Why isn't the 7mm-08 more popular?

[Newtosavage]

Let me start out by saying I'm a huge fan of 7mm bullets for hunting, as I feel they strike the perfect balance between weight and BC for most big bame species.

Lately I've noticed fewer and fewer rifles being offered in the 7mm-08, and the ammo shelves are starting to run dry in that caliber. Why?

For the life of me, I can't understand why the whole of North America hasn't realized the 7mm-08 (and the 7x57 before it) are essentially the ideal deer caliber.

Recoil is completely tolerable, accuracy is outstanding and bullet weights in the 120-140 grain range are superb for whitetails and muleys, and 140's and heavier are available for reasonable distances on Elk.

In the past 2 years I've owned (and sold) a 7x57, a .280, two .308's, two .243's and a 6.5 CM. Why? Because none of them have the balance of the 7mm-08.

I just simply don't understand why it's not a more popular caliber for hunters.

 

[MrBorland]

I've often wondered this. Maybe it's because the printed word continues to single it out by characterizing it as a cartridge suitable for women & kids?

 

[horsey300]

Let me start out by saying I'm a huge fan of 7mm bullets for hunting, as I feel they strike the perfect balance between weight and BC for most big bame species.

Lately I've noticed fewer and fewer rifles being offered in the 7mm-08, and the ammo shelves are starting to run dry in that caliber. Why?

For the life of me, I can't understand why the whole of North America hasn't realized the 7mm-08 (and the 7x57 before it) are essentially the ideal deer caliber.

Recoil is completely tolerable, accuracy is outstanding and bullet weights in the 120-140 grain range are superb for whitetails and muleys, and 140's and heavier are available for reasonable distances on Elk.

In the past 2 years I've owned (and sold) a 7x57, a .280, two .308's, two .243's and a 6.5 CM. Why? Because none of them have the balance of the 7mm-08.

I just simply don't understand why it's not a more popular caliber for hunters.

Cuz it's not a 7mm creedmore

 

[Orcon]

Maybe because it is a handloaders cartridge and it tries to span the gap of two popular, commercially available cartridges. Have you heard about our lord and saviour 6.5 screedmoor?

 

[Newtosavage]

Cuz it's not a 7mm creedmore

LOL.

 

[Newtosavage]

I've often wondered this. Maybe it's because the printed word continues to single it out by characterizing it as a cartridge suitable for women & kids?

Which is complete nonsense, but I can see where it being chambered in many "youth" rifles would lead many to believe it's not as capable as say, a .308. Funny thing is, it's infinitely more capable on mid-sized game than the venerable 30-30 and yet you never see anyone refer to the 30-30 as a woman or kid's caliber.

 

[627PCFan]

I think those who don't know better think 308, without the 308 and keep moving on.

 

[jmr40]

With the best loads 7-08 has 1 ft lb less recoil than 308. At 500 yards it drops 1" less and has about 30 ft lbs more energy than 308. On paper 7-08 is ever so slightly better, but as far as I'm concerned they are ballistic twins.. But ammo for 308 is much more readily available and less expensive. When most people look at the real world advantages vs disadvantages most choose 308. Either will take elk out to 300-400 yards and deer even farther and I'd not feel handicapped hunting anything in the lower 48 with either round.

I really think the popularity of the 6.5 Creedmoor will finish it off. Typical 6.5 recoil is around 12 ft lbs vs 15 and 16 ft lbs for 7-08 and 308. The heavier 140 gr+ 6.5mm bullets penetrate on par with 175 and 180 gr 7mm and .308 bullets and hold up much better at longer ranges than either.

 

[horsey300]

LOL.

Honestly and realistically, it's because it has more than the metric measurement and parent case in common with the .260, REMINGTON, you want to kill a cartridge, stamp it REM and let them handle the marketing.

 

[Newtosavage]

Maybe because it is a handloaders cartridge and it tries to span the gap of two popular, commercially available cartridges. Have you heard about our lord and saviour 6.5 screedmoor?

