Thread: .308 or 7mm08 varmint gun?

Hi Guys I'm after some advice.
I'm looking at getting a Varmint gun or using what I already have.
Ive got a suppressed BSA .308 and a weatherby ultralight 7mm08. Both picked up second hand and work great.

Ive just started reloading which is awesome and really improving my accuracy.
As the 7mm08 and 308 are similar I'm keen to make one of them a varminter or at least a gun more suited to longer range shooting.
Leaning wards the BSA as its a heavier gun. Although .308 varminter seems like an oxymoron
Any advice greatly received.

id go 338l for varmits

With both those calibres you will never find your hits!
The only trace will be gloops of blood and some fluff or feathers if you are lucky.,.

Load some 110 gr v-max and you are good to go. If you want to go long range then you need higher bc bullet like 168 gr or 178 gr a-mx.

Keep the light 7mm 08 if it's a shooter.
Trade or rebarrel the 308 into a 243/22-250.

Get rid of the 7mm if it's not a shooter, buy 223 or 22-250

Cheers
Problem is they both shoot pretty well. .308 is older and not sure of the history. Weather by 7mm08 is pretty new and has had less than 100 rounds through it.
Weatherby has a really smooth action and doesn't miss a beat. Whereas the old BSA is a bit clunky with cycling though another round and not always done in one motion.

The choice is simple
That pencil thin 708 barrel will cook with multiple shots.
Rebarrel the 308 into a 22.250 and enjoy long range hare shooting

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How hard is it to rebarrel to a new caliber and do you need to redo the action? The bsa would probably do with getting the action looked at. Also what's the likely cost for this. Am I better off buying a new rifle and going from there?

Cheers
Dan

Since 308 is the same bolt face as 22-250, not very hard at all. Rebarreling cost would be around the 850 to 1000 mark depending on options.you also would need a small bedding job to make the most of your rifle accuracy.
A ruger predator in a varmint caliber would be in that price range and come threaded.

If there is a factory option it will generally work out cheaper.
If you reload you could go to something like 22/243 and a fast twist rifle to shoot the high bcr's pills or slow twist and run the 40grn at 4000fps for flat shooting

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a few years back i decided that to improve my alround shooting skills with my .308 i should use it on Hares at longer ranges instead of my usual .222

long story short . . .. while its a good idea and good for building confidence a true varminting cartridge does a better job . . . to me

but if thats what ya want to do go for it . .. any reason that gets you out there doing it is a good reason

Rebarrelling a perfectly good rifle to change calibres is not what I would suggest unless you were rebarrelling anyway. For a similar value you could buy a pretty decent varmint rifle brand new, and if you were happy to set up a second hand one that is cheaper still. It will leave you more change for optics and with Varminting you will need decent optics.

If you will be using factory ammo then go for 223 (slow twist like 1:12 will let you use smaller projectiles well) but if you like to handload there are a myriad of options. 204 ruger, 223, 22/250, 243 to name a few. Not that these are not availible in factory loads, but the can get dear quick using larger volumes of ammo. (in fact all of them can)Howa make a heavy barrel varmint action in 204, 223 and 308. I know someone who was toying with selling their 223 heavy barrel but not sure if he has decided to keep it. There are others out there worth looking at too.

The reason a lot of people use the smaller calibres for Varminting is there tends to be many varmint game animals like rabbits nd once you start you can shoot (at) a lot of animals in a session. This gets expensive if using large ammo that is $2 a poke making stains on the landscape. Also accumulated recoil from 30 or 40 rounds in a couple hours can hurt more with the larger calibres.

Originally Posted by 199p

If there is a factory option it will generally work out cheaper.
If you reload you could go to something like 22/243 and a fast twist rifle to shoot the high bcr's pills or slow twist and run the 40grn at 4000fps for flat shooting

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Some rifles, like my 243 (e.r shaw barrel 1 10 twist) seems to shoot the heavier or light projectiles rather well. It shoots 100gr well under a inch and i can shoot a .9 group also with 55gr silvertips doing 4000fps as well(factory ammo). Just for the sheer cost i wouldnt use my 243 for varmit shooting, a 223 with the cheaper ammo option would be very good.

Originally Posted by i41do2

Cheers
Problem is they both shoot pretty well. .308 is older and not sure of the history. Weather by 7mm08 is pretty new and has had less than 100 rounds through it.
Weatherby has a really smooth action and doesn't miss a beat. Whereas the old BSA is a bit clunky with cycling though another round and not always done in one motion.

simple, your going hunting you open the safe and grab the first rifle which is it? now rebarrel the our one in 243. you can varmit with the 243 and still take deer with it as well.

Originally Posted by timattalon

Rebarrelling a perfectly good rifle to change calibres is not what I would suggest unless you were rebarrelling anyway. For a similar value you could buy a pretty decent varmint rifle brand new, and if you were happy to set up a second hand one that is cheaper still. It will leave you more change for optics and with Varminting you will need decent optics.

If you will be using factory ammo then go for 223 (slow twist like 1:12 will let you use smaller projectiles well) but if you like to handload there are a myriad of options. 204 ruger, 223, 22/250, 243 to name a few. Not that these are not availible in factory loads, but the can get dear quick using larger volumes of ammo. (in fact all of them can)Howa make a heavy barrel varmint action in 204, 223 and 308. I know someone who was toying with selling their 223 heavy barrel but not sure if he has decided to keep it. There are others out there worth looking at too.

The reason a lot of people use the smaller calibres for Varminting is there tends to be many varmint game animals like rabbits nd once you start you can shoot (at) a lot of animals in a session. This gets expensive if using large ammo that is $2 a poke making stains on the landscape. Also accumulated recoil from 30 or 40 rounds in a couple hours can hurt more with the larger calibres.

very true for the cost of he rebarrel he could buy @Dynastar27 223