Thinking about a new 7-08..need some input.

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ECVMatt

ECVMatt

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I have found a new hunting spot. It is very productive and we see 15 to 20 really good buck a day. Most are 4 x 4 or better, which is pretty good for us here in CA. It is a valley located very high in the Sierras and most of our hunting is done above 12000 feet. I shot my deer at about 14000 feet last year. The altitude caused my to suck major wind, especially since I am coming from sea level.

I want to find a light weight rifle for this type of hunting. The shots can be somewhat long, but there is lots of brush so shorter shots are possible. I think I am going to put a Leupold VXIII 2.5x8 Scope on the rifle. I chose the 7-08 because it fits in a small action and still carries decent energy to make clean kills.

I am more concearned about weight than length. I would like to have a full length bbl, not a compact. I have ruled out the CZ and Tikka's because they do not make a short action. I do not know why, but this really bothers me. Both of those companies make great rifles and really should make a short action. I really like the Kimber Montana, but have heard rumblings about poor accuracy (with a bolt gun I am kind of an accuracy nut). I am not so sure these rumblings are true. I also thought about the Browning A-Bolt. I have about 1000 dollars to spend on the rifle. I already have the scope.

Any thoughts from the gallery? Any input would be very much valued.

Thanks,

Matt
 
My deer gun is a Remington 700 in 7-08, mountain profile barrel (thin) and a factory synthetic stock (added later). It's quite light and accurate.
 
I have a 700 in 7mm-08 as well. I can't really advise you on rifle choices other than the fact that I do like my 700 (except its trigger is wretched - but there are lots of aftermarkets). I've shot a lot of rifles but most of them are older rifles that are no longer made.

I do think the 7mm-08 is a GREAT choice for a mid-power rifle. I'm convinced it's the ideal "deer and stuff" caliber.
 
ECVMatt,
I have no experience with the 7mm-08, but I do with many of the short actions.
My Mountain rifle is a Winchester M70 in .243 WSSM. With a 95 gn CT Ballistic Silver Tip, it drops White Tails and mulies like Thor's hammer out to about 250 yards, which is about as far as I like to shoot. Most shots I have had over the years were 75-200 yards. 3/4" groups at 100 yards with a good handload are common. Can't say about factory stuff 'cause I don't remember having shot much in it.

I also have a Kimber 84M "Select" in .260 Remington that the chrono says is stout deer medicine with 120gn or 140 gn bullets. VERY fussy accuracy wise about the load, tho. Factory ammo is 1.5 to 2" at 100 yards. I guess that's "minute of White tail". Not too bad for a 6.5 lb gun, but not as good as I expected for $1,200 +.

I, too, love the short actions, but my Tikka in .270 Win. (my ONLY long action) has the smoothest, slickest feeding action of all my rifles, including the Kimber, an A-Bolt, all Remmys, 1 Winny, 1 Parker Hale (my brother's) and both CZ's! And for about 1/3 the price of the Kimber, it only weighs 7 oz. more! I'm not too crazy about the push feed, but the darn thing sure works!

Just my 2 cents......

Poper
 
BTW, Jimmy Newman reminded me you may want to get a trigger job if you get a 700. Mine breaks like a glass rod at about 2lbs :)
Mine was ammo sensitive as well. Remington Core-Lokt factory ammo shot the best and it took a little while to develop a handload that would meet or exceed it accuracy-wise with heavier bullets (using 160gr now), but it shot great out of the box.
 
I think the ideal choice here is the Remington Model Seven in stainless/synthetic configuration. I've got one in 7-08 and one in .260 Remington, and they're both great: light, handy, nicely balanced, and very, very accurate.
 
IF weight is your main concern this puppy is the lightest production rifle available @ 5 1/4 lbs!!

The Ultimate Lightweight Model 700 Titanium. This features a titanium action mated to a 22" lightweight stainless steel barrel, a fluted bolt, skeletonized bolt handle and a very plain, un-checkered, HS Precison carbon-fiber composite stock. It weighs only 5 1/4 pounds in short action calibers .260 Rem., 7mm-08 Rem., and .308 Win.
MSRP $1179.00

Ron
 
Remington 700 SPS

I think its around 7 pounds. I get my sps in 7days. Ill tell how it shoots.
 
Your hunting situation is the reason the 7-08 is such a popular round. I have several bucks and does to my 7-08 700 BDL Stainless. Nice light and accurate. It is hard not to like it!
 
I shot my deer at about 14000 feet last year
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Umm... and what zone would that be?

