7mm-08 range

[Speed Trap]

  I've been shooting a LVSF 7-08 for the past several years and it will do a number on a deer.  My longest shot was with 139 SST handload at 192 yards.  Aimed dead on and the deer dropped on the spot.  I hunt in Central Texas so shots can be long.  Where I hunt, I think my longest shot might be 300 yards, but if I had to say, the longest shot, other than the 192 yards, have all been under 100 yards.  My biggest, 12-point 144 3/8, was 25 yards, and last year 1 130's was 20 yards.

[Don Fischer]

This is ammusing. Double lung shots that do no damage? I've had a number of different 7mm's. What I found is that a proper bullet properly placed would kill anything very well as far as I could hit it. But, if your having trouble with the 7-08 killing well then I suggest you take the same exact bullet, load it in a 7x57 and end your problem!

There's some really good stuff here!

[federali]

Swampman's experience sounds like bullet failure rather than cartridge failure. He said it was a small whitetail and perhaps there wasn't enough resistance to open the bullet up. Hunted for years with guys using various 180 grain bullets in a .30-06. Invariably, the deer would run 20-100 yards before going down. I loaded up some 165 grain Sierras for my dad: end of problem. Deer went down as though hit by a train. I suspect those 140 grain Federals are intended for game larger than whitetails.

[Swampman]

Nosler Balistic Tips are supposed to work on deer.  I know I won't ever use them again in any caliber.

[Pinkerton]

Swampman,

I've used Nosler Ballistic Tips 140gr. in a 7mm Rem Mag and they work, too explosive but they work and should work better at lower velocity in the 7-08.  I guess you'd just better keep your 30-06 and don't try anything else because nothing else ever works for you.

[charles p]

I'm a meat hunter.  I do not shoot any bucks.  Last year I had a lengthy shot with my 7mm-08 using Barnes original copper bullets.  I got two doe deer heads together an squeezed the trigger.  Both died an instant death.  I like the caliber because it is "user friendly".  Mine is very easy to shoot accurately.  It's a Rem LVSF in 7mm-08.  Remington missed the boat when they idn't catelog the LVSF for this round.  It is a natural for a light rifle with a 22" barrell.

[Swampman]

Swampman,

I've used Nosler Ballistic Tips 140gr. in a 7mm Rem Mag and they work, too explosive but they work and should work better at lower velocity in the 7-08.  I guess you'd just better keep your 30-06 and don't try anything else because nothing else ever works for you.

The 7mm-08 will never work for me, because it will never have another chance.

[nomosendero]

Swampman,

I've used Nosler Ballistic Tips 140gr. in a 7mm Rem Mag and they work, too explosive but they work and should work better at lower velocity in the 7-08.  I guess you'd just better keep your 30-06 and don't try anything else because nothing else ever works for you.

The 7mm-08 will never work for me, because it will never have another chance.

And that's a good thing! It is a cartridge that serious Deer hunters enjoy.

[nomosendero]

Sorry Swampman, that post was too ignorant for prime time. 

[Swampman]

Sorry Swampman, that post was too ignorant for prime time. 

 

[nomosendero]

 

[John R.]

The 7mm/08 doesn't work on deer. You'll have to convince somebody else of that, because I know better. I've killed whitetails with everything from 120 gr. to 150 grs. and they all died quickly. I will say that the 140 gr. is still the best choice (I use the Nosler 140 gr. Accubond now).

[haleconst]

I am new to this forum, and I just had to reply to this thread. My 15 year old son has hunted for 4 years with a 243 and killed several deer that none has ever went out of sight before expiring. This summer he worked with me saved his money and wanted to buy a new rifle, he bought a pro hunter 7mm 08 first time in the stand with it in the Oklahoma youth season, he turned a 80 lb doe for a flip ( factory 140 gr. rem. core loct). He pinned both shoulders together, heart and lungs was both trashed. I can not knock a 308 or 30/06 I have killed several deer with both rounds but to be better than a 7mm08 is a stretch. They are all great rounds. And I know my son bought himself a good 300 yard rifle that will not punish him when he practices with it.

[Swampman]

Which was no better for harvesting game than his .243.

[nilescoyote]

Which was no better for harvesting game than his .243.

