# 7mm08 w/140gr Accubond vs Elk



## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

DRT...! 

4 for 4 for my boy. I only get more impressed with that 7mm08 caliber each year.


-DallanC


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## derekp1999 (Nov 17, 2011)

Looks under-killed to me


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## silentstalker (Feb 19, 2008)

Great shot and congrats to your son! That is a great cartidge!

Edit, are you using varget with those 140's?


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## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

7mm-08 is only good for a medium size deer at most. If you're going to push it by using a 7mm-08 for elk you should at least use a 185 grain bullet.

On a serious note, congratulations to you and your boy!


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## 35whelen (Jul 3, 2012)

congratulations to you and your boy!


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## Dunkem (May 8, 2012)

Man that kid has downed a bunch of critters:mrgreen:


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

silentstalker said:


> Great shot and congrats to your son! That is a great cartidge!
> 
> Edit, are you using varget with those 140's?


H4350, right at maximum published load values.

-DallanC


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## sawsman (Sep 13, 2007)

Nice. Good on him.

I have the same caliber and shoot the same pill. It's a good one for sure.


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## KineKilla (Jan 28, 2011)

Great shot placement!

I've really come to appreciate the quick kills that Accubonds provide.


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

Great shot!


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## swbuckmaster (Sep 14, 2007)

Congrats to you and your boy! Not easy getting a cow these days even more impressive on the shot placment

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## LostLouisianian (Oct 11, 2010)

Clearly the elk is sleeping since it was a 140 grain bullet. Congrats on a nice elk!!!!


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## oldguysrule (Sep 18, 2016)

My wife has shot the same 7 mm-08 Remington model 788 for years and killed anyth
lots of elk and deer not a problem love it


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Oh my gosh, we just had some tenderloin of this one, it was amazing. Ivorys were just showing the slightest wear so probably a 1.5 year old. Soooooooo goooooooodddddd....!

Time to turn on Football and enjoy the food coma.

-DallanC


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## Clarq (Jul 21, 2011)

I'm pretty sure your boy has already killed more big game animals than I ever will. 

Good shooting!


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## AF CYN (Mar 19, 2009)

I love my 7mm08. Hunted with Accubonds one year and killed a decent 4x4, though I think I like Fusions and Partitions better. 

Congrats to your son. Good shot placement is something I really respect and admire.


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## LostLouisianian (Oct 11, 2010)

I've been thinking of getting a 7MM-08 for a while. What brands/models is everyone using? Are there good ones to get and those to absolutely stay away from?


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## swbuckmaster (Sep 14, 2007)

Most brands make moa guns now days. If I was going to get a hunting rifle I think savage makes a great rifle to drag through the brush and over the rocks. If I want a safe queen browning looks nice. If I want alot of aftermarket support remington or savage. Remington for looks savage for no gun smithing. I try and stay away from the rest. 

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## gdog (Sep 13, 2007)

For off the shelf accuracy without breaking the bank...I'd say Tikka or Savage. I bought my son a Browning Micro Midas in 7mm-08 and its a great little rifle. I used it to shoot an antelope and worked great (120 gr hunting BT's). I was really close to getting another 7mm-08 in the Kimber Mnt Ascent, but ended up going with the 6.5 cm...just for something different.


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## LostLouisianian (Oct 11, 2010)

Savage and Remington were the two I was thinking of. Is 400 yards within the ethical range of the 7MM-08 on Elk? I would try to keep my shots under 200 yards but was wondering if you can reasonably go out to 400 if it's a last resort? I can shoot over 400 with other rifles but honestly I don't like shooting at game at long distances. I prefer to match wits and skills against them and get as close as possible.


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## swbuckmaster (Sep 14, 2007)

I wouldn't shoot an elk at 400 yards with a 7mm08. I think I'd keep it under 350

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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

LostLouisianian said:


> Savage and Remington were the two I was thinking of. Is 400 yards within the ethical range of the 7MM-08 on Elk? I would try to keep my shots under 200 yards but was wondering if you can reasonably go out to 400 if it's a last resort? I can shoot over 400 with other rifles but honestly I don't like shooting at game at long distances. I prefer to match wits and skills against them and get as close as possible.


Well there is a big difference between a spike and a bull (with cows falling inbetween), smaller ones have less mass to penetrate. My boy shot a cow 2 years ago at 340, first hit was lethal but it was still on its feet, the 2nd hit dropped. I think that is the outer edge of what I consider to be the range for elk for most non-magnums.

We had elk Friday night at just over 400 yards with no time to close the distance so we backed out and let them be. Returned Sat and found them in the same spot, intercepted and got within 50-60 yards for his shot.

