7mm-08 or 260 Rem.

savagefan · Post by **savagefan** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 8:14 pm

Hi, flipping a coin here, will be ordering a new barrel and dies for my Stevens use for silhouette and maybe deer hunting. Does one caliber have any real advantage over the other? Is there a balance between extra oomph from the 7 or ballistic advantage to the 260? I'm not recoil shy so that's no consideration. All opinions gratefully appreciated.

BlauBear · Post by **BlauBear** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 9:11 pm

Have you considered the 6.5x47 Lapua? Ballistic advantages of the 6.5 using a smaller capacity cartridge that makes the best use of contemporary powder.

drover · Post by **drover** » Wed Nov 19, 2008 3:22 pm

I shot my first high-power silhouette match in 1980 and have been competing ever since. At that time the caliber of choice was a 308, not too many years after that Remingotn brought out the 7/08 and the majority of shooters went to it. Then in the mid 90's the 260 came out and there was a swing to it, in between every conceivable combination of cartridge was tried in the standard rifle class, of course at that time we were limited to factory chamberings and stocks in hunter class.

The last time I took a look at the equipment list from the Nationals it was about an even split between the 7/08 and 260. I have shot them both through the years and personally prefer a 260 in both standard rifle and hunter class. The 7/08 has a recoil more on par with a 308 and the 260 is more on par with the 243 - this is easily verified by running the numbers through a recoil calculator, if you don't have one simply google recoil calculator and use the JBM model it seems to be pretty true.

I know many shooters who claim that recoil does not bother them but recoil is cumulative and if you shoot two guns, particuarly if it is a small match and you are shooting them close together, by the end of the day most people are a little "flinchy" or are jumping the trigger.

Another consideration is the easy availability of brass - even if you should have a problem finding some you can always neck 7/08 down or 243 up.

With that being said I prefer the 260 but if I could get away with it on all ranges I would shoot a 243, but there are too many ranges where it is difficult to knock over rams with a 243 particuarly if it is a wet, muddy day and the feet "stick".

Bob Mc Alice · Post by **Bob Mc Alice** » Thu Nov 20, 2008 4:43 pm

Heads...7-08..........Tails...7-08...........you cant lose.

Here is some info to digest on my choice......... http://www.6mmbr.com/7mm284.html

savagefan · Post by **savagefan** » Thu Nov 20, 2008 5:09 pm

Thanx for the input, I came up heads and have a Shilen in 7-08 on the way. One extra deciding factor was this hunter class silhouette rifle will also be used for hunting deer elk and moose. Now, to play the waiting game.

Jerry G · Post by **Jerry G** » Fri Nov 21, 2008 11:20 am

I would go with the 6.5 x something. That 6.5 bullet is a real winner balisticaly speeking and you don't need more than 1000 ft lbs on target to put a deer down.

chickenchoker · Post by **chickenchoker** » Mon Dec 01, 2008 5:17 pm

What is the prefered 6.5 bullet to hunt with?

metalhead · Post by **metalhead** » Mon Dec 01, 2008 8:29 pm

That would be a 25 grain hollow point...ahead of 45 grains of some very fast burning pistol powder.

BlauBear · Post by **BlauBear** » Mon Dec 01, 2008 8:50 pm

Uh Huh - You first Marv...

metalhead · Post by **metalhead** » Mon Dec 01, 2008 9:33 pm

Hey...Can't a guy make a joke anymore when a questionable question is axed ?

BlauBear · Post by **BlauBear** » Tue Dec 02, 2008 6:55 am

metalhead wrote:Hey...Can't a guy make a joke anymore when a questionable question is axed ?

When someone of your credibility makes a suggestion someone may try it - in this case with a really ugly outcome.

GeoNLR · Post by **GeoNLR** » Tue Dec 02, 2008 7:46 am

I went with the 7-08 back when I started HP (2002 or 2003)

This year is the first year I went hunting with it. I loaded 41.0 grains of R15 behind a 150 grain Sie Game King. Many have had great results w/ the partitians as well. I have only taken one deer w/ the 7-08 this year. It was a Doe at 187 yards... I typically shoot high shoulder, but I shot her in the heart... I could spot the blood trail through the scope at 200 yards while she went 20-30 yards... Very satified with the results.

This was my HB Rem 700 w/ a Zeiss 6.5-20x50 w/ target knobs in a McMillian stock, since then I have got a 'take off' stock from a BDL and I plan to drop my Hunter rifle barreled action into this stock with a Zeiss 4.5-14 Conquest w/ Hunter knobs... I hope this set up will give me the extra versitility of Long range (200-300 yards) with the ability to hunt some of the closer set ups as well... Between that and my brush rifle, I'm not sure there would be a safe whitetail in the county.

Also - As far as recoil goes, Don't over look the Sie Match kings in 150 grains. I shot them many times at rams and have never lost one to date.. very mild recoil..but YMMV

Chicken

Troy G · Post by **Troy G** » Tue Dec 02, 2008 4:05 pm

metalhead wrote:That would be a 25 grain hollow point...ahead of 45 grains of some very fast burning pistol powder.

I thought it was pretty dam funny. Conversation would be like "Hey watch this . . ." KA BOOM!!! Who makes a 25gr bullet in 6.5 or 7mm, I got to try this? Any idea on BC? What powder would you suggest using Marv there are several very fast burning powders. I would prefer a Hodgdon Extreme offering so I could shoot the load in summer and in winter.