My Brother shot a nice mule deer last year with his .50 cal muzzy. He hit it hard. Blew front shoulder out, Heart, and lungs. The deer still managed to bound 25 yards and piled up under a fell pine tree. There was small blood spots were it was standing but nothing else. He didn't see the deer go down after the shot because it dropped below his sight in the thick cover. It took us 3 hours searching every possible exit and track. We finally stumbled over it luckily. The deer had fallen under thick cover that even though we were standing 5 feet away we couldn't see it. Point is You probably killed your elk and didn't spend enough time looking for it. Elk are tough animals and even if you hit it with a 210 grain 300 rum there is not guarantee its going to fall in its tracks. I hunt with a 7mm rem mag and I shoot 168 bergers. Most animals i hit drop in there tracks. I had a cow elk a few years ago that ran hard on me. I was finding huge chunks of bone and blood like you cant believe. She still ran straight down the canyon about a half mile and got down into the nastiest cliff and dead fall I have ever seen. I don't see the need to blow a animal in half. Hell might as well shoot a .50 BMG. Nothing is going to run after its hit with that.
7mm Rem Mag load for Elk size game at 700 yards.
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MudRunner2005
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It's good to see someone who understands hunting....It's not always gonna be a dead in their tracks shot. Part of hunting is the tracking. I've shot whitetail deer with a 160gr Barnes dead in the shoulders and barely found any blood, and almost didn't find the deer. It's not necessarily the size of the game, or how good or bad your shot is. Sometimes things just don't go as planned. I have never shot an elk, but it is logical to think a 7mm 180gr VLD will knock a nice hole in an elk, traveling out of a big-bore 7mm like a 7mm STW, 7mm Dakota, or something like that, being that it's only 30gr lighter than a .308 210 or .338 210 and is way more aerodynamic and much higher BC than a .338 210gr bullet.
The 7mm 180gr Berger VLD has a G1 BC of .659. The Barnes TTSX 210 in .338 caliber has a G1 BC of .482.
Joe King
Well-Known Member
Could not agree more. Some times we goof, some times equipment fails, some times the critter just won't give it up. it's how the hunter handles it that's important. I've seen bad shots on elk that was a hard hit at all just to have the elk lay down and die, seen speed goats go a long ways on nothing at all when by all rights they should have been DRT. My daughter followed a buck for over 2mi through the Missouri river breaks last year that left a painted trail of blood. How he went 20yrds was beyond me.
brushhunter
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Ive seen multiple bulls fall to a 7mm. And to make more of a point were talking Roosevelts, less rack but body of pure mass and muscle. It all comes back to bullet and placement. Ive personally never seen one drop at 700, but a good handful between 500-600 yards. They werent drt but tracking was not an issue. Put it in the bolier room or double lung no issue to worry about.
MudRunner2005
Well-Known Member
I've used the same bullets and had to track them, and I've also used the same bullets and made the same shots, and had them either fall over dead, or ****-near do a barrel-roll and land on their other side.
Sometimes everything works perfectly, sometimes it doesn't.
If you were close enough a .257 Wby Mag with a 115 VLD should kill a bull elk with no problems....That's alot of velocity when it's moving 3300 fps... And that little .257 caliber pill will absolutely wreck their insides, like a blender blade went through them. My processor was in shock and awe when we cut open a doe I double-lung & heart shot with a 110 Accubond from my .257 Wby @ 100 yards. Little bitty entrance, little exit, but It looked like someone ran through it with a chainsaw on it's vitals. We may have had .5% meat loss....The only part ruined was the meat in a couple inch diameter circle around the entrance and exit wounds.
And sometimes a .338 Lapua doesn't kill them...
It's all about how the "stars align" when you take your shot. Sometimes it's perfect, sometimes something goes wrong. You never know till you pull the trigger.
porkchop401
Well-Known Member
I suspect you are right in that I did not look long enough , my partner joined the search about noon and he convinced me to give up about 30 min before dark.
I still feel like I had a adequate setup with the 7 mag but man the elk I shot was the closest shot all week I had and after that one would have had to of been inside of the 500 yd mark.
I just feel better putting as much on a elk as I can shoot accurately.
