Anyone with "expertise" on 308 vs 7mm-08 vs 25-06?

[BubbaHFD]

7mm08 is my vote

[DaveC]

I own 2 .308's and a 7mm-08.
I now wish the other two were 7-08's as well.
When I purchased the first 308 ( a savage striker pistol) I didn't know what a 7mm-08
was so I just went with what I knew at the time.

Nothing wrong with the .308's, just like the idea of the 7-08's ballistics better.
Both rounds have killed exceptionally for me, so end result is the same.

Out of wood or synthetic- I prefer laminated wood, pepper laminate on a stainless action to be more precise. The laminate is stronger than regular wood (glued together like plywood) and hides nicks and scrapes due to the contrasting layers of wood.

[DaveC]

If you are fond of lever actions or just want to be different- check out the Marlin .308 express.
My father has one in the pepper laminate / stainless action.
It was surprisingly accurate right out of the box (most accurate I've sighted in).

Its ammo is a Hornady only load since the round was a creation between Marlin and Hornady to allow pointed bullets to chamber in a tube style magazine, so it is not as readily available as the other rounds you've listed.
It has dropped every deer he's shot with it, but rarely gets a pass through.

Me personally, not a huge fan of the lever action in general.

[Pistol Pete]

I have hunted with the 25-06 since I was 12 or 13. Over that 25 year period I have grown to love the caliber. I hunted with a Gibson's Win Mod. 70 that my dad purchased in the late 70s, until I purchased my own Rem 257 wby mag. After I realized the 257 wby mag costs way more to shoot, kicks harder, but doesn't kill any better, I purchased a 25-06 Sako A7. The two 25-06s have killed every kind critter that walks in SW OK including elk. We have never lost a critter that I know of.

In my opinion the 25-06 is the Goldilocks of the plains not too hot, not too cold, just right. My favorite characteristics are the low recoil and flat trajectory. I shoot Rem 100gr corelocks. 25-06 ammo can be found most places. There is a good reason so many plains hunters love calibers like the 243, 25-06, 270, they are highly effective, accurate, inexpensive, low recoiling, easy to find (with 25-06 being the most difficult). I know a lot of hunters myself included that have wondered away to other calibers only to come back to one or more of these three calibers.

The pros and cons of 308 are well documented. I don't know much about the 7mm-08 but, I hear good things about it.

All three are probably good calibers, but as you can see I am biased towards the 25-06, 270 and 243.

Best of luck.

[ducks-and-bucks]

Well for what its worth I've put in the research and know a thing or two here and out of those three the 7mm-08 is by FAR FAR the best. 7mm08 has outstanding long range ballistics with mild recoil. The 7mm08 case capacity goes hand in hand with 140 gr 7mm bullets. The case with a 7mm bullet is WAY more efficient with burn rate/projectile. It has a max effective range out to around 1200 yards. Has my vote by far.

I'm not a fan of the 308. The 308 is a very inefficient round, only made popular because its use in the military aspect. Yes the 308 will shoot well, I'm just breaking it down more here.. The 308 is a lobbing type round, it is not a flat shooter like others. The trajectory arc of a 308 at longer distance is like a rainbow... the bullet drops very fast because of the inefficient amount of powder that is expended to push the 30 cal bullet. It's been proven over and over again that 308 brass necked to the 7mm08 or 260 rem way outperforms the 308 brass left as 30 cal as far as efficiency goes. Many people love a 308, and for shooting 300 yards there is nothing wrong with it in the end, you will have more recoil though.

2506 - I've had one of those too, go rid of it asap. I didnt like it. the 2506 is a very poppy round much like a 270win. The recoil is very sharp and sudden, it doesnt have the recoil that I like to explain more as a push, its a very sharp shove in the sholder. If youve ever shot a 270win, theres not much difference. the 7mm08 outperforms it ballistically speaking too. I'm just not a fan. There are much more comfortable rifles to shoot.

Now, any way you go, you can put a muzzle brake on it and cut the felt recoil in half.

If I was to do one of these three I would go 7mm08 and never look back, or 260rem and never look back. I have a 260 and it's a very great shooting round, with my brake on it and the weight of my rifle it kicks like a ruger 22lr..

hope this helped.

[ducks-and-bucks]

stock wise a synthetic stock is best. In the shooting world wood stocks are becoming more and more obsolete. Though they are very pretty at times. When I say synthetic I do not mean the black factory synthetic stock off the shelf at academy. Some will agree, some wont, but the HS precision stocks, cleaned up, and bedded, can yeild very good results and are not bad stocks. The problem you run into with wood stocks is with moisture they soak up some, the stock expands and retracts, thus not holding the action and barrel in the exact same place every time. This is getting down to the niddy gritty though... I have a laminate wood stock on a sako 22-250 that shoots lights out. with wood stocks the barrel has to be floated very well though imo.

[DRT]

None of them are low recoil. I'm in the same boat and have sold off all of my guns in that range of recoil.

[cajuntec]

I've had all three barrels in my T/C Encore platform, shot back to back at the range on the same frame / stock setup, so I could try to see the biggest differences in the three, as well as test for accuracy.

