Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Is 7mm-08 heading towards obscurity?

Me, too. My Roberts has been my favorite rifle since I got it 16 years ago. It was one reason I didn't feel any need for a 6.5CM, but a new 26" heavy barrel Savage 12FV for $295 was too good to pass up. It fills the nonexistent gap between my .243Win and .257Rob on the lower end and my 6.5-06AI and .280 Rem on the top side. The CM shoots great with both handloads and factory, so no complaints.

Confessions of a Loony. Ha!

I’ve been filling those “gaps” myself for quite a while.

DF

Hmm. Maybe it's a good round,maybe its not. Lots of people like it. I'm not one to jump on the band wagon. I just caved last fall and picked up a 204 in a trade deal and it hit the market around '04. I like it well enough but the 222 is still my first choice for varmints. And as long as I still have a 250 savage,257 Roberts,25-06 and a 7-08 I just don't see me ever owning a 6.5 cm. If I do get the itch for another .264 cal it'll likely be another 6.5-284.

Have 6.5 CM, 6.5-284 and 26 Nosler. Shoot them all. Like all three.

DF

The 120 ttsx at 3200fps is even better!😉

Don’t know if I am a good judge, though, I have a 260, 6.5 cm and a 7-08. I have been thinking about narrowing it down to just one, and that would be the 7-08 for its versatility.

Can testify about the 120 NBT out of my 7-08 being a killer, haven’t used that TTSX, but others have done well.

DF

Just having some fun. I have used both the BT and TTSX and have had excellent results with both. The BT was slightly more accurate with a better bc, but I liked the terminal performance from the ttsx when I got over 3100 fps.

Coworkers brother picked up a Ruger American in 7MM08 and it puts 3 shots in a small cluster at 100 yards. He wants to get rid of the off brand scope on it and buy a Leupold Rifleman, I told him I would leave it as is for what he paid for it.

Agree.

If it ain't broke...

And a cheap Chicom scope is probably better than a Leupold is one believes all the negative comments about Leupold...

DF

Yeah, it's already about the same as it would be, ballistically..................Creedmoor name might be a little sexier.

As far as the 7-08 going away, likely not, but it also is not going to grow anymore either...........most new shooters (are there any?) will likely be influenced enough by the 6.5 craze to buy that instead.

But if you have a 7-08 already, you really don't "need" a 6.5 as what one will do the other will also & vice versa.

I have a great 7-08 in an original Rem 700 Ti that is incredibly accurate (after some TLC) that I'll likely never let go of, so other than just having a 6.5 for the sake of having it, & more brass, bullets, dies, etc., I don't really need anything else in a similar power level range.

I have 270's, 280's & '06's & 25-06's & love them all, but for animals the size of antelope to moose, with bullets from 120-160 grains, the 7-08 is just fine for me & it's as much about the package as the cartridge. Doesn't mean I don't still love & use the others...............my most favorite rifle of all is a KS Custom Shop M-700 in 270, not because of the cartridge, but because of the package. But the 7-08 Ti package is nearly as good, just not quite.

MM

I bought a Ruger MkII in .284 Winchester as a teenager in the 70's.

When it was no longer the current media darling, I sold and went after something else, which has been a pattern of mine for decades.

Looking back, the .284's 150gr bullet @ 2850 fps would have cleanly handled every hunting situation I've ever faced, and would still be a great choice for anything except varmints or dangerous game.

And I could have used all that gun money on hunting!!!

P.S. I now have a 7mm-08 in a stainless Tikka. I will NEVER sell that gun!

Hmmm...that's an amazing accomplishment, seeing as how the MKII was not introduced until 1991!

I sure hope not. I have never owned one, but from looking at it on paper it is very appealing and if I hunted some place besides Alaska I would have one. Whats not to like, low recoil, good ballistics and lots of loading components. I think it has gained in popularity in Alaska for female and younger shooters. Then as usual guys start noticing all the one shot kills these ladies and kids are getting with their "light rifle" and we look at our 30-06 and magnums and scratch our heads.

I sure hope not. I have never owned one, but from looking at it on paper it is very appealing and if I hunted some place besides Alaska I would have one. Whats not to like, low recoil, good ballistics and lots of loading components. I think it has gained in popularity in Alaska for female and younger shooters. Then as usual guys start noticing all the one shot kills these ladies and kids are getting with their "light rifle" and we look at our 30-06 and magnums and scratch our heads.

And I dont remember the MkII coming in 284. The Tanger did.

I bought my first 7MM-08 almost 20 years ago a Weatherby Ultra light. The second is a custom Ruger #1. I'll confess to a love affair with the 7MM as there are the two 08's, 3 7x57, and a 280. I doubt it's going to go away in my lifetime. I load all my own ammo so thats not an issue. I drank the 6.5 CM kool aid in a Ruger #1 and just never warmed up to either the rifle (I'm a fan of single shot rifles) or the cartridge. Being somewhat of a traditionalist I guess I had a 6.5X55 built on a 1909 Argentine Mauser action. The Swede has worked well for 100 years or so and it will continue to do so, then again I also have a 300 Savage. Long live the classics:)

Ha! You're right. It was a plain old M77 with a tang safety.

Heresy...

Where'd you come up with that "NEED" word.

Should be taboo in a Loony forum...

DF

If need came into play I'd only have one rifle. Thankfully I want far more than I need.