AusVarmint

I've been looking for a 7-08, main use will be silhouette but it probably will be used a little bit for hunting, I'm currently using a 6.5x55 for silhouette but have been ringing the rams a bit without knocking them over. I'm a big fan of Sako 75s, so this is what I've been looking for.

Anyway a 308 Sako popped up at a price which made a re-barrel a reasonable proposition, so that was the plan. But now I'm wondering if I should just leave it as a 308 and be done with it.

Any opinions?

I need new dies etc whichever way I go. The only other fly in the ointment is that wapol will sting me almost $200 for a caliber change on my licence if I decide to do it in the future.

I love my 7-08, and chose it on the basis that for the same weight pill, it had about 10% better energy at 500m.

This advantage disappears if you load a 180gn into the 308, but when you are running hot loads for rams in hunter class, you will feel your shoulder by the end of the match with 162gn pills in the 7-08, let alone the harsher 308. And open class in state titles is normally an 80 shot match.

The downside is that projectiles, loaded ammo and brass is all about 5-15% more expensive for 7-08. There is also a lesser range to choose from for 7-08, but not so much less it ever really bothered me.

The upside is the downrange energy on rams for less of a hiding, the flat trajectory for hunting, and how easy it is to get a load working for 7-08.

I also took into account how many reports I was hearing that if given a choice, 7mm-08 was the "go to calibre" for silho. I haven't been disappointed.

Hope this helps your decision......

cheers, curan

Quick fix, try a heavier bullet in the Swede. Might be easier than having to do the dance you blokes have to over there.

I'm sure lots of people use the swede and the the 260 successfully but I need all the help I can get. Plus I have 2 swedes now and have found I need to be careful in making sure I know which reloads are for which rifle. Finally it gives me a good excuse to change the tikka for a Sako.

Curans post had good points and is pushing me towards the 7mm. I'll probably be ordering a barrel on Monday.

tripledeuce wrote:I'm sure lots of people use the swede and the the 260 successfully but I need all the help I can get. Plus I have 2 swedes now and have found I need to be careful in making sure I know which reloads are for which rifle. Finally it gives me a good excuse to change the tikka for a Sako.

Curans post had good points and is pushing me towards the 7mm. I'll probably be ordering a barrel on Monday.

Sorry to confuse the issue, but, don't go past Camel's post too lightly....

If you select your heavy pill carefully (say a ballistic tip versus a hollow point), you will be able to identify the different rounds easily. I currently do this with my 30-30. I load 3 different loads and can spot them instantly from the projectile.

Remember that it is normal to use a "hot load" for rams and a lesser load for the rest. So all it takes is a bit of care and a system of identifying the right loads. You chicken/pig/turkey load can be your normal hunting load as well. And you save the cost of rifle, dies, brass, etc.

Mind you, if you just want the excuse to get the Sako, well, more strength to you!

What loads are you using for the 6.5x55 and what pills? Any idea of speed they are going and where are the hits on the rams? If you have a Tikka then you'll have a fast twist barrel so it will stabilise the heavier pills, and also contrary to initial thoughts, sometimes you are actually better off hitting the rams at a lower velocity for more dwell time (time the projectile spends imparting it's energy to the ram) rather than just blowing up on the face going flat out.

Also, a lot of the time it doesn't matter what gun you are using, you'll still stand rams sometimes. How many are you losing?

A fair few blokes here are buying 6.5's in either 260 or 6.5x55 for silhouette as we are just about to get a range up and running. I'm thinking 142gr projectiles should be reasonably solid on the rams at the right speeds and lighter pills for the other 3 animals.

I have a 7-08AI, but I'm actually thinking about buying a 6.5/260 Tikka as well (would like a Forest if I can find one). My 7-08AI is a rebarreled Win70 in a McMillan Silhouette stock and jewel BR trigger but it has a pretty solid barrel and I'm just finding it too heavy over a long match. Holds and hangs nice though. The plan is to just go back to one gun for hunter and heavy and a 6.5 Tikka is what I'm thinking. I'll either sell the 7-08 or just make it into a long range rig.

If you want to sell your 6.5 let me know, as I said I'm in the market.

I was going to ask what pills and loads for the swede. I don't shoot this style of shooting but found the hornady 140 sst's to be cheap and shoot well out of my old 96. By shoot well will put all 5 shots on a fly scoring ring at 500 with a 9x scope With a modern swede they should be moving along at 2800 or more? I doubt mine are lol. Is a 160 odd in 7mm much better at the required distance out of the 308 case as far as retained energy?

Thanks guys, I was 140g custom comps going at around 2600fps, i could probably get a bit more velocity by using 2213sc.

The change is as much about swapping the rifle as the calibre, and I have another 6.5 already so I'm keen to try something bigger.

7mm kreiger ordered today!

JD, rifle is for sale here:
http://www.buyusedguns.com.au/tikka-t3- ... -5070.html

Heaps more photos available if you are interested, unfortunatly I sold the Forrest stock a while ago

I figured you would already be using 140's and have heard that they can struggle on the longer ranges.

Sure is a nice looking rifle in that stock....

What is the down range energy though of the 7mm pills out of the 308 case? You could try my wildcat....6.5x55AI necked up to 358 A 225 grain 358 should do the job ...the should sure as hell would know as well

I loved my tikka t3 in 6.5x55 used to load 107's for the short three and 140's for Rams, only lost 1 but I also am using 46 grn's of 09 so had a bit more velocity on my side. Have seen the new Hornady ELD's have a 147 grn 6.5 pill which could change the game a bit. If anything the ballistic's are bloody great.

sometime shooter wrote:I loved my tikka t3 in 6.5x55 used to load 107's for the short three and 140's for Rams, only lost 1 but I also am using 46 grn's of 09 so had a bit more velocity on my side. Have seen the new Hornady ELD's have a 147 grn 6.5 pill which could change the game a bit. If anything the ballistic's are bloody great.

Yep those 147s are tempting but from my ballistics play the jlks are still better at 1k for wind especially.

For silhouettes could be a ge changer if you can push them hard!

i couldn't make up my mind, i built one of each.

WOW one of each Mr money bags
I still only shoot f std at those ranges though I do have one with a 12 twist barrel that I might work out a load for in the 175 weight class and shoot ftr with it's light enough and sits better off a bi pod than a pedestal rest. Would love toput a heavy barrel on my t3 lite 6.5 but then I have no mid bore hunting rifle and no space left in safe anyway

sometime shooter wrote:Would love toput a heavy barrel on my t3 lite 6.5 but then I have no mid bore hunting rifle and no space left in safe anyway

There is an easy solution to that problem...

What get divorced then I'd be broke and have no money for anything