Need advice on 7mm-.08

[PJgunner]

When you start loading for that .308, I'll pass one a load that should put the quietus to any aggressive bear. it's not a high pressure load, yet can push a 220 gr. bullet to 2310 FPS in my rifle.
Now I'm sure that someone is gonna chime in and say you can't shoot a bullet that heavy in a .308. After all, all the "egg-spurts" in the gun rags say so, and they'd never lie, right?
Also, your rifle has a 1 in 12' twist which is too slow for a bullet that heavy, right?
Well, all I can say is my Winchester M70 in .308 has that same 1 in 12" twist and it will put three 220 gr. Sierra round nose bullets into .375 to .50" all day long at 100 yards ay 2310 FPS at the muzle. That's only 100 FPS from a 22barreled 30-06 using factory advertised velocity. I'd say that wasn't bad company at all. Another rifle with an 18.5" barrel does 2550 FPS with the same load. Now this is with a round nose bullet, not one of the overlong spitzers now available.
Now if I had to face a mean tempered Grizzly on the prod, I certainly would feel a lot better with my .35 Whelen in hand, but if all I had was my M70 .308 with my 220 gr. load, I wouldn't worry overmuch.
Paul B.

[skeet]

Actually PJ..I tried that in my old Winchester 88 yrs ago. Don't remember the particulars exactly but it wasn't that tight in it IIRC..but heck..It's a short range thing anyway. Angle of bear is just fine. I do remember though that old 88 kicked a mite but it had a regular buttplate and was a bit short for me..

Raining here again today. T-boomers. Almost an inch..woo-hoo

[Mike Moss]

Yukon Girl,

My suggestion is that you select a cartridge that has moderate recoil. This is important so that you shoot the rifle well and in fact enjoy shooting and practicing with it.

The 7mm-08 should be good for all your game when used with premium bullets such as the Nosler Partition. Such bullets will penetrate large animals and take them if your aim is good.

You can handload less expensive bullets for practice and smaller game.

Another thing is that I much prefer the new soft recoil pads such as the Decelerator. They make a big difference in felt recoil. Another thing is to use good ear protection.

I prefer rifles with three position safeties such as found on the M70, Ruger 77 and Kimber 84M's.

Such safeties allow the chamber to be unloaded while still on safe yet lock the bolt handle down when all the way back. Most versions of these rifles also have controlled round feeding which adds another level of reliability to the rifles function.

Get the length of pull cut to fit you. This is important. Another thing is to avoid heavy and long rifles. There are smaller versions of each that I mentioned and my favorite is the Kimber 84M.

Good luck and stay with us.