Tikka T3 Lite 7mm-08 Rem/Nikon Monarch 2.5-10x42mm BDC
140gr Nosler Accubond/42gr Varget
Colorado 1st Rifle Season @ 255 yards - 15 yard recovery

Not much to the story - found a spot on public land that was a little harder to get to than most, hiked in before daylight opening day, glassed him up right at legal shooting light, and shot him about an hour later. Third elk with this rifle and load, 1st bull.

Cool!

Nice..Congrats

Thanks guys - I'm very pleased, all the way around!

Congrats! Damn nice bull.

Sweeeett.... Congrats!

Real nice bull. I blew my chance on Tuesday morning for a pic like that. Really pretty rack on that one, like the ivory tips.

Too cool! Great all around chambering!

Very Nice, Congrats

Awesome! The little 7-08 CAN kill an elk!

Great job.

Nice....got him down in the oakbrush I see.



Casey

Congrats! Way to get it done!

Great job......congrats!

Good one

Congrats on a nice bull!

Good to know his testosterone doesn't make him bulletproof!

Seriously great bull and nice consistent rifle! That sure provides a boost in confidence, eh?

Beautiful. Amazing Thanks.

Nice bull.

What a great looking bull!

Congratulations. That's how it's done.

Congratulations on the bull.

Very nice! Congratulations!

EXCELLENT! I love the 7mm-08. it's almost a disappointment that so much can be taken from a ho-hum caliber with so litle recoil.

well done, sir.

Really a nice looking bull - congrats on your success!

It's hard to tell from your picture: does the elk have a smirk on his face, from your daring to use so ineffective a cartridge?

Great work!

FC

Congrats! And the accubonds worked too! Imagine that!

Hard to argue with that. Nice bull.

Sweeeet!

Congrats on a NICE bull and your hunting short story. Couldn't have had a better ending!

Congrats

BP--did the Accubond exit?

I'd be very happy with a bull like that. I'd say you did very well.

Congrats on the nice bull! He looks like a healthy dude.

Did the bullet exit? Shot placement?

Yeah man, very nice bull, congrats. Share a little more details - mv, shot location, any bone hit, exit!

Great cartridge ain't it?

That's a nice bull! Love the white tips on thise antlers. Amazing what can be done with the wee little 7-08......LOVE that cartridge. The magnum shooters will cringe!

Who would have thunk it, a little 7-08 with a 140 Accubomb.

Excellent bull, I do love the 7-08 and stories like this just make it better

Very nice! Congratulations!

Awesome bull!!!

Me likey !

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Totally awesome ! Congrats on a great bull !

I like it !

Thanks again for the comments - I hit him twice at a quartering to angle (I hid the entrance wounds under the rifle in the pic). The entrance wounds are about 1-1/2" apart and two exits about 6" apart. On the three different elk, all 5 Accubonds have passed through (255, 330, and 435 yards).

Thanks!

Hard to beat that!

Congrats, well done, on a side note, I took a large cow elk at 220 yards, with a 260 Remington, loaded with a 120 gr TTST and Hunter at the max load. Shot her in the chest looking towards me, she dropped immediately.

I shoot a 140 grain Partition from my Tikka 7mm-08 at a mv of 2870. What do you suppose your load clocks in at?

P

I've chronographed over 100 rounds and at "normal temperatures" it averages 2800fps. Its been as low as 2750's and as high as 2830's in a temperature range from 20F to 105F. I don't push for more since it's been a repeatable a sub-MOA load and it matches the BDC reticle perfectly out to 500.

AggieDog - I get the itch now and then for a 260, good to hear yours is working so well.

I havent chronyd mine yet, but Im shooting a Rem 700 CDL SF with a 24 inch barrel, 1:9 twist. Im thinking it's doing 2900 fps anyway.

Awesome pic and Congrats! What a beauty!

I'm working up a 140 grain Accubond load now for my T3 Lite SS, 47.5 grains Big Game, WLRM primer, single digit ES & SD, averages 2843 ft/sec. Sub MOA.

I'll have to try your Varget load.


P

This set up is working out well for me, and I've had good luck with 42gr Varget and 140gr Noslers in 2 different 7mm-08's now. It sounds like you've got a good thing going with your Big Game load but if you've got Varget to burn it's worth a try.

Here's a doe antelope and cow elk from 2012 and a muley from 2013 after my bull hunt, all with the Tikka 7mm08. The mushroomed bullet came from the buck and is the only bullet I've recovered out of 10 (weird, right?). The last pic is a bull my wife killed in 2005 with a Savage 7mm08 and 140gr Partitions at ~310 yards.

That bullet looks like it could be in an ad for Nosler. Accubond?

How about some details of the shot your wife made on that bull?



P

140 Accubond in that pic above. Nothing out of the ordinary on her bull - broadside off a good rest using a Nikon BDC reticle. Federal factory Partition load - a high shoulder shot dropped him in his tracks.

Federal lists 2800 ft/sec as the MV for that load. About right, I'd say!


P

Here's the target from 200 yards from my 140 Accubond load:



I'm ready.


P

Nice. Any reason you're using magnum primers? Just curious. I've used them for a .22-250 in the past, but haven't tried in the 7mm08.

I was advised that Big Game (and Hunter, too) powder often benefitted from a magnum primer.


P

Great thread. Working with the 140 and 7x57 right now. Giving me a ton of confidence in the combo! Way to go and great elk!

My dad (77 years old) killed this bull two weeks ago at 225 yards, one shot right above the heart, 140 Accubond from his stainless T3 in 7mm-08.





P

Thats about as good a pic I've seen in regards to color setting an such, all done in the field. Great bull and thanks for including us.

It is tough to get a good bull picture, particularly if you are by yourself. The last one I shot buried several tines in the dirt, and I could not even move the head by myself.



About the best I could do is choose an angle and lay my gun across it.



Yours is a great bull, and I am not at all surprised that the 7-08, combined with good placement of an adequate bullet, was up to the task.

Isn't it great when you get the opportunity to "return the favor" for your dad?

Nice work guys - these are good times to be an elk hunter - premium bullets, good rifles we can afford, and lots of opportunity to use them. Hopefully I'll have another cow to add in the next few weeks.

As are most sons, I'm way in the hole when it comes to returning favors to my dad. It was great to arrange the hunt and roll his cartridges.



P

Sounds about perfect !!

Love the 7mm-08.

Realized the same about my 280 after a 5 year killing stint with factory ammo 150 CoreLokt's. Totally negated "the need" for my Borden 300 WSM in process at the time.

Nice work! I love the 7-08 for the "one rifle for all NA game" cartridge.

Bruin point Congratulations on another fine elk!

We have used three 7-08 rifles to take elk and hope to take another cow this next week. All have fallen to a 140 Accubond with 42-42.5 grains of Varget. We love ours a lot and I have not seen a rifle yet that won't shoot accurately with Varget and an Accubond.