7mm-08 for Plains game?

[CBH Australia]

any opinions on this as a choice for Africa PG? Suitability and ammo availability.
I’ve been impressed with the results on pigs and I had long thought and convinced myself it would be a great allrounder for Australia.
They keep telling me Africa is not as expensive as one might think. No it’s not depending on what your priorities are. I’m fascinated by Dangerous game but this site has shown me a few options for cull hunts on Plains game and I could maybe add a trophy Warthog, that hunt would come in under the trophy fee of most DG I think and the photos, the safari experience and the hunting appeals more than amassing numerous trophy’s .
I have various rifles and options but I am trying to rationalise what I have and need so that I can do more hunting and use what I have.
The .270 is renowned but I’ve never owned one. I have a .300 wm M77 but don’t like the Ramline stock.
I’m seriously considering using mainly Tikka rifles for any future purchase of new rifles due to the options to change stocks etc around being one action length. The exceptions being something like a DG or purpose built rifle
I’ve read the 7mm-08 and 7x57 are ballistic twins, an example of a newer compact cartridge efficiency’s I guess. I believe the 7mm-08 is capable and probably does what a .270 can but it’s just not as common but it appeals to me.

I’d gladly buy a Rigby .275 Rigby Highland for nostalgia but there goes my trip budget so that’s out of reach.
I use a .308 regularly, common in Australia but really it’s the .308, 7mm-08 or .300wm that’s I have on hand and I’m hoping to trade my CZ550 and get a .375H&H, that would do the plains game granted but it’s not in hand yet and I could be tempted to offload my .300win mag and get a Tikka in .300 or 7mmRen Mag or .270. I handload generally stick to readily available cartridges and standard chambering as I don’t get to technical, accuracy, shot placement and quality projectiles work for me. I’d have more variety but I can’t have everything.

 

[stug]

The 7x57 has an edge over the 7-08 when using heavier projectiles. Use a quality 140gr in a 7-08 and you will be fine for most plains game. Too light for an eland, but it will work for the others. The 300 win mag would be better, especially with a quality 180gr projectile.

 

[Jfet]

Princess Bride and her zebra with a Browning 7mm-08 using 150gr Barnes TSXBT

4 years later same rifle and round different shooter and zebra. My daughter-in-law took this zebra.

This rifle and that round have worked exceptional well together. Many white tail deer, 2 oryx, a bleisbock, and a blue wildebeest have all gone down with a single pull of the trigger for this rifle. It will make many more trips to Africa.

 

[Tra3]

My son used a 6.5 creedmore to take a zebra, springbuck, red hartebeest, bleisbuck, warthog and steenbuck. One shot kills except for the bleisbuck. He was shooting 142 grain nosler ABLR’s. Everyone says take what you shoot best, I think that is good advice.
The 6.5 creedmore and a 7mm-08 are quite close in performance.

 

[gillettehunter]

Use the 7mm-08 with a good bullet and enjoy Africa. Great round that "kills" better than what the ballistics would have you believe. Lighter recoil translates to more accurate shooting for many people.
Bruce

 

[TNDave]

Last year I took a 300 WSM and a 6.5 Creedmoor and both performed fantastically on plains game. I have a chance on a great deal in May of this year and I have booked my trip for 2020. As of now I will be taking a Tikka 7mm-08 and a Ruger Hawkeye 77 African in 375 Ruger. Not 100% certain on the pills but I am doing my load development with Peregrines on both.

 

[Hearties]

Why not just bring the .308 with a 150gr mono or 165gr bonded projectile? The .308 doesn’t get much love but it is incredibly effective on plains game at reasonable ranges. The 7mm-08 won’t do anything better than the .308 IMO.

 

[Witold Krzyżanowski]

I agree with Stug.

 

[meigsbucks]

I’ve had great success in the US with the 140gr Barnes TSX out of an 18.5” barrel @ 2742 fps. Should be good on anything up to kudu.

 

[Ridgewalker]

This has tweaked my interest because I gave my 12 year old granddaughter a Tikka in 7mm-08 for Christmas. I worked up some 120gr Barnes TTSX for her to start with and they worked well for Corsican and Merino rams at 150-175 yards.
The plan is to work her up to either 140 Barnes TTSX, or 150 Nosler Partitions to use in 2020 on PG. The first test will be this fall on elk hopefully.

Chris, I think you’ll be fine with the 7mm-08 with proper bullets and shot placement.

That said, I still like just taking my 375 H&H to Africa no matter what I’m hunting!

Best of luck making a final decision!

 

[rookhawk]

I've used a 7x57 with 175gr nosler partitions to hunt the following: warthog, 2x kudu, zebra, 10x impala, 1x duiker, 1x black bear, 1x white tail deer, 1x waterbuck, 1x steinbok, and probably a lot of stuff I can't remember.

