Rpk
Member
That’s a beauty what is it?
Eyeing a 7mm-08 in a budget-friendly format
- Thread starter mississippishooter
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earplug
Member
Talked a friend into a 7MM-08 years ago and he killed several Elk with it. Great caliber if you need to down a Elk.
Today i'd recommend a 6.5 Creedmore . It will excel at every thing your wanting done and do it with less recoil and cost less to shoot.
I predict the 7MM-08 will become a cartridge hard to find in the future.
Today i'd recommend a 6.5 Creedmore . It will excel at every thing your wanting done and do it with less recoil and cost less to shoot.
I predict the 7MM-08 will become a cartridge hard to find in the future.
Rpk
Member
I am interested as well because I was wondering if the Ruger American go wild is even better because it has a slightly heavier barrel, according to ruger it has a .730 diameter at the muzzle not including brake
Rpk
Member
Just kidding about the small kids and women but it’s funny how a rifle is supposed to be entry-level for some people yet really actually kicks more than they say
DustyGmt
Member
Ruger American All weather compact in 7-08
Oh yeah my 7-08 compact has got a pretty rugged kick to it. I was initially looking for a compact .308 but the owner at my LGS swayed me toward 7-08. He did kind overstate the case of it being "much lighter recoil than .308" but I dont really mind. I can take a punch...
Stevenvalleyky
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Sorry to burst your bubble a tiny bit, but the Ruger Americans stock is a bit flimsy, although I believe the early models were worse than the current generation. Pretty sure all of the inexpensive, super accurate, plastic wonderrifles being produced nowadays have fairly flimsy stocks, the RA as well as the Savage axis certainly are. Fortunately there's 2 easy remedies. You can order a laminate from Boyd's or someplace similar, or if you're even a little bit handy, it's pretty easy to stiffen them up and eliminate that issue. Here is pics of an axis I put in a Boyd's stock as well as stiffening up and adding weight to absorb recoil on a Ruger American.
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Rpk
Member
That boyds stock is beautiful. When the action/barrel/trigger assembly is put in there is it free floating?
mississippishooter
Member
I have a Mossy 100 ATR and it, too, has a flimsy, hollow stock. I picked up my Ruger on Friday and it appears to have a more rigid stock that the Mossberg. I plan to strengthen it up myself at some point, but I doubt it will happen prior to this deer season. There's a youtube vid of a guy using a product called Glaze Coat and says, more or less, just mix it and pour it into the lattice work areas for more weight and rigidity. I'd note that I bought the gun for deer hunting almost exclusively. I'll sight it in, of course, and I may make an occasional range trip just to check zero and to get a feel for it. But it's a hunting gun. I hunt ALMOST exclusively in woods and the longest shot I've ever made on a deer was under 150 yards (I'd already hit him and he ran. My second shot dropped him, but the first was lethal). If that cheap stock affects accuracy, I can't see it making a big enough difference at the ranges I am most likely to need. Of course, I may go out west next year and want it to have a better range and more accuracy, in which case, a firmer stock might be needed.
I also decided (I was going to say "opted" but then I caught the pun) to put a Nikon Buckmaster II 3-9x40 on it. I caught it on sale at Academy for $109 picked it up. It's not a high end scope, but it should be satisfactory for my purposes.
Oddly enough, I compared the Bushnell Trophy XLT 3-9x40 and I swear I couldn't decide which I liked better. They're both in the same price class and they both have different features and advantages/disadvantages, but the clarity of both was pretty remarkable. The Nikon felt every so slightly clearer around the edges and colors seemed more natural, but the Bushnell has (for me) better eye relief and better turret caps. As for light gathering, I couldn't tell the difference between them at dusk/twilight yesterday. I'll see how they hold up in rain, cold and fog soon enough I suppose. I've got the Nikon on now. Will post some pics in a new thread later tonight. My use the Bushnell on my .22 or drop it on my .270 and rotate out the cheap (but perfectly functioning) 3-9x40 Tasco.
Haven't been to the range yet, but I'll post the groups when I get to shoot it.
I also decided (I was going to say "opted" but then I caught the pun) to put a Nikon Buckmaster II 3-9x40 on it. I caught it on sale at Academy for $109 picked it up. It's not a high end scope, but it should be satisfactory for my purposes.
