Why so few 7mm-08 factory loads?

[long_range_rob]

I love my 7mm08 100-140gn HomePods that are gentle on the shoulder but not on the quarry.

 

[Wmjas]

That is part of what I've been thinking. Will the amount of use I may give them warrant homeloading outlay.

I’m really not trying to swing your decision making one way or the other I promise but one of the side benefits I have found with reloading is that because I have the ability to effectively “store” (in the form of powder, primers and bullets etc.) more ammo than my license or storage may allow, I have found myself practicing for more than I used to when factory ammo was a pain to drive and procure. Dunno if that helps or not but it’s a benefit I hadn’t considered but has helped my shooting immensely.

 

[7Miller]

I’m really not trying to swing your decision making one way or the other I promise but one of the side benefits I have found with reloading is that because I have the ability to effectively “store” (in the form of powder, primers and bullets etc.) more ammo than my license or storage may allow, I have found myself practicing for more than I used to when factory ammo was a pain to drive and procure. Dunno if that helps or not but it’s a benefit I hadn’t considered but has helped my shooting immensely.

This is where my head has been at today. Thinking of I home load, I can store all the components and spend more time shooting paper and steel, as well as all the quarry species I'd be shooting. Heavily leaning towards home loads and the 7mm-08.

That said though, I'm sending in the variation tomorrow for both the 7mm-08, (boar, deer, fox, AOLQ), and the 6.5CM, (deer, fox AOLQ) . That way, I can decide right up until the day I order the rifle.

 

[Kiwiguy]

Here in NZ the 7mm08 is very popular and factory ammo is widely available. When I looked at four different gun stores online they all had up to 15 variants of ammo in stock for the 7mm08.

Norma, Hornady, Remington, Winchester, Sako PPU and Fiocchi are all available in various projectiles weights.

Although I don't own a 7mm08 I know several people who do and I honestly can't see this cartridge becoming obsolete anytime soon.

 

[Reloader708]

It's being kept a strict secret because its just too effective! Only those in the know know! Everyone one else is either struggling on with their. 270s or belive the only rifles in existence are tikkas chambered in 6.5 creedmoor.

 

[Heym SR20]

Most 7-08s are on a 1 in 10” twist rate which means that they cannot use super sexy long sleek bullets that are all the rage.

7x57s on the other hand are perfectly able to use long for calibre bullets as they were originally designed to do so and most have 1 in 8 or 8.5” twist.

The 6.5x55 being another old cartridge, again designed for long bullets, and 6.5 CM copies this.

308 is also very popular and whilst 7-08 may be better on paper its only marginally so.

7-08, pretty much like anything other than 223, 243, 6.5 cm, 308 or 270 is really a handloaders cartridge. Mind you given the price of ammo, difficulty of getting hold of it etc, reloading does allow you to buy a few hundred bullets of your choosing, plus powder and primers to match and then you load them up as you need.

 

[7Miller]

Most 7-08s are on a 1 in 10” twist rate which means that they cannot use super sexy long sleek bullets that are all the rage.

7x57s on the other hand are perfectly able to use long for calibre bullets as they were originally designed to do so and most have 1 in 8 or 8.5” twist.

The 6.5x55 being another old cartridge, again designed for long bullets, and 6.5 CM copies this.

308 is also very popular and whilst 7-08 may be better on paper its only marginally so.

7-08, pretty much like anything other than 223, 243, 6.5 cm, 308 or 270 is really a handloaders cartridge. Mind you given the price of ammo, difficulty of getting hold of it etc, reloading does allow you to buy a few hundred bullets of your choosing, plus powder and primers to match and then you load them up as you need.

So, theoretically, can a longer 7mm bullet, like the 7mm PRC or creedmoor be loaded into the 7mm-08 case and shot through the rifle, if it had a 1:8 or 1:8.5 twist?
Or would it cause too much pressure in the case? Or force you to reduce the amount of powder?

