7mm rifles, whats your thoughts, favourites

[Graham Hunter]

Guess I am a 7mm freak! 7mm08x2 7x57 280 Rem 7mm Weatherbyx2 7x64 and a 28 Nosler. Love them all.

 

[Rust Merchant]

I've shot maybe 40 African animals with a 7 mm Remington mag, mostly during the late 70s. Practically all
were plains game, with one leopard thrown in. I used a Winchester 70A for most of the shooting.
That 7 Mag round has always done its work, whenever I have done my part. And Remington ammo did not break up
as badly as Winchester ammo did. I took that rifle along when I went with some friends to shoot plains
game down on the Limpopo, back in 2008. I didn't fire a single round on that trip, and I had the most fun that
I've ever had--before or after--on a hunting trip! All I did was to open the wine at dinner, and listen to the alibis!
Ain't it surprisin' how many rifles will break or lose the screws that held the sight down on the rifle, and all those
things that happen to a rifle on a safari, when you're two days from town (and two days from a gunsmith)?
I lent that 7 Mag to four hunters--two were avid muzzle loading hunters, but had problems with their muzzle loaders.
And two of the hunters were ladies. All four used my rifle. All were successful--no cripples, most kills were one-shot.
Seems like, among them, they got 18--20 trophy animals with that rifle.
I like the 7 mag!
Rust Merchant

 

[Graham Hunter]

Guess I still need a 275 Rigby.

 

[John Telford]

Do you want to elaborate on the .280? just trying to create discussion and learn. I thought about a .260rem briefly but for the costs of going with a lesser known cartridge

So , A gunshop in Adelaide (Australia) said that the 7mm-08 is popular with African shooters living there.
Is it a common round in Africa?
What about the others?
I've read on the 7x57, sounds like a classic.
Yesterday i read about the ,284Winchester another 7mm bore, and the 7mm-08 AI
People I've met with 7mm rifles are pretty happy with performance
It seems that for hunting the 7x57 is well liked. The 7mm-08 equals it and the 7mmRm is fine but there are other 7mm magnums too.
do these others show any real world performance for hunters?

7x57 is the most popular followed by 7x64. However the 270win which is slightly smaller is most likely the most popular of the three. It’s a question of horses for courses - I have all three calibers and use them for different applications. My personal first choice is the 7x64.

 

[CBH Australia]

After reading many replies I think the 7x64 would be an excellent cartridge in the right platform.
I had heard of a .280 year s ago but didn’t know anything about it, I considered it was a wildcat or obscure cartridge .

 

[gatekeeper]

I am a big fan of the 7mm, and have used the 7mm Rem Mag, the 7mm-08 and the 270 Win(very close to a 7mm) quite a bit. They perform well on non dangerous game, and do so with less recoil than their 30cal counterparts. The 7mm Rem Mag with a 160gr Nosler Accubond@ 3050-3100 or a 175gr Nosler Partition@2900-2950 is a good all around rifle. Fast, plenty of energy at any reasonable hunting range, deep penetration with premium bullets and relatively mild recoil. John Sundra, noted gun writer, is a fan of 7mms, as was John Nosler, and of course WDM "Karamojo" Bell with 1011 elephants, about 800 of them with a 7x57 Mauser.

 

[RayAtkinson]

OLd post, but nothing has changed for me..It will always be and still is the 7x57..

 

[CBH Australia]

Good info here. I camecto the consclusion long ago i wanted a 7-08 had it a couple of years.
Glaf i did.
The 7x57 ballistic twin has history and prestige but there is a cheap .280 on ised guns mmm?

 

[Ragman]

Good info here. I camecto the consclusion long ago i wanted a 7-08 had it a couple of years.
Glaf i did.
The 7x57 ballistic twin has history and prestige but there is a cheap .280 on ised guns mmm?

I have wanted a 7-08 for years too. Don’t have it yet. And I don’t care if the 7x57 has more history or not, I want the 7-08! The European cartridges are scarce as hen’s teeth around here anyway. I nearly bought one at a gun show in March, but the wife reminded me that I had to buy fence materials instead!

 

[CBH Australia]

@Ragman we all have priorities that conflict with our interests. You know what you want that's a good start.
When can you have it maybe dictated by finance, opportunity or needs.

I like it a lot. But i still use a .308 in a hunting rifle too.

I had 3 secondhand .308 before i bought a 7mm-08 on clearance. That was a 20 uear cycle.

 

[Ragman]

@Ragman we all have priorities that conflict with our interests. You know what you want that's a good start.
When can you have it maybe dictated by finance, opportunity or needs.

I like it a lot. But i still use a .308 in a hunting rifle too.

I had 3 secondhand .308 before i bought a 7mm-08 on clearance. That was a 20 uear cycle.

.308 is my favourite caliber. If a rifle could be your soul mate, my Browning BLR in .308 is mine! Lol! If I could only have one rifle For the rest of my life, that would be it.