7 mm-08 Remington

This is nothing more, or less, than the 308 Winchester necked down to accept 7mm bullets. Originally a wildcat, used primarily in metallic silhouette competition, Remington standardized this chambering in 1980.

Metallic silhouette shooting is a sport of Mexican origin. This game involves knocking over animal-shaped targets made from mild steel plate. These targets are stood (usually on a slightly elevated rail) at various ranges (depending upon specific competition and upon the specific animal represented) at different ranges, from 100 meters to 500 meters.

In the original game, all shooting is done off-hand. Accordingly, demands of the ideal metallic silhouette chambering require modest recoil and delivery of sufficient bullet momentum to the target to assure toppling with practically any hit. Competitors found that the 308 Winchester provided a bit more momentum (and recoil) than was necessary and so necked that popular case down to 7mm to create the ideal chambering for their sport. The resulting round delivers high precision potential, a relatively flat trajectory, modest recoil, and (with a properly streamlined bullet) sufficient momentum to topple even 500-meter distant targets.

Case capacity of the 7mm-08 is less than that of the 7x57 Mauser. The common short-action repeating rifles, in which it is normally chambered, require relatively deep seating of bullets heavier than about 140 grains. Accordingly, it cannot match 7x57 performance with normal hunting loads. Difference in muzzle velocity is 100- to 150 fps and is therefore significant.

For hunting purposes, this chambering is well suited for use against mediumsized game species, even at moderate to long ranges, especially for those who prefer a short-action gun. Therefore, it has become a popular choice for use in lightweight mountain rifles.