7MM-08 Factory Ammo a Deal Breaker?

[BCD]

I'm looking at buying a Sauer 100 7MM-08. I'm not seeing a ton of factory ammo options out there although there are some. I don't and won't load my own. Do people feel the ammo avaiability with this caliber might be a long term concern? I really want this caliber but if finding ammo is going to be a struggle I will likely just go with a 308. The rifle will primarily be used for deer and antelope at 400 yards max (mostly much closer). I considered the 6.5CM as well but am concerned about the barrel life. Thank You!

 

[Macintosh]

No concern that 7-08 will cease to exist. But for me it has been hard to find reliably, I definitely have had a hard time finding the ammo I wanted several times in the past. If you live in a place where its easy to order ammo online, and if the gun isnt too finicky and will happily digest a variety of ammo, its probably a non-issue. If you are particular about your ammo and/or cant readily buy larger quantities online, then Id say its been problematic for a while.

Inside 400 yards dont think youd notice enough difference between those three options to worry. For me 6.5 is actually the best combo of easiest to find and easiest to shoot. But if you shoot enough that buying a barrel every 3000-4000 rounds is a problem and ammo availability is a concern, then 308 might be your happy-maker.

 

[Unckebob]

As long as people can form 7-08 from 308 brass, it will never go away.

 

[sierracharlie338]

I agree it ain’t going anywhere. I have seen a bunch here locally to me. At least a case worth of the 150edlx as well

 

[LeftyWilbury]

it's not the easiest ammo to find, but it's certainly not impossible. and for deer or antelope <400 yards, it's not really going to matter much.

there's 5 pages of 7-08 on ammoseek currently.

 

[HandgunHTR]

I considered the 6.5CM as well but am concerned about the barrel life. Thank You!

Are you really planning on shooting 3000-4000 rounds? If not, barrel life is not a concern in the 6.5C

 

[Marshfly]

Unfortunately (or fortunately) Hornady has made it so that none of these 308 cased cartridges make any sense to purchase today over a 6.5CM. Cheap to feed. Easy to find a huge variety of ammo anywhere. Never going to not be available in the future. Less recoil. And ballistically and terminally it is the same or better.

I sold a 7mm-08 and replaced it with a 6.5CM due to ammo PITA. Having ammo available on ammoseek doesn't matter when you notice you are out and need some today for tomorrow.

 

[Jackal66]

One of my buddies sold his and went to a 6.5 creedmoor.
I preferred his 7mm08.
He said he couldn't find ammo, and little to no variety.
When he went to Academy, they had a large selection of the creedmoor.

 

[sneaky]

I'll take a pic next time I'm in the lgs of about 300 boxes of 7mm08. There's zero reason for me to ever buy a 6.5 when the 7mm08 does everything it does, and has heavier bullets available. At realistic hunting ranges the 6.5 offers zero advantages. You can argue long range ballistics all you want, but at those distances there's better rounds available than the 6.5 as well. Hornady is the king of fudd marketing these days.

Sent from my SM-S918U using Tapatalk

 

[Macintosh]

Pretty sure the OP was worried about availability of factory ammo, and also a bit worried about barrel life.
Not reloading components.
Not terminal performance.

Nearest large outdoor store that carries ammo at all is a 2 hour drive west in a location I am never near, or a 3 hour drive south from me also in a location I am never near. My local shops have a full shelf of 6.5cm and a full shelf of 308, and if youre lucky maybe a few boxes of of 7-08 in 2-3 flavors maximum, often none at all. Local dicks doesnt carry ammo anymore at all. Walmart is a joke but they carry a few boxes of 308 and 6.5cm.
I can order ammo online, but many people cannot do that.

Ammoseek caps all searches at 5 pages/500 results, usually that is only a handful of different loads offered by every retailer out there so you almost always get hundreds of duplicate results in any search. Regardless, the ammoseek return I just got:
7-08: (5 pages)1-100 of hundreds
308: (5 pages) 1-100 of thousands
6.5cm (5 pages) 1-100 of thousands
In other words there are hundreds of 7-08 search results, while 308 and 6.5 each have over a thousand. This mirrors my experience.

Not sure why its hard for some people to see that not everyone has the same ammo availability they do. Someone with the ability to order online and a couple close-by large retailers may have no issue with the exact same cartridge that another person simply cannot obtain easily.

 

[MallardSX2]

Ton of 7mm-08 on shelves out my way. I got 2 boxes of Hornady American Whitetail 139 grain for $28/box. I'll load the brass when I burn through the boxes.

