lungs and both would result in a wounded animal and a long (potentially frustrating) track if you shot poorly. Even at 300 yards the 7-08 POI is only 1.5" lower than a similarly sighted 7 Mag. Past 300 they both drop very quickly with the Mag clearly having an advantage. But inside of that range, their really isnt much.

Again, if you were a young person wanting a short action deer gun, or a parent/grand parent/uncle buying one for a youth, and you wanted them to have this future capability, the 7-08 is a better choice than any 6mm, 6.5mm or .25 caliber option. If it is deer and deer only, it really doesnt matter much in that realm.

If you can get 2820 FPS with a 150 grain partition out of a 7mm-08, i am gonna go pick one up.

 

[Bird Dog II]

If you can get 2820 FPS with a 150 grain partition out of a 7mm-08, i am gonna go pick one up.

That is Hodgdon's max load with H4350. I stopped at about 47.5 grains because they were shooting good there.

That caliber, with that powder and bullet weight is apparently very efficient.

 

[mattsbox99]

The 7mm-08 wishes it was as awesome as the .280 Remington!

 

[Bird Dog II]

The 7mm-08 wishes it was as awesome as the .280 Remington!

Yeah I used to think that with the .308 vs .30-06 too, but unless you get up into heavier bullets (like a 175 for the 7s) there just isn't a practical difference.