Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats 7-08 to what?

I have a Model-7 7-08 that my daughter used to shoot (decided to stop hunting) that I was wanting to customize for myself. What calibers can I rechamber this to? This is the first time I have ever considered doing something like this so I'm kind of lost.

338 Federal, 358 win, or if you are really desperate 308.

The 7mm-08 is a great cartridge. You may just want to restock it and go hunting. If not:

The easiest are all those based on the 308:
243WIN
260REM
308WIN
338FED
358WIN

Others should work but may require a little feed rail work:
22-250REM
6mmREM
250SAV
257Rbts
300SAV

Then there are those that probably will need rail work:
6mm-284
6.5mm-284
284WIN

You could also do a short mag (Ruger, Remington or Winchester versions) by having a gunsmith do rail work and open up the bolt face. My advice though is to stick with the first list.

I won't include any wildcats cuz there are plenty to choose from already...

RH

338 Federal, 358 win, or if you are really desperate 308. Oops that would be a rebarrel. How about 7 x 57 Ackley?

I was thinking rebarrel, if you want to rechamber/rebore using the same barrel then things get real limited. Which are you thinking?

RH

7mm-08 Improved ...

kjkf - What's your style of hunting and/or typical shots?

Luckily, I been drawn two years in a row for cow elk here in Az, but I also go to Minnesota for Whitetails. I will not shot at anything over 300 yds in Az, and most shots in MN are between 75-150 yds.

I am looking to rebarrel because it has a 20 inch barrel on it now and I would like to go at least to 22 inches.

Well, then, I'd go with a 21" tube in .358 and harvest some big MN whitetails with it. You a handloader?

Not reloading yet, still trying to convince the wife that it is one of those necessities(sp?) in life.

Since your not reloading yet I would do the .308 Winny
But on the same token I could get all horned up to a .338 Fed if you can find factory loads easily.

Well, if you get a custom that you HAVE to reload for, I'm sure she'll understand....

WGM, I new to this stuff. What do you mean by Improved? All I have ever shot was a 30-06.

Skane, I will run that by her tonight.

I think I'm leaning towards the 338 Federal.

Now yer talking

an "improved" cartridge, or an "AI" (Ackley Improved) cartridge is one where the case is "blown out" to a minimum amount of taper, and a (usually) 40 degree shoulder angle, which increases the capacity of the case, minimizes brass flow (which in turn almost eliminates the need to trim cases, and extends brass life) ... and grants you a new custom chamber with a little more "oompf" than the original cartridge.

Net gain is usually at least a little more speed, lack of need for case trimming, longer brass life ...

the only real cons are that some claim feeding issues due to the steep shoulder angle ... and some don't like the idea of having to 'make your own brass' by fireforming it to the new chamber ...

However, when properly done, an improved chamber shouldn't have feeding issues, and you should be able to shoot full house loads thru the new chamber using your standard (in this case) 7mm-08 brass, and they will shoot just about as well, if not totally as well, as the fireformed loads will ...

FVA said it this way, and it stuck with me - and I'll put it in terms of the 7mm-08)... Your standard 7mm-08 brass might not know it's improved yet, but the chamber does.

What that means, is that the chamber is the final say on case capacity, not the brass. If your normal 7mm-08 load is using 45g of powder, and the improved chamber can safely hold/use 48g, you can load your standard 7mm-08 brass with 48g of powder, and when you set it off, the brass will form to the new chamber geometry, thus instantaneously making it "improved" brass, and will take advantage of the new chamber, and act basically just like it would if the brass were already formed to the new chamber prior to shooting it. And, once you fire it that first time, it's not shaped to the new chamber, and you just run with it like you would any other round ...

What is Ackley improved? Sorry, I just don't know what that means.

Thanks WGM.

A standard 7mm-08 using either 120g or 140g bullets of today's quality and selection is as deadly as one really needs for just about anything in North America, assuming they can/will place the bullet where it should go ... it's very easy to load for (not a fickle round) ... recoil is minimal considering typical big game cartridges ... and the 7mm-08 is becoming more and more popular, making it easier and easier to find factory 7mm-08 loads, were one to end up in a situation where they ran out of (or lost) their hand loads ...

Not to mention, that the 7mm bullet selections are very nice, in terms of ballistic qualities, and are plenty big enough in diameter to do the job at hand - think 7mmRemMag ... the 7mm-08 Improved is just a small step behind it in terms of field/hunting performance for what most would consider typical/normal hunting ranges ... it's just in a smaller, more efficient package, that lends itself to smaller, lighter rifles that are simply nicer to carry and shoot ...

of course, that's my opinion on the matter ... YMMV

Just leave it as a 7-08 'til you're set up for anything handloaded. A factory loaded 7 TSX will kill anything you point it at.