7mm-08 handi shooters??

[trophytaker308]

are there any out there that can give me there opinion on this caliber,with there handi rifle?thanks.

[Piney]

Purchased the youth model for my wife. Gave it a good cleaning  and went to the range to see how it was going to do. Shot the 140 gr. core lokt Rem through it and they worked great. The trigger is one of the best that we have on all the handies we own-breaks like glass just under 3#. She as well as I love this little gun. I think this is a super cal. and recoil is not a real issue. It will put Mr. whitetail on the ground pronto. Scoped and  from the bench this rifle will put put 5 in a dime sized group @ 100 yds. Really an impressed with this one and my next handy will be in that cal. in the adult model.

[trophytaker308]

thanks,i will be getting mine in this week...glad to know you lkike yours.

[Swampman]

I shot a deer 4 times with the 7mm-08  1st shot broke both front legs, it was running about 120 yards away.   2 shots were right through the chest near the heart.  The last was right through the brain from a few inches.  It still took 10 seconds to die.  I sold the rifle and moved on.

Probably my fault.  I just lost my taste for the cartridge after that.

[trophytaker308]

i have shot deer (standing) at 380 yards with it ,and all it took was one shot.i have also killed probaly 20 deer with that cailber and none have went farther than 40-50  yards.shooting at a running deer at 120 yards,you might want a 300mag or something along that line if thats the way you shot your deer,i like em standing still myself.and by the way it dosnet take a big gun to kill a deer,i have killed em with a 22,and yes its against the law in this state,but when i was a young kid i didnt pay much attention to the laws.good luck on finding that right deer running caliber.
the 7mm-08 is one of the finest whitetail calibers there is imho...
and out of all the deer i have taken most have droped so fast that i almost thought i missed em,there have only been a handfull that has ran.

[Mike Bare]

I don't have a 7mm-08, but I have been interested in this caliber, and what people have to say about it for some time.....After reading this post, I went to the remington ballistics table and compared it with two of my favorite calibers: .308 and .280. I found that this caliber is right in between my favorites in both velocity and energy. At 120 yds, your bullet had around 2100 foot lbs of energy.....plenty! It must have had something to do with your choice to shoot at a running deer and your shot placement. As for the four shots you put into it......well, I have been hunting for over thirty years and can only remember one deer that I had to shoot three times...the second buck I killed. I knocked him down three times before he stayed down.I found out when I walked up to him that he would have been just as dead if I would have just waited and let him bleed out....all three shots from my 30-30 went through his lungs. I would suggest being a little more patient and choosing your shot more carefully. I have shot at very few running deer and I haven't had many get away from a well placed shot. Did you say you already sold that 7mm-08? I just might get me one.

[poncaguy]

Deer  I have shot with my 7-08 died instantly.........

[nomosendero]

The 7mm08 is an absolutely fantastic Deer cartridge. The expansion & penetration is more than enough for any White Tail or Mule Deer walking but yet the recoil is mild. As with any other cartridge,
use the right bullet for the job at hand & place your shot, the cartridge will NOT let you down.

Because of the mild report & smaller rifles available it is good for kids & women. But it is a good Deer
round for all ages shoot, Mr. Graybeard uses one & he's quite a bit older than me. 

As far as multiple hits go, who knows? I do know that if the first shot is not good the adreniln kicks
in & all the survival instints come into play with any big game animal. But a shot mere inches away to the brain  even with a 22 means dead right now, of course some nerve reaction occurs, so I guess
I don't understand this story.

[Swampman]

Well after standing there looking at him looking at me for 2 minutes from 10 feet away, I finally brained him.  He had been wounded by another hunter.  It was shoot or loose him.  I'll never own another 7mm-08.  I won't own a .270 either.  I prefer the .30 & up calibers for deer.  They have proven very effective.  I felt the recoil was fully equal to my .308.

[nomosendero]

So not only did you shoot it 4 times, but it had already been shot. Wow, he made Rocky Balboa look like a quitter. 

Imagine my shock to discover just this evening that the 270 & the 280 are not proven effective Deer rounds. I guess after 45 years of hunting & reading articles since I was a kid & talking to hunters (many
with Deer kills in 3 digits, including myself) I may have to modify my choices. I mean, I have this 280 barrel Mac sold me & a bunch of bullets to test, including Accubonds & TSX & std. bullets that I have as well that I thought were good Deer bullets but maybe I should save them for Coyotes, Nay. 

[handirifle]

That deer must be a lot tougher than elk cause my hunting buddy had killed a number of elk with his 270.  If the 270 and 280 are weak calibers the 7-08 ought to be left for squirrels.

See what happens when deer eat PCP?