Bottom line, a 7mm bullet of good construction is absolutely fine for everything less than an Eland in Africa and everything less than Moose/Bison in North America or Europe.

Perfect choice.

 

[Jeffrey]

I agree with Hearties. If you use a 308 a lot already, just bring that. Tough bullets and shot placement. Yeah, the 7X57/275 Rigby is kinda cooler. If you're comparing the 7X57, the 7-08, and the 308, you're really talking apples and apples here. Field performance for those three chamberings will be, for all purposes, identical. If you're worried about losing ammo, the 308 is the de facto truck gun/ tractor gun/ farmer gun chambering in southern Africa.

If you're buying a new rifle, get a 375.

 

[rookhawk]

Not sure I agree with .308 and .284 bullets being the same "apples to apples". The wind resistance, penetration, sectional density, ballistic coefficient are all superior on the 7mm / .284 bullet by a healthy margin.

Sure they will all kill game just fine, but if you're looking for the absolute best nexus of performance and recoil in the world, there is none better than a 6.5x55 swedish and a 7x57 mauser (and their many clones) for practical hunting.

 

[Jeffrey]

rookhawk,
I agree with your assessment of the efficiency of the 6.5X55 and 7X57 especially in modern loadings. Pretty tough to beat. However, I doubt a well placed shot with a premium bullet from the 6.5X55, 7x57, or 308 (or any other classic whitetail chambering) will have much of a noticeable difference in performance on game. The OP said he already had and was proficient with a 308, so why not bring that? Except, of course, for the very legitimate reason of getting a new rifle...

 

[bruce moulds]

7mm/08 - good for smaller plains game, as is 308.
not so good for bigger plains game.
not if you want to guarantee a poleaxe death, as we are morally obliged to do.
scratching thins down should have no place in hunting, and while you can sometimes kill big things fast with a little gun, you cannot guarantee this.
you really need to match it with something like a 9.3 or 375, as plains game comes is so many sizes.
bruce.

 

[CAustin]

If you shoot the 300 WM we’ll take it. I have taken plains game all the way up to eland with one!

 

[shootist~]

I think you'll like the Tikka.

I've owned a Tikka (6.5CM Stainless Lite 24.3") for all of two weeks, but it's living up to the hype so far. 90 rounds over four range sessions as I break in the barrel - mostly with 140 ELD-M bullets that I use in the 13 lb long range rifle. Except using RL16 instead of H4350.

The 7mm08 is a better choice based on raw energy, but I was already heavily invested in 6.5 CM reloading.

Weight with Talley LW rings and a Nightforce NSX 2.5-10 is 7.6 lbs (assuming my bathroom scales are close).

RL16 powder is giving me good velocity (2,800 fps with the 140s) and very good accuracy. The plan is to work up a good load with the Barnes 127 gr LRX - hopefully in the 2,900 fps range - and take the 6.5 as a backup to a .338 Win Mag. (Limpoppo Hunt is scheduled for July 2020.)

My PH says absolutely - bring it.

If you get a spare mag (and reload) don't go with a .308 mag. The 6.5 Creedmoor specific magazine (part #S58569828 for a 5 rounder), allows a Much longer COL. (Its also marked for 7mm08, btw.) For .020 off The lands, I'm at 2.898". These were a no-go in a standard .308/7mm08 mag.

 

[steve white]

I'm going to side with Bruce...unless you have some physical disability, and still have the choice before you, USE ENOUGH GUN.

 

[bruce moulds]

yes steve, well put.
for the shooter it is just 1 shot of many in a lifetime, and nothing really lost if it is not instantly fatal.
for the animal, the moment that trigger breaks it is everything. like the whole world.
I still fid it interesting how people give more consideration to a leopard gun than an eland, zebra, or kudu gun.
this is more from self interest than a moral judgement.
those who have seen how much better an adequate firearm is than the opposite will only continue to use the inadequate one if they have no scruples.
in the old days people did not give the humane killing of an animal any more thought than they did picking an apple or pulling an onion from the ground.
nowadays we are more enlightened.
the same applies to projectiles.
bruce.

 

[CBH Australia]

Guess I trying Rationalise what guns I’m keeping forever, I’ve got some nice scopes and rifles but I don’t like the cheap plastic aftermarket stock on the .300wm, everyone has a .308 I guess I just want something special.
I have a 7mm-08 in. CTR and a spare barrel that will fit the .308 when I wear it out.
I believe the 7mm-08 is good , the penetration I believe makes it an effective killer. The same theory I’m applying when I’m considering selling the .458wm to get a .375H&H. I’d use that more on my continent if I never leave home. Or one rifle that will do Africa.
The other ideas that come to mind are having a 300.wm or 7mm Rem mag.
Buying a Tikka means that I can swap stocks and mounts.
I’m trying to use what I have more . The .308 is my hunting carry rifle, I thought of replacing the laminate stock with a carbon fibre by Australian company Bolly.
To many options and too little money.