I need help

[PJGunner]

I hate to say it but I do need help. A friend's 10 year old son has drawn a tag for a cow elk youth hunt. The rilfe will be a borrower Remington M7 Youth model with an undetermined power, at least until tomorrow Leupold scope. cartridge will be the 7-08. I have the task of working up the load for the rifle. :shock: Dad feels a 140 gr. bullet will be sufficient but i'minclined to go with a 150 gr. probably the Nosler Partition or the barnes TSX. Ok, stick the AccuBond in ther ebut I have never used that bullet, at least not yet. Dad does not have a tag so cannot be a back up plan and dad has very little hunting experience. My rifles for elk have been bigger and more powerful so I'm in a pickle as to which would work best for the kid.
My question is this; would the 140 gr. Nosler Partition, AccuBond or Barnes TSX be sufficient for a cow elk or should we be looking at something in the 150 gr. range with those bullets?
The kid is a fair shot, at least with a .22 so he does know the basics. He's not a large kid but does listen well. He was one of my students in the Hunter Ed class I teach. I think their hunt will only be for a week end and as I know the area quite well, might even end up going along as a guide if nothing comes up. Problem is with no tag, I can't be back up either.
He only has a half day at school tomorrow so we'll be at the range to sight the gun in and see how well he does with it. He did shoot my Remington 660 last week and did quite well considering it was a bit too long for him and with no recoil pad did hurt a bit, yet I never saw signs of a flinch. He's a good kid and I'd like to help him get his first elk.
Anyway, that's where I'm at at this point in time..
Paul B.

 

[sask boy]

PJ, I personally would stick with Nosler but that is just me . That 7mm-08 will do fine job, it might not be a hammer but a good quality bullet and shot placement will more than make up for that.
Good luck with this young fellow. I am just thankful you are taking a interest in the young lad we need more of that in this day and age :wink:

Blessings,
Dan

 

[Mortis]

I like 150 grain BT's in my 7mm-08...

Recoil is nominal out of my Browning Micro-Hunter.

 

[Tobey284]

Guys who like magnums will disagree with me but all the bullets you mentioned will kill the heck out of a cow elk at responsible shooting distances (responsible shooting distance is subjective, I discourage youth hunters from shooting past 250 yards) Lots of folks who spend less time than we do worrying about ballistics kill all kinds of elk with 270s and 130 grainers. My general purpose 7-08 load for up to and including elk is topped with a 140 grain Partition. For a dedicated elk load in that rifle I would probably consider the 150 Partition, which might be a good choice for you if starting from scratch. The 140 grain ttsx will also give spectacular penetration on elk at 7-08 velocities, pick which you like and hunt confidently.

 

[shoots_5]

You should be fine with the 140. Heck when I was just a wee lad I was dropping cow elk with a 6mm Remington. As long as the kid can stick it somewhere near the front shoulder he should be fine. We get too hung up on power and bullet sometimes...not that it isn't important but the difference between a 140 & 150 grain bullet out of that cartridge at the ranges the kid will likely be shooting aren't worth spending much time on because if you place both bullets exactly the same both are either going to kill the elk or not. Pick whichever one shoots more accurately and call it good. And good on ya for helping out a young hunter!

 

[DrMike]

A 140 grain AB or PT will work quite well on cow elk. A 150 grain PT Gives a margin for error, but not much. Were this my child, I'd opt for one of the 140 grain bullets and never look back.

 

[OU812]

Not 3 weeks ago a friend of mine's son kill a nice cow with a 7mm-08 and a 140 TSX and he told me she dropped right where she stood. I would not worry in the least of any bullet mentioned not doing it's job as long as the bullet is placed where it needs to be.

Bill

 

[257 Ackley]

It is a little more expensive than the Partition, but the 140 Swift A-frame is the best of the bunch IMO. I have shot 3 elk with a 7mm-08 and the Swift A-frame (2 cows and 1 5X5 bull), and have not yet found the need for more than one shot. In my jug tests last summer there was phenomenal penetration and it retained 139 plus grains. All kill shots were under 200 yards FWIW.

 

[SJB358]

A 140 grain AB or PT will work quite well on cow elk. A 150 grain PT Gives a margin for error, but not much. Were this my child, I'd opt for one of the 140 grain bullets and never look back.

My boy will probably use the 7mm Mauser with a 140 AB in his rifle for his first elk hunt. I wouldn't have a worry in the world with him using that rifle for elk under 300 yards.

 

[AzDak42]

With the 140g AccuBond or Partition, you'll be just fine. My only caveat would be to echo what others have said about placement and range.

Keep the range under 250 and only take solid side shots into the vitals. You don't have room for error or taking a 'texas heart shot' from the back.

Frankly, for a younger, more slightly built shooter, getting something they can use with great ability is more important than having a harder hitting round. Even the rather warm factory loaded Nosler 140g Accubonds are still mild as all get out.