Come on, be realistic.  IF this happened as described, it surely cannot be blamed on the caliber.  Did the bullets expand?  Did the heart and/or longs get shot u?  If the answer to these questions are yes it most assuradly was not the fault of the cartridge.  If all holes were pin holes in and out than it's STILL not the cartridge, but rather, poor bullet selection or design.  Were these handloads with solids?

This falls under Ripleys believe it or NOT!

The ballistics of the 7-08 and 308 are so close it's not funny.  Here is from the Rem factory ballistics web site comparing the 308 (top) using 150gr corelokt and the 7-08 using 140gr corelokt.

Energy (ft-lbs)
Cartridge Type Bullet Muzzle 100 200 300 400 500
(308)  Remington® Express® 150 PSP CL 2648 2137 1705 1344 1048 810
(7-08) Remington® Express® 140 PSP CL 2542 2142 1793 1490 1228 1005


Look REAL close at those number cause you will see the 7-08 actually has HIGHER numbers than your beloved 30 cal.

[Swampman]

Federal 140 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip factory ammo seems like it would have been pretty good.  Like I said I won't use any of the sub-30s on deer again.

[nomosendero]

Dang it, I am going to have to take the 7mag off of the effective Deer killer list too!

Maybe if you use a 30" barreled 7STW & shoot them through both eyes you can run over & cut
their throat after they run into a tree. Make sure you use a TSX or 175gr. Partition as their eyes
these days are hard to penetrate.  Enough nonsense, I am done with this one.

[Datil]

 
 It's not what you shoot them with it"s where you you shoot them, big old
 white tails Mine most of my life have been one shot kills.
 From .222 rem to 308 win. Mostly 243 win, should be about like 7-08.
 JMHO. Marv.

[highcountry]

Hello all. Just happened to check out this thread and figured I should jump in for a comment or two:)

Hey Swampman, my bro shot a whitetail four times with a .270 before he got fed up (thinking he missed) and decided to head for home wondering what could have gone wrong with his very accurate handloads. You'll never guess......Nosler ballistic tip 130gr boattail. Good thing he stayed a few minutes and watched that buck cus it basically fell over not even realizing he was hit. Wierd. All the holes in the hide indicated four kill zone shots no more than two inches apart. Hmmmmm.

Since then I have run across several hunters that have had similar issues with Nosler ballistic tips. Don't get me wrong I'm not bashing Nosler. Seems to me that one particular bullet is not appropriate for deer. After hearing this story again and again it must be more than coincidence.

The 7mm-08 is a fantastic cartridge. The really cool thing about the 7-08 is that it performs better than the stats say it should. Seems the trend nowadays is towards extreme high velocity. The 7-08 with a 140 grain bullet? Perfect. High sectional density.....standard bullet.....MEDIUM velocity.

High sectional density gives you the peneteration. Medium velocity....yes...MEDIUM velocity gives better energy transfer. Standard bullets....remember those? Flat base, soft point, thin jacket, cannelure....ect. Standard bullets with jackets drawn to less than 5/10,000th of an inch concentricity gives us the most accurate bullet on the market for the cheapest price. Partitions are over sold, boattails are over sold, copper solids are over sold.

Just like these lil Handi Rifles are so nice and simple, ammunition is simple as well. We made it complicated by shooting stuff faster and faster and faster with really teeny bullets. Simple is good. Medium is good. The 7mm-08 ranks right up there with the 6.5X55 Swede. Perfectly medium.

[Swampman]

I'll stick with my .308.  I don't have to wait for them to die.

[Mac11700]

Don't get me wrong I'm not bashing Nosler. Seems to me that one particular bullet is not appropriate for deer. After hearing this story again and again it must be more than coincidence.

I've used the 130 Nosler on deer out of several 270's...most were bang flops...only a couple went a few yards before keeling over...So...do I think this bullet isn't suitable for deer...Hardly...many thousands have been taken cleanly with them...No 2 deer ever act the same when hit..It may not be the absolute best bullet..but..it gets the job done more often than not...One just has to understand it's limitations...I wouldn't use it for jump shooting them up close...but out past 100 yards they work good...

Partitions are over sold, boattails are over sold, copper solids are over sold.

...Really?...These type bullets work...and work good...and no cup & core bullet can match these bullets terminal performance...Use the correct bullet for the correct application...no one size fits all...
Mac

[Hunternz]

The key to Swampmans story isn't so much the calibre, or bullet or even maybe shot placement, it is that the deer was already wounded, on the run and pumped with adrenline, it is not unusal for heart shots for an animal to run, before dropping dead,
I have seen a small feral goat maybe only 60lbs in weight. After been spooked by me, shot with a .243 87gr hp  by my hunting buddy, he called it  good shot, tracked by my dog in tight bush , it was found dead 50yds away, its lungs were pulverised yet had run 50yds and we would not have found it without my dog.
Sometimes a good dog is worth more.
Regards Howard.