Used a 7mm/08 for over twenty years and a .308 for the last four years. I can tell absolutely no difference on deer - they both kill well.

7mm-08 is the best awesome all around round there is. Period. Low recoil, and so accurate.

I'm a big fan really of all 3. I love the 7mm-08. To answer your question on why people select the .308, my answer: ammo accessibility. .308 can be found everywhere, where finding 7mm-08 and defiantly 260 is harder to regularly come by. All 3 will get the job done if the shooter does their part

I had a 7-08 and absolutely loved it. The .308 advantage is bulk military ammo if you shoot a lot

7-08 is way under rated.

7mm-08 is absolute sweetheart. I’ve had two .308’s. Now I have a Bergara Hunter 7mm-08.

I once heard a guy refer to the .308 as a ".30-not-6".

Excellent video Ron, thank you. Whilst this news wasn't new to me, it was satisfying to actually see real world results. I just wish the 260 Rem was chambered in a wider variety of rifles.

The .260 has served me well. Had it since 2001. I got a .308 in 2019 , it don’t shoot as good, but it does the job.

I would like to hear more about these 7mm-08 and 260 rem.

I own both a 308 and a 7mm-08. Is the 7mm-08 shoot flatter and Cary more energy? Sure. But here's my opinion. 90% of deer hunters don't even need to shoot at a deer that's 200 yards or more. Much less 300. Out to any range a hunter should be shooting at, an animal want be able to tell what caliber it's hit by. I will say this however, I get more one shot drops, bigger exit holes, and better blood trails ( if not drt ) with my 308 than my 7mm-08. Ammo is also cheaper and more available where I'm from for the 308.

The cartridge is the tool in my toolbox. That is how I see it. For me the 308 is the hammer that works well for me in N.C. It would be maybe different if I had wide open plains. But for woods and across corn fields, 308 works every time I do my part.

.260 Remington fan here. Great cartridge with the only downside being a little more cost per round. For a hunting rifle though, not an issue.

People just love the .308 like I do. Same with people liking fords to chevs. Just a preference. My fave calibers I hunt with is the .308 and .300win mag.

I have always felt the .260 Rem was overlooked as well, and as the number of bullets available with high BC for the reloader makes it even better. IMHO.

I agree completely, I have a Remington model 7 ss in 260, every deer I shot with it dropped immediately, I reload with 140 grain nosler partition bullets and can put 3 bullets in a dime group at 100 yards!!!

For an all around calibre, I have been a fan of 7mm-08 for years. I got hooked on it when I was in the Navy and had access to all the once fired 7.62 brass I wanted. I found the 7mm the most versatile in terms of bullet variation and ballistics. And the 7.62 brass can be necked down with a minimum of reaming and trimming. I liked the lighter recoil with the 7mm bullet and found it would do anything a .308 would do, plus with lighter bullets could perform on light game like coyotes and varments, yet I broke both shoulders of an elk with a single shot with a heavy bullet. If I didn't handload, I'd probably opt for the .308, but since I do, I find the 7mm-08 hard to beat.

308 is everywhere and walking over 300 yards is so passe'.

Always enjoy your videos, thanks for another great one.

I bought a 30-30 in 1966 and when I got out of the army in 71 bought a 308 because I liked the M-14 and I was never a sniper, but I got to handle a Remington 700 sniper rifle which was 308. I have hunted with those guns ever since. I'm old, crippled and can no longer hunt, but I wish I had either of the others instead of the 308 especially the 260; I would really like to have one of those even though most of my deer hunting was done with the 30-30.

I'm a .308 guy, but glad to see this video because i always felt the 7mm-08 and .260 were among a few rounds that are unfairly underestimated with long range accuracy along with the .243 and a few others. You got a thumbs up from me :)

600 yds would be a distance that a military sniper would shoot, but, no one should shoot at game at 600 yds.

my favorite round 7mm08

That’s all great but who actually hunts at 600 yards. Fun to talk about but I’d rather shoot an elk with a 180 g 308 at 1-200 yards than the other two.

I hunt deer with 260 it’s amazing not so much recoil and usually drops with a good shot

Been using my Remington .260 Compact model my whole life. I think it's got a 16" barrel so it's small and doesn't get hung on or bump anything. I love it. It blows coyotes in half and drops deer where they stood.

Well put Ron I 100% agree

Very accurate information. Compare ammo cost, especially when using m80 .308 load for practice.

You should try the same test on the 270 win vs the 30-06 sprg I love both calibers

I switched to a 7mm-08 about three years ago and move everything about that round. I shoot the 7mm-0& out of a TC Venture all-weather and it shoots fantastic.

excellent analysis, and well presented video.

