I am looking for a hunting rifle for my wife, just don't tell her, I want something that will work for deer and elk and not produce too much recoil. My wife is 5'4 1/2" (don't forget the 1/2) and about 120 lbs (Really 125 but if she found out I posted her weight on the internet she would blow a gasket) Any way I am looking at a youth model rifles and see a lot of them come in 7mm 08. I have no first hand knowledge of this round and although I have been hunting since I was old enough I can't remember ever hunting with anyone who had one. I reload my 7 mm WSM so I figure it might be worth looking in to. I was looking at a 308 originally but now I'm curious about this other 7mm.
7mm-08
- Thread starter 6speed
- Start date
passinthru
Active member
I don't have any experience with the 7mm-08, but you may want to invest in a body guard after posting your wife's weight on the internet.
God speed.
God speed.
Gunner46
Well-known member
Take a look at this Monster she took with a 7mm/08.
http://onyourownadventures.com/hunttalk/showthread.php?t=244239
If it were such a Pop Gun, I wouldn't have been carrying one for the past 10 yrs. Actually retired my 308 for it and have never looked back !!!
http://onyourownadventures.com/hunttalk/showthread.php?t=244239
If it were such a Pop Gun, I wouldn't have been carrying one for the past 10 yrs. Actually retired my 308 for it and have never looked back !!!
wgiles
Member
The 7mm-08 is a necked down 308 cartridge and is part of a family of cartridges based on the .308 Win. The smaller case results in what I consider to be mild and very tolerable recoil. It should be good for bullet weights form around 130 grains to around 160 grains. Muzzle velocities should run around 3000 FPS for the light bullets to around 2600 FPS for the heavy bullets. You need to decide what weight bullets you would want to shoot, but around 140- 150 grains should be pretty good. The rifle may prefer one bullet over the others. I like all of the cartridges in this family. My next rifle will be a 260 Rem, which is a 6.5mm-08. This will be for coyote to deer.
belly-deep
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If you're concerned with her flinching at all, sift through those 'youth' models real well. I'd stay away from any of the ones with short barrels, like anything shorter than 20", because they create quite a bit of muzzle blast.
Magicman
Member
The Magicwoman has used a 7mm08 for many years. Hers is a Ruger 77 that once was a .243. She had it re-barreled by Shaw. I really would suggest full sized rifle with a 22" barrel. Modify the stock if necessary. She put a Carlson fiberglass stock on hers.
DRAFTSTUD
Well-known member
This is a round that I truly have great confidence in. It will do so much, I have seen my son start with a Rem Model 7 in youth drop huge bucks in their tracks. When he got older I bought an adult stock and upgraded it for his 6'1" frame. It is a lightweight gun and it will make your wife look slimmer. John
7mm-08 mimics the ballistics of a 7mm Mauser (in a shorter action),which has been taking African game for over 100 years with no problem. The recoil is minimal, especially w/a decelerator pad on. Great round for N.A game.
174in
Well-known member
I owned one I bought for my wife in a model 70 compact ranger.she shot it well and killed 4 or 5 deer with it in the 3 years she hunted.I used it one year and dropped my biggest whitetail 5yrold buck.Fell in love with the caliber so I am haveing one built.This caliber is one of the best short action cals you can get IMO
It looks like the Savage youth comes with a 22" barrel. I have the same gun with a full size stock in 30-06 that I use as an everyday keep in the truck gun and I like it so I'm leaning toward the Savage. It won't group like my 7 WSM but I don't expect it to. Does anyone have one of these, I think it's the 111 youth.
111 Youth would be a long action gun. Did you mean 11? That'd be the short action version. One thing to remember is that the factory synthetics on Savages, IMO, aren't all that great. Pretty flimsy. Might be worth it to buy a wood and/or laminate stock version and have the stock cut down and a very soft recoil pad put on. If you're pretty handy, it could be a DIY project, but even having someone else do it shouldn't be too expensive. A good recoil pad would be great addition either way for a new shooter.
SagebrushSlayer
Active member
6speed- I am looking into this for my wife also, she is only 5'1''. I have a friend that is 5'2'' and she just bought hers last year. She loves it, got it in the youth model. I don't know which company she went with though. I plan on having my wife try out the Mariln XS7Y in 7mm-08. I believe it has a 22" barrel. The ballistics seem good, a 300 yd or less shot for her will definitely be attainable. Good luck and let us know what you end up getting and how she likes the rifle.
I think it is the 11. I haven't had any issues with the stock on the synthetic savage I have and I use it as a throw around gun. Either they are not to bad or I'm not far from having a problem. What issues have you had with them.
greatbasin
Member
My 12 year old girl took her first deer with a Marlin XS-7 in 7-08 this year...she loves hers.
I haven't looked at the Marlins much. I know they have an adjustable trigger and I shot my brother in law's 30-06 last fall. It felt ok but I didn't think it was better or worse than my savage and I figured where Marlin is new to the game I may stick with the Savage. It's kind of the same for the new Mossberg's they look cool and have a lot of features for the price but until I'm convinced they will still be making them 10 years from now and I won't have to have a part fabricated if something breaks I'll stick with a little more trusted brand.
6speed- No issues. Nearly all factory synthetic stocks are pretty flimsy. Had one that I changed out that would change POI a bit depending on the hardness of what it was rested on. Just thought I'd mention an alternative...
wyoming556
Banned
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- 1,242
My wife shoots a 6.5-284 remington model 7 and she seems to like it and she is similar size. My 2 cents.
HowaHunter
Member
I purchased my wife a Stevens 7-08 because we didn't have a lot of money to drop on a more expensive brand. I too heard great reviews about that cartridge and good reviews about Stevens which is made by Savage. She LOVES it and so do I she is about 5'4 and the gun has very minimal recoil. She has taken a few deer with it and I harvested my cow moose with it. Awesome gun that shoots well-seems to love the federal fusion ammo!
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