Elk load for 7mm08?

[mattri]

What shoots in your gun?

Lots of the bullets listed would work very, very well but your rifle may not shoot them accurately. My go to load in 7mm-08 may not shoot for you and vice versa.

As an example a "go to" load for the 270 Win is a 130gr bullet over H4831. Tried that in a rifle of mine and I couldn't hit a barn if I was standing inside of it. A 140gr would shoot 1/2 MOA all day long. Why? Cuz.

Nosler Partitions are great bullets- your gun may not shoot them.

Hornady makes some great bullets, my 7mm won't shoot them no matter what I do.

Sierras have killed a ton of elk- maybe your gun likes them, maybe it doesn't.

A bad shot with the perfect bullet won't do you any good.

What shoots in your gun?

 

[wyoming .260]

I have killed a fairly good sized bull with 150 gr. corelokts out of a 7x57(same as 7-08). Bull trotted down hill a short ways and tipped over. I felt perfectly at ease with that load but have move to a 160 gr. partition just for a little more insurance. any of the loads listed above should work . any thing over 140 grs, and placed in the boiler room will get the results you are looking for.

 

[parkj5]

140 grn accubond with 40 grns of varget is the ticket in all 5, 7mm-08 ive loaded for.My 7mm-08 AI likes 42 grns of varget..

 

[Rustystud]

Even though a 7mm/08 would not be my first choice for hunting Elk it will do the job with the right bullet selection and with in the appropriate range.
As a sportsman I would I would observe the following.

1. I would limit my shots to a max of 200 yards.

2. I would only make broadside heart lung shots.

3. I would use a controlled expansion bullet, ie: Barnes XXX, Swift Scirocco, Nosler Accubond in the 140- 160 grain range.

Elk are tough creatures and a shoulder or spine shot could lead to a wounded and lost animal. There have been many Elk harvested with a 308, 7 X 57, 270, and 3006. There have been many more shot in the last 30 years with a 7mm Mag, 300 Win Mag and a 338.
Just my two cents worth.
Nat Lambeth

 

[wyoming .260]

I know conventional wisdom says to use 7mm,.300 or .338 mags for elk. The funny thing most of the locals here( the ones that actually kill most of the elk) use a .25-06, .270and more .243s then I care to think about. Most with the cheapest factory ammo available and the more unbelievable thing is most every dead elk found here has an arrow in its shoulder blade. not from some inferior rifle cartridge.

 

[pw]

Matt, great point. My sako a7 is still in shipping and I should get it fri. My impression is that I don't need to be sub MOA on an elk but just need to be very confident in my shots and know the range limitations. I will be trying to get me and my gun to shoot as tight as possible but after that I wanted to make sure I have the best projectile possible for the job at hand. I have heard that Sako and Tikka's are not very picky with what they will shoot well but if one brand does not work I will be switching it out for another.
My thoughts currently are to try out the Nosler Accubond in a 140. Nolser also makes the Accubond LongRange in a 150 but I am not really sure how to rate this bullet for my situation.

 

[pw]

Even though a 7mm/08 would not be my first choice for hunting Elk it will do the job with the right bullet selection and with in the appropriate range.
As a sportsman I would I would observe the following.

1. I would limit my shots to a max of 200 yards.

2. I would only make broadside heart lung shots.

3. I would use a controlled expansion bullet, ie: Barnes XXX, Swift Scirocco, Nosler Accubond in the 140- 160 grain range.

Elk are tough creatures and a shoulder or spine shot could lead to a wounded and lost animal. There have been many Elk harvested with a 308, 7 X 57, 270, and 3006. There have been many more shot in the last 30 years with a 7mm Mag, 300 Win Mag and a 338.
Just my two cents worth.
Nat Lambeth

Rusty, thanks for the thoughts. I have decided to go with a bonded bullet and the Accubond 140 will be the first one I start working with. My thoughts with a 140 is that I can get a little more range with it due to higher velocities. Nosler also has the Accubond LongRange that looks interesting but I need to find more data on this bullet.

 

[pw]

140 grn accubond with 40 grns of varget is the ticket in all 5, 7mm-08 ive loaded for.My 7mm-08 AI likes 42 grns of varget..

Park, I will work up to this load. Thanks for the details. Is varget good at temp extremes? It could easily get in the negatives on my outings and I would like my bench results to be close to my field results.

 

[Barlow]

708's are not speed demons, they are just good killers like the 7x57. The Hornady 154 gr Interlock would kill any Elk you want to kill. Barlow