7mm-08 Help

[Hilltop]

My wife and I are hunting private land elk this fall in Wyoming. I drew a blue chip tag and my wife wanted to go along and shoot a cow elk. She has limited experience hunting- one doe deer and one Wyoming antelope last fall. I bought her a new savage youth combo rifle in 7mm-08. The hunting will be primarily spot and stalk so ranges could vary. She is a good shot but I am guessing 250-300 yards will be the calibers ethical limit for a cow elk? If anyone has real field experience with 7mm-08 on elk or comparable I would love to hear from you. I'm mainly looking for advice on what factory load to use but also any stories/info on the cartridge for elk as well. Thanks in advance!

 

[Ikeepitcold]

I got the exact same rifle for my daughter. I think 300 would be tops for that rifle IMO. Closer is always better. I like the Accu bond bullets they seem to like the gun and I've used them for years in my 7mm and have worked perfect for bull elk, deer, antelope.

 

[Hilltop]

I got the exact same rifle for my daughter. I think 300 would be tops for that rifle IMO. Closer is always better. I like the Accu bond bullets they seem to like the gun and I've used them for years in my 7mm and have worked perfect for bull elk, deer, antelope.

Did you leave the Nikon scope on it? Wondering if I should buy better glass...

 

[Bitterroot Bulls]

I run 140 Barnes ttsx in my 7-08, and it is carrying plenty of punch out to 500 or so for elk. 300 should be no problem. I would run the Barnes or Accubond, both in 140.

 

[Ikeepitcold]

Did you leave the Nikon scope on it? Wondering if I should buy better glass...

Yes I did. But it is low end for sure. It seemed to work good enough for her rite now. I will upgrade it when she gets her first tag.

 

[packmule]

Closer is always better as mentioned. I look at the 7-08 with 140gr ABs as a 500yd tops gun. I don't have that exact rifle, but both my wife and I have Remington 700s (mtn rifle & mtn SS). They've been tested at that range shoulder shooting large hogs, but I always advise against shoulder shooting deer/elk/etc unless you absolutely need to anchor them where they're standing.

 

[Fish]

I think BB has it right on with the Barnes TS in 140gr for the 7/08. I use 120gr Barnes TS in my 7x57 and they work great but never killed an elk with them. Killed a ton of deer with the Hornady 139gr bullet in 7x57 and never found it lacking. I'd lung shoot an elk with that bullet in a heart beat

 

[AKaviator]

You have some real good options available in factory loads. Pick several and see what your rifle likes best. My previous 7mm-08 seemed to like the Winchester 140gr ballistic silvertips. I prefer the nosler partition 140's., which is loaded by Federal. I know some companies load Barnes and others Berger bullets, just have fun experimenting with it.

I hope you have a great hunt, let us know how it goes.

 

[BruinPoint]

I've killed a bull and 2 cows and my wife has killed a bull with the 7mm08 @ 250, 310, 335, and 435 yards. Three with 140gr Accubonds and one with a 140gr Partition. The Accubonds are handloads but nearly the same as Nosler's Trophy Grade and the Partition was a Federal factory load. No problems with killing any of them but the bullet didn't expand a whole lot on the 435yd cow judging from the exit wound. I've shot water jugs at 540 and expansion seemed fine FWIW.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

 

[alaska2go]

I have used the 7-08 for quit some time now and have harvested a range of critters with it. I reload for mine so i can fine tune them to get the most accuracy I can. The best all around bullet for under 300 yards I found is the 145 gr speer GS. The longer distances I found that the 145gr Speer BT works great. I also have harvested game closer with BT and worked just fine.

