7mm Rem. mag.

[Cowboy T]

I used to have a 7-08 and got rid of it when I realized there were no practical differences from a .308. Factory ammo is 140 gr in the 7mm-08, about 150 in the .308. I could feel no difference in recoil. You can put heavier and slower bullets in the .308, but 150 is pretty much optimum. Considering the cost and rarity of 7-08 ammo, I didn't miss it at all.

If you reload it might not make a lot of difference, but I didn't reload rifle when I had the 7-08.

That is a difference. I do happen to reload, so my rifle has seen only my reloads. I've never bought factory 7mm-08 ammo, and I only bought some 7mm Rem Mag ammo because I needed the brass! :-)

The wife can feel the difference in the 7mm-08 vs. the .308 Win. Our rifle has a varmint-style 24" barrel. The Rem 700 Varmint in .308 Win is a good comparison, and yeah, the 7mm-08 is a little bit lighter in felt recoil. I typically load the lighter (139-150 grain) bullets in the 7mm-08 and the heavier ones (162-175gr) in the 7mm Rem Mag. The 7mm will shoot flatter, given the same bullet weight, due to that higher BC than a .30 caliber. Just physics. And this is coming from a fan of both the .30-06 and .308 Win, BTW. I like the .308 Win a lot. I've come to *really* like the .30-06. As previously mentioned, what applies to the 7mm-08 will also generally apply to the 7mm Mauser.

That new 6.5 Creedmoor is another good choice, along with .25-06, .25 Roberts, 6.5 Swede, and a bunch of other fine rounds. The 6.5 Creedmoor also uses high-BC bullets and is a pretty flat shooter. I have yet to shoot one myself, but physics says it should be a lower-recoiling round as well. The .243 Win has already been mentioned several times (I've shot one of those), and it's a sweet shooter, too.

There's just such a multitude of good choices out there....