In 1980 Remington did the obvious and designed a 7mm cartridge based on a necked-down .308 Winchester case. The new Remington 7mm-08 specified a maximum case length of 2.035" and a maximum cartridge length of 2.80". The correct bullet diameter is .284". MAP is 52,000 cup.

All major U.S. ammunition manufacturers offer 7mm-08 factory loads. Remington, for example, loads a 120 grain spitzer bullet (SD .213) to a MV of 3,000 fps and ME of 2,398 ft. lbs. They load their 140 grain bullets to a MV of 2,860 fps and ME of 2,543 ft. lbs.

Reloads can equal or in some cases slightly exceed the velocity of the factory loads, which are loaded pretty close to the maximum SAAMI pressure in 7mm-08. The reloader has access to bullets weighing from 100 to 175 grains. However, 120 to 150 grain bullets remain the obvious choices.

Medium burning rifle powders are usually best in the 7mm-08. H414, H380, IMR 4350, and W760 are among the recommended powders.

The sixth edition of the Hornady Handbook of Cartridge Reloading shows that 39.5 grains of W760 powder drove their 120 grain bullets at a MV of 2500 fps, while a maximum load of 49.7 grains of W760 gave the same bullets a MV of 3000 fps. These Hornady loads used Hornady brass, Rem. 9-1/2 primers and were tested in a 24" rifle barrel.

Note: A full length article about the 7mm-08 Remington (and a great many other cartridges) can be found on the Rifle Cartridges page.