7MM 08 Elk Round

[Username]

Hi all. My 10 year old son drew the youth cow elk hunt on the Valles Caldera this October. We currently have some Hornady American Whitetail 139 grain Interlock bullets in 7MM 08. I was wondering if this would be an acceptable round for cow elk? His max range would be 200 yards, although that would be unlikely. What are your thoughts? Thanks in advance for your comments.

 

[smarba]

10-year old daughter killed huge cow elk last fall with .243. Shot was only 40-yards, but she killed a cow oryx at 90 with the same gun. Single shot kills with 95-grain bullets.

I did a lot of online reading and the VAST majority said use bigger gun. Bigger is better. Can never have too much gun. But a few here and there confirmed that .243 was sufficient.

7mm-08 is more potent; if your son puts them in the boiler room he'll be in business; wouldn't worry about it at all.

Good luck!

Carl

 

[mossback50cal]

My daughter used a 7mm-08 two years ago for a elk hunt. She used 150gr barnes. Her hunt was either sex, so we went with a bigger, stronger bullet. For a cow, 139 should do the trick, if put in the right place. That's the most important part, shot placement.

 

[AlleninNM]

139 grain Interlock at 7mm-08 velocities will be fine.

 

[greatwestern]

Nothing wrong with the little 7-08 for elk...that bullet should work well enough, the Interlock is pretty much Hornady's version of a Core-Lokt or Powerpoint, both of which have killed a lot of big game when placed through the forward ribs.

A more strongly constructed, bonded, or monolithic solid bullet will give you guys a bit more capability in the event that shot placement is not perfect and the projectile happens to hit heavy bone. Cannelure locked bullets can and do come apart (jacket separating from core) or pancake when they strike big bones at the right angle, compromising penetration.

Anyway, good luck and have fun...and post up some pics after your son kills his cow!

Cheers,

Adam

 

[ixsolracxi]

7mm-08 is a great rifle, it is plenty of rifle for anything we have in NM...we have taken 1 cow elk with a Remington 140 grain core-lokt, a 5x5 bull elk with the same bullet and an oryx with a 140 grain nosler accubond...as long as he does his job the bullet will do its job...if I hunted rifle I would not hesitate to use the 7mm-08...you might want to also consider a 120 grain Barnes Vor-tx...good luck to your son...

 

[WapitiBob]

Buzz has killed a truck load of Elk with a 7-08 and Noslers. Might ring him up.

 

[vinihunt]

LAST EDITED ON Jun-23-15 AT 03:07PM (MST)[p]http://www.monstermuleys.info/photos/user_photos3/1263brothers.jpg

all with 7mm08..my sons love it...the boys shoot savage axis with 120 grains for antelope and 140 grains for elk..elk shots over 250 yards..and I used my son gun to kill a cow 400 yards shot..120 grain...

and a lot of predators killed too..

therefore 139 grain shoot fine if your son keep practice...

vinihunt

 

[mozey]

Awesome as always, Vini.

I have no experience with the 7mm 08. The only cow elk I've ever shot was with a 25-06 in CO some 20+ years ago. But I'd be a lying SoS if I said it dropped in its tracks. Wasn't the bullet's fault--I just placed it too far back (oft repeated sad story of my life). Luckily, there was about 10" of fresh powder snow that helped make the subsequent 2-mile track job doable. A friend of mine recently used her 243 WSSM with much better results. Like others here have said, it all comes down to good bullet placement. Maybe someday I'll learn how to do that...

 

[Username]

Thanks for the replies gentlemen. I was looking at the 140 gr. Nosler Accubonds but they are difficult to find and pricey. We have plenty of the Hornady's and I was trying to avoid shelling out another $50.

 

[greatwestern]

LAST EDITED ON Jun-24-15 AT 06:50PM (MST)[p]Nosler Accubonds and also Partitions are great bullets, might check out Federals Trophy Bonded Tip as well...haven't shot the TBT yet but I love the old Bear Claw its based on

There are also Barnes, Hornady GMX, and Federal Trophy Copper if you want to check out expanding monolithic solids...in my experience, they are all three pretty wicked as far as terminal performance on big game is concerned, especially in the case of hitting heavy bone

Its your boys first elk hunt no? I think spending a hundred bucks or so on a couple few boxes of quality ammo is well worth the investment...those boxes will likely serve him for several season of hunting; use the interlocks for shooting practice

Good Luck and Cheers

Adam

**edit---and great pics Vin, love seein the boys put the hammer down...cant beat the sweet ol backyard for goats and late season cows no!

 

[Phantom Hunter]

The 7mm 08 shoots the exact same projectile as the 7mm magnums, just starts them out slower. You will be fine with the 7mm 08 as long as you don't try to stretch the range too much and avoid hard quartering shots.

 

[Cahunter805]

The 139 will work just fine. More important IMO is how well do they group? Also how many rounds do you currently have? I'd get your son out and practice practice practice. Get him comfortable to 300 from field positions not just the bench. A well placed shot will do it's job with most bullets. Good luck and have a great hunt and memories!