7-08 as a hunting cartridge

[bozo699]

45/Varget/RP partial sized cases, 700 factory chamber, TWO different rifles chopped at 21", safe in MY guns, 2900-2960 mv, 139/140gr.

I was able to get 45 grains of varget into a remington case today, 1/2 way up the neck I didn't fire it,I may work my wat up to that from 42.0 grains.
Wayne.

 

[BBTC48]

You may wanna limit the elk shot to a bit shorter range, but I know several hunters who regularly take their elk with 25-06 ! My clan's favorite for these chores are currently the 6.5x284 and the straight .284Win. The .284Win could be the better choice of a 7mm without going to a mag. Mags hurt to shoot...hell the '06 platform hurts me. I switched from lifelong .270 to 6.5x55 and now have a sweet shooter that is quite pleasant to shoot and a very capable caliber. The 7-08 will be more pleasant to shoot than either of the .06's mentioned...270 or .280 . All brands are available in S/S and in 7-08 so just getcha one and enjoy it BUT knoe the numbers and limitation including your own ability.

 

[necchi]

know the numbers and limitation including your own ability.

Exactly! ;D That's what makes any gun a 300-400 yard killing gun!!

 

[Vanguard]

I like the 120 gr bts for here in Texas.
With win 760 and 1.5 gr under published max loads I am getting a tad over 3100 fps through the chrony.
Its absolutely devastating on deer and hogs.
Been putting a friend on some hogs and hes shot 3 with not so good bullet placement, shot them all in the jaw, it blows all kinds of stuff out everywhere killing them instantly. One actually blew all of the lower neck out and down, split it 10" open from front jaw down to chest, this coming from a complete pass through the jaw.
This one I shot right behind the jaw or neck shot if you will. If watch it over and over right at impact you can see the bullet hit dirt behind him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdrV3wAWwhA

 

[bozo699]

Vanguard,
The nosler bt bullets are fine on thin skinned animals like your hog or deer but there not elk bullets! did you shoot the hog the same day you shot the deer with the hornet? or are the same clothes you wore on both trips just your lucky hunting clothes? LOL
Wayne.

 

[Vanguard]

I beg to differ, hogs are very thick skinned, in some areas of the hog the skin including fat can reach over 1" thick, elk skin aint even close.
You want to test bullets, shoot hogs in the shoulder or behind it, if you get a pass through, an elk will be like butter.
One time I was hauling off the skin of a hog I had just cleaned and I smacked it with a pick to just drag it off, well the pick bounced off, I did this over and over with all my might and I could not get the pick to puncture the skin.

 

[CoverDog]

What are you loading to get a 7mm-08 to 2950 fps?

Hornady 139gr SST 2975fps.

IMR 4064 and in an amount more then listed as max. Just went up slowly until I saw pressure signs, then backed off .2gr.

I recently got Quick Load and ran the load use. Max pressure is 60,191psi, my load is 60,059. not bad for using calipers and a mic.

 

[twoodard]

My 15" encore kills deer just fine. 45 gr varget with 120 NBT at 2600. longest shot to date is 296 yards with a pass through. thats 991 FPE and 1930 FPS shot was through heart and lungs.

I think it expanded

I would load up a heavier bullet and go after something the size of a elk any day. and im giving up speed due to barrel length. its a great round. practice and give your self a max range and you will be all set

 

[Kenny474]

Vanguard, the difference between Elk and hog is bone thickness and density. Elk are much larger animals with much heavier bone structure, and a bullet that will do fine with hog, will simply shatter on an Elk shoulder.

Soft tissue is of little relevance when choosing a bullet for game. What you need to consider is the bone structure and make sure you have a bullet that will break any bone necessary to kill it cleanly. Pig bone is much softer than Elk, and is why a softer bullet will perform well on them and yet is much more likely to fail on an Elk shoulder.

When hunting Elk, considering money invested in the whole trip, it's just best to use a good tough bullet, such as a Partition or A-Frame, though a good bonded bullet or lead-free bullet for large game will probably do fine. But the last thing I would take on an Elk hunt is a standard cup and core bullet (nosler BT) and risk losing the Elk of a lifetime.