ROTFL 

or any other caliber for that matter...

[kyelkhunter3006]

Let's have an AMEN! on that one, niles.

[Tunaman]

Which was no better for harvesting game than his .243.

Dead is dead, is it not?

[Coyote Hunter]

Which was no better for harvesting game than his .243.

Dead is dead, is it not?

Not if "Dead" is a mile and a half up the creek and over the hill, resulting in lost game or a difficult tracking job and pack job, while "dead" is 'dead right there'.

I've seen more elk wounded and lost with a .243 than any other cartridge and perhaps more than all the others put together.  That said, a .243 is not a bad choice for deer and its low recoil can definitely help improve placement.  And placement is far more important than cartridge.

[deltecs]

There is a very good reason the .243 Win or .22-250 is blamed for more wounded game than others.  People and especially those in love with trajectory and speed use the lightest, most accurate bullet for big game without thought as to bullet makeup and terminal performance.   Don't blame the caliber because most of that game was lost by hunters using the inappropiate bullet.  I've shot big, and I mean big, caribou with the .243 Win without a loss or unnecessarily long painful deaths with good constructed heavy bullets.  I would not hesitate to use the .243 Win on any elk whatsoever, given the shooting conditions and good hunting ethics.  I wouldn't hesitate to use the 7mm-08 either. 

[nomosendero]

What is the max range in yards for the 7mm-08 with 140 grain bullet and what is a good 100 yard site in for it?

Again, here is the original post.

[Swampman]

What is the max range in yards for the 7mm-08 with 140 grain bullet and what is a good 100 yard site in for it?

The max range for a small deer is perhaps 150 yards with careful bullet placement.  I sight all my deer rifles in 1" high at 100 yards.

[nomosendero]

What is the max range in yards for the 7mm-08 with 140 grain bullet and what is a good 100 yard site in for it?

The max range for a small deer is perhaps 150 yards with careful bullet placement.  I sight all my deer rifles in 1" high at 100 yards.

That may be Swampman's max. range, but not nearly the max for the round in question.

[nilescoyote]

What is the max range in yards for the 7mm-08 with 140 grain bullet and what is a good 100 yard site in for it?

Calculated Table
Range Drop  Drop     Windage     Windage         Velocity    Energy 
(yds)  (in)   (moa)    in@10mph   moa@10mph    (ft/s)       (ft•lbs)
0       -1.5   ***      0.0            ***               2800.0      2436.8
50      1.4    2.6       0.2            0.3                2703.7      2272.0
100    3.0    2.9       0.7            0.6                2609.5      2116.4
150    3.4    2.2       1.5            1.0                2517.2      1969.4
200    2.5    1.2       2.8            1.3                2426.8      1830.5 
250   -0.0    -0.0     4.5            1.7                2338.3      1699.3
300   -4.0    -1.3     6.5            2.1                2251.5      1575.6
350   -9.8    -2.7     9.1            2.5                2166.6      1458.9
400   -17.4   -4.2    12.1           2.9                2083.4      1349.1
450   -27.0   -5.7    15.6           3.3                2002.2      1245.9
500   -38.8   -7.4    19.6           3.7                1922.8      1149.2 
550   -52.9   -9.2     24.2          4.2                1845.5      1058.6 
600   -69.6   -11.1   29.3          4.7                1770.4      974.1 
650   -89.1   -13.1   35.1          5.2                 1697.4      895.5
700   -111.5 -15.2   41.6           5.7                1626.9      822.7


this table is set at a sedate 2800 fps and a 140 grain nosler ballistic tip bullet which is easily obtainable and a zero of 250 yards. Some bullet manufactures advise that there  bullets may or may not expand below 1800 fps. So if that is true we can let 500 yards be the max range for this set up to allow a safety margin.

However are you capable to shoot at that distance and experienced enough to gauge wind speeds for horizontal drift... If you do not shoot at distance a lot, do not try it in the hunting field. 

250 yards looks like a good zero as you can hold center mass and keep your bullets inside the 9-10 inch kill zone on a deer out to 300yards with more than 3/4's of a ton of energy.

But remember bullet placement is the KEY factor here, velocity and energy matter,  but not as much.

