7-08 Ammo shortage

Varminterror said:

What animal at what distance, specifically, do you believe can this over-book load for 7-08 load harvest which isn’t also done with a .704G1 BC 153 A-tip at 2750fps??? (Of note, the 153 has an SD of .313, with the 175 7mm also at .310).

Again, nothing, and with no difference in effective range.

Also again, don’t sell this difference as something it isn’t. The 308 case and the Creedmoor case are standard bolt face, short action cartridges pushing very similar small bore bullets of similar weights to similar speeds. Distinctions without differences.

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it is not overbook load it is in the hodgdon manual. in fact sta ball powder was made with the 7-8 in mind. I dont think an A-tip is a hunting bullet. I think it is silly to argue over 2 rounds that are so close but to say that the creedmoor (or less) is superior to the 7-08 is not true. the 08 will shoot just as flat and get there with a heavier payload. I do not care about that but 90% of guys on forums do

robin banks said:

I think it is silly to argue over 2 rounds that are so close

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Yet here you were, doing so for a few days and a few pages, arguing an overbook load for 7-08 was different, despite ignoring the question twice as to what that distinction meant in real world fields…

And yes, 2700fps with a 175 using Sta-ball 6.5 is over Hodgdon’s book:


You also might give them a call also about the mislabeling which has been going on - every bottle of StaBall 7-08 I have ordered has said StaBall 6.5 on the side… I can put you in touch directly with one of their marketing managers if you like - I’m sure they’d be happy to clear up their mistake.

Sadly despite it's apparent popularity among owners, the light bulb above the 7-08's head appears to be diming. The 6.5 C has cannibalized most of the nich it held as an in betweener to the 243 and 308 as a deer cartridge, and the 7-08 never captured the imagination of recreational shooters the way 6.5 C has.

someguy2800 said:

Sadly despite it's apparent popularity among owners, the light bulb above the 7-08's head appears to be diming. The 6.5 C has cannibalized most of the nich it held as an in betweener to the 243 and 308 as a deer cartridge, and the 7-08 never captured the imagination of recreational shooters the way 6.5 C has.

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I think it’s all about “the desires of the buyers.”

The 7-08 has famously been a hunting cartridge, and hunting has waned dramatically in popularity over the last 2-3 generations. The 7-08 remains a phenomenal hunting cartridge, but the majority of folks aren’t buying rifles for hunting, so they’re not buying 7-08’s. “Western hunting” has grown a heavy fad in the Midwest, but magnum offerings are garnering the greatest favor in this niche market.

Do most folks have practical applications where Glock’s make sense, or AR’s? The 6.5 Creed is no different, it delivers towards a task, and there are a lot of folks in the market who want to pursue the task. Would a 7-08 in the Ruger Precision Rifle do just as well at long range plinking as the MILLION RPR’s which have been sold? Eh, probably. Would the 6.5 Grendel have done as well in MILLIONS of AR’s which have sold in 223/5.56? Probably. But those aren’t what were sold.

But the good news for the OP - the 7-08 is a popular round with a substantial marketshare of existing rifles in the field. Not the most popular, but certainly very prevalent such when production lines are able to catch their breath from meeting the needs for 223/308/6.5creed, 7-08 won’t be far down the list on production to come back to shelves in full force…

Naturally, we’re nearing the beginning of an election cycle, which always drives a rush on ammo and components, so it may be AFTER election 2024, but 7-08 should be back before many other rounds.

Reading these remarks about popular or fading cartridges made me look at GB to see whats for sale by cartridge & quantity’s. 7-08 REM #1214, 243 Win #1770, 308 Win #7040, 6.5 CM #10615. The Creedmoor is in third place behind the 223 and the 22 LR in first. Is the CM that great or the marketing of it that good? Nothing against the CM but I’ll stick with my 7-08, 243 & 6.5x55.

Mabey rebarrel to 308?

Barnfixer said:

Nothing against the CM but I’ll stick with my 7-08, 243 & 6.5x55.

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3,500 Americans which will grow up to be gun owners are born every. single. day.

Many, if not most months since Covid began have seen over a million new firearms sold in the US.

It was a handful of years ago now that the average NICS check transitioned from being ran on an existing gun owner to being ran on a first time gun buyer.

Firearms manufacturers aren’t troubled by a few folks being content with what they own. They just plod forward making new guns to feed the existing - continuous - demand.

CoalTrain49 said:

There's something to be said for having a deer rifle chambered for a common cartridge, especially if one doesn't reload. Of course a person doesn't know if a cartridge will become common, like the 6.5 CM. I never would have guessed that 6.5 CM would become as popular as it is for hunting. It wouldn't be my first choice for a deer rifle. I'll always go for the most common cartridge that will do the job at hand. That would be a three-o-hate.

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Wasn't too hard of a guess seeing how popular 6.5 swede is across the pond.

Back before the creedmoor I had a 7-08 that was a long range laser. Stupidly I sold it. I love the 7-08 for all of the reasons I'd love a 6.5 creedmoor if I had one. If off the shelf ammo is a necessity, by all means go get a 6.5, you won't be undergunned. But reloading for 7-08 is the real answer to the op's question.

