RELOADING
7MM-08 Remington
This highly efficient "short seven" is an accurate, light-kicking giant killer.
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Remington has always been a proponent of the 7mm, so when it announced a brand-new cartridge in 1980, it was no surprise it had a .284 bore. The 7mm-08 Remington was derived from a necked down .308 Winchester case (7.62x51mm) and was touted as a new 7mm cartridge designed for short-action bolt rifles that equaled or bettered cartridges in its class.
During the load's development, Remington found that necking down the .308 to 7mm resulted in a cartridge that was inherently accurate, like its parent .308, and over normal ranges the trajectory was slightly better. It is ironic that the wildcatters and silhouette shooters had discovered the same cartridge 20 years before. Like other wildcats from the past, it sometimes takes a while for manufacturers to realize the potential of a new chambering.
With the velocities developed by the 7mm-08 using a similar weight bullet to available .30-caliber projectiles, the higher ballistic coefficient of the 7mm had the advantage of developing more energy and a flatter trajectory as the range increased. Along with the moderate recoil, great selection of bullets available and downrange performance, it's no wonder that silhouette shooters adopted the 7mm-08 so quickly.
For hunters the 7mm-08 is a great medium-range cartridge that is capable--with the correct bullet--of taking big game up to elk with no problem. It is a great cartridge for women, young shooters or anyone who is sensitive to recoil. Even in the lighter rifles the recoil is very tolerable.
Of all the factory cartridges derived from the .308 case, the 7mm-08 runs a strong third in popularity and is gaining ground all the time. Only the .308 itself and the .243 Winchester are ahead of it.
Good friend Craig Boddington took his teenage daughter Brittany to Africa a couple of years ago as a birthday present. This was her first trip to the Dark Continent and Craig wanted to make sure the first trip for plains game was a memorable one. The rifle chosen for her was chambered for the 7mm-08.
In typical Boddington fashion, her performance in the field was to make her father proud. She collected kudu, gemsbok, zebra and other plains game, and only in rare cases was a second shot needed. Brittany and her 7mm-08 showed once again that it's where you place the bullet--not how big it is or how fast it is traveling. Granted, it does help to have a good coach.
Factory ammunition available for the first year or two was a little limited. However, with its gain in popularity most all major ammunition manufacturers offer a selection of factory ammunition for most any type or size critter the hunter would pursue. Remington, Winchester, Federal, Norma, Hornady and PMC have a selection of loadings. Bullet weights and bullet types are available from a 120-grain hollowpoint for varmints to a heavy jacketed 150-grain bullet for the bigger stuff.
