OzFclass

Hi ,I'm getting a 30" Bartlien barrel cut in the above cal for a panda action that's coming . There is very little info on the 708 Ai . Other than footsore , is there anyone else competing with cal and how's the tuning/ accuracy? What fps would I expect to achieve with 168 and 175 and 180 gr pills? I hope to use 2213 sc and 2209 . I've been told to start at 7-08 max loads and work up from there. Should I use a Mag large primer or a standard with 2213sc ?
Any advice is greatly appreciative !

Thanks in advance ! Regards Graham Sells.

Something to start with...................... Use with caution as usual.
Your throat length and bullet seating depth will have a large effect on pressure with this small compact case. So work up your loads carefully.

7-08 into 7-08AI
.243 brass that has been necked up to 7mm and is being fire formed into 7-08AI.
180gn Berger Hybrid, AR2208, 37.5gn, Velocity 2424 fps.
180gn Berger Hybrid, AR2209, 45gn, Velocity 2665 fps.
180gn Berger Hybrid, AR2213sc, 48gn, Velocity 2596 fps.


Fire Formed 7-08ai Brass.
180gn Berger Hybrid, AR2213sc, 49gn, Velocity 2658 fps.
180gn Berger Hybrid, AR2213sc, 50gn, Velocity 2717 fps.

180gn Berger Hybrid, AR2209, 46gn, Velocity 2715 fps.
180gn Berger Hybrid, AR2209, 47gn, Velocity 2776 fps. Fouled barrel.

Powder AR2209
Brass……….. Lapua .308 Palma, small primer. (Once fired, to fire form)
Primer ……… CCI 450 small rifle magnum.
Bullet ,…….. Berger 168gn VLD
Col 2.400” to ogive.
Charge 44gn Velocity 2679fps, Charge 45gn Velocity 2739fps
Charge 46gn Velocity 2783fps, Charge 47gn Velocity 2849fps

I found the 168gn class bullets easier to tune than the 180's. You only need a standard primer for the large rifle primer pocket but I use a small rifle magnum primer with Lapua Palma brass.
Stick with one brass type, it simplifies things a lot.

Hey thanks heaps! That will give me somewhere to start.
Your brother is doing quite well with his and I was looking at a 6.5x47 lap, but seeing the performance of the 708 Ai got me thinking about going done that path! I think it's a good cal to start out in F open . Can always ream it out to .284 win Ai later. Just dabbeling at the moment in f open!

Regards Graham Sells.

Great information Norm.

Regarding 168gn projectiles, you may be interested to know that I have 200 7mm Copperhead 168gn HPBTs. They're a tangent ogive but still look quite slippery. I'll be trying them in the Shehane at 600yds today. The Copperheads are renowned for consistency, so I'm hopeful of good results. Also on 168s, I bought some Berger Hunting VLDs when the yellow boxes were unavailable. Can't tell the difference. They measure and shoot the same.

Alan

The load I use is right on 2720fps with a 31 inch barrel using Berger 180gr vlds.50gr At2213sc with a fed GM210M or cci-450 primer depending on the case. Haven't really tried at2209 yet. As.norm says you need to have a throat cut long to suit these projectiles and get a decent powder charge in there.
The caliber is easy to tune accurate and sweet to shoot but next time I might just go with a straight no neck turn 284W.
Steve

Thanks Steve , really appreciate your input . Regards Graham.
Ps it will be the same reamer as your chamber as Gilesy will be doing it!

Suppose so Graham. 0.312 neck = neck turning = PITA.
Steve

My View on the 7-08ai.

The 7-08ai has less recoil and longer barrel life than the .284 win and the bigger 7mm cartridges.
The 7-08ai has less wind drift than the 6mm Dasher and 6.5x47.

It may not be the best at anything but it does offer good all round performance.

Hi again , I'm about a week off picking up my new gun . Just wandering how to make the brass. I want to make the 708 brass out of .308 lap brass. What dies do I need to buy to get started . My thoughts were to neck them down with a set of Lee dies . Then neck turn as it's a tight neck. Then use redding type s match dies ?? Am I on the right path? Regards Graham.

I did see somewhere that lapua are going start making 7-08 brass .... Maybe only in the USA??

To set up for Neck turning you will need a NON bushing style 7-08 FLS die. Use this to form the brass down from 308. I got a 3 die set from Lee for my 260AI. I use the FLS to form from Palma Brass and then once formed use the Collet neck sizer and seater for the AI cartridge. I then got a Redding body die for bumping the shoulder back.They are quite cheap and can get from most gun stores. The Lee collet Neck die is not ideal to set up for Neck Turning but is great for neck sizing once your brass is finished.

BRETT B wrote:To set up for Neck turning you will need a NON bushing style 7-08 FLS die. Use this to form the brass down from 308. I got a 3 die set from Lee for my 260AI. I use the FLS to form from Palma Brass and then once formed use the Collet neck sizer and seater for the AI cartridge. I then got a Redding body die for bumping the shoulder back.They are quite cheap and can get from most gun stores. The Lee collet Neck die is not ideal to set up for Neck Turning but is great for neck sizing once your brass is finished.

Nathan P wrote:I did see somewhere that lapua are going start making 7-08 brass .... Maybe only in the USA??

Hi Nathern , I've seen that too , but haven't seen it in Au yet and would be exy to say the least . Have to wait and see I guess .

Thanks Brett for the input , I'm so excited about this new rifle. Graham

Nathan P wrote:I did see somewhere that lapua are going start making 7-08 brass .... Maybe only in the USA??

According to their 2015 press release, three new cases will be released.

300 BLK, 7-08, 8x57

Yeah I'll look into 708 lap brass and se if brt or Qstore has it ! Thanks all . Will be a while before I'll compete with! I'll stick to standard for a while ! Regards Graham.

Graham the Lapua 7-08 brass was advertised at Rebel guns in Brisbane so they should be able to get some for you but Magnum Sports have 7-08 Norma brass if you want to go that way. I haven't tried it but it should be pretty good. Best I have found so far is 308 lapua palma brass.
Dies are hard to get. I use Lee standard 7-08 for initial loading before fire forming but you will need sizing dies for the 7-08ai. Sinclair have some Redding dies but not bushing dies. Whidden will make you a fls bushing die at a pretty good price if you send them some brass.
I just use a standard Redding fls die with the decapper expander removed. With a .312 neck chamber that gives me about 2 thou neck tension with neck walls turned to 12 thou.
PM me if you have any questions and I will see if I can help you out. There are a few things I have discovered the hard way.
Brett's suggestion of the Lee collet die could be a good one but redding s type dies for the 7-08ai are like rocking horse manure. I have heard that you can JUST use a 260ai instead though.
Steve