7mm-08 for Elk?

[jvle95]

I know shot placement is key with anything but is a 7mm-08 round enough for elk?

 

[suavegato]

You're gonna get as many answers as there are calibers... there is no yes or no answer. The long and the short of it in my opinion is it depends on YOU! Sure a 7-08 can, will & has knocked down, cleanly & ethically plenty of Elk... But I'm sure it, or similar other cartridges have also not done the job... So, it's up to you. If you have a choice, I.E. are going to go buy a gun for Elk, I'd recommend sizing up some, just for a better margin of error... but if you only have a 7-08 and are going to go Elk hunt, then YOU have to be shot selective and confident with your marksmanship...

I know a guy who routinely drops elk with .270 130 grain (ballisticly similar to the 7-08) and has dropped them with a .22-250 when that's all he had at the time on the ranch when one presented itself... But that's a dead nuts, 100% guaranteed shot, or as close to that as you can get... I.e. broadside, 80 yards, no wind, and off the hood of the truck etc...

If you go "small" then you have to exercise self discipline and control... If you can do that, then it will work, however... Why limit yourself? If you have something bigger, you can buck the wind better, get more energy farther downrange, have more knock down power etc. So you might not have to pass on the big bull! So if you have a choice, I'd personally say go bigger but if you have to use what you already have and that's a 7-08, then go for it but know it's and your limits... No worse feeling in the world of hunting than killing or maiming an animal that you can't find & finish...

JMHO

 

[jvle95]

Great points. The reason I ask is I currently have a 700 BDL in 30-06 that I may be selling because it is left handed. Whatever I replace it with will be my all around rifle used for all my hunting, i.e. deer, pig, antelope, elk. Granted the majority of the time it will be a deer gun. What I do like are the smaller lighter rifles like the Model 7 that I can not get in 30-06 for obvious reasons. More than likely I will go back to the 30-06 because of its versatility but I am just looking at options. My other choice was the .270 and the only reason I would choose this round is if the recoil is noticably lighter than the 06. Thanks again for the input.

 

[suavegato]

For a North American "All around riffle" you really can't go wrong with a .30-06. Good luck,

 

[Backcountry]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (jvle95 @ Dec 18 2007, 04:59 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

Whatever I replace it with will be my all around rifle used for all my hunting, i.e. deer, pig, antelope, elk.[/b]

Here is the mistake in your thought process... don't let the SF libs brainwash you that an arsenal (in lib-speak, anything more than one gun) is bad.

That said, the 7mm-08 is a great deer round, but a sorry choice for an elk round. Buy the 7mm-08, it will serve you well for deer... when you do get a chance to go elk hunting, do the elk justice and buy an appropriate rifle to do the job cleanly.

 

[jvle95]

Unfortunately Backcountry my wallet is the sole provider for my family and I need one gun that will do it ALL. Not trying to be a smart a$$ or anything but the funds aren't there.

 

[suavegato]

One more note... just for your consideration, I recently got a Tikka T-3 Lite in .270 and LOVE IT! Nice and lite at just 6 pounds 3 ounces and it shoots lights out! Available in MANY common calibers, including .30-06, and only around $600 just FYI.

 

[suavegato]

There is no doubt that if cost, time, storage space etc. were no object, then a different riffle and or caliber for every critter and or situation would be great… Not having that luxury, then I would tend to weigh 2 things most heavily when picking a caliber…

A) What will you be hunting the most? Make sure your choice is best suited to that game, since that is what you will be using it for “most” of the time.
B) ALWAYS “caliber up” if you think that you will hunt something bigger and will not be able to use another weapon.

I.E. a coyote will still be dead with a .30-06 but an Elk may not be with a 7-08 (or similar). Of course, .30-06 is not an ideal caliber for coyote hunting but it will surely work. Better to be heavy on the low end, then light on the high end… And you can of course always change your loads too… a .30-06 with 130’s for dogs, 150’s for deer & pig, 180’s for elk… (for example) or any other reasonable combo you chose too of course…

If you will do any Elk hunting and or even Mule deer, then I’d really recommend the .30-06 over the 7-08. The ammo is cheap, so popular you can buy it ANYWHERE ammo is sold, comes in so many different loads & types, tons of reloading info. & configurations etc… It’s simply the best “one gun North American choice” you can make, IMHO.

Good luck,

 

[Rancho Loco]

Certainly a '06 will do the job, but the 7mm-08 has lot's of options, ammo wise. A 140 gr. TSX at 2800 fps out of Backcountry's fiance's rifle will kill an elk.

She'll get high-fives all around, and Backcountry will be forced then to praise the round.

 

[Coues]

Most will say the the .308 is more than capable of killing an elk, and the 7mm version is just as deadly. Really, the only differnce is that you can get the .308 in 150 grains and the 7mm in 140.

I have a Tikka Lite in 7/08 and it will drive tacks. It's not a 300 yard elk killer, but 200 yards and in with the right bullet and through the lungs will drop a big bull dead. Thousands of elk have been killed with it.

I would rather have the 06 though, if it is the only gun I could own. Sometimes it's not easy to find 7/08 ammo. I usually order mine.

 

[jlostrander]

One gun for deer and sometimes elk? Has been asked many times. So, I would say to stay with the 06 or by the .270.