I just picked up this Fall the Browning XBolt Hells Canyon Speed chambered in 7mm-08 and with the standard muzzle break that comes with all Xbolt's Hell Canyon Speed my 7mm-08 recoils like a 22-250.....Love it!

Really good advice. I think it's the 7mm 08 for me 😊

I do love my 7mm-08 but I have a.308 also. I guess since the .308 will also shoot 7.62x51 makes it a versatile rifle if NATO ammo is all you can find.

Yes, both the 7-08 and .260 shoot higher BC bullets at faster speeds and flatter trajectories. Both were designed with the purpose of supplanting the .308 as long-range target rounds. All 3 have been used to win championships, first the .308 (replacing the then-champ 30-06), then the 7-08 and more recently the .260. Most recently, the 6.5 CM was designed specifically for the purpose of 1000-yard match shooting. I would, however, not use any of them for big game at any range beyond 500 yards. Most hunters want 2000 lb/ft ast the target, minimum 1500 for elk; most prefer 1000 lb/ft for deer. None of these rounds will reliably deliver that much power much beyond 500 yards, no matter which bullet you use. But they are all great shooters on 1000-yard ranges.

Here's why .308. Half the price of 7mm-08 and 260 Remington for good hunting ammo and target plinking. Plus you can find .308 win/7.62 NATO in every hunting/hardware/hole-in-the-wall proshop in the US

7/08 is such a good round. It's let down by anemic factory ammo but with handloads it hauls ass. 7/08 is my medium long range hunting caliber (Out to 400 yards) From there my .300 Win Mag Takes over. I love my .308s but they are flat really out to only 250 yards IMO. I have only just bought a .260 Rem Model 7. Looking forward to finding out what it can do..

Agree with all you stated. I just put a new Remington Model 7 SS in 7mm-08 on the payment plan at my local independent gun dealer...Sweet rifle and cannot wait to put some Hornaday Superformance 139gr SST on target for his next and probably last deer rifle. I really liked the Model 7 as it fits him perfectly. He is a big guy but shorter arms and legs than me at 6' tall...He is 5'9". The right gun means allot. I sold his Rem 700 243 and the new one is over half paid off already...The 7mm-08 reminds me allot of my first rifle cartridge. It was 7x57 Mauser in a sporterized Model 98. I shot many deer with that old rifle from the 80's- the year 2000.

I like my 308, super cheap with factory or hand loads, better terminal ballistics in under 300m since in Finland its rare to even hunt anything over 100m. Everything are so close range in the forests

For the 7mm cartridges look at the *280 Remington Ackley Improved* which is an improved version of the 280 Remington cartridge with a 40 degree shoulder and reloading dies are readily available for it. It duplicates the ballistics of the 7mm Remington Magnum but with 30% less gun powder used and less barrel erosion. Also it is registered with SAAMI by Nosler.

Love your videos, keep em coming. I searched long and hard for a cartridge with flat trajectory and good downrange energy. I picked the 7mm-08 for my 12 year old son. Long/short his first cow elk was 250 yards and some change. He made a perfect, oblique heart lung (standing away) and she dropped like a sack of sand. Great for coyotes, deer and he proved the elk. Thanks again...

Nice information thanks Ron

Love my .308's my wife and I have built. They are more on the tactical side of things. Built for 1000 yards. I have ELD M loads for 168 grain, 178 grain and 208 grain. I shoot the 208's lol. She does the 168's. Don't use my 178 load much. But I recently found out this was a necked down 308 and got intrigued. So I'm planning on getting one in a savage and making a 162 ELD M load for 1200+ yards. Hopefully its as accurate as my .308's. Tac drivers. I think that's one reason .308 is so popular. It's such an accurate cartridge. 5 shot groups touching at 100 yards. .5 MOA rifles or better up to 500-600 then thay are closer to 1 MOA. I have had sub MOA at 1k 2 times. I'm really hoping this 7mm-08 can do the same. I think it should do better with the ballistics of this 162 grain ELD M.

Wish you had covered the 243 Win to round out the discussion of the cartridges that use the necked down, 308 case. The.308 is still a great 300 yd deer rifle, and that's what i use it for, plus very few places in AL you can find to shoot over even 200 yards.

.260 Remington and 6.5 Creedmoor are also very close to each other. From what i've had people tell me is that if you're gonna shoot factory ammo go with 6.5 CM, if you're a reloader go with .260 Rem because it has more potential.

