160gr bear claw and a 7mm-08 for elk out to 250yds good choice or not?.

Good choice. Now go run some hills.

Yeah, it should be fine at that range.

There are other fine bullets out there that will do the same job.

The key is Marksmanship.

Wish you luck
HD

TBBC's are my go to bullet on elk...like a stick of dynamite!

For Elk I'd prefer something more than a 7/08, but that's me.

Here's a 225gr TBBC out of a 338 Win Mag; found on the off-side of a 6x6 Oregon elk

You mean it didn't exit? The elk must not be dead!

Aha! Good point - you'll notice that he never claimed the elk was dead, just that the bullet was recovered from the off-side. Best, John

i too would prefer a bigger gun, just my preference. the tbbc is an excellent bullet for elk. my son in law has killed several with both 165 and 180s out of his 30-06.

Your 08 will do just fine. I personally would go with the 140gr TTSX. I am not a fan of large bullets for the 7mm08 but the TBBC is a good one. Many seem to think that a bigger rifle is better but if you shoot the 7mm08 the best and are confident with it then by all means you will have elk steaks!! HAPPY HUNTING

My friend Elk's sons have killed a number of elk with the 7mm-08, no losses, no problem. I do not have the same amount of experience with the 7mm-08, but have killed a lot of game with the 7x57 (same ballistics) including wildebeest, kudu and moose, also with no problem. The longest range had been around 250 yards on big stuff (have shot smaller animals to 400) but I have a hard time imagining any would have survived if shot at 300 or more. A hole through both lungs generally does it.

The 160 TBBC Federal factory load is my elk load in my 280.I've shot 2 with this load and they where DRT.I also shot one with a 165gr out of a 30-06 with the same results.If you recover one it will look just like the pictures in the above posts.Great bullet if it shoots good in your gun.

My comments refer to the older style bullet/cartridges which I laid in a large supply of. It is an amazing bullet. Relatively large wound channel,little bloodshot meat, excellent penetration and few bullet fragments. If they had been available a bit sooner I would likely not own a .338. They are that good.

A 7mm 160 gr will do fine, you might even consider a lighter bullet if it shoot better in your rifle [i.e. my FW does not shoot the 180 TBBC HE load well so I use 165's in it]

Having used Bearclaws in 30-06 165 gr standard velocity, 180 gr standard velocity and 180 grain HE as well as 180 gr handloads They are plenty for elk.

I have also used .338 225 gr Std Velocity, HE and handloads and .358 225 gr factory and handloads.

I have only kept one Bearclaw in an animal, a doe mule deer running for the border. It was poorly hit and quartering away. I didn't lead it enough and it started at the lower rear leg and ended up under the skin after smashing the off shoulder. It looked like the pictures.

The bulls I have shot all gave me recoverable bullets just under the skin on the far side, with one exception. A 6x6 I shot at 175 yards with a 180 grain partition and it happened to zip through the rib cage and lungs, not hitting anything other than soft tissue all the way through. I better go back and check on my others like MD said and ensure they are indeed, dead. For what its worth, the only bull that covered any distance was the one with the complete pass through...all the others were D.R.T.

If you can poke a hole in both lungs, he ain't gonna go far....its as simple as that.

Best of luck this year. I have to stay at home and repay college loans on the kids($$$$). Y'all kill a biggun.

30.06 310 yards. 165 TBBC recovered after breaking both shoulders on a 6 point rag bull.



BeanMan

BeanMan
Nice recovery.

Thanks for the picture.
HD

Haven't used the Bearclaw,but have used the Bitterroot,which served as Jack Carter's inspiration for development of the Bearclaw,and the Bitteroot is every bit as good,behaves in a similar fashion.Godogs and Dancing Bear are right as to type of bullet performance,wound channels, etc., IMHO,and I'd prefer either to the TSX,or any derivitive thereof.Swift Aframe is another real good one.

Don't know if they still make it,but it always struck me that the Federal HE 140 BearClaw for the 270 Win may have been the very best factory load ever produced for the cartridge,for all-round use.

I guess they have gone to inserting the little plastic non-sense in the new TBBC.More trendy silliness... good for varmint bullets but utterly irrelevant in a big game bullet,unless your bullets don't expand well;then it helps.

The Trophy Bonded are one of the best bullets available, IMHO. My buddy shoots them in his 7mm RM and has yet to recover a 160g.

Are the bear claws too tough for good expansion in deer?

Not that I have seen..I think they are a great choice just a little expensive!

I shoot the Federal 165gr TBBC in my 30.06, which now appears discontinued, dang it. Got full length penetration of an elk at about 275yds to opposite hide on one occasion, and the recovered bullet (which I somehow later lost) looked remarkably like the one above.

Great bullet for Elk, but just from what I read on the ballistics I would want at least 280/284 case capacity for a bullet of that weight. I would go with the 140gr TSX myself in the 7-08. I know the mauser got it done for years, but it has more room to work with than the -08 at higher pressures.
But then again barrels differ greatly. What kind of velocity are you getting?

Not in the ones my buddy has shot.

