7mm/08 for Plains Game? Good or Bad?

[Fabnosh]

I love my 7mm-08 but I won’t travel it. I load my own cartridges so shooting at home is fine. But I’ll only go on my international travels with my .308 and/or .375H&H

I’ve arrived in Johannesburg with my lovely 7mm-08 to find my ammunition was still in Heathrow. No chance of finding a factory cartridges locally so my rifle became an ornament and I had to hire a rifle.

The moral to the story is when one is shooting at home, shoot whatever weird and wonderful calibre that comes to hand and gives you pleasure. When traveling go for one of the ‘universal’ calibres ie .308/30-06/300WM/.375H&H that are available anywhere on the planet.

Still love my 7mm-08 though

FN

 

[Wiley64]

Well Ruark died 15 years before the 7mm-08 came out so thats fake news. 7mm-08 will do great. Does everything a 7x57 does with the same bullets but in a short action. Ignore the nonsense and shoot it confidently.

Thanks for the fact checking. I think it was his 220 swift that he hated. I still stand by my recommendation, I don’t like sleepless nights wondering if we can find my animal the next day. Life is hard enough, I’d rather just use enough rifle if given the chance

 

[DrBob]

I love my 7mm-08 but I won’t travel it. I load my own cartridges so shooting at home is fine. But I’ll only go on my international travels with my .308 and/or .375H&H

I’ve arrived in Johannesburg with my lovely 7mm-08 to find my ammunition was still in Heathrow. No chance of finding a factory cartridges locally so my rifle became an ornament and I had to hire a rifle.

The moral to the story is when one is shooting at home, shoot whatever weird and wonderful calibre that comes to hand and gives you pleasure. When traveling go for one of the ‘universal’ calibres ie .308/30-06/300WM/.375H&H that are available anywhere on the planet.

Still love my 7mm-08 though

FN

Exactly, if it isn't available in local store or with PH... it is a risk. Considering the investment of the hunt, not worth it. The 375 H&H with a 235 grain TSX at over 2900 fps is a game getter. I never felt under gunned with the 375.

 

[Flbt]

30-06 and 7mm Mauser are nowhere near related. 30-06 was based on the 30-03.

I think Mauser sued over the 1903 and the 30-03 cartridge
And won on pation isues
Just ww1 put a halt to it

 

[WAB]

I love the 7mm-08. It's a splendid cartridge. The only reason why I don't own one is that it didn't exist in the era of the rifles I like. Only potential drawback I see compared to other 7mm cartridges is that its short neck makes the use of the splendid 175gr bullets a problem.

But with (say) a nice Swift A-Frame 160-grainer I wouldn't hesitate using it on any kind of plains game. Not fast enough? Velocity doesn't kill--penetration does.

Agreed. There is nothing wrong with the cartridge unless you want to use the one seventy five grain bullets. In that situation you would be better served with the seven by fifty seven.

 

[DrBob]

I think Mauser sued over the 1903 and the 30-03 cartridge
And won on pation isues
Just ww1 put a halt to it

Yes.... the Springfield and ammo were Mauser and the US had to deal with patent rights... but with the War to End All Wars (part one) that became moot. With the Germans moving to spitzer bullets, the 30-03 was a goner and the world went with the spitzer design.

It is interesting to note that the Swiss with their GP11 bullet really jumped to the front. The US Army tried the GP11 bullet but had to quit as the bullets were traveling beyond the firing ranges. Also, if you look at the Winchester 284, it's a necked down 7.5 Swiss. If you shorten the BSA 330 it's a Winchester 338 Win Mag. Again, all about packaging.

 

[SCHUNTER73]

My 7mm 08 loves 140gr Partitions. Puts Wild hogs down.

 

[Ryan]

I love my 7mm-08 but I won’t travel it. I load my own cartridges so shooting at home is fine. But I’ll only go on my international travels with my .308 and/or .375H&H

I’ve arrived in Johannesburg with my lovely 7mm-08 to find my ammunition was still in Heathrow. No chance of finding a factory cartridges locally so my rifle became an ornament and I had to hire a rifle.

The moral to the story is when one is shooting at home, shoot whatever weird and wonderful calibre that comes to hand and gives you pleasure. When traveling go for one of the ‘universal’ calibres ie .308/30-06/300WM/.375H&H that are available anywhere on the planet.

Still love my 7mm-08 though

FN

Actually the moral of the story to me is take whatever you want, but if funny things like this happen, be prepared to use the camp gun. I took my 375 Ruger to Namibia and South Africa. Even less chance of finding that ammo, so I made sure I knew what was in camp as a back up plan. Each time the rifle and ammo showed.