Barnfixer said:

Is the CM that great or the marketing of it that good? Nothing against the CM but I’ll stick with my 7-08, 243 & 6.5x55.

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There is nothing about it that would compel you to replace a rifle you already have, but for someone buying their first rifle, it would certainly be difficult to find a compelling reason for them to buy one of those over a CM.

d2wing said:

Yes for target shooting. But the 7-08 is superior for hunting and doesn't give up anything under about 500 yards. the 7-08 isn't much different but is a bigger faster bullet for hunting. Hard to beat a .243 too. It's way faster and flatter very accurate as well.

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There is no arguing the point that its a slightly bigger hammer but I would find it very difficult to argue to someone that there is enough advantage there in the year 2022 to justify the obvious shortcoming that led to this thread being created.

d2wing said:

The 7-08 shoots a slightly bigger bullet, more frontal area faster with more energy in like weights. The Creedmoor does have a better B.C. and overtakes the 7-08 but that doesn't come into play at normal hunting ranges. Splitting hairs as far as some of you are concerned. I am not a bandwagon guy. I may stoop to buying a 6.5 but not going to wear a man bun.

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Well said, sir!

d2wing said:

Well yes ammo shortage. In the last 20 years many cartridges have been the latest greatest like the 6,8 SPC the suddenly they are gone. That's why if I do change cartridge I am thinking.308. I might settle for the 6,5 CM IDK.
But to your point yes, the 6.5 would be a better choice for some shooters especially long range games and self styled snipers. and I do not object to that. That is not the point. It's about what I want. Plenty people on here totally irrational in cartridge and gun choice. It is your privilege to think that about me as some of seem to. Kinda what we are here for.
Kick subjects around. I welcome your discussion. Man bunn or not, lol. Sorry, I can't help myself.

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I’m just stirring your pot to watch the gymnastics. They are just different shapes of brass cups, I don’t care what you buy.

d2wing said:

Well yes ammo shortage. In the last 20 years many cartridges have been the latest greatest like the 6,8 SPC the suddenly they are gone. That's why if I do change cartridge I am thinking.308. I might settle for the 6,5 CM IDK.
But to your point yes, the 6.5 would be a better choice for some shooters especially long range games and self styled snipers. and I do not object to that. That is not the point. It's about what I want. Plenty people on here totally irrational in cartridge and gun choice. It is your privilege to think that about me as some of seem to. Kinda what we are here for.
Kick subjects around. I welcome your discussion. Man bunn or not, lol. Sorry, I can't help myself.

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I don’t think anybody particularly cares what you shoot. I think you set yourself up for the negative sentiment with the “man bun” comment. Any time you take a dig at someone’s cartridge of choice, you can’t really complain when they take a dig at yours. I wasn’t offended. I actually laughed and looked in the mirror just long enough to realize my bad head is never gonna be able to produce a man bun.

I’ve killed deer and pigs with so many different cartridges that I’ve come to realize that cartridge selection matter a LOT less than most people believe. I like the 7-08, but there’s not enough difference between it and the 6.5 CM and 308 to justify me owning all three. I can find ammo for two of those pretty easily, so the 7-08s went down the road. The deer are never going to know the difference.

Some guy in your town repeatedly skipped work to wait in line and buy everything on the shelf... "just in case", and now had the 40 boxes your county receives any given 2 years sitting on a shelf in in his closet next to a rusty SKS he never shoots, and 200 boxes of other ammo he doesn't own a firearm for.

Okay maybe not, but I those guys are out there. I assume your in the same boat as me with 8mauser. All the factories are making .223/308/Fad of the year (probably 6.5 Sweedmore), so no room for tool changes.

I don’t own a 7MM-08 at the moment. Found 2.5 boxes of factory ammo. Will post in for sale section.

7mm-08 was waning a bit in popularity before Covid. Bullets are plentiful because 7mm bullets are popular in other cartridges. The limiting component is brass. When I had my 7mm-08 rifle years ago, getting brass was the issue as it is now. I was pretty new to reloading then and didn't want to try necking down 308 cases myself. Now, I likely would but I got out of 7mm-08 shortly after I started. Now I am in the market for a new hunting rifle. Leaning to the 308, 350 Legend etc level of popularity. I want something that can easily be fed even during ammo panics.

d2wing said:

Nope sold it years ago after a severe accident.

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That is a bummer but glad to hear you have recovered from severe accident ...
Never give up .
Keep On Keeping On
Gary

I find it funny that people still think the 6.5 CM is a fad. Face it, it's now solidly one of the most popular short action cartridges in the US.

C-grunt said:

I find it funny that people still think the 6.5 CM is a fad. Face it, it's now solidly one of the most popular short action cartridges in the US.

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Besides the 223 rem, it is the most popular centerfire rifle cartridge in America for both ammo sales and rifle sales.

someguy2800 said:

Besides the 223 rem, it is the most popular centerfire rifle cartridge in America for both ammo sales and rifle sales.

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Yep. And it's coming up on 15 years on the market. I don't think a decade plus of huge success with no signs of going away constitutes a fad.

I don’t look at it as a fad. It is a great round like many others. I look at it as incredible marketing.