Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting 7mm08 and Elk

Hmmm ... There's what worked for someone once, then there's what you can count on. Not always the same. I tend towards the conservative side, even "overkill", 'cause tracking down "underkill" and packing it back up out of a canyon sucks.

Tom

Wow, lots of advice from a bunch of "elk hunters" that havent shot many elk...or a 7-08.

I've seen several killed the last few years with the 7-08 and 140 accubonds from 2 different rifles...one has a MV of 2910, the other 2870.

My wife shot this bull at 202 yards, broadside. The bull slowly turned at the shot, then stumbled about 30 feet downhill and flopped over dead.



I was impressed enough with the 7-08 I built one last year and got to test it out a bit.

I shot these 2 elk in about 60 seconds. Shot this cow first at 130-140 yards broadside. She kicked and ran about 20 yards and died.



This bull stepped out when I shot the cow, and I thought about it for a minute before I shot him at 170 yards, hard quartering away. He slumped at the shot and made it about 30 yards into the timber and died.



Next I headed to Montana to hunt with my Dad and Brother. My Dad was interested in my 7-08, so shot this cow at 230 yards quartering slightly away. Made it a whopping 25 yards before hitting rubber legs street and dropped.



My Brother took this 6 point bull the following day at 487 yards, again quartering away. Found the bullet, a 140 grain accubond (only one I've found so far), on the point of the off shoulder. The bull made it a whopping 25 yards.



Heres the recovered bullet:



Finally, I was whitetail deer hunting in Western Montana and bumped into 2 bulls. I hated to waste a day of deer hunting, but took this bull with a hard quartering toward shot at 70 yards, hitting the point of the on side shoulder. The bull left a massive blood trail and I found him about 15 yards from where I shot him.

[img]http://photos.imageevent.com/buzzandpat/elkhunting/websize/DSC00160.JPG[/img]

My conclusion is that the 7-08 is a very capable choice for elk.

I've killed many elk with the 30/06 and 338 and they work great as well. But, for those thinking the 7-08 is marginal for elk, you need to take perfect shots, you have to be within 200 yards, etc. demonstrates to me that they havent seen it used much on elk.

I'm sure some will still argue all day long about how marginal the 7-08 is for elk...

Carry on.

I am very intrigued by the 7MM-08 Rem......

I firmly believe that the 7MM-08 Rem is be best big game cartridge to come down the pike since the .280 Rem.

Classic.

This thread was an entertaining read, until the bullshit about only guys who can't shoot can't shoot magnums well. Some of you need to read what you've written to see if you actually agree with it.

Show some pix of your skills, soozy..

I'm glad I'm able to teach you something; otherwise all you'd know is ATV elk hunting with a .300 Rem Ultra that compensates for your lack of hunting skills.

HuntnShoot,

It's not about shooting magnums well. It's about utility of magnums.

I'm good with what anyone wants to use. However, I have met very few hunters who have been able to shoot magnums well. I have seen hunters flinch like hell while sighting in .300 Win Mag from a bench. I'd bet that you have, too.

One of the best hunters I knew used a custom made .243 Win. He shot a crow out of the air with it. He was probably the be natural shot I knew. While he had other guns, he hunted only with his custom .243 Win. On one deer hunt, he brought only 3 cartridges with him.

People buy magnums for a lot of reasons. But they will not kill any deader than a 7MM-08 Rem provided bullets from either stop oxygenated blood flow to a animal's brain. When that happens, animals WILL die. Biology, not bullets, is controlling.

The absolutely most miserable rifle I have ever fired, and I have fired more that a few magnums, was a .45/70 Guide Gun with max hand loads and 400 grain Speer bullets. I have a feeling that three shots from that gun will have you rethinking big guns in a hurry.