 

[375er]

Just today one of our members that I will keep anonymous and let him tell it later put 4 good hits on a gemsbok with a .375 and they still had to chase it 8 km. I've seen the pics. 1st shot should have dropped it. It didn't. Use enough gun.

 

[CBH Australia]

My 7mm 08 loves 140gr Partitions. Puts Wild hogs down.

My first take with my 7-08 was Winchester factory ammo . Might have been a Hornady projectile of 139 or 140 grain weight. Either way feral pigs did not like it, but I did.

Used a lot of 120gn Nosler BT in it in reloads after that. I used the 7mm-08 a lot from a vehicle so low recoil and quick follow up made it a truck rifle for me.

I had wanted a 7mm-08 and I got a new Tikka CTR on clearance as the 7-08 is not as popular as the common as muck .308 offerings.

I have both but my 7mm-08 excelled in the application I bought it for.

 

[DrBob]

Just today one of our members that I will keep anonymous and let him tell it later put 4 good hits on a gemsbok with a .375 and they still had to chase it 8 km. I've seen the pics. 1st shot should have dropped it. It didn't. Use enough gun.

Sounds like nothing... ah... short of field artillery would have helped with that animal. Even when enough gun isn't enough? At least it wasn't lost.

 

[Triathlete3]

My son shot zebra, 2 wildebeest, red hartebeest, impala, blesbok, axis, many deer, black buck, and more with one shot 7mm-08. In Africa he shoots Barnes ttsx 120gr and in the US 140gr Nosler BT. It's a beautiful cartridge.

 

[DrBob]

My son shot zebra, 2 wildebeest, red hartebeest, impala, blesbok, axis, many deer, black buck, and more with one shot 7mm-08. In Africa he shoots Barnes ttsx 120gr and in the US 140gr Nosler BT. It's a beautiful cartridge.

From what I have read, the FN-FAL was planned to have a 7mm cartridge similar in power to the 7mm-08 which would have been manageable in full auto. But the US military pushed the 308. The ballistics of the 7mm-08 can keep a good bullet out to 1500 yards before going subsonic.

 

[rookhawk]

Who on our forum has used the 7mm/08 in Africa? or for large game (Elk, Deer, Moose) in North America? How did it perform? What bullets did you use? and would you recommend it for African plains game up to and including Kudu, Black WB or Zebra (I will have a 375 available for anything too big). I have two identical rifles that both shoot very well and recoil is not a consideration. One is in 7mm Mag and the Other in 7mm/08. At the range recently, I found the 7mm/08 to be surprisingly accurate with 140 & 150g bullets out to 400y but have zero experience on game with it. The 7mm Mag was ballistically not that much flatter but it was with 160 and 175g bullets. I had planned on taking the 7mm but found that it does not fit well in my hard case and rather than try to stuff it in, I would have to buy a new case if I take it. The 7mm/08 is much shorter, lighter by about 3/4lb and seems to hit the tgts well. I would be using it on Springbok, Blesbok, Kudu, Zebra, Black Wildebeest and Warthog. My concern was with the larger beasts like the Wildebeest or the Zebra and maybe the Kudu. I would be using Barnes 140g TTSX or Swift 150g Scirooco's. Both shoot to same POI out to 400y so can be swapped. Hunting ranges would be from 50y out to about 300y and could go out further in some limited cases. I know the Mag is better but, I am pretty sure the 7mm/08 would do fine but wanted to ask of any collective experiences out there with the 08? Thanks.

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I’m not a 7-08 fan and have no real world experience shooting them. I suspect I’m needlessly biased against them for insulting the 7x57 which is its ballistic twin. The latter, I know quite a bit about.

They are identical except for one key feature: a long throat capable of shooting 175gr bullets. If your 7-08 has a long throat and shoots heavy for caliber bullets accurately, there is nothing you can’t do with that caliber.

If it likes to shoot 140gr bullets, its neutered and you won’t be able to pull off the big stuff like Oryx, Eland, etc.

 

[DrBob]

I’m not a 7-08 fan and have no real world experience shooting them. I suspect I’m needlessly biased against them for insulting the 7x57 which is its ballistic twin. The latter, I know quite a bit about.

They are identical except for one key feature: a long throat capable of shooting 175gr bullets. If your 7-08 has a long throat and shoots heavy for caliber bullets accurately, there is nothing you can’t do with that caliber.

If it likes to shoot 140gr bullets, its neutered and you won’t be able to pull off the big stuff like Oryx, Eland, etc.

I ran the numbers at Hodgdon . With the 7mm-08 running at its higher pressure, with the 175 gr bullet, it's about 150 fps faster. So easily can match or better the Mauser. The game won't know the difference.

