7mm-08...7mm.....280
- Thread starter sealhunter
- Start date
Well said.
Actually no it wasn't.
How long have you done what you do for a living?
Are you good at it, do you know a few things more that the average guy because you have done it for so long?
I'm thinking yes...
Experience teaches us a lot if we decide to learn from those experiences.
Yes, I know more than the average guy, but I can quantify it when I decide something is good and something is not.
For instance, put 2 steaks in front of me and I can tell you which is better and why. I can say " This one has more marbling, which will translate into flavour and tenderness. This cut is more tender, but the other one has more flavour. This one comes from the end and the way the meat/sinew meets in this area will cause the steak to curl when you grill it" And so on...
What I won't do when someone asks "How do you know which steak is better" is to just say "I've been doing this for years, so I will just point to one and you will trust me"
Anybody that thinks a 7mm-08/ 280 /7x57/ 7mm Mag is marginal for elk has a screw loose IMO...
You don't need huge cannons to drop game. Shot placement is the key. To suggest a poor hit with a bigger caliber will somehow compensate for the crappy shot is a bit silly... A poor hit is a poor hit...
If you want to use big guns that's another matter have at her. To suggest to someone that they are using a marginal caliber when using any of the 7mm's is just silly talk...
You don't need huge cannons to drop game. Shot placement is the key. To suggest a poor hit with a bigger caliber will somehow compensate for the crappy shot is a bit silly... A poor hit is a poor hit...
If you want to use big guns that's another matter have at her. To suggest to someone that they are using a marginal caliber when using any of the 7mm's is just silly talk...
Anybody that read the "Flat tops and Fireballs" thread should agree
Funny, Bartell shoots a doe behind the shoulder at about 100 yards with a .221 Fireball and it staggers a bit and is down
I shot a blacktail buck behind the shoulder the next month with a 300WSM, using a 130gr TTSX @ 3500FPS at about 30 paces and it staggers and is down.
The deer pretty much reacted exactly the same...
Things that make you go hmmm.....
Things that make you go hmmm.....
You mean things like exploded hearts resulting in dead game. Biology is a funny thing isn't it.
Fact is there is a difference between the 3. To compare them is kind of pointless, with a couple of exceptions. At 400 yards the 7mm Rem mag has a pretty good advantage over the 7-08, less over the .280. Assuming you load them all to the teeth, the differences are reasonably incremental from the 7-08, the .280 and the 7 Mag. Fact is, 7mm haters aside, they all benefit from the very high SD and BC of all 7's and the truth is that a real high BC 154 gr out of a 7-08 can do some amazing things given that little case it left. Same for the other 2, but the longer distances give them the slight edge. A good 7mm Rem Mag launching a 160 sturdy BT bullet @ around the 3000 fps mark retains over a ton of energy at well past the 400 yard mark. Combine that with the great penetration and high retained velocity makes it very formidable on anything. Nobody claims that the 7-08 is the cure for magnum-itis, or that it's better than a lot of other choices, but it's mild recoil and typically light weight rifle make it an exceptional choice for most things. An elk gun? There are better, no doubt. Depends where you hunt and how good you are with your rifle. BIG bulls are tough and sure you can kill them with anything given a broadside at the boiler room, but that ain't always the case. For elk like the bigger ones are they deserve more gun at longer ranges and a .300 Mag is up there. A .338 is more like it.
I really like my 7-08 and pack it everywhere but when it's elk or moose killing time, the .300 Mag comes out. My 7mm Tikka is just too damned pretty to keep hunting with, a 1990 M658 Premier. It has to it's credit, however, 3 young bull moose at over 400 yards, one shot kills with primo 160's and I can't argue with that. They'd maybe have been just as dead if I'd used the 7-08 but all 3 were dramatic hits, instantly on the floor that the 7-08 I doubt would have done. The 7 Rem mag is a great and spectacular killer no doubt, but again all 3 rate up there as terrific calibers. I guess the real telling difference is to ask yourself this - if you're in the thick stuff after a moose and a real pissed off big bear decides you're in his space, which caliber would you want of the 3? No contest, IMHO.
