I was in my office (can) :)early this morning reading an old Hornady Manual and it was talking about the 7/08 and how it was brought out in 1980.

Amazing to me that the lil 7 has been with us 3 decades as a factory round already...where does the time go

Dober

I don't know Dober...you've seen the ugly old dude Ive got to look at in the mirror everyday..he was SUCH a stud in 1980!!

Ingwe

Not to high jack, but... LMAO

No kidding where did all those years go,time flys when your hunting and shooting great guns!

I love reading through loading manuals myself, Dober. I probably have the same Hornady manual you were looking at. Published in 1981 or 1982 I believe. Not long after the plane crash.
I really enjoy perusing through my Nosler manual with the prefaces by different authors including Mr. Ken Howell, John Barsness, Steve Timm, Kenny Jarrett, plus Chuck Yeager for the 300 Wby and Hank Jr. for the 45 Colt. How cool is that!

My 7mm-08 isn't quite the traditional handy short barreled rifle. It's a rechambered XP 100 pistol but with a scope it averages around 0.65" at 100 yds with the 140 gr BT. It definitely has become one of my favorite cartridges.

I didn't acquire one until 1997. It's been a favorite though.

The biggest black bear I've ever seen killed was shot with a 7mm08 from a 788, circa 1984

Not a bad first three decades for the 7mm SGLC.









(see if anybody knows that reference.)

Hard to give Layne Simpson credit for the round...

The first 7MM-08 I ever laid eyes on was a Remington
700V at a shooting range in PA probably around 1981.

That's a thread killer......

Thats an easy one! There are two gunwriters who have termed the 7-08AI the SLGC:

Layne Simpson - SLGC = Simpson's Good Little Cartridge

Steve Timm - SLGC = Steve's Good Little Cartridge

I've built a couple, they work. But so does the std version.

MtnHtr

My favorite short-action cartridge. Accurate, enough power, flat-enough trajectory and little recoil.

The 7-08 is sort of a .270 improved...

Uh, yeah (grin).

Curious as to why?

MtnHtr

It was necked down to 7mm looooong before Layne Simpson did it... just like Jim Charmichael didn't "invent" the 6.5mm-08...

I disagree, the 7mm-08 is just a short 270, that isn't quite the equal, but sure is close enough to not argue about.

I just recently worked up some loads for a youth 7mm-o8 and recently acquired another. I like the cartridge, but it isn't a 270 from my range results.

For some reason I have the itch to get an AR in 7mm-08. I figure it is the closest I will ever get to a 270 class cartridge in that configuration.

Layne can take credit for the SGLC, its the improved version 7-08. I think it was in the early to mid-seventies when Layne necked it down, but he also included the Ackley touch. So he takes credit for the first 7-08AI. IIRC, Steve Timm did the same in the late nineties but the std 7-08 was already established. He wrote an excellent article about it in the Varmint Hunter magazine though I think his loads were a bit warm - lols!

Both gunwriters are referring to the 7-08AI when they state "SGLC".

MtnHtr

Several years ago I encountered a Winchester pre-64 M70
custom rifle that was stamped 7x308 Winchester. This
was probably the late 90s if I remember correctly.

So close to .270 ballistics that difference is indistinguishable in the field with noticeably less recoil = an improvement in my opinion. And, I really like both rounds. Just like the 7-08 better. The same could probably be said about a 7x57, but I haven't played with that one as much.

It is hard to believe that thing is 30 years old. I have both the 270 and a 7mm-08. They are two great cartridges. 7mm and the 338 calibers just have sweet spot with me. If I had to sell one, it would be the 270!

RH

Stop it. No it's not.........



Casey

It's a sweet round!

I ordered my reamer from Hugh Henriksen when the 7mm-08 was announced. I just thought it was a nice cartridge. It was, and it is. Typically, while I built quite a few 7mm-08's, it was several years before I got around to making one for myself. When I did, I found it worked just like a 7x57 and that ain't bad. I think it is a better cartridge than the 284 and would choose it as a short action round over the 284 every time. GD

Dober,
I felt a little surprised it has been thirty years.....

Although I no longer have one in that caliber, I have been thinking my grandson in Wyoming may need one in a few more years.

I had a custom 7mm-08 built the instant the round came out. What scares me more than its three decades of existence is when I look at the dates on some of my reloads. Rounds I thought I loaded four years ago carry dates from the late 70s! When you own more deer rifles than you need, and in enough different calibers to complicate logistics, some ammo just never seems to get shot. Don't think my .30-06 has been out of the safe since three 7mm-08s joined the clan.

Mark,

You know I have a soft spot for the '08. I am on my fourth one currently. I use it for 90% of my big game hunting here in Texas and elsewhere. It would be close to 100%, but sometimes the other rifles get jealous.

Bob

My first 7-08 was when it was still a wildcat --barrel stamp: 7mm-.308-- and I haven't been without at least one since.
One of the really great things about a .243 is the ease with which that can be rebarreled to a 7-08.

I bought my first one 3 years ago for my wife and since then i have had one built for me because it is as perfect of a deer rifle out to 300 yards as i could ask for