In preparation for our elk hunt, Grandson took a turn behind the 7mm08. Not a bad experience although I did force him to use my "Kick-Eze" recoil pad. He handled it well enough at the bench and put both shots attempted from a sitting position using shooting sticks on the 12" plate @300 meters. In order to get an idea of the performance of the 7mm08 Barnes 120 grain TXS tipped, we shot water filled chemical jugs(triple rinsed) at 225 yards and compared results with a 280 Rem using a similar bullet in 140 grains.
7mm08 achieved 24" of penetration with a very uniform expansion and very violent expansion in the first 12"-pretty much what I expected. Quite similar to the performance of my 25/06.
280 Rem was a surprise as it penetrated 32" with violent expansion in the initial 12-16". Unfortunately, we lost that bullet because the force of the impact was sufficient to move the line of jugs enough to overturn #5 before the bullet penetrated it. We're talking about 5x 2.5 gallons of water (approximately 100#) which was sitting on bare dirt.
Moral of the story-yes, the 7mm08 is adequate for our needs BUT bigger is better and the 280 is in a different category of performance.
7mm08 achieved 24" of penetration with a very uniform expansion and very violent expansion in the first 12"-pretty much what I expected. Quite similar to the performance of my 25/06.
280 Rem was a surprise as it penetrated 32" with violent expansion in the initial 12-16". Unfortunately, we lost that bullet because the force of the impact was sufficient to move the line of jugs enough to overturn #5 before the bullet penetrated it. We're talking about 5x 2.5 gallons of water (approximately 100#) which was sitting on bare dirt.
Moral of the story-yes, the 7mm08 is adequate for our needs BUT bigger is better and the 280 is in a different category of performance.