One other reason I love my 7mm-08 is because as I age, I find that I am more sensitive to recoil. My beloved Ruger tang-safety 30-06 is just not comfortable any more, even with the best recoil pad I can find. Yet I still love to hunt elk, and need something powerful enough to for me to feel confident of it doing its job reliably if I do mine.

Now, I probably spend too much time reading things like "Is the 7mm-08 adequate for elk?" and "What is the best bullet/load combo for the 7mm-08 when elk is on the menu?", but I have always had a bit of doubt in the back of my mind when leaving the 30-06 at home and taking the little 7 out for elk.

So this is how I approached it: most people would agree that factory Hornady 30-06 ammo using a 165gr Hornady Interlock is adequate elk medicine. I decided to explore the possibility if my 7mm-08 could in any way compare to that in velocity, energy and penetration.

Now this is a fair comparison in one way: I'm going to compare factory Hornady 30-06 ammo to factory Hornady 7mm-08 ammo, but instead of the Interlock bullet I'm going with the 150gr ELD-X bullet in the 7mm-08 to see what this newly available design will gain for me.

Here's the 30-06/165 Interlock (with data from the Hornady web page):

Test Barrel (24") Velocity (fps) / Energy (ft-lbs)
Muzzle 100 200
2800/2872 2591/2460 2392/2096

300 400 500
2202/1776 2020/1495 1848/1251

Trajectory (inches)
Muzzle 100 200 300 400 500
-1.50 1.80 0.00 -7.90 -23.00 -46.70

Here's the 7mm-08/150 ELD-X:

Test Barrel (24") Velocity (fps) / Energy (ft-lbs)
Muzzle 100 200
2770/2555 2613/2274 2461/2018

300 400 500
2315/1784 2173/1573 2037/1381

Trajectory (inches)
Muzzle 100 200 300 400 500
-1.50 1.80 0.00 -7.50 -21.60 -43.00

What I see is that the 7mm-08 has slightly more retained energy and slightly higher velocity at every distance from 100 yards on out, using a bullet that has a higher SD (for penetration I can count on). Of course, penetration depends on many more factors than SD, but SD is a good, simple starting point for comparison.

The 7mm-08 also benefits me beautifully in consequence of its smaller case: recoil with the 150gr bullet and only 41.5 gr of Rel 15 in an 8lb rifle will be about 15 ft/lbs, while the 165gr 30-06 with 57gr of either H or IMR 4350 in a rifle of the same weight will bring 21 ft/lbs of recoil. Both loads get their respective bullet moving at roughly 2800 fps.

And THAT is my huckleberry - significantly reduced recoil in a off-the shelf bullet/caliber combination that favorably compares to a traditional and unquestionably adequate elk load: the 165gr Interlock in a 30-06. My nagging doubts can now be put to rest!

I would love to see the same kind of comparison with the 162gr ELD-X, but it's not available in factory 7mm-08 ammo and I believe Mule Deer is only starting to wring out some handloads for that bullet and the 7mm-08.

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing -- Edmund Burke