.308 vs 7mm

[greengoblin]

I am thinking bout buying/having a rifle built. I will be using it for hunting, and target practice. I am a beginer shooter pretty much. I will be doing most the shooting under 300 yards, but I would like to eventually be able to make 1000 yard shoots. I know i wont be a pro shooter, but would like to be a pretty good shooter.

Which one do yall think would be better for reaching my goals, .308 or a 7mm. would it be better to just buy a base gun and build off it, or buy one that is already completely built for my goals.

 

[diriel]

Now that is a hard question to answer in simple terms. When you say shoot to 1k yards do you mean just to hit steel / paper? If so, 7mm-08 will likely be the better of the 2 in overall terms.

This being a LR site, you are about to hear peeps say go Magnum gun)

For a beginner, I would hesitate to start with a magnum however.

Have fun
Gary

 

[reeldawg]

I have both .308 WIN and 7mm-08. Both are great rounds, exellent bullet and powder selections and are easy to load. Either will do what you are looking for.

 

[Frank in the Laurels]

Either will do for what you need, however once the distances go past 500 I'd choose the 7mm/08 because of bullet BC's.. also you should be able to control the 7 a little easier because of how mild the recoil is. Why not start with a factory 7mm mag !! It's not that much more recoil and those extra 300-400 fps will make a lot of difference one you pass that 500 make in killing power and it's available in just about anything you can buy off the rack..

 

[Greyfox]

I own both calibers, both very effective for your requirements, in factory and custom rifles. As a beginner, I would recommend the 308. The difference in recoil between the two using a good recoil pad, and some weight in the rifle, isn't that great. It is inherently a very accurate round, and there is a large variety of factory ammo, including match grade, is available. You didn't mention if you plan on reloading initially, but if not, you will eventually. The 308 is a breeze to reload with a large supply of components readily available. For the goals you describe, there are factory rifles available that are very capable shooters out at 1000 yards. You would still have the ability to build off of them once you begin to develop your personal preferences which only come with experience. There are several new shooters at our club which conducts several long range events each year. It's surprising how well they compete with the factory Remington and Savage rifles that are designed for long range using Federal Match ammo in their 308's. I have seen several of these new shooters hold .5 MOA or better.

 

[greengoblin]

Thanks for the responses, yes one day I plan on doing my own loading. Buts for now it will be off the shelf ammo or having cummin_un_glued reload for me once he gets set up. He is suggesting 7mm mag because that's what he has. So I'm leaning towards that.

Next question, what brand/model do y'all recommend? Have one friend sayin remnington 700 in a 7mm. For my goals and to eventually build off of, what would be the best? What ones should I stay clear of?

 

[diriel]

I am a savage fan, that being said a Remington 700 is a great platform to build from.

A 7 mag is one of the old time greats to be sure. Load it with H1000 powder using Win LR primers, 168 or 180 bergers and go go go.

That being said, I would be fully remiss if I did not mention 7WSM and 7SAUM.

Good shooting.
Gary

 

[swpc629]

I have to come to find out that no matter what caliber you choose if you are not comfortable with the recoil you will never be able to be accurate with it. So if it were me I would find out which one I am comfortable with and start from there. For example I have a Winchester Model 70 in 7mm WSM and I hate the recoil because of the barrel flip. So I don't shoot it that often. I hope to be able to work it and solve this problem. But till then I will stick with my 270 Weatherby Mag for hunting.

 

[jehu]

I have a Sako Hunter Stainless in 308 and a Sako Grey Wolf in 7mm. If my hunting ,Whitetail Deer, shot is going to be 300yrds or less I grab the 308 over 300yrds I like the 7 and the recoil between the two is hardly noticeable. The weight of the Sako Grey Wolf in 7mm really helps make the recoil very tame and a pleasure to shoot. If I could only have one it would be the 7.

 

[thehulk]

I pick the 7Remington Magnum because of its flatter trajectory which equals easier adjustments for longer ranges.


Using my ballistics calculator (Ballistic: Field Tactical Edition) it tells me that

Blackhills 162gr Hornady A-Max
BC: .625
Velocity 2950 FPS

It will only drop 10.8 inches at 300, which to me means that I would not dope from 100-300 yards. = faster shot placements on game that is on the move.

It also has 962ftlbs of engery at 1,000 yards, which is a significant amount with a 162gr bullet on any Deer sized game or less. I would prefer to leave this round as a 750yard hunting round due to the ftlbs being at 1,328 but using this as a target gun out to 1,000 would be easy and reliable.



The .308 is no slouch, theres just a lot better performers out there. The 7RM is probably one of the best all round calibers with great factory ammunition out there.

 

[Beng]

You intent to practice with that rifle, right?
Buy a Rem Milspec 5r in .308 Win burn out the first barrel at 300 to 600 yard and then rebarrel to .264 cal for 1000 yard when you are set up to reload.
That should give you a nice training rifle, with acceptable stock and match diameter barrel.
The magnums are nice if you have to kill something downrange, paper doesn't need killing.
You can use the rifle for deer hunting to 300-400yards too.
For longrange hunting build a dedicated rifle as soon as you are able to consistently hit at these ranges with your practice rifle.

 

[Sully2]

Thanks for the responses, yes one day I plan on doing my own loading. Buts for now it will be off the shelf ammo or having cummin_un_glued reload for me once he gets set up. He is suggesting 7mm mag because that's what he has. So I'm leaning towards that.

Next question, what brand/model do y'all recommend? Have one friend sayin remnington 700 in a 7mm. For my goals and to eventually build off of, what would be the best? What ones should I stay clear of?

Remington 700 action in either 7mm-08 or ( second choice) 308. Good barrel life in either and less recoil in the 7mm-08.

I went with the 260 ( 6.5-08) so if needed I can shoot away with factory ammo...not sure if any factory is putting up 7mm-08 ammo or not.
Have fun!

 

[Greyfox]

Remington 700 action in either 7mm-08 or ( second choice) 308. Good barrel life in either and less recoil in the 7mm-08.

I went with the 260 ( 6.5-08) so if needed I can shoot away with factory ammo...not sure if any factory is putting up 7mm-08 ammo or not.
Have fun!

Both Reminton and Nosler make 7mm08, 140 gr. Accutip and Ballisic Tip respectively. Both shoot .5MOA in my R-25.