-DallanC


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## LostLouisianian (Oct 11, 2010)

DallanC said:


> Well there is a big difference between a spike and a bull (with cows falling inbetween), smaller ones have less mass to penetrate. My boy shot a cow 2 years ago at 340, first hit was lethal but it was still on its feet, the 2nd hit dropped. I think that is the outer edge of what I consider to be the range for elk for most non-magnums.
> 
> We had elk Friday night at just over 400 yards with no time to close the distance so we backed out and let them be. Returned Sat and found them in the same spot, intercepted and got within 50-60 yards for his shot.
> 
> -DallanC


Thanks Dallan that is precisely the kind of info I wanted to know. I would much rather shoot an elk at 50 yards than 400 any day. Basically if I do get a 7MM-08 I think the ethical thing to do is max out at 300 yards on the range just to be safe.

This is one I came across yesterday and it's fairly light weight which to me is a plus with my age and having to carry it up and down the hills. Any feedback on this model will be greatly appreciated.

https://www.cheaperthandirt.com/pro...356192004.do?sortby=ourPicks&refType=&from=fn


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## swbuckmaster (Sep 14, 2007)

I'm with Dallan on this and leave the shots over 400 to magnum calibers. 

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## Idratherbehunting (Jul 17, 2013)

LostLouisianian said:


> Thanks Dallan that is precisely the kind of info I wanted to know. I would much rather shoot an elk at 50 yards than 400 any day. Basically if I do get a 7MM-08 I think the ethical thing to do is max out at 300 yards on the range just to be safe.
> 
> This is one I came across yesterday and it's fairly light weight which to me is a plus with my age and having to carry it up and down the hills. Any feedback on this model will be greatly appreciated.
> 
> https://www.cheaperthandirt.com/pro...356192004.do?sortby=ourPicks&refType=&from=fn


I've heard good things about that model, but I haven't ever shot it. The savage rifle that I want to get is their light-weight hunter. The synthetic stock is cheaper, but there is something so nice about a good wood stock.

http://www.savagearms.com/firearms/model/11LH


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## willfish4food (Jul 14, 2009)

Great shooting by your boy DallanC. Congratulations!


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## LostLouisianian (Oct 11, 2010)

Idratherbehunting said:


> I've heard good things about that model, but I haven't ever shot it. The savage rifle that I want to get is their light-weight hunter. The synthetic stock is cheaper, but there is something so nice about a good wood stock.
> 
> http://www.savagearms.com/firearms/model/11LH


I agree about the wood because I believe a gun should have wood. But for trudging around the mountains I am leaning toward something I wouldn't cry over if it got a scratch or three.


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## moabxjeeper (Dec 18, 2012)

LostLouisianian said:


> Thanks Dallan that is precisely the kind of info I wanted to know. I would much rather shoot an elk at 50 yards than 400 any day. Basically if I do get a 7MM-08 I think the ethical thing to do is max out at 300 yards on the range just to be safe.
> 
> This is one I came across yesterday and it's fairly light weight which to me is a plus with my age and having to carry it up and down the hills. Any feedback on this model will be greatly appreciated.
> 
> https://www.cheaperthandirt.com/pro...356192004.do?sortby=ourPicks&refType=&from=fn


Savage makes a fine rifle. Out of the box accuracy in my experience is second to none. My only suggestion if you're going the cheaper route would be to get a Savage Axis II. They come with the Accutrigger which is 100% worth a few extra bucks.


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## Idratherbehunting (Jul 17, 2013)

LostLouisianian said:


> I agree about the wood because I believe a gun should have wood. But for trudging around the mountains I am leaning toward something I wouldn't cry over if it got a scratch or three.


I understand that. They make that same rifle in a synthetic stock as well, and I think I may get it. My co-worker has it in 270 and she loves it. Dropped an antelope with it this year.


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## whitepd01 (Aug 26, 2014)

My son just killed another cow elk with a 7mm08. 3 for 3. No problems at all. As with any gun shot placement is the key. He shot his elk at 302 yards this year.

As far as which gun, I'd highly recommend the Ruger American. Best entry level gun in my experience. Much nicer that the entry level Remington.


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## swbuckmaster (Sep 14, 2007)

LostLouisianian said:


> I agree about the wood because I believe a gun should have wood. But for trudging around the mountains I am leaning toward something I wouldn't cry over if it got a scratch or three.


 when you're out hunting no one can say that you're up at creek without a paddle if you got a savage in your hand

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## moabxjeeper (Dec 18, 2012)

swbuckmaster said:


> when you're out hunting no one can say that you're up at creek without a paddle if you got a savage in your hand
> 
> Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk


We've got 2 of them now. My dad and I went in on a super cheap Savage Model 11 .243 at Walmart a few years back. That thing is a joy to carry. It does have a very cheap-feeling but functional stock and you honestly could care less about dragging it over boulders and through oak brush.

