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

You should be right on with the weight. AO built this one for me, good bunch to work with. Only parts difference is 700 action and a badger M4 BM. Think is was right at 6 lbs 5 ozs naked, barrel was also a 2b finished @ 22.5". Sold this one also

I had redneck put together a 7mm-08 a few years back. I'd recommend him. Mine came out to about 7.5 pounds with 23" bartlein #3. I'd post pics, but I'm not up with the times anymore ha. They're on here somewhere anyway.

So what’s the consensus on twist for average 140-160 bullets... 1-9 or 1-8”?

Never seen extra twist hurt for good hunting bullets myself. I’d go 8 if it were mine.

Have yet to see a 1-9 fail to shoot ANY 7mm bullet well,including the 195 Berger. But I live where 4000' is the lowest elevation.

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Brad,
I talked to Frank at Bartlein and he recommended a 9 twist in the 7mm-08 up to 180’s

180 ELDs were marginal for me in several 9 twist 7/08s at 200’ ASL.

A Rock Creek 8 twist handled them significantly better. If I’m building anything from scratch in 7mm I wouldn’t be going any slower than an 8 twist barrel.

Thanks for the thoughts gentleman... since I won't be using anything heavier than a 150 gr. BT, I'll stick with 1-9". I don't shoot or hunt below 5,000' so that will work fine. While everyone on this site seems to dwell on the positive aspects of a fast twist, musn't be some sort of downside as well? Or at least one as yet undiscovered or undiscussed...

That's the route I'd be going. I feel bad because I have the almost perfect rifle sitting in the safe that never gets used. It's chambered in 7mm-08.


I've been thinking about listing it on GB, since I never use it. With a custom barrel and mcmillan, this one would rock and roll!! However, it's pretty nice as is..

All of mine have been 1-9" and no complaints.

Unless it's nasty out I can't see why that one doesn't see the deer woods.

There are two downsides.

1) Faster twist rates are harder on lightly-constructed varmint bullets like the Hornady SPSX, which can cause them to come apart after exiting the barrel and before reaching the target. With a little thought put into bullet selection, this is a non-issue.

2) Faster rotational velocity accentuates the imbalance in non-concentric bullets. Any flaws inside the bullet, and a faster twist rate will increase nutation, causing a slight decrease in accuracy. Up until about 10 years ago, bullet making processes were capable of good bullets most of the time, but if you were after absolute accuracy, you didn't spin those imperfect bullets any faster than necessary. With today's quality of manufacturing, tolerances in bullet production are tight enough that bullet concentricity is very good, so this is nearly a non-issue except for the very most discerning of shooters (high-level SRBR competitors). That means that it's a non-issue for 99.5% of shooters and even 95% of rifle competitors.

Bullet and barrel manufacturing technology has changed the paradigm with twist rates. Within reason, faster is better for most people, with no significant downsides.

Here's an example of the accuracy that a good 8" twist 7mm barrel and 180gr bullets are capable of. It may not win any SRBR competitions, but it works for what I do.

For reference, a 9.5" twist 7WSM will barely stabilize the 195 EOL at 3000 ASL, a 9.5" 7-08 will not stabilize it, a 9" twist 7-08 will barely stabilize it.

If there's any chance you'll shoot long, sleek 180+ grain bullets, an 8" twist is a safe bet. If you'll always use 162gr bullets and under, then a 9" is fine. An 8" twist is my default when ordering 7mm barrels these days.

to be honest you could just buy a new Savage 7mm-08 in Savage`s best S.S. /plastic stock rifle but a picatinny scope mnts and a nice leupold scope or a Nightforce scope and enjoy that rifle as much as a custom or even a New custom Remington from the factory ?

You should probably pull this pic. There’s a tool that always has a remark when people post 3 shot groups. He claims 3 shot groups prove nothing and are a waste of time, especially when they are not on target.

He’ll probably question why you’ve never entered it in his beloved challenge as well.

Jordan, thanks for your detailed and thoughtful post.

Here's my 7mm-08 "build," which doesn't match many Campfire members' idea of build but still shoots very well. It's a tang-safety Ruger 77 Ultralight, the model with the very slim 18" barrel, and a very slim walnut stock with a black forend tip. It was rebarreled with a 22", #1 contour Douglas and the forend channel opened up just enough to float the barrel. I didn't have it done, just picked it up on the Campfire Classifieds, if I recall correctly for around $400.

A good friend's daughter was having poor luck getting her first big game animal, partly because she works at a hospital in Missoula and doesn't have much time to hunt except close to town on weekends, which ain't great. She also didn't have a rifle she really liked, so I had her shoot several of mine, and she picked the 7-08 as her favorite, and loaded some ammo with both 139 Hornady Spire Points and 140 Barnes TTSX's. It shoots both into tiny groups, and last fall she and her dad came east to hunt a ranch I know in the Gallatin Valley. Phoebe got her first deer with one perfectly placed Hornady at 160 yards.

By then I needed the Ruger back for an article, but had acquired some other rifles she might like. She picked a synthetic-stocked .308, and I loaned it to her permanently. I'll probably hunt with the 7-08 this fall, even though the stock is wood and the action isn't blueprinted and pillar-bedded. It weighs exactly 7-1/2 pounds with a 10-ounce 6x scope, which isn't too much of a burden even for an older hunter.

LIKE!

Laffin here.......

Nice muledeer! Thanks for the input. I wont be using anything over a 140 for hunting so looks like i may go with a bartlein 2b or 3 in 9 twist. Undecided on action still but looking into bighorn?