The 7mm-08 Remington is a cartridge based upon the .308 Winchester. By necking a .308 Winchester case down to .284 or 7mm, a cartridge was developed that would generate a higher velocity than the original. This higher velocity meant that the 7mm-08 Remington would shoot with a flatter trajectory than the .308 Winchester. Other benefits include less recoil and more energy (comparing the 140 grain 7mm-08 versus the 150 grain .308 Winchester). While the .308 Winchester itself is an excellent deer hunting cartridge, the 7mm-08 Remington is at least as good overall.
Comparing the ballistics of the 7mm-08 Remington with a 140 grain bullet against its parent the .308 Winchester (using a 150 grain bullet) and the most popular cartridge in most deer woods, the 30-06 (also using a 150 grain bullet), shows some interesting numbers. Using ballistics data from Remington.com for Remington’s Core-Lokt bullet here are the results. Of the three, the 7mm-08 Remington carries over 1000 foot pounds of energy beyond the 500 yard mark. Both the .308 and 30-06 are in the 800 foot pound range. While virtually no hunter should be shooting at deer that far, it is interesting to see the 7mm-08 do so well. At more reasonable deer hunting distances, the 30-06 does perform will more energy than either the 7mm-08 Remington or the .308 Winchester at both 100 and 200 yards. The 7mm-08 Remington with its 140 grain bullet that has a higher ballistic coefficient pulls into the energy lead at 300 yards. The 7mm-08 Remington also shows less bullet drop at extended ranges than the other two, but out to 300 yards the difference is still less than 3 ½ inches. Switching the .308 and 30-06 to 165 grain bullets improves their performance to better match the 7mm-08 Remington.
Accuracy, in my opinion, is of more importance than either bullet drop or energy (with-in reason). A .24 caliber bullet at low speed into the heart is better than a super fast .35 caliber into the hillside or worse yet into a leg. For many deer hunters and especially newcomers, recoil plays a huge role in accuracy. While with proper practice anyone can certainly learn to shoot a 30-06 accurately, the .308 Winchester and 7mm-08 Remington develop less recoil with the 7mm-08 developing the least. However, with managed recoil factory ammunition or hand loaded ammunition the recoil factor is of little importance. No matter what caliber of rifle you deer hunt with you need to be well practiced and able to shoot it well. If the smaller caliber gun is less intimidating to you then by all means use it.
Of course, ballistics alone doesn’t tell the whole story. If ballistics were the only measure of performance, the 30-30 Winchester would have been dead years ago instead of filling freezers with meat every year. However, ballistics do provide insight into the capability of a cartridge. Though numbers might not tell the whole truth, neither do they lie. On paper and in the field the 7mm-08 Remington is a great deer cartridge.
While the staying power and popularity speak for the greatness of the 30-06, and the compact performance of the .308 Winchester makes it one the best deer cartridges ever, the slightly less popular 7mm-08 certainly holds its own against these two timeless deer rounds and by some measurements beats them both. The simple truth is that from .243 Winchester to 45-70 Government, it is hard to pick a deer cartridge that won’t do the job. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced deer hunter, the 7mm-08 Remington is a fine deer hunting cartridge.