 

[jcampbellsmith]

7mm-08 Rem and 260 Rem are both good rounds, but poor marketing by Remington has resulted in neither meeting their potential. I looked into buying a 7mm-08 in 1999 and actually bought a 260 Rem. Hornady have done a much better job in marketing their ammunition. I'm seriously looking at changing from 260 Rem to 6.5 Creedmoor when the latest 260 Rem barrel stops performing. All three rounds do the same job, but in the current world, availability of factory non-lead ammunition trumps everything in my book.
Regards
JCS

 

[7Miller]

7mm-08 Rem and 260 Rem are both good rounds, but poor marketing by Remington has resulted in neither meeting their potential. I looked into buying a 7mm-08 in 1999 and actually bought a 260 Rem. Hornady have done a much better job in marketing their ammunition. I'm seriously looking at changing from 260 Rem to 6.5 Creedmoor when the latest 260 Rem barrel stops performing. All three rounds do the same job, but in the current world, availability of factory non-lead ammunition trumps everything in my book.
Regards
JCS

I agree, the 6.5 creedmoor has the advantage due to ammunition available and choice, even if the 7mm-08 seems to be the better calibre for usual UK hunting distances. But saying that, I've checked the 3 gun shops within 45 min drive of me and they have 6.5 creedmoor bullets available (no 7mm-08) but not a big selection, so I'd likely end up home loading them, so may as well get the 7mm-08 and home laod that. But my variation went in this week and I added the 7mm-08 AND the 6.5CM! The 7mm-08 will cover me for boar which is why I favour it. If the 6.5 creedmoor would be "allowed" for boar then my choice would have been even easier and I'd just have gone for the 6.5CM!!

 

[kenbro]

This is totally valid and a large part of the reason I got into reloading, I actually got into it so that I could shoot the likes of the 25-06 and 7x57R among others. Upon starting down that path I realised I could “make” the load I needed in my other rifles by picking the bullet I wanted to use and loading to match it. Most people come at it the other way! This also means that I buy rifles in calibres that I probably won’t sell so don’t have to worry about depreciation.

I agree with Sauer, if you don’t want to have the outlay of reloading gear and can’t be arsed with it then .308 is for you.

Just stay away from the 6.5’s for boar….270 is the normal minimum for a reason.

Is that reason the size of the bullet or the ballistics?
Ken.

 

[7Miller]

Is that reason the size of the bullet or the ballistics?
Ken.

The size of the bullet as I understand it.
It's advised the minimum for boar should be a min calibre of .270 and I also understand it to recommend a 150g minimum too.

 

[Heym SR20]

So, theoretically, can a longer 7mm bullet, like the 7mm PRC or creedmoor be loaded into the 7mm-08 case and shot through the rifle, if it had a 1:8 or 1:8.5 twist?
Or would it cause too much pressure in the case? Or force you to reduce the amount of powder?

No reason why you should load a long 7mm bullet - eg a 173 grain in a 7-08 case. Provided you don’t fill the case with a very fast powder it will shoot. Whether it a) fits into the magazine b) is jammed into the lands to hard or c) will stabilise in a 1 in 10” twist is another matter entirely.

You could probably shoot a heavy flat nosed / round nose bullet just fine, but you will struggle with a long sleek and heavy high BC bullet.

Saying all of the above the 7x57 and 7-08 have killed an awful lot of game with 130 and 140 grain bullets just fine - including the largest antelope and elk.

 

[Heym SR20]

The size of the bullet as I understand it.
It's advised the minimum for boar should be a min calibre of .270 and I also understand it to recommend a 150g minimum too.

Boar are tough animals with thick hides, plenty of fat under the skin and then tough muscle and skeleton below that. You need a tough bullet to penetrate through that. Bullet construction is far more important that calibre. On the continent in many countries min for big game is 6.5 with 2,000 joules of energy at 100m. 6.5x55 with a 156gn bullet meets this no problem. Boar are often shot at pretty close range - velocity is often the enemy to penetration hence suggestion to use a 150 in the 270 - a 130 gn lead bullet impacting a piggy at 3,000 fps will fail to penetrate- It will blow up on the shoulder. A 150 at 2700 will punch through.

However with modern monolithics penetration is usually not so much of an issue.

