Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting 7mm08 bullet selection

What would be your bullet selection for elk for a 24 inch barrel 7mm08?

150GR Nosler Partition

Anything premium/bonded/mono from 120-150 gr that your gun shoots well. Standard cup and core will obviously kill an elk as well, but by going to a more engineered bullet I can go down a bit in weight and gain some velocity. From a 24" barrel you ought to be able to get around 3100 fps out of the 120 gr Barnes TTSX which I know first hand will kill an elk just right now. By contrast a 150 gr bullet would be going around 2800 fps.

Thanks I haven't thought of that one.

So a 140ttsx at 2850 would be a good selection?

I wouldn't care for a mono bullet in a 7MM-08. Still feel they are more for the RUMs of the gun world than the slower calibers. In my 18" barreled Ruger, I load 140 grain Partitions to almost 2800 fps using H4350 or Big Game.

Yes, and the 120 TTSX at 3000+ may be even better.

What Jordan said.

I watched my 12 yo son dump the biggest cow you've ever seen in your life with a 120 TTSX at 3000 out of a little Model 7.

Dave

You can see the entrance wound right on the "point" of the shoulder. It punched through that shoulder like it wasn't there and kept on trucking out the other side.



There isn't an elk walking that wouldn't fall to a well-placed 120 TTSX from a 7-08.

Dave

That's an awesome pic.

Thanks man. He's a little older (15 now), and a little more seasoned. He hunted his tail off for that first cow though, and it was one of the greatest moments of my life to share the moment with him.

This one from last year didn't suck either, though I wish he would have smiled more instead of trying to look like a tough guy. The boy has endured some suffering to learn how to hunt the "right" way, but its also paid some dividends for him along the way for sure.



For the record, while the 120 TTSX didn't account for this bull, it turned out the lights on several other elk and deer along the way.

Dave

140 accubond, 120/140 TTSX, 140 partition

140 or 160 NAB, 140, 150, or 160 NP, or 140, 150, 160 NBT.

Me, I’ve only used the 150 NBT. The 150 NP would be my first choice.

A 120 TTSX worked for these two this year. It went through both shoulders of the cow.

Mine would be the TTSX, either weight. I assume sub-400 yard shots?

120 BT or 140 NP

140 accubond or partition would be my pick. It looks like I might need to give those 120 ttsx a go. Those are some impressive results

140 Partition and forget about it.

Yes 300 yards or less. Sounds like the partition would be a good choice. I may even use a 140 partition in my Swede.

Oh boy! I load for 4 7mm-08s, all Tikkas, all stainless T3s. Two are Superlites. 22 1/2" barrels. Photobucket won't let me post pics and the Fire doesn't use Tapatalk so I can't include pics.

All loads safe in my rifles, not yours, start low and work up.

First, get some Big Game, and get more than you think you'll need. Get some Winchester Large Rifle Magnum primers, too. All my recipes use them.

150 ELDX
46.2 gr Big Game
2.156" from the ogive, right about 2.821" overall
2790 fps and half minute or so. This load killed 3 of our 5 bucks this year, fork, 3x3, 4x3. Nothing needed a second shot and the farthest recovery was 30 yards. My nephew used this load on a 6x5 bull at 407 yards.

140 Accubond
47.5 gr Big Game
2.229" from the ogive, right at 2.806" overall
2850, again half minute or so. One of our bucks this year, neck shot, DRT. My dad also used this load two years ago on a big 5x5 bull, 225 yards, one shot above the heart, 30 yard recovery. I shot an antelope buck in 2014 with this load, 303 yards, DRT and exit. There have been others.

140 Partition
47.5 gr Big Game
2.262" from the ogive, right at 2.806" overall. This was my pet load until the ELDX shot so well in a different rifle I just had to try it.
2875, cloverleaf. Killed a 4x4 bull a few years ago, close shot so no test, DRT. Shot a spike bull a couple of years ago at 346 yards, DRT and exit. Killed a big bodied fork last year at 541 yards, DRT and exit. There have been others.

I tried the 120 Ballistic Tips and they shot very well at 3126 fps. 2.231" from the ogive, 2.803" overall, 51.5 gr Big Game. Used this bullet with a reduced recoil load for my boy, 2600 fps or so, mature blacktail buck, DRT and exit but a surprising amount of bloodshot. Keep us posted on your results.





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