Bullets are cheap, but if you lose that big 6X6 because of poor bullet choice, you will be paying forever.

 

[bozo699]

Kenny,
Why don't you just add my username beside your's so I don't have to write posts anymore as your thoughts are usually the same as mine. I was going to comment on Vanguards statement on hog and elk hunting, but have been in many bullet/caliber wars and don't enjoy them and don't want another one,but since you just had to reply Kenny I guess I will reply as well. The only thing I need to add to your post is I have butchered litterily hundreds of domestic hogs, Yorkshires,birkshires,hampshires,herfords,chester whites,ect ect.. and unless the wild hogs are way different than the domestics hogs then there is no comparimg them to elk!!! When skinning a hog you need to be very carfull not to cut through the hide so you get top dallar for it. When skinning a elk and you want to put a hole in the hide for a better grip on it, it can be difficult to get the blade through it.Now by shooting the hog in the head any bullet would work, Head shooting is another one of my many opinions and we won't get into that now! Anyways I value everyones opinions even if there not the same as mine. If everybody's thoughts were the same there would be no spice in life.
Wayne.

PS, Vanguard, I mean nothing personal by my comments as I have enjoyed your posts thus far and am looking farward to more of them. This is just one mans opinion,
and you know what they say about opinions.... Well opinions may vary.
Wayne

 

[bozo699]

My 15" encore kills deer just fine. 45 gr varget with 120 NBT at 2600. longest shot to date is 296 yards with a pass through. thats 991 FPE and 1930 FPS shot was through heart and lungs.

I think it expanded

I would load up a heavier bullet and go after something the size of a elk any day. and im giving up speed due to barrel length. its a great round. practice and give your self a max range and you will be all set

twoodard,
I have a 7-08 15" encore. I havn't killed anything with it yet but am looking forward taking it on one of my next hunts. It looks like it did an awesome job for you.
Wayne.

 

[Vanguard]

bozo dont sweat it, havent taken anything personal, this is by far one of the better forums I visit, you guys do know yer stuff fer sure.
We ain got elk here in Texas not natives ones anyway, so I couldnt tell you bullet performance on them anyways.
I have been playing with this 7-08 though with different bullets. I can just tell you what I think as well.
I dont really like 140 gr in the little 7, in my opinion it just aint got the velocity for that heavy bullet. I used the horn. 139gr btsp on some deer and it just penciled in and out, I tested it on a big hog and it managed to make it through front shoulder 2 ribs the opposite shoulder and 2 more ribs, it worked well on that critter fer sure.
I think I like the 120 more though, I like a little more implosion if you know what I mean.
I have some 139.sst loaded up but havent even tried them.
We got some monster elk on a ranch i work on in south Texas but there off limits to me, my checkbook aint that big, I will get some pics or vid up within the next month.

 

[bozo699]

Your allright in my book Vanguard
Wayne.

 

[twoodard]

yes it does. Mine seems to be very accurate less than a inch at 100. recoil is very mild. and those noslers are devastating. good luck

 

[pierred]

some very informative posts there guys very interesting views to a new owner of 7mm08 custom build,all I can add is the cal does the job very well on everything we have here across the pond.

 

[captben]

My Advise would be to NOT Shoot an ELK IN THE SHOULDER with ANY Medium power cartridge.

I Have never shot an Elk with a rifle, but:

The several Elk I Have Killed with My Snuffer Tipped arrow shot out of my 65lb recurve bow have completely passed through bull Elk. One even stuck in the aspen tree on the off side to where I could not pull it out. The elk have always been Dead within sight of me.

I am pretty sure a 7-08 BEHIND the shoulder will kill any elk.

It is Physiologically impossible for a Mammal to live with Both Lungs Popped.
It will go into Cardiovascular shock and DIE Promptly.

As has been stated many times, SHOT PLACEMENT is of the utmost importance.

Just another of my 2cents.