I liked it so much I finally decided to get my own rifle for big game a few years back. I ended up buying a Savage Model 14/114 American Classic stainless steel in 7mm Rem Mag. It's a beauty of a gun and a pleasure to shoot. I've shot groups so tight I had to look for deformities in the first hole to make sure I didn't miss completely.

+1 for Savage -O\\__-


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## LostLouisianian (Oct 11, 2010)

Since I like to reload, is it hard to find brass for the 7MM-08?


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

My boy shoots a lefty youth Savage Axis, very cool gun.



LostLouisianian said:


> Since I like to reload, is it hard to find brass for the 7MM-08?


It can be hit or miss... no more or less though than any other reloading component over the past couple years. Buy it when you find it.

I bought 100 range brass off KSL for $20 a while back when we first got the gun, then picked up a bag or two of new brass when I'd see it at Cabelas or Gunnies. A little goes a long way so I've not had to get any since then.

We've yet to buy a single box of factory ammo. The gun has only ever shot reloads, I think we have 5 boxes of loaded Accubonds so we wont need to reload for many years.

-DallanC


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## brisket (Mar 3, 2015)

Congrats on your son's elk, and for getting the youth out!

+1 for the 7mm-08 vs elk.

My 13 year old shot his first elk this year on the opener of the rifle hunt with a 7mm-08 too. This was my first experience with that caliber on elk and it took the elk down quickly even on a sub-par shot (hit the front shoulder blade). She went down after about 10 yards, and didn't need a follow up shot. Overall very pleased with the performance of this low recoil caliber, seems almost perfect for youth hunters.

Browning X-Bolt Micro Midas in 7mm-08
140 gr Factory Nosler Partition
130 yard shot


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## LostLouisianian (Oct 11, 2010)

In looking at the data, the 140 grain -08 has similar energy at 500 yards to a .308 in 150 or 168 grain. That's pretty interesting because as I understand it the recoil is less than a .270. Can you -08 owners confirm that data?


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

It certainly feels that way when shooting my boys rifle compared to my Rem700 270. Overall gun weight, recoil pad, stock configuration all play a part of that of course. 270 pushes a 130gr bullet roughly 3100fps, my 7mm08 loads are pushing a 140gr at 2930fps.

-DallanC


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## elkantlers (Feb 27, 2014)

I don't think it is as much the caliber as it is your sons shooting. Great shot!


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## toasty (May 15, 2008)

LostLouisianian said:


> In looking at the data, the 140 grain -08 has similar energy at 500 yards to a .308 in 150 or 168 grain. That's pretty interesting because as I understand it the recoil is less than a .270. Can you -08 owners confirm that data?


Yes, less recoil on paper and less felt recoil. I've had youth hunters all under 100lb that have taken different 5 antelope and deer with a 7mm-08. Not one has said the recoil is a problem and the smallest youth at about 70 lbs, shot a perfect second shot. I asked her about recoil and she said "what recoil".


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## TommyGun (Aug 16, 2016)

Dallan,

Congratulations.

The 7MM-08 Rem is an excellent big game cartridge. It's a 7x57 in a short action, and the 7x57 has killed everything in North America. It's killed elephants in Africa.

It's all about shot placement. Within reason, cartridge is immaterial. A 7MM-08 will kill the largest elk that has ever lived if a bullet from one ends topside oxygenated blood flow. 

I own a Belgian Browning that was manufactured circa 1969. My dad gave it to me. It's a gorgeous gun. I have fired it exactly three times. That was about 30 years ago. I still have the box of cartridges with three empty cases in it. I've never hunted with it. It won't kill any deader than my 7MM Rem Mag or my .270 Win.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

brisket said:


> My 13 year old shot his first elk this year on the opener of the rifle hunt with a 7mm-08 too. This was my first experience with that caliber on elk and it took the elk down quickly even on a sub-par shot (hit the front shoulder blade). She went down after about 10 yards, and didn't need a follow up shot. Overall very pleased with the performance of this low recoil caliber, seems almost perfect for youth hunters.
> 
> Browning X-Bolt Micro Midas in 7mm-08
> 140 gr Factory Nosler Partition
> 130 yard shot


Congratulations! Glad it worked out for him, very cool to be with them when they get their first critters.

-DallanC


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## Firehawk (Sep 30, 2007)

DallanC,

Your boy has made great work with that 7mm-08 over the years. We still continue to love ours too. So far this year, 3 for 3 on doe antelope and hopefully this weekend 2 for 2 on buck deer. Then, a few cow elk when the snow flies. 140 Accubonds or Ballistic Tips are the cat's meow. 

Congrats!


