Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Needing a NASTY .7mm-08 bullet for larger game ....

I've seen my fair share of caribou killed, as well as a handful of mountain sheep, and I will repeat that any bullet that will reliably kill large deer will work fine on those animals.

My experience with 'bou is that if you hit them in the right spot, they go down with just about any bullet that you can send into their vitals. Hit them wrong, and they are liable to go for miles, regardless of caliber or cartridge used. I've seen them put down with authority with the .25-06, .257WM, .243, .308, etc, etc, and I've also seen them stand there and absorb four 225gr Fed SP's from a .338WM. Some are tougher than others, but if the first shot hits the boiler room, they are going down for the count, pronto. Sheep are just as easy to put down, IME.

Never hunted either sheep or caribou, so what happens if you gotta argue with a griz about whose sheep meat it is, that you are packing out on your back?Still 7-08 territory? Or is this a valid question? Seems like the same one was asked by Layne Simpson while he was packing out a Dall and carrying a 280 with 140 BT's? Will 150 or 160 NPT's overkill your sheep or bou while providing worst case scenario insurance? Just askin you know Magnum Man

The last time I was up on the tundra guiding, I ran into 16 different grizzlies during the 35-day season, some near and some far. I got into a stand-off argument or two, but it never came down to dancing toe-to-toe with a grizz *grin* Essentially what I'm saying, is that I've never had to settle an argument over sheep meat with a grizz. I had a standoff at 10-15 feet with one, but he decided to hurry off in the other direction rather than in my direction!

Is it still 7-08 territory? Yup. If the 150-160gr PT will work, so will a 140gr bullet. Throw a 140gr slug through the grizz's head or spine, and he won't notice that you're lacking 10-20gr of bullet weight. Even then, my original suggestion of the 140gr TTSX pretty well settles that argument

Great photo, Toad. I'm already jealous...

I agree with you. A Barnes with some steam behind it is a penetrating machine. And by going with the lighter bullets, you still have the penetration and a velocity bonus.

Now, all you gotta do it hit'em.

DF

When I killed a cow elk in Colorado I still had a NE Oregon elk camp ahead of me... going home before the Oregon hunt would have added a whole day of driving. Left Colorado with a butchered/wrapped elk frozen hard and in coolers packed with dry ice (from Wal-Mart). Spent the night in Idaho and bought more dry ice. When I got to camp I put the coolers on the cold side of the tent, and then packed around them with tarps and hay. It was getting around 32F at night, mid-50's in the day... The meat was still frozen (though not "hard") a week later when I left for home with a whole 'nuther elk (quartered).

7mm-08 with a 140gr premium bullet will do whatever you ask it to do. Caribou are not much bigger than a big bodied muley or maybe about the same as a small cow elk, It is more than adequate for that.
I've used WW760 and a 140 partition for 25 yrs now, works for me.
2860 out of a 22" tube.

I have shot lengthwise through wild horses with 140gn X's loaded to 2900fps in my Rigby. That means 5 and sometmes 6 feet of penetration. Talk of adequacy for anything is pointless once there is agreement that the caliber itself is adequate.

Complete penetration is complete penetration.

John