Talk to me about 7mm-08

[hagar]

If it's just for deer, a 243 will work great. Use it with decent 100 grain bullets, and it will kill any size deer with little meat damage. Probably the lowest recoil of any acceptable deer cartridge.

 

[aspade]

Surface bearing area has no bearing (heh) on recoil. The friction of the projectile against the bore just goes to heating up the barrel.

m1v1 = m2v2.

Given 8 pound guns, a 140 @ 2800 with 45 grains of powder returns 14.5 ft-lbs of recoil energy and a 150 @ 2800 with 50 grains returns 17.0 ft-lbs. Finding a a 5ft-lb difference here is not comparing apples to apples in some way.

 

[Charles S]

iven 8 pound guns, a 140 @ 2800 with 45 grains of powder returns 14.5 ft-lbs of recoil energy and a 150 @ 2800 with 50 grains returns 17.0 ft-lbs. Finding a a 5ft-lb difference here is not comparing apples to apples in some way.

You must take into account the weight of the powder charge in the recoil equation.

You are welcome to double check the math. The equation - a bit to complex to post on this board- can be found in the Lyman Reloading manual. There are recoil calculators available at numerous websites.

I just double checked the figures (using your data on powder charges) with the computer program point blank and came up with:

7mm Energy 14.43 Velocity 10.78

30 Caliber Energy 16.99 Velocity 11.7

Energy given in foot pounds, velocity in FPS. The numbers are accurate - or close enough not to matter.

 

[DogBonz]

+1

You might consider .260, also, the 7s little brother, if you find one. For deer, it'd be a fine round with a bit less recoil

The 260 Rem is a sweet heart of a cartridge, especially on deer size game. Great BC's and SD's make it a more impressive preformer that you would think, and it is sort on the shoulder.

 

[boerseun]

A mauser in 6.5mm can't be beat Light recoil and a heck of a cartridge.
Same for 7x57
Same for 7-08
Same for .243

Ask any hunter that's done time in the early to mid 1900's in Africa - 7x57 is king as far as versatility is concerned. It will take anything from Deer to Moose, if you do your bit of course.

 

[Eagle103]

I think you'll be happy with a 7mm-08. Recoil isn't like an '06 but it's still noticeable. Like someone said, if recoil is a real big deal you may want to opt for a .243.
Back to the 7mm-08. I bought a Savage package deal a few years ago for around $350 and am very pleased with it. It was also the main reason I got into handloading though. It's not as cheap to buy ammo for as an '06 and the selection isn't as good. I put a thread up here a while ago with my experiences.
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=245353