Oddly enough, I compared the Bushnell Trophy XLT 3-9x40 and I swear I couldn't decide which I liked better. They're both in the same price class and they both have different features and advantages/disadvantages, but the clarity of both was pretty remarkable. The Nikon felt every so slightly clearer around the edges and colors seemed more natural, but the Bushnell has (for me) better eye relief and better turret caps. As for light gathering, I couldn't tell the difference between them at dusk/twilight yesterday. I'll see how they hold up in rain, cold and fog soon enough I suppose. I've got the Nikon on now. Will post some pics in a new thread later tonight. My use the Bushnell on my .22 or drop it on my .270 and rotate out the cheap (but perfectly functioning) 3-9x40 Tasco.
Haven't been to the range yet, but I'll post the groups when I get to shoot it.
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BigBL87
Member
mississippishooter
Member
Gorgeous!
Stevenvalleyky
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If that question is for me, the answer is yes. I had to spend 30 seconds of light sanding to make sure there was no contact between the barrel and the barrel channel.
Slid the action in, tightened down the action screws and done. Shot great as it was. Just to see if I could improve the accuracy further, I pulled the action back out and glass bedded it up to the recoil lug but there was no change at all. Its more accurate than I can shoot it. Its a 30-06 and with the plastic, flexy stock, it kicked like a mule. With the heavier boyds stock and the thick sissy pad on the back, the recoil feels somewhere between 243win and 308win.
This was a birthday present for my dad. Even though the scope needed to be adjusted to point of impact, this picture shows his first group with cheap 165 gr Rem corelocts at 100 yards after the stock change. He is not a very good shooter so that was fairly impressive for him.
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Being a cheapy, I went the latter route:
The other good news: I love the Ruger American butt pad! I wish all my rifles had one that effective!
Congratulations on your purchase!
Just remember that at this price range and for that matter anything in the sub $1,000 price range will have compromises that you may want to address if you want to practice more with your rifle and get better results.
The stocks are the biggest issue, and this has an adverse affect on shot to shot repeatability. Most of the plastic stocks on these rifles are pure crap. So, when you are ready, I'd strongly suggest getting a solid all weather stock from Boyd's or equivalent manufacturer, free floating your barrel and doing a proper bedding job for the action. That will help the rifle shoot consistently and shrink your group size.
The trigger is the next issue. Most triggers on these rifles are poor at best when compared to aftermarket. I'd see if there is a Timney Trigger available for your rifle and install that, preferably before you do any work on a new stock. Some inletting may be required to fit your trigger.
As to scopes, spend the money and get a Leupold or equivalent from another high quality manufacturer. Especially when hunting in low light conditions a high quality scope will make all the difference in the world.
Handloading, if you are not already into it, is the best way to tune a load to your particular rifle. That's a whole other conversation, but recommended, especially if you want to stay in budget and shoot more.
I realize you are on a budget and what I'm suggesting will cost some bucks, but you can do these mods over time.
Enjoy your new rifle!
Just remember that at this price range and for that matter anything in the sub $1,000 price range will have compromises that you may want to address if you want to practice more with your rifle and get better results.
The stocks are the biggest issue, and this has an adverse affect on shot to shot repeatability. Most of the plastic stocks on these rifles are pure crap. So, when you are ready, I'd strongly suggest getting a solid all weather stock from Boyd's or equivalent manufacturer, free floating your barrel and doing a proper bedding job for the action. That will help the rifle shoot consistently and shrink your group size.
The trigger is the next issue. Most triggers on these rifles are poor at best when compared to aftermarket. I'd see if there is a Timney Trigger available for your rifle and install that, preferably before you do any work on a new stock. Some inletting may be required to fit your trigger.
As to scopes, spend the money and get a Leupold or equivalent from another high quality manufacturer. Especially when hunting in low light conditions a high quality scope will make all the difference in the world.
Handloading, if you are not already into it, is the best way to tune a load to your particular rifle. That's a whole other conversation, but recommended, especially if you want to stay in budget and shoot more.
I realize you are on a budget and what I'm suggesting will cost some bucks, but you can do these mods over time.
Enjoy your new rifle!
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