Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting ??? for BobinNH Opinions on 7 mm 140 Swift A frame for elk

Bob, I'm taking my son elk hunting this fall. He has a 7mm STW. I know you have lots of expierence with the big 7s on game and I don't. His rile shoots a 140 Swift A frame extremly well. What are your thoughts on that bullet for elk. others who have expierence with this bullet feel free to chime in. Thanks, 163bc

163bc:The answer is "no", I have never used the Swift Aframe on anything because I have Bitterroots in 7mm 140 and have used them,on mule deer, whitetails black bear, antelope and elk.Mostly the BBC's (which Aframes were made to emulate although construction is slightly different) will come through an encounter with any of them expanded to .60-.65 caliber,and retain about 90%+ weight retention.

Based on what I know of the Swift AF,they are similar. I would not hesitate to use them on elk, or much of anything else for that matter.

Hope this helps

Thanks Bob. I know you are a 7mm fan and have used them a bunch. I've always sort of gravitated towards the 30 cal for elk and so I have only taken 1 elk (well over 20 years ago) with a 7mm. My sons 7STW shoots those 140 SAF into tiny little groups and he shoots it well !!

140's give me the heebie-jeebies a bit on elk but that's just me being over-cautious I guess. Heavier-for-caliber bullets usually float my personal boat. But, as they say, don't cry over spilt boats, every boat is an island, and all that.

Without even checking I can promise that that A-frame has a cruddy BC. If your son is using the light bullet so that he can "shoot flat out to way out there!" it MIGHT be worth some ballistics gack. Again,

I've not used the 140 SAF but if it works as well as the 139 Horn flat base then I'd say he's Golden..

Dober

Ok, I checked. BC is .335. Awful.

Giving the 140 Aframe 3300 fps and a 160 Accubond 3100 fps, the Accubond actually shoots FLATTER out past 400 yds or so, and the difference up till then is tiny. And the AB totally kills the Swift for wind drift.

IF your son intends to shoot very far with his STW, and I mention this just because that's sort of the whole point of an STW for most folks, the 140 Aframe is actually a poor choice.

I'll put up one of my much-maligned ballistic charts if you'd like to see it graphically illustrated.

I offer this in the spirit of friendly conversation and me ass-u-ming that he has some longer-reach aspirations might be totally wrong.

Going retro here but if the fella went with the old 3" high @ 100 he'd be right on @ 300, then 8" down @ 400 and 23" down @ 500. This is @ 45 degree and 7500'.

Pretty easy to sort on an elk. It's the way I did it for years pre dotz.

Dober

Jeff if I had not killed so much stuff out to 400 yards or so with those awful Bitterroots and their lousy BC numbers... I would sit here and agree with your contentions, entirely.

But I have seen too much stuff have their legs jerked out by those "Low BC" bullets (as in crunch ),that I don't give it a second thought....I just load them up and go hunting...

Of course this is entirely for fun conversation,I agree...

BTW, what is the BC of the AB if the tip busts off in the magazine....

Only kidding, only kiddding.......!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dober spot on....took the words right outta me mouth.....

Those numbers are not far off back here a bit above sea level....as I have shot many times at range to confirm...

He won't have ANY problems at all from any angle. That is a tough bullet to say the least. I have killed a pile of elk with 140 ballistic tips and they work well. So Jeff, bullet weight doens't mean squat under 400 yards Put the bullet where he lives and it will be rainbows and unicorns. Flinch

Or just add dotz and rock on!

Dober

I suppose a long shot is always a possibility but my son and I both will be working hard to get close. 300 yds & closer is my comfort level but I've hunted elk enough to know it can stretch out farther sometimes. Son & I are gonna be shooting a bunch of the 140 SAF and some 160 Partitions at 300 + yard targets soon and see how things stack up. He has used the 140 SAF outta his STW for a bunch of whitetail and mule deer and they are real thumpers!!! Thanks for all the feedback. Sam

....you and your polka dot hunting outfit...sheesh Flinch

Gaa!! I'm surrounded!

Obviously, since the two bullets I mentioned shoot essentially equally flat out to 400 before the Accubond runs away, a person could also sight in 3" high at 100 yds with the AB and have everything the 140 Swift is giving them... so there's really no advantage there.

Let me put it this way. I was shooting bullets with a BC around that of the Swift, at a speed about what the STW would do, just the other day from my new .223. Conditions were fairly blustery but nothing crazy. I was also shooting my other rifles, running much higher-BC bullets at speeds from 2800 fps to 2950 fps.

With the .223 I was screwed past about 300 yards. The wind was just blowing things around too much to get reliable hits.

With my other rifles I was doing fine out to 460 yards, and ok at 500 yds.

So... if a guy wants to take a bitchin' "wind drill" like a STW COULD be, and turn it into something that's pretty severely handicapped if it's breezy, I suppose that's their business. But I'd like them to at least be aware of what they are accepting, you know?

Again just talkin' here, not trying to kick anyone's dog. Rancho will show up soon enough and that'll be the end anyway... grin...

Course one slight advantage is the SAF's the bullet he's choosing to use..

Dober

Elk will be no match against a 140 gr Aframe, even at the velocity the 7 STW is capable of driving them they will hold together and penetrate, I have only used 30 cal 200 grainers on deer but you will not be disapointed!

I will say, Dober convinced me and I am getting to 600 rather easily with the Mashburn,160-175 gr,and the 6x36 with the Dotz.

But I have only killed elk to 450-500 or so with the old retro system....so I am not too worried.

I think Sam's boy will be fine. He has a good teacher.

Dotz do rule and make life oh so easy...grin

Dober

In need of some education on "dotz". Are you talking about additional load specific aiming points added aftermarket by Leupold Custom Shop, Premier Reticle, etc. or mil dot scopes?

Thanks!

Jeff,
BC and other numbers do not kill elk. I have shot a bunch of african plains game with a 270 Win and 130 Swift's both Scirroco and A-frame. They will knock the life out of eland, wildebeast, gemsbuck, etc so I am certain the 7mm 140 AF's will kill elk provided one can hunt and shoot. Unfortunatly these skills are not learned on the internet or from reading gack on posts. I have shot the 140 BBC's out of a 280 and a 7RM and they produced the same outcome.