Not sure why you'd say it's a 'handloaders cartridge' since commercial ammo is easily available.
But commercial ammo is really a "chicken or the egg" conundrum.

Seems to me anyone who knows anything about ballistics and recoil for deer rifles would prefer the 7mm-08 to either the .243 or .308.

 

[Newtosavage]

Typical 6.5 recoil is around 12 ft lbs vs 15 and 16 ft lbs for 7-08 and 308

I know what the numbers say, but my shoulder tells me otherwise. I just sold a 6.5 CM because it recoiled more like a .308 than a .243. My 7mm-08 has less perceived recoil - to me - than that 6.5 CM with equal weight bullets. Same rifle model too.

Not many folks are going to try and do double duty (deer and elk) with their 6.5 CM, but people routinely do this with the 7mm-08. That to me, makes it a superior hunting caliber because of it's flexibility while maintaining very manageable recoil.

 

[horsey300]

I know what the numbers say, but my shoulder tells me otherwise. I just sold a 6.5 CM because it recoiled more like a .308 than a .243. My 7mm-08 has less perceived recoil - to me - than that 6.5 CM with equal weight bullets. Same rifle model too.

Not many folks are going to try and do double duty (deer and elk) with their 6.5 CM, but people routinely do this with the 7mm-08. That to me, makes it a superior hunting caliber because of it's flexibility while maintaining very manageable recoil.

Well, the Swede and .260 have been killing passels of elk sized game for decades, so I don't doubt the creed CAN, I just support the speedier boys lol, between the 6.5 and 7, I don't care to argue the difference, but I do know that a 100 gr .264 is suitable for deer, but I don't agree with a 100 gr 7mm

 

[22250Rem]

That's a question I've asked many times. The 7mm-08 is an excellent round that seems to have never caught on as much as I thought it would. There does seem to be some validity to the theory that it was promoted too heavily as being suitable for women & kids, which it is, along with so many other cartridges in that class. Nowadays folks are jumping on the 6.5 Creedmore bandwagon big time. Nothing wrong with that cartridge IMHO but it too is very suitable for women & kids but it never seems to get promoted that way. This must be another good example of how marketing factors like advertising, public exposure ( via gun writers ) and other factors influence sales of that product. Then again; there's quite a few good rifle cartridges that never seemed to catch on the way many folks predicted. The 7mm-08 is here to stay in my book and I think in a few years it will still be developing some new fans once they discover what a nice, all around versatile round it is and are tired of all the hype surrounding other cartridges. Remember the 25 WSSM? When that came out you would have thought by reading some of the promo stuff that the .25-06 was suddenly obsolete. But look what happened. Time will tell.

 

[Orcon]

Not sure why you'd say it's a 'handloaders cartridge' since commercial ammo is easily available.
But commercial ammo is really a "chicken or the egg" conundrum.

Because to gain any meaningful benefit over the Winchester family, you really need to hand load. It's not a chicken and egg question, it started out as a wildcat and will always be a handloading endeavor.

 

[horsey300]

That's a question I've asked many times. The 7mm-08 is an excellent round that seems to have never caught on as much as I thought it would. There does seem to be some validity to the theory that it was promoted too heavily as being suitable for women & kids, which it is, along with so many other cartridges in that class. Nowadays folks are jumping on the 6.5 Creedmore bandwagon big time. Nothing wrong with that cartridge IMHO but it too is very suitable for women & kids but it never seems to get promoted that way. This must be another good example of how marketing factors like advertising, public exposure ( via gun writers ) and other factors influence sales of that product. Then again; there's quite a few good rifle cartridges that never seemed to catch on the way many folks predicted. The 7mm-08 is here to stay in my book and I think in a few years it will still be developing some new fans once they discover what a nice, all around versatile round it is and are tired of all the hype surrounding other cartridges. Remember the 25 WSSM? When that came out you would have thought by reading some of the promo stuff that the .25-06 was suddenly obsolete. But look what happened. Time will tell.

There aren't patent issues with the cm like there were with the short mags

 

[cdb1]

7mm-08 is very popular still in my neck of the woods.

