One caliber

[luke moffat]

Is there a big diff between 7mm and 7mm-08? Then how do they compare to the .308? I want to pick up a savage lite weight but my only choices are .270, 30-06, .308 and 7mm-08. I haven't rifle hunted in years and want a do all out of these cals, I'm pretty set on the little savage.

The difference between a 7mm-08 and a 7mm mag is about 300 fps or so. One is a long action the other a small. I'm a short action type of guy for my packing guns, so I have .308, .243, and 325 WSM. Going off a wheeler is a 338 WM though.

 

[Shrek]

Dotman , there is a huge difference between a 7-08 and a 7mm rem mag ! The7mm-08 is a 308 win case necked down to 7mm. The 7mm-08 is better suited to the lighter half of the 7mm bullet family and the 7mm rem mag better for the heavier bullets.The 7mm mag has more than half again the case capacity and needs a longer barrel to burn the powder and actio to fit the round. In the savage light weight hunter you have a short barrel and would not get much out of the 270 and 30/06 case capacity. In the short barrel savage for western mule dieer and elk I would get the 308 win and load 165 gr bullets. The heavier bullets will do better with less velosity. For a pure deer and antelope rifle I would go with a 7-08 with 140gr to 150 bullets. In the light weight hunter you will need to keep the range under @ 400yards max. That is plenty far for most conditions and as far as most people will ever be able to shoot.

 

[Shrek]

Dotman , the truth is if you are going to buy only one rifle to hunt out west you would do better with the 7mm rem mag. For elk and big mule deer it would be hard to beat. You would want a heavier gun to shoot it in , maybe a 116 savage with the accustock and accutrigger. The light weight hunter is a great rifle but more limited and less forgiving. Small rounds and and bigger bullets make for rainbow trajectories and critical shot placement. That 300 to 400 fps is a lot more energy down range. If you put a shot a little bit back or high it could mak the difference between finding ypu animal or not. A heavier gun is also easier to shoot. I would not go ultra lite and small for game round unless you practice a lot.

 

[dotman]

I personally don't see myself taking shots at much more then 250 yards so that is my self imposed limit. I want a round that I can hunt speed goats to moose. I also plan to give the MT unlimited bighorn a shot and will take a gun over bow. Otherwise 90% of hunting will be with the bow.

 

[Shrek]

Then the 7-08 in the light weight hunter. A 160gr nosler accubond to the 175 partition will take elk and moose and a 140 gr accubond will do the rest. I know you think you want an ultra light scope but I would go for some thing like the 3x9x50 conquest by zeiss. The light gathering in timber and the larger sight picture is well worth a few oz. It can be harder than you think to find an animal in heavy cover with a small sight picture and dark thirty comes well before the end of legal light in timber.

 

[dotman]

Then the 7-08 in the light weight hunter. A 160gr nosler accubond to the 175 partition will take elk and moose and a 140 gr accubond will do the rest. I know you think you want an ultra light scope but I would go for some thing like the 3x9x50 conquest by zeiss. The light gathering in timber and the larger sight picture is well worth a few oz. It can be harder than you think to find an animal in heavy cover with a small sight picture and dark thirty comes well before the end of legal light in timber.

You are good that is the scope I have been looking at . Are those rounds readily available? I don't see myself getting into reloading again now that archery is my main form of hunting.

 

[Shrek]

No they do not make any heavy bullet 7-08 factory ammo. If limited to factory ammo then the 308. I have a zeiss 3x9x50 conquest I got six or seven years ago and it sits on my 308 I use as my second deer rifle. It was my number one for years. Got a 2.5x10x50 zeiss victory as number one now. That conquest is a great scope. I still think you would be better off with a bigger rifle for just one rifle.

 

[ckleeves]

I agree. I have no doubt that tons of elk and even bigger game have fallen to the 7mm08 but I would consider it on the light side for elk. With good shot placement there is no doubt it is very lethal but I guided elk hunters for quite a few years and in that time got to see bulls shot with just about everything under the sun and more than once wished that clients had a little bigger gun ( as long as they could still shoot it well). JMO.

 

[xxxarcher]

I would choose my 300 WSM pushing 190 Berger hunting VLD's @ 3056 fps. It's a very effective combo!

 

[wapitibob]

Dot, your 250 max may be a bit short. I haven't shot an Antelope under 300 the last two years. I ran out of cover and terrain. At that point it's shoot or walk away. Nothing wrong with either but with a sub 1 minute gun and optics with a yardage turret, 300 is cake.

 

[Topgun 30-06]

Surprise surprise---30-06

 

[6mm Remington]

A .280 Remington or a 30-06 would be my picks. My son has a 300 WSM, and that would work just as well for just about everything out there. It would be extremely hard to go wrong with one of these cartridges.

 

[philw]

In the light weight hunter you will need to keep the range under @ 400yards max. That is plenty far for most conditions and as far as most people will ever be able to shoot.

Why is that? I have a lightweight 7-08 with a 22" barrel, and it's accurate way past 400 yards.

 

[Matt Cashell]

Why is that? I have a lightweight 7-08 with a 22" barrel, and it's accurate way past 400 yards.

Me too Phil!

I really like my 7-08. Even with the modest BC Barnes TTSX 140, it is still carrying around 1800 fps of impact velocity to around 600 yards. It is a great all around gun, and I wouldn't hesitate to take it into the elk woods.

Even so, I would take my 7 RM w/ 160 accubonds first for an all-around gun.

 

[Mckinnon]

Not that I would ever take this shot, but with my Howa 2500 in 243 22 inch barrel I think, I can hit milk jugs 8 out of 10 times at 793 yards (weird yardage I know but thats just how long it is where i go to shoot often) and have manage to hit 5 hour energy bottle fairly often. This is with a 3-9 scope and 100 gr bullets in a lightweight hunting gun. Its fun and great practice, and make a 250-300 yard shot feel close. I guess I am just saying don't put a limit on your rifle, light weight or not, until you put it through the paces.

 

[HellsCanyon]

A lot of people think that lightweight guns won't shoot as well as heavy guns which really isn't true from an accuracy capability standpoint. However with a heavier gun can come with steadier holds at distance. Your heart beat can move the crosshairs a lot a distance especially with some adrenaline pumping! A heavier gun does help mitigate this problem. But from a pure accuracy standpoint, there is no reason a lightweight gun can't be accurate at distance.

Mike

 

[Kay9Cop]

.30-06, hands down the best all around cartridge.

 

[dotman]

So now I'm leaning towards the 30-06 mainly due to factory ammo options and larger bullets available without reloading, ok so if I pick up Zeiss scope with the rapid z-600 why would I not be able to shoot past 400 with the savage lwh once dialed in at 200?

 

[Matt Cashell]

So now I'm leaning towards the 30-06 mainly due to factory ammo options and larger bullets available without reloading, ok so if I pick up Zeiss scope with the rapid z-600 why would I not be able to shoot past 400 with the savage lwh once dialed in at 200?

The only reason you wouldn't be able to is operator error.

I had a Zeiss Rapid-Z 600, and liked the reticle. I made a witness mark on the magnification ring at my setting to make getting to the right magnification easy.

 

[dotman]

And that there is why I wouldn't shoot much more then 250, furthest I can practice is 300. Also if you can get within bow range no reason to shoot 600 yards