You are much more overall prepared with those. You see that nice elk at 240 yards or 265 yards with your .270, you will have confidence compared to teh 7mm-08. I don't know how much actual difference there is, but you can by light magnum loads for the .270 that will for sure have a much better chance as an overall elk gun.

It will still be easy on the shoulder for all those deer you'll go after. Same can be said of the 06.

I wouldn't go for the 7mm-08 in your situation.

 

[Bwana Turtle]

I think suavegato summed it up by saying:

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div>

For a North American "All around riffle" you really can't go wrong with a .30-06. Good luck,[/b]

And then we always have arguments as to why some little urine ant caliber is just (read almost) as good. While the fans of the '06 stand by and go "Ho hum." Jack O'Connor made a career "justifying" the .270. I've taken the .270 on many hunting trips as a spare gun and it's always remained just that. . . a spare. Nobody has ever had to justify the '06 ! The recoil difference is negligible.

Just remember it's an irrefutable scientifc fact that anything under 30 caliber is a varmint round !

 

[Speckmisser]

Just gotta agree that the best choice between the 7mm-08 and the 30-06, if you're only gonna have one rifle, is the -06.

Add a brake and a decent recoil pad and you've got a comfy shooter that's plenty capable for all your intended uses.

The 7mm-08 IS a good round, and it will work, but it doesn't do anything the -06 doesn't do... and on bigger game, the -06 will do it better.

 

[tmoniz]

I would feel a little uneasy carrying a 7/08 on an elk hunt. Would make me feel a little under gunned.
But I do know people who have used the 257 Roberts and the 25/06 on elk very successfully.
I would even go so far as to say I would take my 06 out for elk before I would my 308.
Last elk I took was with a 7mm mag. 2 shots in the boiler room at 300 yards.

But I think Suave is right on about the 06. You can come up with all the ultras and short mags you want, but the 06 stands all by itself and covers the big game spectrum very very well.

If a 7/08 can push a 140 at 2800 fps then it's right in there with the 270. Which has taken a lot of elk.

When I went to the 06 from the magnums I thought I was stepping down. Turns out, being a handloader, I fully got the real picture of the 06's potential.

One more thought.

A friend of mine on a Wyoming trip suddenly realized he forgot his ammo. We went to a hardware store in Casper and low and behold as usual, the store had several boxes of 180 grain Remington ammo in stock.

 

[suavegato]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (tmoniz @ Dec 19 2007, 10:51 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

One more thought.

A friend of mine on a Wyoming trip suddenly realized he forgot his ammo. We went to a hardware store in Casper and low and behold as usual, the store had several boxes of 180 grain Remington ammo in stock.[/b]

BINGO! Not only that but even if you do bring yours but run through it (let's hope not?) or drop it in the creek or lose it or get it stollen etc... not only are you more likely to find it for sale than ANY other CF round but chances are also good that someone in yours or the next camp will have some too... might not be your "pet loads" but better than none at all! You never think it will happen to you and then "Oh S@&T"! Now of course, that's the ONLY reason to go 06 but one more good one in addition to all above...

I like the idea of a the muzzle break & good decelerator pad and make some low end, med & high end loads and you're set!
good luck.

 

[greyghost10]

I have yet to go elk hunting but I have done enough deer hunting with my 270 to know it will always knock them down quite easily when I do my part. I have read many people use the 270 on elk quite successfully. I beleive there are much better calibers to use on an elk. I did quite a bit of research on elk hunting and decided to purchase a Win 338. I feel one should always try to best match the caliber to the game , we as hunters owe it to our game.

 

[HuntCali]

funny you should bring this up because my dad and I were just talking about this same topic last night. A few years ago my dad was deer/elk hunting in Colorado and he shot a cow elk at about 100 yards with his 7mm-08 140 gr. He said the cow acted like she wasn't hit, so thinking he missed and his scope was off, he borrowed my uncle's .270 and shot her in the neck and dropped her. Upon skinning and gutting the elk, my dad found that 7mm-08 shot was good and had passed through both lungs and was lodged in the hide on the opposite side. The bullet stayed in tact and was perfectly mushroomed.

It is clear that if he hadn't made the second shot that elk would have died very shortly after the first shot. That said, within 150 yards and with a very accurate rifle, good bullets and a good shooter, a 7mm-08 is an adequate round. However, why limit yourself? Go with a heavier round like a .270, 30-06, .300, etc.

 

[tmoniz]

My take on it is have something on the low end, something to cover the middle that goes high or low and something substantial. If you love to hunt you just can't limit yourself to just deer. You want to hunt everything North America has to offer.

Heck. I still want a double 470 Nitro, but I can't get that one by the wife.

 

[wmidbrook]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div>

I know shot placement is key with anything but is a 7mm-08 round enough for elk?[/b]

Yes, it's plenty good 'nuf.

Elk shot through the lungs will either keel over right there, or hunch up and act a bit sick for a short period before falling over & expiring...they may travel a bit too (but not far if lung shot) just like with the bow & arrow. With good bullets, you're good out to a few hundred yards. I know a gal who killed a bull moose with one--one shot @ 300 yards to the lungs...had to wait a minute or so for it to fall over.