 

[Pharmseller]

For deer and antelope 400 yards and less I don’t believe there’s much of a difference in the killing ability of the 7mm-08, .308 Win, and the 6.5 CM. And keep in mind the 7mm-08 has been my primary for a long time.

Buy whichever you want, you won’t go wrong.




P

 

[TxLite]

I sold a 7mm-08 and replaced it with a 6.5CM due to ammo PITA. Having ammo available on ammoseek doesn't matter when you notice you are out and need some today for tomorrow.

Maybe a regional thing, but I could go to 3 different stores right now and buy more 7-08 than I’d know what to do with. Locally they carry precision hunter, American whitetail, superformance, and Corelokt on a regular basis.

Could find an ammo it likes and buy enough of it to last for years.

 

[fmyth]

7mm-08 Rem Ammo

In-stock best prices for 7mm-08 Rem Ammo | Cheap 7mm-08 Rem Ammunition - AmmoSeek.com

ammoseek.com

5 pages of links to purchase 7mm-08 ammo starting at less than $1 a round. I have purchased $$$$ of ammo from vendors on Ammoseek and have never been burned. Buy a a bunch of different ammo that fits your use case, find which one shoots the best then buy a few hundred rounds. Your heirs will thank you.

 

[KHNC]

Cheap ass 120 gr Remington HP's shoot like a lazer out of my R700. I have 3-4 boxes of 120gr Barnes TTSX ammo i got to hunt wth but keep killing stuff with the Rem Hp's and leaving massive blood trails. No need to shoot the high end pricey stuff so far. When something bleeds like this whitetail doe from November, no need for a different bullet.

 

[Marshfly]

Maybe a regional thing, but I could go to 3 different stores right now and buy more 7-08 than I’d know what to do with. Locally they carry precision hunter, American whitetail, superformance, and Corelokt on a regular basis.

Could find an ammo it likes and buy enough of it to last for years.

But why? 6.5CM recoils less. Quality ammo costs less or the same. And will be more available moving forward.

I know you guys love the 7mm-08. I love my 270. But it doesn't make sense for a new gun for a youth.

 

[TxLite]

But why? 6.5CM recoils less. Quality ammo costs less or the same. And will be more available moving forward.

I know you guys love the 7mm-08. I love my 270. But it doesn't make sense for a new gun for a youth.

If you want the real answer it’s because I have an OCD-esque affinity for 7’s. Something about .284’s pleases my soul

 

[Randy11]

It was definitely more popular before the Creedmoor. I have noticed what feels like more models not being chambered in it.

It's not going away by any means, but I don't think it is unreasonable to stock up the ammo your rifle likes while it's still abundant.

 

[BCD]

But why? 6.5CM recoils less. Quality ammo costs less or the same. And will be more available moving forward.

I know you guys love the 7mm-08. I love my 270. But it doesn't make sense for a new gun for a youth.

I'm not buying it for a youth but curious as to why you feel the 7 08 would not be a good choice here?

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

Recoil shouldn't be a deciding factor. On average, you're looking at around 14# recoil energy for a 7-08 vs approximately 12# for a 6.5 CM. If ammo is tough to get locally and you'd rather not buy online for whatever reason, then the 6.5 CM will likely be more convenient to own. If you have a suppressor, then even less of an issue.

Cartridge

Free Recoil Energy (Ft-lbs)

Recoil Velocity (FPS)

Avg Bullet Weight

Avg Muzzle Velocity

7mm-08 Remington

14.88

10.68

160

2,672

6.5 Creedmoor

11.87

9.56

138

2,695

6mm Creedmoor

10.89

9.22

105

3,022

I added the 6 CM, because it has better recoil and velocity than both the 6.5 and 7-08.

Ironically, I'm buying a new Tikka T3x Lite in 7-08 today. Eurooptic is running a killer sale with a cart price of $699. They're also covering the sales tax ($42) and shipping is only $13. Throw in the $75 Beretta rebate, and I'll be all-in on a brand new Tikka SA for $640.

For others interested in the 7-08 that reload, you can get 162 ELDM, 160 TMK, and 168 VLD. If you really want to get wacky, you can even jump up to a 180 ELDM. I ran twist rate comparisons for all of these, and all are sufficiently stabilized by the factory 1:9.5 twist barrel. You lose a little BC at low elevation with the 180, but for guys out west, from around 4k and beyond its fully stabilized.

My long term plan for the 7-08 may likely be a 6 CM build, but for now I have hundreds of rounds of .308 brass that are one FL resize away from being loaded for the new gun.