[nilescoyote]

Also keep in mind that rifles behave differently from one to another. The above post is for educational perpose only. Always verify the information/results by actual shooting/testing.

[Coyote Hunter]

There is a very good reason the .243 Win or .22-250 is blamed for more wounded game than others.  People and especially those in love with trajectory and speed use the lightest, most accurate bullet for big game without thought as to bullet makeup and terminal performance.   Don't blame the caliber because most of that game was lost by hunters using the inappropiate bullet.  I've shot big, and I mean big, caribou with the .243 Win without a loss or unnecessarily long painful deaths with good constructed heavy bullets.  I would not hesitate to use the .243 Win on any elk whatsoever, given the shooting conditions and good hunting ethics.  I wouldn't hesitate to use the 7mm-08 either. 

I agree bullet choice is probably a big factor, although I don't know what the bulle in question has been with all the failures I've seen.  One of the reasons I consider a .243 Win a better choice for experts than novices when elk are the target is that even the heaviest .243 bullets are on the light side in the greater scheme of things.  In most situations I prefer to see youngsters carry a .30-30 with 170's for elk.

But the subject here is the 7mm-08 and 140's, and I wouldn't have any qualms using that cartridge and a good bullet (TTSX, TB, Partition, A-Frame, etc.) at ranges out to 400 for deer, maybe 500 if conditions were perfect. 2900fps and about 2.7" high at 100 would be my choice.

[Graybeard]

I tend to sight mine 2" rather than 3" high at 200 yards but then I also use Hornady Light Mag ammo with a bit more velocity so the numbers shown are fairly close to accurate for the theoritical trajectory of mine as well. The BT is a bit sleeker than the Hornady BTSP so has a higher BC.

I seldom hunt where a 300 yard shot would be possible and basically consider that about my personal max range on deer. To that range I can basically just hold where I wanna hit and expect a killing shot from it if I do my part. It's rare that I'll shoot over 100 yards anyway.

[Doe Dumper]

2 inches high at 100 for me. I have flattened them up to 300 yards. The 7-08 is a wet dream for deer. Using the lowly core lokts I can drive it completely thru em at any angle or direction. All that from a small, light, easy recoiling gun. Yep I am smitten as well.

[barm]

If it was my rifle I would sight it in 2" high at 100 yards and you can aim on hair out to 300 yards.

The 7mm-08 is a great deer cartridge.  I've shot many deer with it and it will put a deer down just as fast as any other cartridge in its class.  The ballistic tips are great deer bullets and I have shot most of my deer with them.  The only bullet I used which made me doubt the 7mm-08 were the 140 grain Winchester Power Points.  I shot two deer with it which required follow up shots.  The deer did not go anywhere they kept trying to get-up and did not expire as quickly as I had hoped, so I shot a second time.  When skinning them out the Winchester bullet must be a hard bullet because the tissue destruction was minimal compared to the ballistic tip.

The 308 Winchester is a great cartride as well for deer, but I can't tell the difference between the two in the field.  If you hit a deer through the heart or lungs with either caliber they fall right there or don't go far.

[One Eye]

I would have though 4 double lung shots would have been good enough.  I know one out of my .30-06 drops them like a sack.  Maybe I need to heart shoot them with the 7s.

Sorry, but "double lung" shots stop all oxygen production to the body and result in nearly instant death.  I hear this claim a lot in bowhunting where the hunter claims they "double lunged" a deer, but it ran for miles.  They subequently blame the broadhead.  Respectfully, if you have a deer run out of sight after being shot, it was not shot through BOTH lungs.

As to the topic, the chart posted above should give you all the information you need for the effective range of this caliber.  The real variable will always be the "noodle" behind the trigger and their capability.  Most calibers in this class are more capable than the shooter.
Dan

[KaibabMD]

Swampman's experience sounds like bullet failure rather than cartridge failure. He said it was a small whitetail and perhaps there wasn't enough resistance to open the bullet up. Hunted for years with guys using various 180 grain bullets in a .30-06. Invariably, the deer would run 20-100 yards before going down. I loaded up some 165 grain Sierras for my dad: end of problem. Deer went down as though hit by a train. I suspect those 140 grain Federals are intended for game larger than whitetails.

+1 on this.  It sounds like a failure to expand.