 

[7Miller]

Boar are tough animals with thick hides, plenty of fat under the skin and then tough muscle and skeleton below that. You need a tough bullet to penetrate through that. Bullet construction is far more important that calibre. On the continent in many countries min for big game is 6.5 with 2,000 joules of energy at 100m. 6.5x55 with a 156gn bullet meets this no problem. Boar are often shot at pretty close range - velocity is often the enemy to penetration hence suggestion to use a 150 in the 270 - a 130 gn lead bullet impacting a piggy at 3,000 fps will fail to penetrate- It will blow up on the shoulder. A 150 at 2700 will punch through.

However with modern monolithics penetration is usually not so much of an issue.

The couple I know who shoot Boar, use 7mm-08 but only 100gr Sierra bullets, but also always take head shots. The energy they're producing using a calibre above the "recommended minimum" are easily matched by a 6.5, but it's still the accepted to shoot with a 270 and above

 

[Heym SR20]

The couple I know who shoot Boar, use 7mm-08 but only 100gr Sierra bullets, but also always take head shots. The energy they're producing using a calibre above the "recommended minimum" are easily matched by a 6.5, but it's still the accepted to shoot with a 270 and above

Head shooting Boar in my limited experience is really not advised. The brain is very well protected so your shot placement has to be perfect. Boar are usually shot at night and last thing I would want to do is tackle a wounded boar at night in a forest. Wounded boar don’t potter off and die quietly. They usually get pretty grumpy and attack anything that might try to pursue them. This will include the member of the general public walking their cockapoo in the forest the following morning.

Using a small 100gn bullet gives you no room for error and bugger all ability to sort the mess out when it goes wrong.

Admittedly small yearling piglets are a totally different beast to a 200 kg Keiler.

Have a look at

Boar shoulder shields

 

[7Miller]

Head shooting Boar in my limited experience is really not advised. The brain is very well protected so your shot placement has to be perfect. Boar are usually shot at night and last thing I would want to do is tackle a wounded boar at night in a forest. Wounded boar don’t potter off and die quietly. They usually get pretty grumpy and attack anything that might try to pursue them. This will include the member of the general public walking their cockapoo in the forest the following morning.

Admittedly small yearling piglets are a totally different beast to a 200 kg Keiler.

I agree. Placement is everything with any shooting scenario

 

[Heym SR20]

I agree. Placement is everything with any shooting scenario

Placement is yes everything. But also once you have experience you will realise that things can and do wrong. Spend time with continental boar hunters and it doesn’t take long before you realise that plenty of the dogs and hunters have been stitched together and that all the hunters and most of the dogs were kevlar lined trousers. The lederhosen, that we all mock, were thick leather breeks designed to protect a hunters legs and groin.

Put “wild boar attacking hunters” into google. Lots of videos of what they are capable of.

 

[simgre]

Head shooting Boar in my limited experience is really not advised. The brain is very well protected so your shot placement has to be perfect. Boar are usually shot at night and last thing I would want to do is tackle a wounded boar at night in a forest. Wounded boar don’t potter off and die quietly. They usually get pretty grumpy and attack anything that might try to pursue them. This will include the member of the general public walking their cockapoo in the forest the following morning.

Using a small 100gn bullet gives you no room for error and bugger all ability to sort the mess out when it goes wrong.

Admittedly small yearling piglets are a totally different beast to a 200 kg Keiler.

Have a look at

Boar shoulder shields

Nail on head!

I have a 7mm-08 with a 1in9” and shoots 175s with aplomb. I also have a .308 and there’s little between them in real terms. However, I take neither when out for boar, I went to .45-70 a few years ago after a really solid shot from a .308 appeared to fail miserably.

A head shot I would also consider risky. And just about all of the boar I’ve taken are at less than 100, more 75 to 80.

 

[tom_o_m]

I've just moved to copper and was surprised to find a couple of options in 7mm-08. I've never actually had a problem finding lead ammo, although I pay about 40-60% more than the equivalent .308 round.

 

[JTO]

If 7mm-08 were allowed in FTR, it might be more popular because it's suppose to stay supersonic further than .308W.