It sucks whenever the big one gets away, and you feel bad you were not able to find him knowing you made a hit. That is hunting and nobody can fault you for making a valiant effort. there was nothing wrong with your set up, there are so many variables that you can never get it perfect every time. At least you tried, You can't win the lottery if you don't buy a ticket. You have to pay to win.
giving up right at dark sucks because you feel your so close. I have been thinking of getting one of those special lights that makes blood stand out when you shine on it. This would have been the perfect time to have one. I am sorry you didn't find your elk. At least it gives you a reason to buy another gun.
giving up right at dark sucks because you feel your so close. I have been thinking of getting one of those special lights that makes blood stand out when you shine on it. This would have been the perfect time to have one. I am sorry you didn't find your elk. At least it gives you a reason to buy another gun.
idaho elk hunter
Well-Known Member
A 7mm mag will at a 1000yds have more retained energy and shoot flatter than ALMOST any other caliber. Definitely flatter and better than the 300 win mag in a apples to apples fair comparison. Anyone on here that says it takes a 30 cal to do it is very opinionated and spreading bar stool knowledge. Now that we are comparing BC and sectional densities and retained energy numbers and all the scientific mass in this world none of it will be any good compared to shot placement and bullet construction. I would much rather have a 45 cal muzzle loader round ball with its horrible bc and sectional density hammer my trophy in the brain than have the NASA guided million dollar bullet and caliber hit my trophy in the intestine and pencil hole it. To surmise look up what the energy and bc, sectional density of a round ball is and one internet warrior, number talking, non field experienced "HUNTER" would argue that the round ball would not penetrate let alone kill. We all know that many of muzzelloaders over centuries have killed all game. Its 99% shot placement.
Earlier in this thread it was said that BOTW tv shows have crippled many elk because of using the 7mm. I assure you if the hunter was using a 300 high zoot mag, the same elk would be just as crippled. Those that say a 7mm wounds and a 300 would of killed with the same shot and corresponding bullet weight and quality are purely ignorant internet warriors. Not wanting to start any fights here but come on. Lets think about it.
Earlier in this thread it was said that BOTW tv shows have crippled many elk because of using the 7mm. I assure you if the hunter was using a 300 high zoot mag, the same elk would be just as crippled. Those that say a 7mm wounds and a 300 would of killed with the same shot and corresponding bullet weight and quality are purely ignorant internet warriors. Not wanting to start any fights here but come on. Lets think about it.
MudRunner2005
Well-Known Member
Can I get an AMEN!!!
desertbull
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BINGO. Margin of error is a wives tale. A .50 in the guts is less lethal than a .22 to the liver.
porkchop401
Well-Known Member
Please explain about the flat shooting? Who holds over for a thousand he shot
As for as margin of error goes it is the extreme BC. that larger calibers can offer thatcuts how precisely your wind dopeing must be .
My 260 @2800 with a 140gr has twice the drift of my 338 at a slightly slower speed and a 300gr bullet making that vital shot less difficult .
We can choose what ever we want that is what makes things interesting.
D1mens1onsh00ter16
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Please explain about the flat shooting? Who holds over for a thousand he shot
As for as margin of error goes it is the extreme BC. that larger calibers can offer thatcuts how precisely your wind dopeing must be .
My 260 @2800 with a 140gr has twice the drift of my 338 at a slightly slower speed and a 300gr bullet making that vital shot less difficult .
We can choose what ever we want that is what makes things interesting.[/QUOTE
If I were going to have to shoot a 30+ cal bullet then the 338 would be my choice because it offers a great BC. But if you look at the 30 cal bullets only then the 7mm is no doubt the better round. Just simply comparing the berger bullet selection the 30 cal 185 grain bullet offers a .549 BC. The same bullet in a 7mm at 180 gr offers a BC of .659. Now we are comparing apples to apples since the bullets weigh close to the same. If you looked at just the BC and bullet weight, which one would you choose?
porkchop401
Well-Known Member
I would choose a 230 grain Berger for the 300 win.
there are many ty pes of apples the ones you choose suit your argument as in weight to bore relation .
If you look at this in best available for a given bore diameter the game changes.
like comparing 140gr 6.5's to 140gr 7mm. the on paper edge goes to the 6.5.
there are many ty pes of apples the ones you choose suit your argument as in weight to bore relation .
If you look at this in best available for a given bore diameter the game changes.
like comparing 140gr 6.5's to 140gr 7mm. the on paper edge goes to the 6.5.
