Emma Valade poses with her 2020 anterless deer taken with a 7mm-08.

I’ve got to confess, it’s easier to love some cartridges than others. The 7mm cartridges among others have taken some convincing, being as the hearsay around campfires I have frequented over the years were sometimes less than charitable. Still, despite our personal biases, each cartridge in existence, objectively, has both pros and cons. The 7mm-08 Remington is definitely a standout with a lot of dynamite to offer in a small package.

The .308 Winchester case has, like many others before it, been the parent case to a myriad of wildcats and standardized factory offspring. Not all of the factory cartridges are as popular as they could or should be, but the 7mm-08 is second only to the .243 in popularity among the various .308 progeny. Designed to duplicate the performance of the old 7x57mm Mauser but in a true short action, the 7mm-08 is as they say “all that and a bag of chips.”

Although we revere the 7x57mm Mauser, the few selections of contemporary factory ammo are held to lower than potential power levels in deference to the old 1893 Mauser and Remington Rolling Block rifles lingering in the hands of the potentially uninformed. Unlike the maligned .284 WCF, the 7mm-08 is easy to find, both components and a wide variety of available factory ammunition choices. Rifles are compact and lightweight yet don’t kick so badly as to send you out from under your favorite sombrero. Practically anyone can master a rifle with these choice features.

These desirable attributes combined with excellent accuracy and more than sufficient power are what endears it to so many shooters, especially the young or just starting out. Even veteran shooters find it a quality choice for just about anything. Were I to build or buy a rifle whose primary focus was to be as lightweight, compact and yet powerful as could be, the 7mm-08 would be high in the running especially if its primary use was mixed cover, high country deer and elk hunting. The 7mm (.284) has an excellent range of bullet choice for handloading; the most desirable and useful for the deer and elk hunter will run from 140- to 165-grain as these are most balanced in bullet weight to velocity ratios. Medium to slow burning rate powders will result in at least hunting grade accuracy at worst and eye popping cloverleaf groups at best even in lightweight short, skinny barrels.

Last fall my wife Emma took her first cow elk with a single, well placed shot from her 7mm-08 at 200 yards. That was with 140-grain Remington factory ammunition. This year, she decided to bring it along to fill her LOP antlerless deer tag. Armed with 140-grain Sierra Gameking handloads, she did not fail to impress yet again. This is typical performance from a properly loaded and operated 7mm-08 Remington to those that have them. If you’re in the market, this may be the next gun you buy that you never knew you needed to have.

Are you a fan of the 7mm-08? Write to us at shootingthebreezebme@gmail.com!