Capt. Ben

 

[jraney]

finally someone said it, first i have never hunted or shot an elk, but with any animal why shoot 1 in the shoulder, 1st an elk shoulder has got to be really big i would think one could get several pounds of meat off the shoulder, but when shot it becomes bloodshot and messes with meat flavor, i know this from deer. always shoot behind the shoulder better chance of a dead animal not far from where you shot, even if you miss the heart you still have lungs,& liver plus you just have a bigger kill zone, just my oppinion. I have killed many deer with a .22-250 using 55gr bullets,the 1 i shot this year was with a 60grhp no exit and the deer only went 50yds, my point is that was behind the shoulder no meat loss and good recovery of the animal even with the 55grns. I know the topic is about the 7-08 but with a good shot behind the shoulder of any animal (except the obvious dangerous game which i don't know of any other than bear in north america) there should be no reason why that caliber should not be sufficient.
sorry if i offended anybody i just get irratated with folks thinkin you need the absolute biggest gun and a shoulder shot to kill any animal.


j

 

[bozo699]

jraney,
I take no offense @ all.....but your wrong. I agree with you on deer shoot them behind the shoulder, bang flop, throw in back of pickup, done deal next hunt please!!
Not so with a elk, you may get lucky with a behind the shoulder shot a time or two then one day you will make that picture perfect 1/4 angle front leg forward shot,..right through the heart, clips the lungs, perfect right
WRONG you just shot him @ 5500 feet could go back and get your p/u or 4 wheeler and drive right to him, but instead he bugs his eyes,stretches his neck high ears forward and bolts straight for the breaks after a couple of hundred yards all the blood is gone but no matter adrenalin works wonders 450 more yards his legs finally turn to rubber and down he goes in heavy brush wedged under a huge dead fall in a creek bottom with no roads anywhere near and your @ 1200 feet, WOW this has turned into a neat hunt....Not. So now if you can even find him its a two day ordeal getting him out if the wolves,coyotes and cougars leave any for you to bring out ??? Option #2 you shoot him square in the front shoulder with a large caliber rifle, break both shoulders, DOWN he goes, he might or might not be dead, but you know exactly where he is and where he is going to be until you get there!!! Now for you guys that hunt desert elk or flat land elk you probably can get away with the perfect shot, but for me hunting all my life in the rugged Blue mts of S.E.Washington St and the Hells canyon country of Idaho I use my 58 cal muzzle stuffer with a 710 grain steak buster square in the shoulder every time. By the way the only time I ever lost a elk was a behind the shoulder shot with a 7mm rem mag 75 yards away. That was the one that wedged himself under a dead fall @ the bottom of a canyon, I looked for him for two days, found the magpies on the third day Perfect behind the shoulder shot with a small caliber rifle....NO THANKS!
Anyway that's my opinion on the subject, My wife hopes to shoot a lk with hers next year and will have to make the ideal behind the shoulder shot because she is using a under powered 7mm-08 but I will be there to back her up with one of my many large caliber magnums
By the way I am not bad mouthing the 7mm-08 we have three of them in our family, my 7-08 is a Tika T3
that is my every day packing rifle it is very accurate and out of the three full size gun safes and every corner in the house full of rifles the little low recoiling 7-08 is my favorite Happy hunting to you all.
Wayne.

 

[mytwo60]

I beg to differ, hogs are very thick skinned, in some areas of the hog the skin including fat can reach over 1" thick, elk skin aint even close.
You want to test bullets, shoot hogs in the shoulder or behind it, if you get a pass through, an elk will be like butter.
One time I was hauling off the skin of a hog I had just cleaned and I smacked it with a pick to just drag it off, well the pick bounced off, I did this over and over with all my might and I could not get the pick to puncture the skin.

My brother shot a pig once using a 30-06 with 150grns slightly qrt toward the animal. The bullet literally bounced off his shoulder. I got it on video and you can see the dirt kicking up from the bullet about 5 feet of where the pig stood. I have never hunted elk before but hard to imagine a bullet bouncing off the shoulder on an elk.

 

[bozo699]

mytwo60,
Welcome to the forum, I would like to see that video as I think others would as well, could you post it please? Hogs are very solid, I have seen people run over them with a vehicle before and they do about as much damage to the vehicle as hitting a bear but I would have never guessed a projectile traveling 2800 fps would just bounce off ??? maybe he should try some 220 grain solids.
Wayne.