PS the highest deer I have shot in the Sierra Nevada was at ~11,500 ft, and a 9 mile hike in. I use a Rem 700 Mnt Rifle in 7mm X 57mm Mauser,(which is ballisiticly the same as the 7mm-08, but has 100X the mystique) and a Leupold M8 4X scope. I feel it is just about perfect for that type of hunting. Has a 22" barrel, weighs ~ 7lb with sling and scope, and has a nice trigger (after a easy adjustment). The rifle will put 2 rounds into the same 1/2" @ 100yds from a cold barrel every time. (5 rnds into <1.5MOA), and the zero never changes (in 15 years!) Here is the rifle and a 4x4 mule deer shot at ~10,500 ft in the Mineretts of the Sierra Nevada (Old zone D7, new zone X-9a)
 
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I thought about that for a few minutes also. It seems that there are not many mountains over 14kft in california. Only about a half a dozen. I was wondering why a deer would be trying to crest or be very near the peak of a mountain. Heck Mount Whitney (highest in california) is at 14,491.

Nice picture of Whitney by the way. Quite impressive peak that last 500 odd feet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Mt_Whitney_from_Alabama_Hills2.jpg
 
It seems that there are not many mountains over 14kft in california. Only about a half a dozen.
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Actually there are 15 peaks reconized as "Mountains above 14,000 ft." in California. (Debateable)
Two are not in the Sierra Nevada, the west side of all 14,000 footers in the Sierra Nevada is National Park, and the central eastern section is closed to hunting due to Bighorn sheep habitat.
I was wondering why a deer would be trying to crest or be very near the peak of a mountain.
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You would be very surprised, I have seen and hunted VERY large muleys on ridgelines at and above treeline (>~10,000 ft) in the Sierra Nevada. I have not seen mule deer or sign above ~12,500 ft. The problem is getting the correct tag, getting above treeline, and getting that sucker out once youve shot it.

Quite impressive peak that last 500 odd feet.(Mt. Whitney)
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Only on the east side, and it is impressive for ~2000 ft on that side. The top 500 ft on the west side is very unimpressive.

P.S.-If you really want to shoot a BIG desert mule deer I would recommend hunting the White Mountains (>14,000 ft at White Mnt.), zone X-9c.:cool:, but its not in the Sierra Nevada. Mt Shasta at > 14k' has some pretty good deer hunting up high also.
 
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TIKKA T3 LITE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

The T3 has only one action length, but the bolt stops are different depending on the caliber.
My T3 in 308 Win has a short action bolt throw.

My T3 Lite with 3-9x40mm Leupold VX-I weighs exactly 7 lbs and shoots many factory loads sub MOA, match ammo sub 0.5MOA.
A Rem 700 weighs more than 7 lbs without scope

It really is a sweet rifle, don't throw it out of your choices yet.
 
It is X9a

I think you are right. I pulled out the Topo and found where I shot my deer..it looks more like 12000 or so. We had horses to carry out the deer, so I was very happy about that.

The packer told me that the mulies like to a the lechen off the rocks when they get above the tree line. The biggest bucks would stay on top of this bald mnt at about 13500 or so. We could see them from camp, but had no real way to get to them.

It was a ton of fun and lots of hard work. I can't wait to get back.

Matt
 
Who did you use as a packer? I used to work for Mammoth Lakes Pack Outfit, and hunted the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada for 25 years.

Your choice of 7mm-08 is perfect for this terrain, and these size animals. The load for my 7mm Mauser is a 140 gr. Nosler Ballisitc Tip @ 2850 fps and I have never been let down by the Mod 700 Mnt rifle, the Leupold scope, or the load. While the 7mm08 fits into a short action, the 7mm Mauser has Bell, elephants, Boers, and San Juan hill going for it.:cool:

I believe that X-9a takes 4 bonus points to be drawn, so you wont be able to get it again for a couple of years.:banghead:

Zone X-9b is the only zone with terrain over 14k' that would be legal to hunt, kinda steep though:evil:. A couple of the ~12,000 ft passes can be really productive. Pay close attention to the boundry, however its National Park.:what: I would recomend looking into that, its a easyer draw.:D

I shot a nice deer high in the Sawtooths (X-12), but that is just about the hardest draw in the area.

There is also a way to hunt D7 (an "on-demand" tag) from the east side by hiking ~6 miles.:uhoh:

And the biggest deer are in the Whites(X-9c), hardest hunting also.
 
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