Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Pros & Cons: 7mm-08 vs. .308 Win for plains game

M1Garand,

area of a circle is pi divided by four times the diameter squared or A = pi/4*(D*D)

Some people think the cross sectional area (total volume) of the hole matters more and some people think the surface area (circumference) of the hole matters more than the volume. The total volume of the hole is dependent on the frontal area of the bullet (which is based on diameter squared) while the surface area of the hole is based on just the circumference of the bullet (which is pi times diameter). I think both matter, but I'm not a terminal ballistics expert.

How was the .338 Federal on game? I'v heard very good reports on its "killing ability vs. recoil" performance.

I'm very seriousl considering getting a 7mm-08 for most hunting and a .338 Federal for heavier game like elk and Africa. I think they may represent a very good combo for someone with a shoulder injury like me.

I bought a Browning 338 cal. BAR 10 years ago and love it. I have taken two Bears,one elk, &several deer. The recoil is similar to a 270 mostly because the BAR is a semi auto rather than a bolt action. The accuracy is great out to 400 yards.The only drawback is my Bar has a muzzlebreak and the noise when fired is deafening. Wear hearing protection.

That just dawned on me it was the area of circle, not what I was thinking, thanks for the clarification RR.

Just saw a vid of a guy dropping a Kudu with a 7.08 propelling a 165 gr.TSX load. Go with what you can shoot with confidence and enjoy yourselves.

This coming from me after 4 months of mulling it over is a big boy step.

You sure about that? Sounds like a .308 size bullet. Most folks shoot either 120gr or 140gr TSXs out of the 7mm-08.

My bad and excuse me. It was a 140gr.

Lets see if this works another way.

If the .308 diameter is no better then the .284 then is the .338 no better then the .308? Anyone who has used a .338/06 knows without question it's killing power and follow up functionality is by a wide margin better then the .308 diameter. Same as the .375 is better then the .338....... or the .458 better then the 375! The 375HH is really exceptional at providing blood, although there are times it also falls short, it's the exception rather then the rule. The cartridges bigger then 375 usually have a blood trail you can follow at a walk, and they open game up so you're following blood and chunks as you go.

If the 284 is close enough to the .308 then certainly the .277 is as good as the .284, and then the .250 must be as good as the .277.....Hmmm then a good .243 must be as good as that .250 right? It only stands to reason that a .223 must be as good as the .243! What the heck might as well use a .22long rifle no recoil at all!

Where does the line in the sand get drawn? At some point there is a diameter that provides better or more consistent blood. What would you suggest this diameter is? At no point have I said or even suggested that the 7mm is a worthless choice that is not going to kill a bunny. In my work I have to search for game every week during the season. Maybe 20 times a week, or more! nearly every animal shot runs off. Rarely do they fall in the sight of the hunter. Imagine how many hours are spent wondering where this perforated critter has gone. Is he laying dead, or facing your direction horns pointed at you waiting to clear the next bush?

Imagine how many times the hunter asks, which way did he go? do you see blood? do you know which tracks are his? Should we go back and get more people to help us look? do you have a dog we can use? When these questions come up every week, many times a week, and you hear this over and over, the pressure to find game is significant. It would be so much easier with a bigger HOLE........ this is a simple undeniable truth.

All I have said is that over decades of experience with a lot of hunters, rifles, cartridges, and bullets. The .308 diameter begins to have a higher percentage of quicker recoveries then those smaller. I could say the same about the 338 or 375 being much faster to recover game then the .308. That is a fact, but was not the original question.

One of the more complicated parts of these conversations is that everyone posting is an expert shot that never misses, wounds, or loses any game. Where are all these guys in my hunting camps? We search hours for game every single week, I cannot recall a single 10 day hunt in my life that we did not scratch our heads wondering where the animal went, or struggle to locate at least one animal for some time. Diameter does not matter when everyone is an expert that takes only the perfect shot in open country. I don't know that world, it's not the one I live in!

JJHack,

Would you say that the benefits of jumping to say 33/35 caliber over a 30 are just as pronounced as going from 28 to 30?

Or, is there a minimum "blood trail" threshold to reach, and once there, it does not matter so much about getting bigger?



BTW--the name of that world is "Internet." It's atmosphere is "cyberspace."

Just a couple of the many head of African plains game that fell to Darrel Holland's 7-08AI, Nosler 140NBT back around 2002. The whole story was written up in the VHA magazine:


The 7-08 is no different ballistic wise than the famed 7x57 or 275 Rigby which earned its reputation on the vast game fields of old Africa and respected by the likes of Ted Roosevelt, Finn Aagaard, Jack and Elanor O'Conner.

Finn Aagaard's son wrote of his father back in 2000: "He once wrote an article, complete with pictures of a dissected goat, showing all the vital organs in the body cavity to demonstrate proper bullet placement. In his mind, this was far more important than gun caliber."

MtnHtr

My cousin used a 7x57 for plainsgame and was very happy. Using 160 gr. NP at moderate 2550 fps, took everything up to kudu, wildebeest without problems.

Animals there are tougher than deer, or even elk. Suck it up and take something 30-06 or hotter that you can shoot 200 or 220 gr. bullets out of. I don't think the recoils is much different than 7mm. I think the perfect rifle is the 300 winmag. Wounding or losing stuff on your safari is painful( I've done it). More power=better.

Good luck.

GDOG

GDOG,

In a word: baloney. African animals are not all equally tough, and even the toughest aren't any harder to bring down than the toughest North American animals of equal size.

Amen JB!

GDOG,

More power does not = better. More shooting ability=better. All animals are tough the world over, if you don't put a bullet in the vitals.

Jeff

From Finn Aagaard on cartridges for Africa.

Having killed Wildebeast and Zebra, I respectfully disagree that they are not "hardier" than Elk or any NA deer.

-GDOG

Why use the very minimum? Get a .30-06 and be done with it.

George,

Please tell us how many of each you've taken: elk, zebra, wildebeest.

The also explain how you've lost wounded game in Africa. Was it because you were using a .30-06, which "only wounded" something, instead of a .300 Winchester, which would have done the job?

Before you answr, you might like to know that my wife has taken trophy zebra and blue wildebeest quite neatly with the .308 Winchester and .30-06, along with a bunch of other super-tough African game including gemsbok.

Dude, get your math right.

Area of a circle is pi TIMES the radius squared.

Area of a .284 bullet is 3.1415 x .01183 ft x .01183 ft = .00044 square feet

Area of a .308 bullet is 3.1415 x .01283 ft x .01283 ft = .000517 square feet

.308 bullet has 1.175 times the area of a .284 bullet....

Joel Slate 7RM In Africa

Boddington - Sensible Sevens

None of the above have issues with 7s in Africa. I've known lots of folks who have used various 7s in Africa on plains game and they had no complaints.

MtnHtr