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## derekp1999 (Nov 17, 2011)

Felled my first critter (pronghorn doe in Wyoming) with a newly acquired 7mm-08. It's a Mossberg Patriot shooting handloaded 154gr Hornady SSTs. I'm still trying to figure out the load but it performed well enough for me yesterday. It made a huge hole upon entrance and absolutely no exit wound so that bullet just grenaded upon impact... not sure I'd dare use these SSTs on anything bigger than a deer.

Had three of my boys with me and we had a ton of fun driving around, they played their tablets, saw a couple hundred pronghorn & maybe half as many deer, got caught in a dang blizzard in Evingston, stopped at Wendy's on the drive home for a Baconator and Frosty, and still had them home by bedtime!


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## Firehawk (Sep 30, 2007)

Derek, I've never been a fan of the SST bullets. Love their BTSP and SP interlock bullets, but thought the SST bullets were too fragile. Others seem to love them though. I have gone to Nosler Accubonds and Ballistic Tips almost exclusively anymore. Always accurate, and have been very dependable in their intended purpose.

Have fun! Now I want to go get a Baconator and a Frosty. That sounds awesome.


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

derekp1999 said:


> Felled my first critter (pronghorn doe in Wyoming) with a newly acquired 7mm-08. It's a Mossberg Patriot shooting handloaded 154gr Hornady SSTs. I'm still trying to figure out the load but it performed well enough for me yesterday. It made a huge hole upon entrance and absolutely no exit wound so that bullet just grenaded upon impact... not sure I'd dare use these SSTs on anything bigger than a deer.
> 
> Had three of my boys with me and we had a ton of fun driving around, they played their tablets, saw a couple hundred pronghorn & maybe half as many deer, got caught in a dang blizzard in Evingston, stopped at Wendy's on the drive home for a Baconator and Frosty, and still had them home by bedtime!


Whoa! That is an entrance wound?! Holy crap!


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Does it seem odd to anyone else a piece of intestine is coming out of that hole? Seems like its well in front of the diaphram. Maybe the bullet shredded the diaphram and it worked its way forward... just seems strange. Looks like it ran for a bit before tipping over.

It is shocking a heavy 154gr bullet cant fully penetrate a doe pronghorn... they aren't very wide at that point... and no shoulder hit. It does look like the deer my dad always shot with his 22-250 over the years, like a bomb went off inside them.


-DallanC


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## derekp1999 (Nov 17, 2011)

johnnycake said:


> Whoa! That is an entrance wound?! Holy crap!


Yeah, when I skinned her out and quartered her the opposite side was completely unblemished... it was the second damnedest thing I saw yesterday. 
I didn't notice any fragments in the quarters, backstraps, or tenderloins either... which was the third damnedest thing I saw yesterday.



Firehawk said:


> Derek, I've never been a fan of the SST bullets. Love their BTSP and SP interlock bullets, but thought the SST bullets were too fragile. Others seem to love them though. I have gone to Nosler Accubonds and Ballistic Tips almost exclusively anymore. Always accurate, and have been very dependable in their intended purpose.
> 
> Have fun! Now I want to go get a Baconator and a Frosty. That sounds awesome.


I use some old Interlock SP bullets in my .30-06... and to be honest I do like those better than the SSTs.



DallanC said:


> Does it seem odd to anyone else a piece of intestine is coming out of that hole? Seems like its well in front of the diaphram. Maybe the bullet shredded the diaphram and it worked its way forward... just seems strange. Looks like it ran for a bit before tipping over.
> 
> It is shocking a heavy 154gr bullet cant fully penetrate a doe pronghorn... they aren't very wide at that point... and no shoulder hit. It does look like the deer my dad always shot with his 22-250 over the years, like a bomb went off inside them.


She was quartering to me, not hard but slightly. She did run for a bit, straight towards me and the boys which made for a few exciting seconds for them but we could clearly see she was hit and then she toppled over 40 yards from us. The shot may have been 80 yards... 100 yards max.

Sorry Dallan... don't mean to hijack your thread.


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

Bullets can be weird sometimes. My dad had the most bizzare thing happen on an antelope fawn last year, that if I didn't witness it myself, I wouldn't believe it. He took a headshot at the fawn facing dead on from 30 yards (the rifling in the barrel ended up needing replaced as it was nicked at the end and bullets were completely erratic we discovered). The bullet appeared to miss the fawn completely, until its guts fell to the ground while it stood there. Dumbfounded my dad racked another one and again tried to put one in its head, complete miss. Third shot, the same, so he walked up to 10 feet and finished it with his pistol. The fawn stayed standing the whole time. The heart was still beating on the ground when we walked up to it, none of the guts were punctured at all, and the bullet appeared to just perfectly slice open the fawn from brisket to belly button clean as a gut hook would have. 

We now refer to it as a "zipper shot", pulled the trigger and it just unzipped the guts for us. Seriously, that was the cleanest field cleaning I've ever had a part of. Bullet did all the work flawlessly.


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