Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting 7mm08 and Elk

What was the 'point'? I don't get it.....

Why someone would shoot an elk in the arse is beyond me. Too much good eating wasted.

Well Kevin and huntsman. Many of the seasons where I typically hunt are short, and you are lucky to get one shot at an animal in several years. Most will not pass no matter what cartridge they are shooting, or the shot presented. So the point is to bring enough gun to the table,to get the job done, and put the animal down, rather than risk a wounded animal, getting away. Rather than planning to "only" take the perfect shot.

You must be very old.

You now have enough bullets to make a necklace. You can wear it while making your magnum pitchman speeches to the un-washed. Just finger it every once in a while, to really drive those ol' 'points' home....

OR should be, to learn how to fugging shoot?......

HAH!

Funny how a hard 7mm bullet can destroy front shoulders causing DRTs... but them rear shoulders are tougher...

Kent

Jeff?

ETA- does blue tape on the muzzle hinder one's chances of getting a good ass shot?

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After using my keen 'Sherlock Holmes-like' powers off deduce-ability, think it is only obvious that somewhere up in elkmens country there is a wimmin or chillun running around in the woods with a 243/6mm with a cartridge capacity of three, that likes to shoot critters in the azz. And then they like to herd them over the hill to dad and them, so they can blast away once every few years with the ol' magnums and get some meat. And souveniers to make necklaces outta, to boot. Since everyone knows, that 243/6mm is only fit for girls and kids, tell me that I'm wrong here.......

Bingo!

I want to know if those bullets were sent to forensics to determine if they came from the same gun.

Kent

The old man isn't saying you can't kill elk with 243's, and since he probably hunts a few states every Fall for elk, he is able to see more elk than the average guy that gets to hunt one season in one state. I am pretty sure shot placement trumps caliber everytime along with bringing the right bullet to task. You can't really hammer on a guy that has taken a ton of elk. I don't believe anybody ever looks for a rear end shot, but I think they happen. Not many will post they have made a crap shot, but a bad shot is bad no matter how it happens, but I'd rather have that shot that blows thru the animal, leaving blood on the ground to end the rodeo as fast as possible.

Either way, since I have been a Marine, it has been a free country, so we get to pick what we want to hunt elk with. Again, we won't change anybodys opinion on this here Google box, but it is an opinion and I can't see how he would be wrong recommending a larger caliber for elk if your able to shoot it well.

The reality is few carry and shoot a magnum well, and that's why nonmagnums far outnumber them in elk killed every year.

This thread is about the 7mm08... and inevitably it's compared to a 338 by magnum shooters thinking they know how to kill better than others because of their 338.

That's ignorant.

Kent

"That's ignorant.", I agree.

"shot placement trumps caliber every time", I also agree.

If the old 30/30 and its black powder predecessors can do it, a 7-08 sure can.

I think those who used the 30/30, etc. 80 plus years ago weren't ignorant enough to think you can buy hunting skill with a bigger gun or any other hunting tool. One of the farces that our prosperous society seems to have a lot of is that of buying yourself into being a better person...and I'm not just talking guns.

Older Brother once bet a 160g Grand Slam from my 7mm RM wouldn't go through the center of a pine tree about a foot in diameter. He lost...

Shot my first elk in 1961. Between myself, my dad and a couple of other part time hunters, we have accounted for well over a 100 elk kills in 4 states. About a third or so of these with non-magnums. From up close in the dark timber to out over 500 yards. Adding a 150 or so deer to that, gives one a pretty good data base, don't you think? I will continue to post as my experience in the field dictates.

KRP
Actually Wayne Van Zwoll has done a little research on popular elk calibers. At RMEF gatherings he has in the past handed out forms and gathered cartridge sales data, from the manufactures. The last time I chatted with him (4) years back his data showed that the most popular elk cartridge was the 30:06 a close second and third were the 300 WM and the 7 mm Mag. Whether or not this is still the case I am not sure, but it is interesting info !

I disagree. Guys that don't shoot magnums well don't shoot standard cartridges well either.

There is no secret to shooting a magnum well. To shoot a magnum well you have to "want to" and burn powder. The same as any standard cartridge.

Dink

I agree to an extent. It depends on whether or not the guy doesn't shoot well because he just doesn't shoot well, or if he is being distracted by the recoil of the rifle he's shooting.

For example, I've seen guys that shoot a .243 a lot better than they shoot a 7mm Rem Mag, but that's because they have no mental distractions or fear of recoil from the .243, like they do the 7RM.

But if we're talking about two cartridges that recoil very similarly, like a .30-06 and a 7mm Rem Mag, then if you can't shoot one, you won't be able to shoot the other, either.