7mm STW bullet for Elk

I've shot a couple mule deer and a few big blacktails with the Berger 168 vlds out of my 7 Rum and they are stone killers! That said I would stay away from big bone on shots inside of 300 or 400 yards with velocitys over 3000 fps. They can be a bit messy! I have made the switch to 155 Hammer Hunters in my 7 Rum and they shoot amazing. Also, I found years ago single feeding Bergers in Rem 700 rifles I can hunt with one in the chamber and one down in the mag, I put 6 in my side buddy for follow ups if needed. I only hunt with a loaded chamber if I hunt solo. Hope this helps and enjoy the Hammers! Jason
 
I made the switch to the 175 Elite Bergers in my 7 Rum before California decided to go lead free and it was also a stone killer!! Mule deer and Blacktails did not like the 175's at all. My rifle however loved them. I believe the 175's would crush Elk! Good luck on your hunt and enjoy the process with load development. Also don't forget to validate your trajectory and cold bore map your load before your hunt. Cheers Jason
 
I forgot to add, my rule of thumb with Berger bullets is to avoid big bone under 400 yards and try and break the offside shoulder on shots longer range. This has worked very well for me. I switched to the 155 Hammers last year and am yet to kill an animal with that load. However we do have a few kills with the 143 Hammers in a 7 Rem mag and a 280 AI and performance was awesome. Kinda like a modern day partition with a much better BC. Jason
 
I have taken several Elk with 165gr bullets from different angles. They all went down. Shot placement is the name of the game. You need to understand where that bullet going in at and where it's going through. Making sure it's going to get into the killing zone. Shooting in the guts doesn't work. I have taken animals straight on, and from the rear too. They went down. Do I prefer shooting with animal being 90 to me, but that's not always the case in a lot of shots.
 
powermax said:
likely has been discussed a million times, I'll start a fresh discussion..

my first elk hunt is coming up, I'm a 7mm STW shooter using Berger 168 gr VLD for deer, the outfitter I'm using said most of his clients shoot @250 yrd. max 400yd

I'd like some advise from experienced elk hunters, should i work up a new load with different bullets or run with my whitetail load?
this load has a long OAL and don't fit in my magazine, a drawback when needing a follow up shot..

sorry I tend to sweat the small stuff..
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Not the bullet I'd choose but it will certainly do the job. I too have a reservation about having to load singles in the event you need a quick follow up which is not uncommon on elk with even the best shooters.
 
josh_127 said:
I shot my bull this year with a 180 gr vld berger @208 yds....he looked like lightning hit him...didn't even twitch just flopped over dead.
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Yet we can't count on that being the case with every shot we fire, especially on large game.

A bull elk can take a single step of two feet or more in the time between your brain sending the signal to "fire" to your finger even at moderate ranges.

As such to be responsible hunters we need to do what we can to be ready with a very quick follow up.
 
central iowa couple said:
After my wife and i killed 2 bulls with a 7rm running the 143 hammers....my suggestion would be run the hammers and dont look back. My wife's was at 320 and mine was at 272. Both were pass through and both dead within 15 seconds. By running the hammers it opens up the shoulders along with chest shot. Our 7rm runs them at 3330 fps. The stw would be faster. We sighted in at 280 yds. Made a dead hold to 400 on the elk. Took all the worries out for my wife about dial up.....or hold over. Let her concentrate on the shot. I use rl26....love it. Chec out our story in elk hunting. Pics there of the exit holes on my bull.....yep......holes. 3 of them from 1 shot. Devastating. Pm me if you want any info on our experience
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Which 7mm?
 
I was unimpressed with the effect of the 168 Berger on elk at shorter range. Some said it was because I didn't clean out the tips. I'd probably go with an Accubond if I was certain shots would be inside of 400YDS. I now shoot ABLR 168 and I haven't had the chance to take an elk close in but have shot a few at around 500YDS and I'm happy with them. Berger has some serious supply chain issues and I would caution anyone from getting too wrapped up in their bullets because you never know when you might see them on the shelf again.
 
Troutslayer2 said:
I was unimpressed with the effect of the 168 Berger on elk at shorter range. Some said it was because I didn't clean out the tips. I'd probably go with an Accubond if I was certain shots would be inside of 400YDS. I now shoot ABLR 168 and I haven't had the chance to take an elk close in but have shot a few at around 500YDS and I'm happy with them. Berger has some serious supply chain issues and I would caution anyone from getting too wrapped up in their bullets because you never know when you might see them on the shelf again.
Click to expand...
I'm not shooter of the Berger bullets but in their defense, but for most of the last decade and particularly right now there have been serious supply chain issues for all the bullet manufacturers for a myriad of reasons.

With us pulling back our forces and disengaging, the biggest cause of that issue is going to wright itself sooner rather than later as the terrible strain a war puts on the ammunition industry is over.
 

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