.308 does have a little more noticeable recoil if compared exact firearm to exact firearm. I think the Encore platform is a good base to use for this kind of thing, as the only difference is the caliber of the barrel I put on it at the moment, as well as the load of the ammo, because the weight of the firearm, trigger, stock length, etc... are all identical (for the most part - keep reading....) Although one other variable that throws this test off a bit - The .308 and 7mm-08 barrels were 24" factory taper, and the .25-06 was a 26" heavy taper. Slightly longer, slightly heavier barrel. I'm pretty sure I could load down the .308 to come closer to the recoil of the other two, but I was using popular factory ammo for all three at the time. I could not discern any difference in recoil between the .25-06 and 7mm-08 barrels I had.

The .308 was a 1:10 twist barrel
The .25-06 was a 1:10 twist barrel
The 7mm-08 was a 1:9 twist barrel

My ammo choices for that shoot were all factory loads, as I wasn't reloading at the time. From the people I had bought the barrels from, I had what they considered to be the "best loads" for the three in factory offerings. Two of the people gave really good recommendations as far as factory loads for accuracy. One was way off.

The 7mm-08 loved 139 grain bullets - in particular, the Hornady 139 grain SST. These days, Hornady is no longer offering the load that the seller had suggested, but they offer something similar now in the 139 Grain SST Superformance round. It's not as good in accuracy, and I've taken to reloading for that barrel now. I now load a Hornady 2825 Interlock 139 grain bullet for hunting with that barrel that provides good accuracy.

The 25-06 loved the cheap stuff. 100 grain Remington Core Lokt shot the most accurate out of that barrel. Odd. I tried what I considered to be much better factory ammo, but I could never get it to shoot as accurately as the cheaper Remington load. This was pre-reloading days, so now might be a different story. But with factory ammo, that was it. I ended up selling that barrel with another Encore frame I had. Wish I hadn't done that. It was a good setup. My decision was based on the comparison between the .25-06 and 7mm-08. As I couldn't tell the difference in the recoil between the two, accuracy was good in both, I told myself "The 7mm-08 shoots a larger projectile", and sold the .25-06. That wasn't a good excuse. Just the one I used. I do like the 7mm-08 better though.

The .308 recommendation was 150 grain Winchester Power Point, but that ammo turned out to be marginal in accuracy. I ended up shooting many other loads from 150 to 165 grain that were better choices.

My favorite of the three calibers is the 7mm-08, followed by the .308, and then the .25-06. All are good calibers. But like everyone else, I just have my personal favorites.

All the best,
Glenn

[kumathebear]

Some great responses all!! I always enjoy "thread" responses that don't act like one is STUPID to even ask...so KUDOS to all...you educated me as my only experience with these 3 calibers has been the 25-06.

Don't stop...would appreciate even more comparisons...

[WhiplashTX]

Any of the ones you mentioned would be a good choice and a deer will never know the difference between the three at 300 yards. I would lean twords the 25-06 or 7-08 in a normal rifle, the 260 or 257 Roberts would also be good choices but ammo and guns for them are harder to find. If you mainly stand hunt you might want to consider a heavy barreled rifle. The extra gun weight will reduce the recoil but it will be a disadvantage carrying the rifle. A good recoil pad will also help in felt recoil. Right now, the Savage 110 series is probably the best bang for the buck.

Now that's a question... A necked down 30.06, a necked down 308, or the 308 it's self....

I've never been confronted with this scenario before. Diameter wise it's a 308, vs a 284 vs a 257.... In those diameters I personally think there are way better choices... So I've never even thought to evaluate these three against each other.

My choices (for my own reasons)... 284 would be a 7mm, 308 would be any of 3 calibers (with 308 coming in 4th) and my 257 would be a wby...

So I must ask. How did you narrow it down to these 3?

Then I must say 300 yards is a chip shot with any so that's not a selling point of any caliber.. But what do you plan on shooting with the rifle?

Not good choices for someone who has bad shoulders and is recoil sensitive as the OP stated.

[bermise]

If you don't have to have one of the 3 you listed. A .270 will be a good selection.

[DaveC]

Anyone with "expertise" on 308 vs 7mm-08 vs 25-06?

Best bang for the buck,
All brands are selling entry level guns at low prices. Some are quality rifles, some are not.

The savage 110 would be a good choice, Marlin XS-7 would be another to consider.

[Big pig]

Of your three, I would choose the 7'08.
Personally, we hunt with .270's and 130's. My favorite is a ruger.
I prefer wood stocks, especially for gifts or heirlooms.
Cut to length with after market pads.
Right scope and fit are bigger priority for deer than which cartridge.



Big pig

[Edward54]

308

[kumathebear]

Part of my motivation for this original thread was for 2 of my son's who were looking at different calibers. They both have decided what they want..1 bought a 280 and the other a 260. Great deals both of them made and my only concern is ammo availability with these choices? Neither reloads and when I have time I stop in different shops to see what they have in stock.

As far as the 280, Remington Core Lok seems to be the "only" one they tell me is available? On the 260 just a couple of more choices but both are definitely more expensive.

Don't matter to me...they are both happy!