Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Thoughts for 7mm08 build?

New to building and thinking of a 7mm08 with a 21 or 22 inch barrel. What action, barrel, stock, and gunsmith. Not looking for an ultralight i tend to like 7.5 lb rifles. What are your guys thoughts?

7.5lbs, sans optics?

I know this is boring but I bought a howa barreled action in 708 and a takeoff vanguard stock. I'm happy lol

Budget?

I like my Bobby Hart built M-700, trued action with 23" Hart using std. Rem sporter contour in Hunters Edge with Timney 510, 3-9x40 Conquest. Conquest was sent back to Zeiss for an elevation turret. Tracks well, turret just turns the wrong way.

It's 8 pounds with the Conquest which weighs a pound, or 7 pounds naked. Feels about right to me.

DF

7mm-08 i own 2 customs and 2 regular all shoot very well . i have a 7mm- 08 in a older Remington wood stock Varmint that`s got some work done to it and it shoots one holers at 100 yards and i have shot 1 inch groups at 400 yards sometimes too . 7mm-08 is a very out standing cartridge you will enjoy this built rifle . good luck,Pete53

2500 budget, no optics so 7lbs to 7.5 without is ok. Plan B will go with a non typical from GAP

Brux #3 or a Bart 2b 1-8" twist, finished @ 22". Flute or no up to you. Bighorn Origin action maybe?? Or lots of options there even a model 700. For the stock I'd go Classic Edge/Hunters Edge or Manners EH6 maybe if you can find one. Bottom metal Hawkins Precision if going BDL. TriggerTech trigger - primary works just fine.

For a smith, lots of good ones, I've had several 7MM--08's built and all have been great, so no particular order but I could be happy with another one from Eddie Fosnaugh, Karl Feldkamp for Jon Beanland. If you have the parts I'd maybe go Kampfeld or Beanland since they are both pretty quick when you supply the parts and the gun will be perfect IMHO.

For another weight data point, I just finished one for a member here, 700, 22” benchmark #2 in a Brown Precision stock. Bdl and came in at 6lbs 3oz.

My custom 7-08 goes 6-13 scoped......

Stainless 700, fluted 24" Rock Creek #3, bedded Edge Classic, BDL, Leupold 2.5-8 in Talleys.

I've considered selling it........not cheap......

I bought a PF Model 70 with an unknown magnaported barrel chambered in 7-08 to use as a Creed project donor. You guys have about convinced me to cut the barrel back to 21” and give it a try.

A Non Typical 22" with a 1-8" twist would be nice. What OAL does their BDL setup allow? If you want to shoot the long-nosed stuff, an OAL close to 3" would be helpful.

Where and how do you intend to use this 7mm-08? I'm here in the Northeast, and my Remington Model Seven with 18-1/2" barrel is about right for my hunting. I hunt NY State from a tree stand, so weight isn't a big deal, but length and handiness is. With a laminate stock and a 4x scope my rifle weighs 7 lbs. even. Sometimes I like to still hunt with this rifle at port arms, so light is good. If I lived out west like Pharmseller I would want a longer barrel, but about the same weight, certainly not more than 8 lbs ready to hunt.

Gunwriter John Haviland is a big fan of the 7mm-08. One of his sons hunts with a Model Seven like mine, so I guess a short barrel isn't a deal breaker out west.

Let us know what you decide upon.

I could keep this rifle as my one and only and never look back.
With scope, mounts and a foot of blue tape she weighs exactly 6-1/2lbs.


700 in 7-08
Pac Nor barrel - Mountain Rifle contour 21”
Pac Nor installed the tube and fluted the bolt.
McMillan Edge, Mtn rifle pattern
ADL bottom
Leup 2.5-8x
Talleys

Very nice. Sounds like he prefers things a little heavier than that....going KS contour would be my choice...Rem sporter would add a bit more and probably put him where he wants to be.

I'm on the same page with the OP, don't like overly light rifles. To me they can be too whippy. I like some forward heft and mass.

To each his own.

DF

I think your requirements should be so easy to meet that the issue will be the number of choices you have. Pretty much any action with a synthetic stock and #2 or #3 barrel will hit that weight number. You could probably hit it with certain wood stocks, even. As long as your action is relatively true and the bedding are good, presuming a good barrel (easy to find these days), the rest of accuracy is how concentric the chamber is cut to the bore.

A 22" 7-08 is about perfect in my book. Long enough to wring out all the velocity the cartridge offers, long enough not to be blasty, and long enough to hang on target well for off hand shots. But still pretty handy. With 120gr Noslers BT's, basically has no recoil and almost zero hold sensitivity.

GAP is great but there are tons of great rifle smiths. I like Precision Barrel Work in Texas. I feel like your biggest choice is a 700 type action or a custom push feed, vs a CRF action. The easy button is buying a 700 short action, getting it lightly trued, using any of the 5 or so great barrel makers, then use really any stock you like best. I tend to like Manners because they have wider forends and fatter, more vertical pistol grips, other folks like Banser and McMillan which have more traditional lines. The stock is the one part that is like trying on hiking boots; you really can't do that [bleep] online and expect it to be perfect.

Budget wise yer right on for most custom builders:
700 action: 300
Squaring it up a bit: 150-200
Barrel: 350
Chambering: 350
Stock: 600
bottom metal (I like PTG canoe style, gives 5+1): 140.
Bedding: do yourself or 150-200.

I bought a Remington Model Seven SS in 7-08 with a 20" barrel a couple of years ago. I love the balance and accuracy of this little rifle.

120 grain NBTs @3,000fps
140 grain Partitions @2850fps

I'm trying to decide whether to take it or my Model Seven SS in 7 SAUM elk hunting this October.

Here's one I just finished for a customer a few hours ago, ready to ship out.. Win M70, McMillan stock, Lilja barrel at 22.5" coated in Graphite Black and chambered in 7-08 Rem. IMHO, that stock is gorgeous.. (his idea re: color etc..):