I just bought a 6.5 Creed but I highly considered. 308 for the simple fact of cheaper and more prevalent ammo as well as aftermarket support. it's why I go with .223 versus 22-250 or 204 Ruger. all great rounds through some are just easier to work with. nice video

Would you do a video like this and compare the 6.5 Grendel, the 6.5 and 6.0 Creedmoor to the "6.25 Savage" (250 Savage or 250-3000)? Thank you in advance.

I I just ordered my 7mm-08 & 7mm rem mag for my TC can wait for them to here

Me too. I have .308 and 6.5 CM. Love them both. There is no contest in availability.

The 260 remington is fantastic, I absolutely love it's performance. It's a shame it's not more popular, you basically have to hand load to get ammo

I'd like to see that with 7mm wsm. Not much news on the 7mm wsm but the 300 wsm is doing well.

I'll go along with this as long as it is geared towards the re-loader. Otherwise finding and paying for the ammo is a tough sell IMO. Good Vid! G.

I learned many years ago that paper energy figures; kinetic energy of a "mass in motion" do not relate to actual performance on the terminal end where a bullet meets the meat! The .308 Winchester with a 165 grain bullet in the hunting fields at what we HUNTERS call reasonable ranges, works like magic on everything up to and including Elk and Moose. Yes, its true that the 7-08 and the 260 Rem. shoot flatter past 300 yards, but to a HUNTER, that isn't too interesting. This "long range kill" craze that has manifested in our hunting fields is wrongly and perhaps irresponsibly applied from the killing fields of war zones where war fighters who are charged with great responsibility to make kill shots at great and regardless of, great distances in order to save lives where such is rightly justified and used with the wisdom that it was rightly intended for. But somehow, bringing that same kind of "shooting" to the hunting fields degrades the "sport" and the intention of the traditions of "fair play" intended for the benefit of the animal hunted. "Too far, try to get closer, animal escaped..... try again tomorrow".... Bringing the War Fighter Snipers capabilities to kill enemies to the hunting fields isn't something that this trained sniper will ever do! I have to much respect for myself, my skills and my quarry, as well as the traditions of what HUNTING is all about to combine one with the other..... I also know that regardless what you see here on you tube of so-called successful extreme range shots, there are many, many wounded animals out there as a result of failed attempts to make these shots and any trained sniper will tell you that such is the case and it can be no other way in fact! Many of the shots shown are neck or head shots and experienced HUNTERS know what that means..... because experienced HUNTERS don't use those kinds of shots although a small amount of experts do from time to time under ideal conditions, but HUNTERS will always use a more sure target zone less likely to result in a wounded animal and it has been that way for decades..... until recently it appears. The great .308 Winchester isn't going anywhere. Like the .45 ACP, it will be with us long after all the hype of these long range darlings has faded into the background. A new generation of so-called hunters/shooters are being "educated", or some may come out of the next decade or two with some measure of guns smarts and hunting savey....... if they have paid attention to history.

good video!

Great Video Ron,, I see this one is about 5 years ago, but still good info.. I've got the 308 Win.. 7MM Mag, but always wanted the 7mm-08.. Guess its time to step up and get on,, Just don't have enough hunting license's for all the guns I have.. HAHA..

Big ronnie delivers again

I have a new england firearms 7mm08 and the ammo is a little harder to find where I live but I love the gun and caliber. I've never used the 260 rem before thow

Thanks Ron. The load I use is published and not a wag. I use only published loads. Aliant made 2000pro just for the 308.

Between the three cartridges tested the only advantage I could see is that the. 308 would have a longer barrel life. Good video Mr. Spommer

Ron Spomer, So all in all, 7mm-08 an 260 outperform the .308 when they reach 600 yards and beyond, Everything inside 600 yards, the .308 wins ? Thanks!

Great video!!

Hi Ron. Big fan of your videos and it's this informative approach to firearms, ammunition and load types that simply fascinates me. Do you have any recommendations for a first rifle for hunting deer? I live in Great Britain. Thanks!

I shoot a 7mm-08 that I hand load for. I love it for whitetail deer hunting and am hoping to do some elk and muley hunting in the future with it. It's a tack driver out to 250 yards. Which is the farthest I've shot with it to this point.

I base a lot of my calibers around the 308 cartridge for reloading. Currently using the 7mm08, .308 and the .358 winchester. Next is the .243 to round out the family tree.

150 grain projectile out of a 308 will have a lower ballistic coefficient than a 140 grain out of a 260. what would the numbers look like with a 168 grain out of the 308?

Terrific.

A few years ago I shot a deer in the front shoulder quartering away with a 260 140 grain core lock bullet and the exit hole you could have stuck a football in it I would recommend that cartridge for anything including elk at reasonable distances

Just ordered a 7mm o8 in a Tikka T3x. What's my max point blank range with Hornady Whitetail 139 grains? And how high is that at 100 yds to do so?

