Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting 7mm08 and Elk

I was not really talking about bullet diameter, Rancho, I was mainly talking about energy. You know, mass multiplied by the square of the speed.

Prairie Goat, what neither you nor Ranco seems to realize is that I am not try to knock either of the 7mms I previously mentioned. I love them both and think they are fantastic wonderful rounds and, as I have said before, know that they'll drop elk. And to be entirely honest, I have seen little to no evidence that a 308 or 270 drops elk any better than either of the 7mms mentioned. Yes I've seen messed kills with all of them, probably the most with the 7mm08, but that could be from any number of variables. But as I said before, I am overly cautious and paranoid when it comes to my ammunition and I simply have set some limits. Is that really such a sin?

Thought my 7mm08 was too much gun....

So I took the 243ai.

Oh well.

Say what you will Rancho, I don't care what your opinions about my opinions are. But to clarify myself, I did not say that a 7mm08 could not kill elk at longer distances. I've heard of and seen people drop elk and moose at much longer distances than 200 yards with this round. But the reason for my opinion is this; I am extremely respectful of the animals I hunt, and therefore I am extremely (you may even say overly) cautious about the shot I take and the rounds and types of bullets I use. There are two reasons I hunt. The first reason is so that I my eat meat from an animal that lived the way an animal should live, ate what an animal should eat, and died as quick, fear free, and pain free a death as could possibly provide, instead of waiting in terror at a slaughter house. The second reason is so that proper populations can be maintained so that they can continue living proper and healthy lives. And out of my respect of these animals and my striving to provide them with clean and proper deaths, I simply refuse to hunt animals the size of elk or larger with any thing smaller than a .308 or .270, not that a smaller round like the 7mm08 or 7x57 Mauser won't get the job done properly, especially with premium ammunition, but I just like to be absolutely confident that what I am shooting will provide the clean and quick kills I desire. Call me paranoid if you like, because I probably am. I also refuse, no matter how large my gun is, to take a shot unless I know I can make it and like to keep my shots at as short distances as possible. If I have doubts or worries as to whether I can make that shot or not then I will simply not take it. Now if you see my reasons to be absurd, dumb, badly thought out, or lacking, then feel free to insult, criticize or demean. Because I really don't give a d@mn.

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.

It would be difficult to choose four cartridges more similar in general performance on big game than the .270 Winchester, 7mm-08 Remington, 7x57 Mauser and .308 Winchester.

Last I heard, a few years ago, my friend John Haviland's sons had killed over 30 elk with the 7mm-08, using various bullets in the 140-grain class, at ranges out to 400 yards. They've never had a problem, and the elk include everything from cows to mature bulls.

Debating the use of the 7mm-08 on elk is a lot like debating the use of the .270. Somebody I know who's killed a similar number of elk (including some big bulls) with the .270 once said: "If you can shoot, the .270 is an elk rifle. If you can't, it isn't."

The same applies to the 7mm-08.

Last I heard, a few years ago, my friend John Haviland's sons had killed over 30 elk with the 7mm-08, using various bullets in the 140-grain class, at ranges out to 400 yards. They've never had a problem, and the elk include everything from cows to mature bulls.

To be honest I can't tell you the 338 Win Mag has any better record with me than the .270....