I really like my 7-08 and pack it everywhere but when it's elk or moose killing time, the .300 Mag comes out. My 7mm Tikka is just too damned pretty to keep hunting with, a 1990 M658 Premier. It has to it's credit, however, 3 young bull moose at over 400 yards, one shot kills with primo 160's and I can't argue with that. They'd maybe have been just as dead if I'd used the 7-08 but all 3 were dramatic hits, instantly on the floor that the 7-08 I doubt would have done. The 7 Rem mag is a great and spectacular killer no doubt, but again all 3 rate up there as terrific calibers. I guess the real telling difference is to ask yourself this - if you're in the thick stuff after a moose and a real pissed off big bear decides you're in his space, which caliber would you want of the 3? No contest, IMHO.
I've shot over 20 deer with a 22-250 (thats right not just one or two) I kept my shots to within 100 yards and shot each deer in the neck they died/dropped instantly.
The key is that I kept the distances to what I felt was a reliable killing distance I did not shoot until the shot was perfect I did not stretch the limits of the rifle/cartridge even though I felt I knew that I would hit the animal where I aimed the risk of injuring an animal wasn't worth taking the shot because I new I could get closer.
The key is that I kept the distances to what I felt was a reliable killing distance I did not shoot until the shot was perfect I did not stretch the limits of the rifle/cartridge even though I felt I knew that I would hit the animal where I aimed the risk of injuring an animal wasn't worth taking the shot because I new I could get closer.
Are we on to bear defense now?
Shoot straight with what you have with you at the time. Until you start getting into considerably bigger cartridges, the difference in cartridges isn't going to keep you from becoming bear poo, but where you hit the bear will make a difference!
I've shot over 20 deer with a 22-250 (thats right not just one or two) I kept my shots to within 100 yards and shot each deer in the neck they died/dropped instantly.
The key is that I kept the distances to what I felt was a reliable killing distance I did not shoot until the shot was perfect I did not stretch the limits of the rifle/cartridge even though I felt I knew that I would hit the animal where I aimed the risk of injuring an animal wasn't worth taking the shot because I new I could get closer.
Still doesn't tell us how you determine a "marginal" cartridge....
- Location
- Back in the Peace Country
I've shot over 20 deer with a 22-250 (thats right not just one or two) I kept my shots to within 100 yards and shot each deer in the neck they died/dropped instantly.
The key is that I kept the distances to what I felt was a reliable killing distance I did not shoot until the shot was perfect I did not stretch the limits of the rifle/cartridge even though I felt I knew that I would hit the animal where I aimed the risk of injuring an animal wasn't worth taking the shot because I new I could get closer.
Why did you use such a marginal calibre rather than a 300 mag or 338?
I have owned and hunted with all 3. I think the 280 was my favourite but for what it's worth I only own the 7-08 now. I hunt moose and deer and cow elk with no reservations. My local rifle range is 255 meters long. That is the distance I practice, that is my max distance for comfortable shooting. I handload a premium Nosler bullet and use my bow hunting skills to get closer if I am not comfortable with the shot that is presented to me. All this discussion is making me hungry. I am going to pull an elk roast out of the freezer now.
Bet ya new what knife was the best one to use to cut the steaks though...
Yup- And I can quantify that, too....
powder burner
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Alberta, Canada
I wasnt aware this was a straight elk-a-bility poll???!
It isn't but most will agree that Elk are one of the tougher critters to put down so in my mind if its gonna take an Elk its good for everything
####-head! I never said i have killed any, nor did I imply I have.
That reply was in responce to a question posed to me by..
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gatehouse View Post
You think you need a bigger cartridge than a 7mm to kill an elk?
I have shot a few
moose course I suspect an Elk is much harder to kill than a 60" moose right.I think an average hunter would not handle the recoil of a heavier cartridge and not shoot as accurately as he would with a 7mm 08. So if he was bad to start with he is going to be even worse... I don't know how he would be better served shooting less accurately ...
The 7mm Mag is considerably more cartridge than a 7mm-08. The poll is a little flawed in some of the questions asked when you compare the smallest with the biggest.
And this thread sure got hijacked...
I think the average hunter would flinch from a 7RM or a 280! I guess the term "average" hunter swings to big a big loop. Most on this forum I don't think you would consider average.
yes your def right on your the flawed poll comment IMHO.
