I had the great fortune to grow up in the ‘good ol’ days’ when being a hunter and a shooter was still considered ‘normal’. Heck, even expected for an American youth. Why we even loaded up our cars and trucks before heading off to school if a hunt or target session was planned after school hours. Nothing was ever said about the practice. Occasionally we’d be asked how our luck had run on Monday morning by a teacher or the Principle, but nothing more. It bothers me greatly that those days seem to be gone forever. I blame it all on parents not teaching simple core values. Now don’t get me wrong! We had our share of fights. This was when integrated schools in the south was a very new thing and racial relations sometimes grew heated. More often it was just two fellows with a score to settle. Not a soul ever thought about going for his gun. No one ever went for his knife either, and every boy - and most girls - had at least one blade on their person at all times back then. We’d face our opponent, slug it out to our mutual satisfaction, shake hands, and forget about it. No shootings, no stabbings.
Ah… The ‘Good Ol’ Days’!
Growing up back then I had complete access to several firearms. Dad’s old Savage model 99 chambered for the venerable .300 Savage; a Marlin 39A in .22 Long Rifle, Long, & Short; my brother’s 20 gauge double-barreled Fox; and a fair selection of handguns. Hardly a day went by that one or the other wasn’t being put to good use. They were well taken care of as well. I hold as proof that the Savage is in use by my nephew in Virgina and the Marlin has just been used by its third generation of our Clan as their first rifle. Fine weapons, all.
A time comes, though, when a man wants to strike out on his own. For my brother, Dan, it was with the (then) new technology of Paradox rifled slug barrels and a 12 Remington 870 shotgun. For me it was the world of bolt-action rifles, and the very first was an ugly little piece called a Remington 788 chambered for the brand new 7mm-08 Remington cartridge. That ugly little gun with a short, fat tube - replete with all the tool marks in place - literally shot rings around the rifles of my better heeled friends. I’ve spoken once on this blog about regularly out-shooting my best hunting buddy and his Remington 700 in 7mm Remington Magnum. (I’ll stand by that statement to my dying day, by the way.) Thus began my love affair for the littlest 7mm. Soon my older brother saw the extreme accuracy and vast potential of the wee ‘7′ and he put away his Paradox barrels and took up a Remington Model Seven chambered for my favorite cartridge and used both to his last day on this side of The Veil.
The 7mm-08 was first a ‘wildcat’ cartridge made by simply reducing the diameter of the .308 Winchester (7.62 NATO) down to hold a .284 caliber bullet. Within just a couple of years the new cartridge was followed by a legion of devoted shooters, mostly of the silhouette variety. Hunters took note as well and the tiny 7mm began to rack up an impressive record during the fall and winter big game seasons. In 1980 Remington brought the 7mm-08 in from the cold, attached their moniker to it and thus was born the 7mm-08 Remington. Shorter than the 7×57 Mauser the 7mm-08 easily matches the best the old Mauser can offer and handily fits into a short action rifle. Being a thoroughly modern round based on the wonderfully efficient NATO round it also lends itself well to handloading. When the shooting world learned of this new lady on the block suiters lined up in droves.
Too quickly the heat of new love began to subside and the glowing articles began to fade from the gun magazines. That’s a shame as the little 7mm can easily take any game on the North American continent with relative ease, with the exception of the great bears of course. The Bull and all of my spawn are forsworn from hunting bear under any circumstances so that is of little consequence to us. Many head of game, including many species in Africa, have met a quick end to the efficient, compact round in rifles - and handguns - of every make and design. This cartridge has it all: speed, efficiency, power, low recoil, along with all of the benefits inherent in the .284 caliber projectiles. While American shooters and hunters still tend to become afflicted with “magnum-itis” early in their careers - going ever for the latest mega-boomer on the market, enough keep their senses to where the little 7mm continues to thrive.
Now we are some twenty seven years gone from the first round fired in that model 788. The rifle is long gone, sold to another nephew. My experiments with the bolt actions came to an end many years ago as I began to settled down into my single-shot lifestyle. Through the years there has always been a 7mm-08 Remington somewhere in the gun safe. Today that place resides in the form of a Pro-Hunter barrel for my T/C Encore system. Frankly, I don’t think this one is going anywhere. At 28 inches it wrings out every available ounce of energy from the round and is exceedingly accurate out to well beyond any range I care to shoot considering my aging eyes. This latest barrel has yet to be put to the test on game, but if experience is of any use at all I have nothing to worry about. The Bull can expect each and every game animal I’m likely to shoot to drop cleanly on the first shot - planted by the smallest, and best, of the 7mm rifle cartridges - the 7mm-08 Remington.
That’s enough for now. It’s time to hit the bench and load a hundred rounds or so for next weeks range trip. 
Bull, out! 
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