 

[rookhawk]

I ran the numbers at Hodgdon . With the 7mm-08 running at its higher pressure, with the 175 gr bullet, it's about 150 fps faster. So easily can match or better the Mauser. The game won't know the difference.

Except not all 7-08 will shoot 175gr bullets. Caveat emptor.

The other difference is the types of guns made in each caliber.

 

[sgt_zim]

I’m not a 7-08 fan and have no real world experience shooting them. I suspect I’m needlessly biased against them for insulting the 7x57 which is its ballistic twin. The latter, I know quite a bit about.

They are identical except for one key feature: a long throat capable of shooting 175gr bullets. If your 7-08 has a long throat and shoots heavy for caliber bullets accurately, there is nothing you can’t do with that caliber.

If it likes to shoot 140gr bullets, its neutered and you won’t be able to pull off the big stuff like Oryx, Eland, etc.

What I've grokked about throat length comes from load development for my 9.3x62, which has an exceedingly long throat - the throat in my Zastava and my JP Sauer are nearly the same, Sauer might be about 0.01" shorter, give or take a little.

My understanding is the long throat was necessary for RN bullets, and the official COAL is 3.291. I don't have any RN bullets for it, so IDK for certain. IIRC, Spitzer bullet design was introduced for the 8x50 Labelle (1888 or so), but didn't see wide adoption for a number of years after that. But it's for certain that 7x57 and 9.3x62 were designed for RN bullets.

Moving to 7mm bullets, I'd imagine it's a similar situation for 7mm Mauser vs 7mm-08. The latter probably have shorter throats, but if you're shooting 175 gr Spitzers, throat length is sufficient.

I thought I had read somebody say the neck on 7mm-08 was too short for 175 gr bullets. I'm sure that would come as a great surprise to the 7mm RM crowd - it has a shorter neck than 7mm-08 does, by 0.013, at least according to Hornady manual XI.

Of all the bullets I've tried in my 280 AI, the oddball on COAL is Oryx 156 gr. I'm out of town and don't have my reloading data at hand, but I had to set the COAL for that bullet about .08 shorter than any of the 175 gr bullets I've tried (at 3.33, the ogive was sitting firmly on the lands, so I don't doubt that throat length is a potential issue for 7mm-08 with some bullets), and I've tried several of them - NP, Grand Slam, Game King, and a couple others. I have some 175 gr NF solid shanks and 160 gr Shock Hammers sitting on the bench waiting to be put through their paces.

The only 3 bullets in the 175 class I see 7mm-08 having an issue with are ELD-X, NABLR, and TSX/TTSX, but that's due to twist rate. Seems like all 3 of those need something like an 8.5 or 8.75 twist, and most 7mm-08 are 9 or 9.5 - tangent ogive 175s will work, and secant ogive 175s don't seem to, though Nosler shows a 9 twist as enough to stabilize NABLR, Berger's calculator seems to show it as marginal.

All that's a long way of saying to the OP - if you want to roll your own 175 gr ammo, have at it. It'll suit you well in the bushveld for whatever you want to hunt.

 

[Philip Glass]

It is great for deer here but I'd go a bit heavier myself. If you do take it please use the Barnes TSX. Shoot the Zebra with your .375. Have a great safari!

 

[AZDAVE]

Ballistically a 7/08 is a modern 7x57.

 

[JG26Irish_2]

It is great for deer here but I'd go a bit heavier myself. If you do take it please use the Barnes TSX. Shoot the Zebra with your .375. Have a great safari!

Thx for the advice. I would shoot Zeb with the bigger gun. They are notoriously tough. I am still on the fence with the 7/08. Others spoke of Ruark tossing one off a cliff. Actually, the 7mm/08 did exist as early as 1958 but only as a custom wildcat build. Did not become a factory load until Robet had passed. But, the rifle Ruark tossed was the 220 swift. It is a glorified varmint rifle and IMO, not well suited for larger game. Plus the bullets of Ruarks era were mostly cup and core type which were bad to frag on tougher, thick skinned game or bone which could lead to lost game or long stalks.

When I think of a 7mm/08, I think it is just a 308 that is slightly necked down and slightly faster than the 308 parent round. One of my buddies loves to Safari with a 308 using 120g loads but he is a little twisted, lol. I love to use it with the 180g pills. Still the 308 with 150g ammo is deadly. So, in my estimation a 7mm/08 loaded with 150g bullets which are sleeker, and have better BC and SD should be at least as effective. Just my opinion.

I like my little 7/08 but have not had the chance to use it on game and would like to do so but this is just not possible at this time of year. Mine likes the 150g ammo but I have not found any heavier and will not gear up to reload a hunting cartridge since I would never shoot volume with it. Please post your experiences with it if you have any. That helps.