im looking for a lighter less recoil rifle than my trusty 721.
im having a heck of a time with my 06 recoil.now im not a wimp but my hands are bad.im really thinking of 7x57 in a newer action or the 6.5x55 or 7mm08.im liking the 7x57 as its just about a do all caliber and has a longer neck.any imput is welcome.
thanks

What are you chasing?

Ain't nothing that you can't kill with a 7mm08 with 44 gr of rl15 and 120 tsx's except maybe the big bears and it don't kick at all. I find myself using lot's smaller boolits and calibers as I age. I even found out that turkeys die with 3 inch 12 gauge loads this year, twice. Who woulda thunk?

deer elk and iilegals

I shot one deer that was facing me and hit it in the middle of the neck and recovered the 120 tsx under the hide on the hind quarter. So, it took out the spine in the neck, traveled the full length of the deer and completely penetrated the hind quarter, broke the leg bone and stopped under the hide. Hows that for penetration? Wouldn't hesitate to use an accubond either. I have yet to recover one on 6 deer kills. All pass throughs.

thats what i hear and is why im interested.i been looking at the vangard and the ruger.it will probably be a vangard as im on a tight budget(married with 2 teenage daughters)

260/6.5x55 or 7mm-08/7x57 are all excellent choices. Find a rifle that you like chambered in any of them and you're GTG! I've used all 4 of them and if you choose an appropriate bullet for the task at hand, you can flip a coin as far as performance is concerned.

I'll never be anyone to discourage the purchase of a new toy, but if dollars are a real concern you might want to try some light mono metals in your 721.

.........Should be a good choice for the ,,,,illegals!...

Do it! I have 7mm/08 in a Kimber Montana. it's a joy to shoot, easy to load for, and accurate. Hammers deer, and i wouldn't hesitate to use it on elk.

A 7-08 is a joy of a cartridge. I Saw a large gemsbok neatly dropped with single shot from a 7-08 last year. 150 grain TSX handload @ 110 yards. Took two steps and fell dead.

My old Sako 75 7-08 would shoot better than .5 groups all day with Federal factory 140 grain Accubonds.

Pick a good bullet, put it where it belongs, and the wee little 7-08 will take all that you wish.

My all time favorite load for my 7/08 is a 140 grain ballistic tip and 41.0 grains of 4064....try it and it will amaze you. Light recoiling and it will put em on the ground.

You will love a 7/08...very versatile, accurate round. Good luck

7mm-08 = Arsenic. It kills stuff DEAD.

Sandpit,

My wife has been shooting the 7mm-08 for 2 years, up from her original,.243, as a one gun for all her unting needs. She is shooting the factory Barnes 120gr TTSX(Vortex?) & loves it. Has so far taken 4 WT Deer & a cow Moose.

Sounds like just what you're looking for !

Light recoiling & deadly !

Wishing you well.

Paul.

If you reload try some 130gr TTSX in your 30-06. Not as much recoil and works for me.

Neil

Sandpit, 7mm-08 is a great round, a modernized 7x57 that will harvest game like its daddy did! Now the question is which rifle you thinking about getting.

I love my 7mm-08 with the 120 gr TTSX at 3000 fps. Very mild recoil, flat shooting and accurate. It would be hard to go wrong with the 120 gr BT as well which is purported to be a fairly stoutly constructed bullet.

Great excuse for a new rifle, I'm a two 7mm-08 guy, they are super.

Pretty nice 7mm-08 in the classifieds right now.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbth.../1/WTS_Remington_Model_7_SS_7mm_0#UNREAD

7mm-08 or a 260 are pretty much to peas in a pod. You can't go wrong with either, thou recoil with them will be noticeable in a light weight rifle. Then again a Sako 85 will solve that problem, since the finns still build rifles with a little meat on them.

Cant go wrong with it. 120's 130's 140s etc...

Here's a Speer 145 Hot cor ,that went thru a buck lengthwise

i went looking yesterday,dang i like the m70.next month is my birthday,so heres the problem do i get the m70 or like a tc venture and get the harley fixed to.ive decided on the 7mm08.i never did get into the magnum craze,i figured if my 06 didnt work i didnt need to hunt it.is the howas any good?