 

[cloverleaf]

If I recall the article correctly....Craig Boddingtons daughter shot a Kudu or a big Roan Antelope in Africa with a 7mm-08. (I know it was a 7mm-08) She and that big critter on the ground made a real nice photo. I would think the 140 PT or AB will do just fine within reasonable range. CL

 

[PJGunner]

Thanks people. I'll go with a 140. Just have to see which shoots the best. Not used to using a smaller boe rifle on elk as these days my main elk rile is my .35 Whelen. 8) The biggest problem may be once the shooting starts, shot will tend to be way out yonder. I've hunted the area he drew several times and once the dance begins, the elk head out to these very wide open areas and bed down in the middle. The elk I shot ther 8 years ago was in one of those open areas abd believe me there is absolutely no cover. I had to crawl close to 700 yards to get behind a small bush before I could take a shot and the cow elk ws still 530 yards away. Yes, I made the shot but 3 months of serious practice at my range using the 500 meter silhouette range twice a week until the last week before the hunt and then 3 days that week made the shot fairly simple. I had a good solid sitting position, no wind and for once the elk did not know I was there. I just wish I'd had a bull tag as I saw the biggest darn bull elk I've ever seen in my life. His antlers were so long he could just lean his head back to scratch his butt. :shock:
Anyway, thanks for the advice and help.
Paul B.

 

[OU812]

Thanks people. I'll go with a 140. Just have to see which shoots the best. Not used to using a smaller boe rifle on elk as these days my main elk rile is my .35 Whelen. 8) The biggest problem may be once the shooting starts, shot will tend to be way out yonder. I've hunted the area he drew several times and once the dance begins, the elk head out to these very wide open areas and bed down in the middle. The elk I shot ther 8 years ago was in one of those open areas abd believe me there is absolutely no cover. I had to crawl close to 700 yards to get behind a small bush before I could take a shot and the cow elk ws still 530 yards away. Yes, I made the shot but 3 months of serious practice at my range using the 500 meter silhouette range twice a week until the last week before the hunt and then 3 days that week made the shot fairly simple. I had a good solid sitting position, no wind and for once the elk did not know I was there. I just wish I'd had a bull tag as I saw the biggest darn bull elk I've ever seen in my life. His antlers were so long he could just lean his head back to scratch his butt. :shock:
Anyway, thanks for the advice and help.
Paul B.

Where are you hunting?


Bill

 

[PJGunner]

Thanks people. I'll go with a 140. Just have to see which shoots the best. Not used to using a smaller boe rifle on elk as these days my main elk rile is my .35 Whelen. 8) The biggest problem may be once the shooting starts, shot will tend to be way out yonder. I've hunted the area he drew several times and once the dance begins, the elk head out to these very wide open areas and bed down in the middle. The elk I shot ther 8 years ago was in one of those open areas abd believe me there is absolutely no cover. I had to crawl close to 700 yards to get behind a small bush before I could take a shot and the cow elk ws still 530 yards away. Yes, I made the shot but 3 months of serious practice at my range using the 500 meter silhouette range twice a week until the last week before the hunt and then 3 days that week made the shot fairly simple. I had a good solid sitting position, no wind and for once the elk did not know I was there. I just wish I'd had a bull tag as I saw the biggest darn bull elk I've ever seen in my life. His antlers were so long he could just lean his head back to scratch his butt. :shock:
Anyway, thanks for the advice and help.
Paul B.

Where are you hunting?


Bill

I was hunting in Arizona's area 31 which sit between the White Mountain Apache reservation and the New Mexico border. That's the same place the kid I'm helping out will hunt. My hunts this year will be up in the Kaibab national Forest for Mule Deer and the Vermejo Park Ranch just out of Raton New Mexico fo elk. Looking forward to both hunts. :grin:
Paul B.

 

[AzDak42]

I'm jealous Paul. 0 for 8 on elk tags in AZ!

 

[FOTIS]

A 140 grain AB or PT will work quite well on cow elk. A 150 grain PT Gives a margin for error, but not much. Were this my child, I'd opt for one of the 140 grain bullets and never look back.

There you go. I agree 100%

 

[PJGunner]

We did a range day with Eddy and he shot quite well with the new M7 Youth model. We'll be having one more range session next week and I'll have some paper plates set up at various ranges from 50 yards to 200 yards and we'll see how he does. I'm trying to convince his dad to buy only one brand of ammo instead of a bunch of different ones because I don't want the hassle of trying to get a load to work using mixed brass. Be OK for practice loads but not for the serious hunt ammo. :roll: Again, I do thank you for the help. 8)
Paul B.

 

[DrMike]

We're all pulling for Eddy and for you, Paul.

 

[SJB358]

Good luck Paul.. Shouldn't take much to get a decent load with the 7-08.. I would bet it'll happen fast.

 

[jmad_81]

I loaded the 140 AB in my wife 7-08 for a while. Now she shoots my 280AI, loaded with the 140 AB for elk. I would not think twice about using a good 140 AB/PT for elk.

I played with the 120 TSX for a while in it also, pretty impressive little bullet.