fav 7mm cals

[Tassiebloke]

7x64R and 7x57R are great fun, easy on the shoulder and are more than enough to get the job done on everything up to sambar (especially if you load your own, as the projectiles that come from factory ammunition are usually too hard for Aussie game). if break actions don't tickle your fancy, then look at the 280 rem (yes, i know, boring) and the 7mm Weatherby magnum. a mate of mine bought one a while ago and i think it's sorta halfway between a 7mm rem mag and a 28 Nosler, though i haven't had the ability to look at the ballistics of it yet to see if this is the case. i had a 7mm rem mag for a long time but eventually i realised that at the distances that i'm hunting at, it's not worth the extra powder and recoil over the 30-06.

[bigpete]

If I had to choose a 7mm it would be a 7x57 for the classic factor,on an m98 action

[Wyliecoyote]

As someone who has used a number of 7mms for long range benchrest like 1000 yard IBS and 500m Fly, one of the most efficient and close to the longest barrel life has to land with the 280 AI or JAT. In a 24 inch barrel either of those cartridges will replicate 7mm RM speeds using less powder. The 7mm RM in a 30 inch barrel has the velocity edge but at the expense of a short barrel life. The 7 WSM which i did before the cartridge was adopted by the factory, and now long defunct, was the absolute worst barrel burner i have ever seen with no barrel showing lasting accuracy beyond 600 rounds. 7 SAUMs will get to 800.
The 280 AIs i did were not on any 30/06 based case as they were all way undersized in the web, i used 9.3 x 62 brass which lasted forever and was readily available from Lapua and RWS and others, but was larger in the butt and fitted the chambers better. Even though the overall length was very slightly shorter after forming, it did not detract from throat life one bit. Cases were formed by one pass in a 308 neck die and then in the FL AI die. Nosler now makes readily formed brass to proper AI specs which is a bonus.
I have never seen a more efficient 7mm cartridge than the 7/08 AI, but it cannot get the speeds one may want.

[Jorlcrin]

I bought a 7mm-08 in 2014; Tikka T3 Hunter Varmint Stainless Fluted.
22 7/16" Barrel.
Couple of years later, I had it machined and fitted with a brake.
[Found the recoil from it was a bit oppressive for me at the time - on blood thinners].

For my shooting, favorite projectile is a 120gn V-Max, departing at just over 3000.
It works really well for everything we get here, and very predictable.
Nailed a crow mid-peck(sitting on a dead wally) at 355 metres one day(from a bench-rest).
Dead-Center; likely some blind luck at work, but from what I recall(over 6 years ago), I gave the exact holdover that Strelok suggested, and the hole appeared dead-center.
I do have some 139gn(Supposed to be the ballistic 'sweet-spot') and some 150gn loads to test, but hard to beat the 120's for doing what I need.

Intended it to be eventually taken over by my brother; he'd expressed a desire to go the 7mm route.
My current sibling relationship suggests thats now looking highly unlikely.
If thats the way it goes, I cant see I'll keep it.

Projectiles and ammo were harder to source than the .308, so I ended up stockpiling a lot of projectiles to get around that.
Stole a heap of brass from the .308, which I was able to buy bulk ammo for.
Pretty easy to re-size and trim to suit.

Would I buy another one?
Probably not; cannot see that for my shooting, 7mm gives me anything stand-out over my .308s, or my CTR .223.
[I'm not shooting overly long-range - Max at ~450m - and nothing larger than a large pig. ]

Sorry to all the 7mm aficionados; All I can say is that I tried a 7mm-08, and it just didnt light up my world.

[Wyliecoyote]

Quite right, if you own a 308, the 7/08 is pretty pointless as the heavier bullets with the good BCs cannot be driven hard enough to gain any advantage.
I should have mentioned that the 280 AIs really come into their own with bullets in the 160 to 185 grain at the 2900 fps mark or over. Bullets lighter than that give no advantage over a 308 or a good 6.5mm in the hunting paddock. While i have shot a number of 284 Wins over the years there is issue with them in a hunting gun. Best served in a long action where if used in a short action, the bullets are seated so deep that powder capacity is reduced considerably. The other problem is there can be feed issues in some rifles.
I should also mention that the 7 Creedmoor is worth some consideration. Not well known here but the ballistics of it is between the 280 and 7/08.