I bought a Remington 700 Stainless ADL at Dicks a few years ago in 7-08.It shot great in the factory tupperware stock but I put it in a HS Precision stock anyway.It shoots 120 and 140 BT's,139 Hornady SP and 120 Hornady HP's into half inch 3 shot groups repeatedly.I wouldnt overlook a Remmy 700. Also it has a 24" barrel which you may or may not like.

One thing I would look at when buying a 7/08 is to make sure the magazine has enough length to accommodate seating heavier bullets. One of the many good things about a 7/08 is that there is a huge range of bullets for it, providing some very high ballistic coefficient slugs.
Had one 7/08 and killed a couple of deer with it. Unfortunately, it was like all the other rifles I have had from a certain manufacturer, it grouped like a one legged drunk peeing in a wind storm.

Your in a pickle aren't ya? Gonna need that bike summers here! Maybe hold out for a good used one. Thee are some great deal in the classifieds, every now and then. Never heard anthing bad about the Howas.

My two 7mm-08 actually the X-Bolt Micro was my daughters college grad present, mines sako 85 hunter stainless

Nice!

Nice indeed! Very much enjoying my little 7mm-08, which is a 660 with a stainless 700 take-off barrel and Edge M7KS stock. Recoil is not bad, even at 6.5lbs total weight. I should have done one years ago.

I picked up a used 7-08 rem 700 sps for 400 bucks. I shot it with some 120 gr ttsx hand loads and it did .4 5 shot group on the first try. Can't go wrong with that. As stated above keep an eye in the classifieds, I haven't bough a new off the shelf rifle since I found this site 11 years ago , great group of people here.

One of my all time favorites is the 7mm-08. great selection of bullets and mild recoil. Definately a ray of death on all animals to be hunted within reason.

My mind keeps dwelling on that favorite ol' M721 sittin' there going to waste. How about dropping it off at the gunsmith, and having him screw on a new, after-market 7x57 barrel with a conour matching the original. You can even get rid of that bump in the barrel where the rear sight is.
It'll be the same gun you've used for years, and will be a new one, too.
I'd have it throated so the lighter bullets would be closer to the rifling, instead of being throated for the 175s. Would I??? The one I have now is an M98, short-throated, 20" barrel, Mannlicher stock, and butter-knife handle, so I'm not telling you anything that I wouldn't do.
Of course...you could send it to me, and I could send enough to put a down-payment on a new 7-08. PM me and we see.
Have fun,
Gene

Oh, yeah, it'll sit in my cabinet next to my M722s...a .300 Savage and a .257 Bob.

I have a 7-08 that shoots 120 gr TTSX very well and a 7x57 that prefers 140gr TTSX. Both are lightweight rifles and I probably don't NEED both....but I'm going to keep both.

Just sayin',

donsm70

+1 wildone. 5 of mine came from the classifieds...

7mm-08


Sig .280 Rem


7x57


6.5x55


.260 Rem

I have 3 7mm-08s. A Remington 700 SPS, Browning A Bolt Medallion and Winchester Model 70 Featherweight. If you like nice wood, CDNN had a sale on grade 3 walnut stocks for the Featherweight from the old New Haven factory. $99.00 a piece.

A co-worker's two teenage kids have shot 3 moose with a 7mm-08 and 140 grain factory loads. While I think it's a bit light for that application...it's hard to argue with moose steaks, burger and jerky.

I am in no way picking on you just my opinion. A well constructed 140 grain bullet at 2800 to 2900 FPS isnt really light.

sorry i aint been here,thanks for all the info,i picked up a 1943 vz24 for a donor for a 7x57 and im going to order an sps in 7mm08.i went to my daughters graduation (one more 2 go)and shot my bils 7mm08,im impressed with everything.the old 721 is gonna stay an 06.i may get enuff ass on me to shoot it agin.

okie im getting green with envy