So for normal hunting distances which is around 300 yards . Does a 165G Partition for 308 have more energy than these 2 at 300 yards .

The parent of the .308 is actually the 7x57. It was the first to use the .473 case head. The 30-06 is also the grandchild of the 7x57.

im a big fan of my 7mm remington mag but recently 1 shot a 300win mag and for a long distance shooter its also nice better power but for flat ness the 7mm is#1 in my book

I think it's great that you have an opinion. I appreciate that. If everyone was like me they would be shooting a 338-06. 215 grain Sierra game king.

Nice comparison but still like my .308

Now load those small guys with a 165, 168, or 178...that's the difference

I'd be interested to see a 260 vs 270 comparison

BC is the deal. Aerodynamic drag. My brother and I did a rifle project years ago and I chose 260 rem as the caliber. It is a sweet shooting rifle. My brother made a couple for himself too. Awesome caliber. I recommend giving it a try. I also recommend reloading it. FYI... have a 308 win too. Amazingly accurate but I do not shoot much beyond 100-200 yards in 90% of my shooting situations. Great comparison.... Thanks. MH

Been using my 6.5X55 for a few decades now. It works great and shoots pretty flat. DRT results on game.

With regards to many people wanting a .308 as a sniper rifle, I can't remember which KZfaqr said it, either Paul Harrell or Gunblue490 (I suspect the latter - although I could be WAY OFF BASE with either name 😬), but he said something to the effect that we don't know why the military went with the .308. It could have been for any variety of reasons. For all we know they could have been influenced by the use of our NATO allies (he wasn't saying this was the definitive reason). His point was it wasn't necessarily just the ballistics as there are better rounds for long range. Interesting statement. Paul Harrell and Gunblue490 I respect you both very much. Please forgive me if I misquoted or took it out of context. No disrespect intended.

The 7-08 is very capable for anything in North America, flat shooting for deer and antelope and hand load 160-175 gr premium projectiles and it is capable for moose and big bear.

I use 7mm-08 with 168gr Berger vld and I have 1,564 ft/lbs of energy at 600 yards

Now how about a 6.5 grendel vs 6.8 Spc. for antelope?

Savage 7mm-08,,,ppl love this cartridge.

In the 50s the military also made improvement in propellant so they could push the 7,62 nato as fast as the 30-06 they previously used. With the shorter action and improved propellant it was a win-win situation.

I’m looking to buy a new rifle. I’m really considering the browning blr in 7mm-08 rem or a 308 win. What load would you recommend and what rifle? Thanks

Mr. Spomer, Appreciate the content you provide. What is the stock on the 7mm-08, looks like black granite. 12/20/2022 Thanks!

What about barrel life? What about bullet weight selection?

Yes if you locate a savage model 340 chambered in .222 let me know please Sir

Not many hunters are shooting at anything more than 300 yards anyway. Either way those 3 caliburs can kill and do kill their targets when shot by a shooter that practices with their weapon and bullet choice. The truth is no one calibur is better than another,its just about which one they want to use.

proud of my BLR IN 7MM-08 does everything I wanted to do.

I would take either the 7mm-08 or the 260 Remington over the 6.5 Creedmoor. I think they are both better cartridges.

This is 🔥

I like the 243. You got numbers on that?

I'd be interested to have a better understanding of the performance of .308 out of short bbl guns. I have a trio of Ruger M77 Hawkeye Compact in .308 and 243 but the short 16.5" bbl really changes things

remember its always what rifle you have and the cost of ammo

Correct but only reloaders have option with the 260 the 6.5 has flooded the market with factory load optiotns

Hi Ron, what do you think about the .243 Winchester? I have a CZ 550 Lux in that caliber, in my country there are only 3 calibers allowed to hunt hogs (243, 25-06 and the 6.5x55) but i chose the first one. We can hunt deer axis also. Saludos y espero tu respuesta, it means (bye and waiting for your answer)

What rifle is that your shooting, the black one with the gray speckled stock? It appears custom with a Rem. 700 action, just wondering who built it? Thanks.

My uncle slayed antelope at 6oo -700 yards with his 260 in Wyoming from the back of a pickup on a regular basis . But my other uncle took a mule deer in early 60 s at 1650 with his o6 .these boys shot from the time they could shoulder a rifle . And ammo had to count ,Kentucky windage and elevation were a fact of life in my world ,my brother never had a gun with sites until he was older and in sniper school .

be interesting to see how the army's new 6.8 round preforms

Thanks