Dang! Nice one, rifle and buck

Bammm....nice rack, was he feeding?
Got anymore picks of him/ rack.

What part of Tn.?

Great deer and rifle - congrats!

Wow!

That is one Beautiful Rifle and one Very Nice Buck!! Congrats!!

You can say that again. Fantastic!

Outstanding looking buck and rifle.

Wait a minute, I thought the -08 was only for wimmin and kids?




P

I’m not sure what’s prettier the rifle or the rack!?

Well done sir! Please post more pics and a story!

Nice all away around. Congrats.

Nice deer. That rifle is gorgeous. What’s the back story on the rifle?

Naw! it's been my go to rifle this year...accounted for two bucks. Those 120 BT are nasty on deer.

very nice,congrats , also nice to see a great looking wood stock. Pete53

That is an awesome buck! That rifle stock is absolutely beautiful!

Ron

The buck is a mainframe 11 with 3 additional "scorable" points on the brows. 24.5" beams, 18" inside spread, 5.5" bases. He weighed 225lbs.
I caught him cruising the woods, checking does at about 4:30 yesterday evening. Really nothing extraordinary about the endeavor other than the deer. It was slightly sleeting and spitting rain, the bucks were fired up. The shot was just a touch over 100 yards. He died where the bullet hit him with a high shoulder shot intended to anchor him.

The load is 46.5gn Big Game, WLRM primers, 140gn Nosler Partition.

The rifle is special in many ways. It is intended to be an heirloom piece for my children/ future grandchildren. I hunt with it like all my other rifles short of a rainstorm but I don't really hunt in those anyway... I want the rifle to gain character.

Full custom on a 5 digit NH Classic Win Mod 70, originally a featherweight 7mm-08 factory chambering. I purchased the rifle used from Cabelas in Denver in excellent condition while elk hunting several years back. Blasphemy to some but I wanted a short action high grade, custom Winchester in 7mm-08 so I broke it down and sold the parts.

The custom work is as follows:
1. Full Blueprint, sleeved bolt, etc. by the late Robert Gradous before he passed. Robert hated a Winchester Model 70s and lovingly bitched about it the whole time he had it. Impeccable work...
2. Since Robert passed, Moon at Crescent Customs took over and handled the chambering. Bartlein #1 Win featherweight, standard SAAMI for standard cup and core. Bartlein 5R Barrel. Impeccable work.
3. Woodwork, trigger swoop, and bluing by the great Jeff Tapp, Gunmakers Guild Member and a genuinely fantastic guy all around. I purchased the walnut blank at the DSC show a few years back. Impeccable work.
4. Custom bolt handle and 3 panel checkering by Steve Heilman, one of, if not the best out there. He took pity on me for begging and took a small project he otherwise wouldn't take. Impeccable work.
4. Engraved Blackburn bottom metal, case colored cocking piece and scope bases by Talley. I will have to pull pictures of the checkering and engraving as it is fantastic. Engraver will remain unnamed. Impeccable Work.

Great buck. Congrats.

Nice! and with a 7mm08, all the better.

Very nice rifle and Buck!!

Both are awesome, Congrats!!

thanks for sharing,, beautiful animal taken with a classy rifle...

Which scope is that?

Fantastic buck once you get to looking at it, but you putting that rifle front and center in the picture upstages a super nice buck if that's possible. Very nice on both!

Gorgeous Rifle.

Z3 3-10x42 BRH.

Beautiful rifle and a beautiful buck. Congrats!

Wowza! That is a damn nice buck!

That's pretty nice. I could hunt deer with a beautiful rifle like that.

Very nice rifle and Buck!

The rifle caught my eye before the buck. Nice deer and rifle. Talk about coming down to the wire in TN.

+1!

+2


OUTSTANDING!

Great buck and a beautiful rifle.

Congratulations on both.

Frank

Super pics in both the rifle and buck departments!

....wow.... don't know what I'm more jealous over the rifle or the rack

Like everyone here, beautiful buck and a gorgeous rifle!

