Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Pros & Cons: 7mm-08 vs. .308 Win for plains game

I would have to believe that the heavier bullets at similar velocities of the .338 fed would recoil more than a .308 with lighter bullets. Unless there is some magic to the .338 fed - physics will likely bear out. It's easy to feel the difference in 150 gr and 180 gr bullets from a 30-06.

I have the stainless FWT in 308 and use it for just about everything now. It wears a McMillan FWT stock and I've mounted a 2-7 Leupold on it. It's fairly light and handy, much more so than my 30-06's. Highly recommended.

Re: the 338, I don't see the advantage. I think it's a bit much for that little case, and wouldn't offer any significant gain over the 308 in practical use.

Custom 7mm-08 Montana Rifleman action LH in an Accuracy Int stock. 20 in bbl
Talley LW rings Leupold scope.
Whitetail nightmare, finding a load is like tripping over a log. Whats not to like?

I hunted in RSA this past September with my 7x57 and 160 grain Accubonds. I didn't take anything on the large side, though I did shoot two kudu cows for meat. One dropped within 25 yards the other went over the edge of an escarpment and down into the sidehills. Took half a day to to recover it. I had wished for more cartidge for that cow that would have anchored her a bit more securely. My thoughts at the time were I wish I had brought my '06 and 180 grain Nosler partitions. That is still my recommendation today.

For your hunt, I would definately lean towards the 308. You could use 168gr Barnes TSX instead of the 180gr bullets to lighten recoil slightly. I would also caution of getting a rifle too light. Stick to a 8-8.5 lb rifle ready to hunt and the recoil will also be less felt. A good recoil pad is may be called for as well.

Just my opinion, but stay away from lightweight/featherweight rifles if recoil is a concern.

no, this is not true. the 7-08 ammo is common. but have to agree with most take the 308. i hunt with a 308 and a 300H&H. the 308 has never failed me. though i have failed it more than once.

Another option to reduce felt recoil significantly is to figure out what your real LOP should be so the stock fits you, and add a Limbsaver slip on recoil pad over the stock recoil pad (I recommend a decelerator recoil pad as your stock recoil pad by the way). You may have to have a gunsmith shorten the LOP of the stock to make the gun fit you with the Limbsaver slip on installed. My CZ 500 Jeffery was too short for me (I have gorilla arms with 14.5" LOP needed), so slipping the on the Limbsaver recoil pad over my decelerator fixed the LOP problem and significantly reduced felt recoil. Try this with one of your existing rifles even though the LOP will be wrong and see if it reduces the recoil for you. Make sure you buy the 1" thick version.

Here's a link on midway usa

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=755820

Hope this helps,

Chuck

I'm not sure about that but others certainly know more than I do. It would seem a 200gr, .338 cal bullet with the same trajectory as a 165gr, .308 cal bullet has an advantage in both pentration and frontal area. It also arrives at 300 yards packing some 300 ft. lbs. more energy. All rather significant, I'd think, although maybe not to the dead critter.

I liken the .338 Federal vs. .308 Win to the the .338-06 vs. .30-06. The .338-06 gives similar trajectories as the .30-06 but with heavier bullets and more frontal area. Whereas with the '06s you compare the 180gr 30-cal to the 225gr .338 cal, in the smaller cartridges you compare the 165gr 30-cal to the 200 & 210gr .338 cal. All these fly about the same speed and have the same trajectories, but in all instances the larger, heavier bullet has a distinct advantage in enrgy and frontal area smaller rounds simply cannot match. Again, the dead critters may not know the difference, but I think the bigger hole has to account for something.

The .338 Fed's recoil numbers when launching 200 - 210gr bullets are about equal to a .30-06 and 180gr bullets. If you drop down to 180/185gr bullets in the Fed, it starts to feel more like an '06 shooting 165 grainers.

Yup. Less powder in the Fed helps with the recoil a bit. The downrange energy of the -06 and 338 Fed are nearly identical too. 338 Fed has a fatter bullet which I prefer (I figure it can't be a bad thing to create a bigger hole), but there is a penalty in velocity at pretty long ranges, say >450-500yds. If recoil is a really big deal go 7mm-08 or lighter bullets in the 308, if not a that big a deal, consider the 338 Fed (still much less recoil than any magnum).

There is no wrong answer here given the choices...

Big time, and the 338 Federale wouldn't even cross my mind for a trip like this..

Dober

My oldest son used a 30-06 with 165gr. Trophy Bonded Tips in Namibia summer 2009 on Wildebeest, Kudu, and Gemsbok.

I borrowed it to kill my mountain Zebra.

Based on our experience with the ought six, I wouldn't have any qualms toting a .308 for PG loaded with either 165gr. or 180gr. premium bullets.

In fact, that's exactly what I'll be using this summer.

I really am leaning toward either the 7-08 with 140gr TSXs or the .308 Win with 150gr TSXs. I highly doubt one would kill any better than the other, and I do need to consider that the rifle will be used far more for deer around here than it will be for kudu and zebra in Africa.

Truth be told, my choice has more to do with me wanting a new Winchester Model 70 rifle as much as needing a failry mild cartridge in terms of recoil. If the Winny came in .338 Fed, then it would be a tougher choice.

I also need to make a choice on stainless vs. blued or matte. I'd assume my PH would prefer matte or blued but again, I live in Seattle and hunt in the rain and snow so I need to consider that when the purchase is made. Also...synthetic or wood stock? I prefer wood, but sythetic is probably more practical.

Killing is not the issue.......... finding what you shoot is!

I lived in North Bend Wa. for 25 of the last 33 years. All my gun are stainless and I would not consider a blued rifle again. My SS rifles in RSA at our camps have never been a problem. A matte stainless finish is no different then a dry sun bleached grey branch. If it bothers you sent it to Robar and get them coated in Black. I have three this way and it's a far more durable finish then a blued gun. Plus the Action is slicker then anything else made when they are done with it.

I would definitely agree with JJhack. I had a Tikka M695 blued 270 win restocked with a McMillan and Cerakote coated. The action was even slicker than before. Great inclement weather gun!

Ariighty, then. It'll be the venerable .308 Win. I'm pretty sure it's going to be a new SC Model 70, as well.

Now it comes down to the Stainless Featherweight vs. Extreme Weather. I've a darn good notion to get the FWT and have someone replace the Schnabel with a straight ebony tip.

SS,

I've come into this thread very late, but from a practicality viewpoint you can't beat a 308 in Africa.......but the 338 Federal's bullets have a much better frontal area and if you can handle the recoil a 200gr Trophy Bonded Tipped, would be bloody nice out of the 338 FED.

The other thing you could try to cut the recoil is fit a Danuser Counter Coil in the butt.....adds weight and looks ugly, but will cut recoil by 30-40% with no added noise...........

I've never hunted Africa, but I know a fair bit about recoil. Pachmyr Decelerators rock.

NAP = no appreciable difference

+1.



I think that would look pretty weird, there's not enough meat in the forend of a featherweight to do that and make it look good.

How common is the 308win in africa?