Have a new addition to the fold...7mm-08

[shooter]

Many of you saw my post about my wife's first deer a couple weeks back. The rifle she used was borrowed from a friend, and she liked the hunt so much that I decided she needed her own rifle if she was to go hunting with me in the future.

For the back story - The gun she used was a Handi rifle in .223. While I don't doubt the .223's effectiveness in the right situation, I wanted something a little more versatile and a little bigger for her to shoot. My cousin came over this weekend and brought his Ruger M77 youth model over for me to help him clean it. She checked out the rifle and commented that she liked that it held more than one round, and that she could hold it steadier than the single shot rifle. Why that's the case, I'm not real sure, but she liked it. She also commented that it was a little heavier than the single shot.

Today - I went to Cabela's in Allen, TX to look at gun safes. I got to browsing the used gun rack looking for something to fit my wife. Then I moved to the new guns and saw they had Savage rifles on sale, with a cheap Bushnell scope, for $359. I asked to see one of the youth model ones, and was very surprised at how light it was and how good it felt. The grip on it is very slender, which I thought would fit her hand well. The action was also surprisingly smooth. It's one of the base models without the accutrigger, but the trigger wasn't that bad so I didn't worry about it that much. I was originally looking for a .243 for her, but there was this other rifle sitting right next to the one I looked at...in 7mm-08. I have always wanted one. Dreamed about getting one. After wanting one for so long, and hearing how high a regard 86er has for the cartridge, I couldn't pass it up. I figure I can load it down to .243 levels if need be. This gives her a mild recoiling rifle that is a little more effective on larger than whitetail size game than the .223 or .243. I wasn't too thrilled about the scope that came on it, but my buddy has one just like it on his economy Remington 740 7mm mag. It is crystal clear and holds a good zero, so I hope hers is the same.

My .243 is my go-to deer gun, but this gave me a chance to experiment with a new cartridge that I've always wanted to try and gets my wife her very own deer gun. I will post pics after I give it to her. Her birthday is in a week or so, and I gotta keep it hidden till then. Of course hiding it just means putting it in the box with all my other boxes in the closet. She won't even notice there's a new one in there I just hope she likes it.

[gamekeeper]

So that's why you guys keep all your boxes.. Seriously, that rifle sounds like it will be perfect for the wife, plus you get to play with it too!

[Dave]

That will be a great gun for her. The 7-08 is a wonderful round and gives you a lot of power with not much recoil. The new guns all come with recoil pads too so it should be a very soft shooter.

[86er]

If you can, load the Swift Scirocco 150 grain to 2700 fps (mine gets 2690 fps). It will serve with incredible performance. For a light load, the Nosler Ballistic Tip 120 gr or the Sierra GameKing 120 gr and the Rem Accu-Tip 140 gr loaded to 2450 fps will work on deer pretty good. If you load these faster they are pretty explosive but at 2500 fps or below they are okay for light loads on deer. Best of luck to both of you!

[crs]

Shooter;
If your wife is recoil-sensitive and you do not reload and need to use factory ammo, you could try the Remington Reduced Recoil 140 grain 7-08 ammo. I started my 10 year old grandson on that and after a few boxes he moved up to standard 140 grain Remington ammo.
The 7-08 is a very accurate and effective cartridge and you should be pleased with the performance.

[shooter]

Thanks 86er for the info. I will see what I can come up with for loads around those levels. Sounds about perfect for her.

CRS - I appreciate your recommendation also. I do reload, and that's really the only reason I chose that cartridge for her. I can make it pretty versatile by handloading. I may go ahead and get a box of those Remington reduced recoil loads just for grins though. Maybe chronograph them and try to duplicate.

I've heard nothing but good things about the cartridge, I just hope the gun can shoot up to the cartridge's potential. I didn't want to get her a real high dollar rifle to start out with in case she loses interest, but I don't want something that doesn't work either. I had a Savage 110 for a while and had no complaints with it. It was accurate and functioned well. It was just a basic fit and finish gun with an inexpensive scope and a plastic stock. I'm hoping this one turns out to be the same: Functional and accurate.

[Streetstar]

I hope it works well for you (well, for her actually )

Having a backup shot (or 2 or 3) may be a little more re-assuring than a single shot 223 also .

[86er]

A bunch of cowboys, rednecks, hillbillies and lawyers that I run with have/had the Stevens 200 rifle in 7mm-08. It is a Savage 110 barrel and action in all regards. They were all shooters with groups from 1" to 1 1/2" firing 3 shots from the bench at 100 yds. Your/her rifle is very similar and I would expect nothing but excellent service from it and the cartridge too.

[piller]

I have one of those Stevens in 7mm-08. When I finally got it sighted in, it has been great at 100 yards. I am getting 1 to 1 1/2 inch groups off the bench easily. I actually like the trigger more than the Remington 700 trigger. I haven't used it on any game yet, but that might change this fall. That rifle is light, but the 7-08 is a light kicking round. I bought mine for $200 without a scope at Academy Sports and Outdoors, added a Bushnell 3-9 scope on it and tried to bore sight it with a kit that uses a mandrel that fits in the barrel and a grid that you look at through the scope. I had to take it to the range and chase the hole. It took 13 shots to get it on target, but that must have been a lucky number. Am I pleased with my Stevens rifle in 7-08? Yes.

[RustyJr]

Have always liked the 7mm-08. Almost the same as a 270 but in a short action. You wont be disappointed. Gives you enough power for larger game as well should the opportunity arise.



RustyJr

[exSW]

Started my son on a 7mm-08 in a BLR worked out real well.Federals Fusion 140's are a good factory round.