For what it's worth, my spent bullet shown above busted the front shoulder, quartering on, and was recovered in the dern pelvic canal right next to the bladder! Now thats some kind of penetration!
Straydog, The first time I used TBBC's on an elk hunt, I came home afterward with about 15 rounds left over in my 300 Jarrett. I used them for deer that fall, culling does mostly, with a couple of nice bucks thrown in...basically, they were indeed, a little too tough. I had complete penetration on each deer, with the impression (my impression only..I could be wrong) that the bullet had not began expanding, or had not fully expanded, by the time it exited. I had to blood trail many of them...really just about all of them. One of the bucks was taken through both shoulders and I had to chase him forever. These were 30 cal, 180 grain bullets. Just my opinion, but they were a little stout for whitetails. Friends shooting a light for caliber TBBC in their 7/08's reported great results on whitetails though..so there ya go.

Now now, I wasn't putting down the 7/08 and I'm read of the Haviland family's exploits with the caliber as related in John's article on the cartridge and repeated here numerous times

That's my thought too....excellent bullet, just a tad expensive for me when plain old SP's have worked so well for me at much less cost.

I think they'd work fine on large mule deer and whitetails,but like most premiums, they'll work better the faster you hustle them.

I was at one of the local gun shops recently and think I remember seeing a box of 200 gr 30 cals,old style; I think unopened.Anybody wants them PM me and if I'm up that way,and they are still there, I'll grab them for you.Probably work REAL good for a 300 RUM at 3200 fps!

I agree with you there Bob, no doubts they'll do a great job. It's just hard for me to justify switching to them (and their cost) when SP's have worked so well for me on deer.

As a side note, anyone who doesn't load, Midway is having a clearance on the Federal 140 grn TBBC's in 270 Win:

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=498254&t=11082005

Sportsmans Whorehouse in GJ was selling their last few boxes of Federal HE 165 grain TBBC last fall for $20 a box on a closeout. I bought the last five boxes they had.

Bean

Thanks for the input. I agree with BobinNH comment about fast premiums, the faster 165 Bearclaw may be better for an Elk/Deer combo.

The 165 gr TBBC load in the 30-06 is a good one and then some, shot nothing but in my limited shooting of a 30-06. My guess with the new generation of TBBC Federal is now making in a year or two their will be a new 165 gr TBBC loading for the 30-06. I been thinking about adding a 30-06 barrel to my R-93 Blaser. For the question asked, yep it will be fine in the 7mm-08, then again any good bullet out of that cartridge, from 140 gr on up will work just fine. I think a 140 gr Nosler Partition would be just the ticket in the 7mm 08 / 7mm x 57. Don't over look 160gr Nosler Partitions or Speer SP's if you handload. If Barne's X's shoot for you in your rifle a 120 to 140 gr bullet will be all you need.

Your'e welcome StrayDog....I'll bet the 165's would be a good deer bullet....I will stick with my lifetime supply of old recipie 180's for my elk though. My 7/08 buddy that was having so much luck with his TBBC's on deer was shooting 120 grain bullets if I am not mistaken....all I remember was that they were not the usual 140's...and they were like a stick of dynamite on deer.

Good choice

M1: I understand....no need to go crazy with real expensive bullets for deer hunting.I have alot of premiums and use them,but mostly I just stick in a Partition and stuff just rolls over....

That said.....my order of 130 Swift Aframes for the 270 just arrived....

Recently saw a video on a moose shot with a 7mm-08 and a 160 TBBC

I will look as soon as I post, and send it your way action!

Saw it on a different forum on if the TBBC was a good moose bullet.

Needless to say it was a double shoulder shot and the big racked fellow slumped a bit and tipped over with a single shot.

FMP

FMP, I would love to see that video, cant wait to see you post it.

I love the TBBC for a all-around hunting bullet. I have only used them in a .35 Whelen in the form of factory ammo, but have taken over 10 animals with that bullet and cartridge, ranging from steinbuck to eland and moose with great performance each time. I shoot and load a 7mm-08, and my only thought might be to use the 140 gr. weight, saving the 160 for the .280 case size and upward.

In regards to whether it is too tough for deer--my only experience was on a good sized Mulie a couple of years ago. Initial shot was at 260yds with complete penetration. I had to give him "coup de grace" at about 30yds--penciled right thru him with exit hole same as entrance. Didn't particularly like that, but the initial shot at distance worked well--Bill

I'm not sure which of the Bearclaws you were using. My experiences have been quite different. I have used them in two '06's and my .338. I haven't shot a deer with a 225 TBBC in the 35 Whelen yet. I don't have much doubt it will work though.

With a 165 standard velocity I shot a coyote running away at a quartering angle. He was hit just in front of the LR leg and out the ribs a few inches behind the right shoulder. 4 in exit wound.

With a 180 Bearclaw HE load shooting down on a blacktail buck in a clearcut. It broke the spine and angled out through it's right shoulder. Excellent expansion, No bullet chips to speak of lungs full of blood.

A 225 Bearclaw HE at 240 ranged yards on a Mulie Doe. Through LF shoulder and out mid ribs. Humped up, trotted twenty yards +- and keeled over.

Next to and in some ways,equal to the 130 grain Nosler out of the .270 Winchester,it is a great bullet for Elk and I would not hesitate to use it Elk hunting again in the 270.

Don't get much better than the TBBC on Elk although I am a Nosler guy.

Jayco

The TBBC is an excellent Elk bullet. I used a 165gr TBBC out of my 06 last year on a cow elk. I broke one shoulder,it made soup of everything inside,broke a rib as it exited and was sitting in the bark of a tree on the other side. It was a perfect mushroom and weighed close to 160gr.

Shot a cow a few years ago with a 35 Whelen slinging 225gr TBC's. She went down real quick.