 

[Slamfire]

Mitch Maxberry won the across the course Nationals at Camp Perry with a 7mm-08. One year I was pulling targets with the guy and he made the statement that he "knew" the others were shooting inside what he could do with their 6.5 bullets.

There was a time when some of my shooting buddies were using 7mm bullets, because Sierra had published a very high ballistic coefficient for the 168 match bullet. What I found humorous the instant Sierra republished a lesser ballistic coefficient those shooters using a 7mm match bullet dumped the caliber.

On my shelf is a copy of "Cartridges of the World". The number of cartridges that have been tried, were popular for a time, is mind boggling. So many of them are ballistic duplicates, one way or another. One could ask the same sort of question with all of those cartridges that had some feature, some characteristic, that the originator thought would make it timeless and popular, and why those cartridges flopped. I do not believe that technical excellence alone is the sole criteria for cartridge popularity. There has to be many other factors.

 

[Newtosavage]

Well, the Swede and .260 have been killing passels of elk sized game for decades, so I don't doubt the creed CAN, I just support the speedier boys lol, between the 6.5 and 7, I don't care to argue the difference, but I do know that a 100 gr .264 is suitable for deer, but I don't agree with a 100 gr 7mm

After realizing the recoil from the 6.5 CM was virtually identical to the 7mm-08 (and lighter .308 loads) I went with the 7mm-08 over the 6.5 CM specifically due to hunting bullet selection.

 

[Scooter22]

The MM rounds were never popular in the US. 7MM Mauser was it in mainly surplus Mausers.. Then Rem had the .280, 7MM Mag, and 7mm-08. Then reintroduced the .280 as the 7MM Express. So we had confusion of which is what I want. Plus the 7mm-08 was talked about as a silhouette round, not a hunting round.

 

[Stevenvalleyky]

Not sure why you'd say it's a 'handloaders cartridge' since commercial ammo is easily available.
But commercial ammo is really a "chicken or the egg" conundrum.

Seems to me anyone who knows anything about ballistics and recoil for deer rifles would prefer the 7mm-08 to either the .243 or .308.

Because the 7mm-08 and 308 win ARE almost exactly the same ballistically. I've shot both side by side in Ruger Americans and I could not tell the difference in felt recoil between 150 gr in 308 and 140 in the 7mm-08. Both using the same brand and type of ammo as well. It doesnt sell as well because it's just too close to 308 for most people to want to deal with the slightly more difficult time in finding ammo.

 

[Big7]

Honestly and realistically, it's because it has more than the metric measurement and parent case in common with the .260, REMINGTON, you want to kill a cartridge, stamp it REM and let them handle the marketing.

Uh? No..

The 7MM Rem. Mag. is probably the most "universal", for lack of a better term, ever.

Then, throw in the 6MM Rem.. .35 Rem, .44, .357 etc.. and you will get the idea.

Just sayin'.

 

[horsey300]

Uh? No..

The 7MM Rem. Mag. is probably the most "universal", for lack of a better term, ever.

Then, throw in the 6MM Rem.. .35 Rem, .44, .357 etc.. and you will get the idea.

Just sayin'.

Oh they've had a few successes, especially if they could tie magnum into it, but the .35, 6mm, .260, 41, 7-08, and 280 were all done a disservice.

 

[kwg020]

7mm-08 brass is easy to make from 308 and 7.62x51 brass. It only takes a 7mm-08 trim die and a set of full length dies. I find it hard to believe the Creedmoore will ever be as good a hunter as the 7mm-08. It may be a better target round but i doubt it will be a better hunter.

Kwg

 

[Newtosavage]

7mm-08 brass is easy to make from 308 and 7.62x51 brass. It only takes a 7mm-08 trim die and a set of full length dies. I find it hard to believe the Creedmoore will ever be as good a hunter as the 7mm-08. It may be a better target round but i doubt it will be a better hunter.

Kwg

Yup. On that we both agree.

 

[i loves my gun]

Same reason the .284 win isn't popular. Reason being, nobody knows.