Hard to beat the beauty of a Walnut stock, would you mind sharing what kind of finish is on your stock?

You can't get a nicer Heirloom piece than that!

Ditto on what killer bee said congrats on both..mb

So you baited him in! One glance at the rifle and he had to come get a closer look.. 😃

Great stuff man!

Very nice buck and a beauty of a rifle too.

Absolutely beautiful buck and rifle both!

The 7-08 is an excellent cartridge. Not as popular as it should be, but it's basically a modernized version of the classic 7X57. Loaded to the same pressures in the same length barrels and firing the same weight of bullets there is virtually no difference at all between the 2.
I have made many 7-08s and also quite a few 7X57s. I owned and used a 7X57 for many years myself and killed game from coyotes to bull elk with it and never saw a thing to complain about.
That deer will be one to be remembered by your kids and grand kids, and when you grand kids have kids that rifle will still be an outstanding tool for the field anywhere it's taken.

Beautiful buck and rifle! Congrats. Your build came out excellent and it’s cool to see them sorta builds out in the field!

What part of Tennessee? Just curious as I'm in east Tennessee and not seeing much rut activity this late.

I couldn't have said it any better. +3

This buck as taken on my property in Mississippi.
We tend to have an early, aggressive rut generally around 12/10 and then a second, less intense rut but sustained rut phase for a couple weeks in January before the buck generally feed.

We manage accordingly and have an excellent doe/buck ratio. It's a special place.

Beautiful rifle and great deer.....congrats!

TOAD!

Awesomeness

Very good photo! Rifle looks to be stocked in English with an oil finish. I like the recoil pad. Interested to know what the rifle weighs with scope. Under 8.5 lbs ?

Congrats on a great deer and gorgeous rifle.

The stock is English Walnut with hand rubbed oil finish.

By memory, the rifle weighs a touch over 7.25lbs sans the sling and balances as expected. It is trim. Phenomenal rifle.

Well, that is a Stellar oil finish! I am in the process of refinishing my French Walnut stock, which is why I asked, do you know if he used Pure Tung Oil and was the oil finish, waxed as the last step?

Pilkingtons oil.
Waxed finish.

Superb!

Beautiful Rifle!

225#, that is a really big Tennessee deer.
West Tennessee?

Nice buck

Nicer rifle.

-Jake

MS Delta

Great story on the rifle. That’s a heck of a deer but rifle is a work of art.

That's a work of art not just a rifle !

Heckuva nice deer too, congrats !

Wow and wow ! Not sure which one I rather have, the rifle or the buck……made up my mind the rifle ! Congratulations on two beautiful trophies.

Dressed 225?
Need additional pics of rifle please.

Awesome Buck!!! Nice rifle. My son, 17, hunts with the 7mm-08. The 5 deer he has shot with his have either dropped right there or ran less than 20 yards. One heck of a round IMO.

Superb, both rifle and deer!

Thanks for sharing.

Awesome deer and awesome rifle.

Nice buck and a gorgeous rifle. Congrats!

hey!!! you aren't supposed to shoot any deer with that caliber!!! do you know that you need a 369 Super-duper Magnumitis shooting a 195gr Remchester Copper with a Ballistic Tip? anything less will bounce off.

great deer and shooting!!!!

i have three Remington m7 (18.5" barrel) in 7-08. my dad (RIP) shot a nice 8 pt (guesstimate 220lbs) with it. i and my youngest son have put many deer in the freezer with that cartridge. we shoot a 139gr Hornady FN (discontinued) and IMR4320 (discontinued). my oldest son and i have a 7x57 (i own 3, my son owns 1 custom rifle) and they shoot a 139gr Hornady FN with IMR4350. i have about 150+ bullets (139gr FN) left and when that is done, i'll will probably use 140gr Hornady SST.

Lordy, what a deer. Lordy, what a fine rifle. You have extremely good taste. I also have the good taste but not the funds for such a fine piece of art in both metal and wood.

Perfect deer for a perfect rifle. Well done…..with both

Wow