7mm-08 AI


Guest bronco_mudder

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Guest bronco_mudder

Once I get my custom 25/06, I want to get a custom ultra light rifle. The 25/06 will carry a 28 inch varmint barrel, so I want to go to the opposite end of the spectrum with my next custom. To me ultra light should be a short action, and I've always had a fondness for the .284 cals. It will be be used for deer, so something from the .257 to the .284 is what I'll be deciding on. I don't know how the 7mm-08 AI compares to the regular 7mm-08 but if someone can fill me in that would be great. Or if anyone has any other suggestions post them and tell me about the cartridge. A wildcat would interst me most, but let me know what you think would be the best short action deer cal.

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Re: 7mm-08 AI

If you are wanting a wildcat, how about the .257 Roberts AI? That will do the same ballistics as the 25-06 but in a slightly shorter package. on Some short actions they can get a little cramped with heavy bullets though. The 25 WSSM is another option that could be made in a real ultra light gun. The action can be skeletonized for further weight reduction. It too will duplicate the 25-06 performance. How about a .264 WSSM, .270 WSSM, or even 7 WSSM? All would be wildcats. They should have decent ballistics but not beat you to dealth in a UL rifle. I would not hesitate to use them for critters up to elk size with the proper bullets.

There is not much gain by improving the 7-08. How about the .260 Remington for a factory cartridge?

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Re: 7mm-08 AI

Improving a cartridge involves reducing the body taper to a minimum and often increasing the shoulder angle to 35-40 degrees. This will increase the case capacity allowing it to hold more powder. Since the case is larger, it will take more powder to reach the same velocity as before. In some cases it is not really worth it. Another benefit of Improving a case is brass flow. When the cartridge is fired it will expand to fit the chamber. When the chamber has a long taper, it will cause the brass to flow forward. The handloader resizes the cases and works the brass some more. They often need trimming to keep them within spec. When the brass flows forward, it has to come from somewhere. This just so happens to be the area just in front of the case head. After a few firings, the case can separate upon firing. This is not good as it dumps gas towards the shooter, and can make extraction of the case very hard.

The gunsmith that is most fameous for improving cartridges was P.O. Ackley. He was a superb ballistician and worked for the military designing and testing guns and cartridges.

Typically there is a slight increase in velocity. Most handloaders that get into AI cartridges, and find they are getting big velocity gains with many cartridges are pushing the pressure levels way over the parent cartridges specs. There are some cartridges that respond very well to improving and give good gains. These are typically the older designed cartridges from early 1900's. Velocity gains are typically 1/4 of the percentage of increase in powder. If your new case holds 10% more powder your velocity gain will be about 2.5%.

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Guest bronco_mudder

Re: 7mm-08 AI

I'm going to dig a little on the 257 roberts AI, sounds pretty interesting. I have looked at the 260, but want to look into as many opptions as I can find, then decide from that. This gun being an ultra light, will get a whip barrel, in the 22-24 inch range, with titanium action, and skeletonized everything, so I don't really want to go with a short magnum, to much recoil and I would rather not port the barrel. The rifle will likely be made by PGW Defense Technologies, formerly Prarie Gun Works. They specialize in tacticle style rifles now, but when it still Prarie Gun Works, their bread and butter was ultralights. They make their own actions, and will do pretty much anything you want. I've seen a couple of their rifles, and they sure put together a real nice package.

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