I'll give my facts & findings on bullets & their results on game for the 7-08

130 Barnes TSX antelope 407 yards lung placement; penciled through & the goat went over 400 yards before expiring
145 gr speer GS I have havested 3 mule deer from 184 yards to 318 yards every bullet a pass through the deer dieing within 25 yards
145 gr speer GS Medium size bull moose 35 yards shot head on died within 10 ft
160 sierra BT Big bull moose 120 yards or so sot through the rib cage at 85 paces went 100 yards or so Bullet shed darn near everything
160 speer mag tip killed a 7'-2" square black bear over bait @ 31 yards went through both shoulders, exited. He died right there(DRT)
150 swift scirocco killed a 7' grizzly @ 20feet he spun around & i shot him again because he was so close, DRT
150 swift scirocco my coyete load doesn't blow the hide up
140 gr berger VLD hunting shot an 370" bull elk at 210 yards. Complete pass through but that joker ran 300 yards or so. Quatering to me shot went the the top of the shoulder blade, top of heart, both lungs & out the other side. He pumped out alot of blood before he died.
140 gr berger VLD elk @ 398 yards. The bull was hit on the point of the shoulder blade and the bullet blew up. It did break his shoulder but never passed through. The second shot was in the rib cage and found the bullet in the off side lung with no lead core.
145 gr speer BT caribou 178 yards DRT quatering away shot found bullet against off side shoulder blade
145 gr speer BT caribou 367 lung shot bullet found under hide off side went 30' or so
most accurate bullets for me berger VLD and the speer BT
I loaded some nosler Accubonds but couldn't get the accuracy I was looking for.

from left to right on recovered bullets

elk VLD 140, 160 sierra BT moose, 145 speer GS moose, 145 speerBT caribou 367yards, 145 speer BT caribou 178 yards

 

[wapiti11]

Have had great luck with the Hornady super performance 139 gr. sst. Great factory ballistics. Nice to see all the 7-08 users out there, also.....

 

[Hilltop]

Thanks to everyone for their input. I'm going to try a few of the mentioned loads and see what her gun likes.

 

[6mm Remington]

I don't shoot a 7mm-08 but have had a 280 Remington for years. I loaded 140 gr. Partitions in it and used that one bullet for everything to include my largest bull elk. That or the 140 gr. Accubond would be my personal choice and I'd use whichever one the rifle shot best.

 

[Ikeepitcold]

I would also suggest a trigger job. The one I got doesn't have the Accu Trigger and it has a ton of creep and heavy to pull. It's fine for now but again I will upgrade when she gets a tag.

 

[woodtick]

I run 140gr Ballistic Tips in my nieces 7-08 (Varget or H4350 I believe is the powder I used) there clipping along about 2800FPS at the muzz and its claimed several animals out to 470yds, I'd imagine at the velocity there traveling they would mushroom perfectly on elk, cause they've sure done very well on the goats and deer, only recovered one, the rest have been complete pass throughs.

I've used Accubonds since there inception and I doubt I'll ever switch, that'd be a more controlled expansion bullet then the Ballistic Tips if your worried they won't be tough enough, I'd strongly urge you to stay away from the Hornady SST, we've had some serious fragmentation issues with them, just my 2cents though.

 

[Hilltop]

I would also suggest a trigger job. The one I got doesn't have the Accu Trigger and it has a ton of creep and heavy to pull. It's fine for now but again I will upgrade when she gets a tag.

The new ones come with the accutrigger. Its one of the reasons I went with this model over others.

 

[Hilltop]

I run 140gr Ballistic Tips in my nieces 7-08 (Varget or H4350 I believe is the powder I used) there clipping along about 2800FPS at the muzz and its claimed several animals out to 470yds, I'd imagine at the velocity there traveling they would mushroom perfectly on elk, cause they've sure done very well on the goats and deer, only recovered one, the rest have been complete pass throughs.

I've used Accubonds since there inception and I doubt I'll ever switch, that'd be a more controlled expansion bullet then the Ballistic Tips if your worried they won't be tough enough, I'd strongly urge you to stay away from the Hornady SST, we've had some serious fragmentation issues with them, just my 2cents though.

I love the SST in .243 for antelope and deer but I agree for elk they come apart too fast. If I could find factory Hornady Interbonds I wouldn't be searching. From what I have read the accubond is very close so if they shoot good, I will likely use them...?

 

[tdub24]

Used mine on an Idaho bull, dropped him at 400 yards using Remington 140gr. Core-Lokt bullets.

 

[Silentstalker]

I would shoot either the 140 accubond or the 139 gr. Interbond. They both shoot really well out of my wife's 7-08. Heck, i have not found a bullet that does not shoot great out of that rifle! Good luck, sounds like a fun hunt!

 

[Fire Hawk]

My 14 year old son dropped his cow elk this past fall with his 7-08. We hand loaded it with 140 accubonds and Varget. One shot at 360 yards, complete pass through. Went down within twenty feet.

Same load hammered his first deer last fall. Nice muley buck at 477 yards. He harvested his first big game animal last fall too with that rifle. In September he shot a doe antelope at 264 yards with the same rifle and 140 ballistic Tips. Still loaded over Varget.