7mm 08 with Berger 180 VLD's for hunting

[headhunter1111]

I am currently in the planning stages for a new build. I am going with a savage SA CF and a Shilen barrel on a factory VLP stock. Probably going to go with a 26" barrel to keep from getting too unwieldy. I have a few questions about what cal. to go with. Right now I'm between the 6.5 S/LR and the 7-08. I like the bullet selection of the .264's but also like the ability to shoot heavier 180gr bullets out of the 7-08. Does anyone have experience with these rounds in a 24-26" barrel that could tell me how they perform. I'm interested in both the external and terminal ballistics so hunters and target shooters I could use your two cents. Planning to use 140 Bergers for the 6.5S/LR and 180's, or 168's for the 7-08.

 

[nastynatesfish]

I have both. I shoot 162 amax out of my 7-08 and it shoots good. Runs about 2800. I shoot 140 custom comps in my 260 and they run about 2880. My 260 is 28" barreled my 7-08 is 26"
7-08 on top in pic

 

[glo]

You have a lot to chew on here. So from my prospective, I'm gonna break this into two sections; targets and hunting.

You have mentioned the 180gr bullet for the 7mm-08. I assume you are mean the Berger 180gr VLD. {My bad. You mentioned them in the thread title :-\ } But hold on that thought for a minuet. For target shooting out to 1000yds you would need a 30” tube to stay well above the speed of sound with a 180gr bullet. They are just to long for the case capacity of a 7mm-08 in a standard length barrel. I also believe the 140/6.5mm and 168/7mm bullets will be a bit slow in a 26” barrel for 1000yd. But out to 600yds, I think you will be fine. Also don't forget the faster twist rate if you are thinking of VLD's.

Now back to the 180/7mm. If you are bent on using them you can seat them way out. This is because the long ogive tapers the bullet nose so that you must move it forward to engage the rifling. VLD's like to be up close and personal with the rifling. If you single feed a cartridge topped with a VLD like I do. You can get extra room for the powder. Hence a greater muzzle velocity then you would otherwise get from the a cartridge that would still fit in the magazine well. Your max COAL is about 2.86”. With a VLD it would be about 3.11”.

Now for hunting... Unfortunatly you didn't say what you were going to hunt. Anyway, a .260 Remington is good for anything up to Mule's out to 300yds. Elk as freezer meat inside 100yds. A single loaded VLD for Pronghorn out to 500yds. The 7mm-08 would be about the same. But a you could also add a big bull Elk inside 100yds as well. Other than deer and antelope inside 75yds go with premium bullets. The VLD's will do okay at short ranges as well. Again this would be with the 140gr/6.5mm and 168gr/7mm bullets as mentioned above.

And please for the sake god. Don't be sucked into YouTube videos that show hunters taking 900lb, trophy elk, at plus 500 yards with little cartridges like the .260 Remington and 7mm-08 Remington.

Good shooting my friend.

 

[XTR]

If you are hunting with a short action I would not plan to shoot 180s or 162s in a 7-08, you are going to lose a lot of case capacity to the tail of the bullet jammed in the case if you plan to load to mag length, and you don't gain anything.

Shooting inside of 600 yards the ballistic difference in a 162 flying 100 fps slower than a 140 is 1 inch of elevation and one inch of windage per full value MPH, at 400 yards the come up is the same and the windage difference is less than a bullet diameter.

You won't be able to get the 180s to nearly the same MVs. If you want to shoot the .284 180 class bullets I'd recommend building a 284Win, a 280Rem or a short mag on a long action (personally I use a 7mmRM if I'm getting that heavy) My 24" 7-08 runs 140accubonds and SGKs comfortably at 3000 FPS.

 

[headhunter1111]

Thanks for the feedback. I'll be using this for varmints, deer and the occasional elk (cow "meat" hunts, nothing past 250). I've used Bergers plenty in the past which is why I am looking to use them nearly exclusively. I've never had to shoot twice with them. The 140's have claimed 3 elk and an Oryx out of a 6.5-284, my .243AI has claimed 2 antelope, and a mule deer with 95 grainers. The terminal performance of the Bergers has been well established in my own hunting experiences and I did not mean to turn this into a thread on big game bullets so I apologize. Some would disagree with using the Bergers on game but I truly have seen better results with them than any other bullet I've used.

Now according to this data http://www.loaddata.com/members/search_detail.cfm?MetallicID=6720 the 7-08 can push the 180's at 2300fps easily out of a 24" barrel. Can anyone confirm this? If that is correct then it would remain supersonic out to 900 yds. It would also maintain over 1000 ft lbs of energy out to nearly 500 yards.

That being said I believe I will be going with the 6.5 instead because of the mag length issue which has been brought up. It achieves nearly the same thing has better selection of varmint bullets and will fit in the mag well. I appreciate everyone's input. Always good to get someone else ideas and opinions!

 

[65BR]

Glo - dropped my furthest deer at 400 yds using a 6mmBR...using a 260, 7/08, or 308 with good bullets, I would shoot deer up to 600 yds, elk easily to 400 or further, all assuming conditions were good and I knew the rifle, range, wind, and had a good rest.

Rifles will kill well, and further than many have business using, IF they put good bullets thru vitals.

 

[d.id]

Glo - dropped my furthest deer at 400 yds using a 6mmBR...using a 260, 7/08, or 308 with good bullets, I would shoot deer up to 600 yds, elk easily to 400 or further, all assuming conditions were good and I knew the rifle, range, wind, and had a good rest.

Rifles will kill well, and further than many have business using, IF they put good bullets thru vitals.

+1

 

[Fordnutter]

I built a long throated, single shot 7mm08 on a Rem Model 7 for a lightweight long ranger. Used a 1-9" twist 24" barrel. With 162gr Amax could shoot these at 2,800fps with Reloader 17 or 180gr Berger @ 2,680fps with ADI2209 (H4350 I think). The Berger were incredibly accurate but expansion poor at long range as they seem to stop expanding at about 1800 fps. The Amax accounted for goats in excess of 800 yds & looked like they had been hit with a sledge hammer! For long range hunting the 162gr Amax is hard to beat providing your gun likes them