7mm-08 for Moose??

[fly-fisher01]

I am a new hunter and will be going on a Moose hunt...........Would the 7mm-08 be a wise choice for a Moose. The one I have is a Tikka and I shoot it well, but I am a bit hesitant about taking it on a Moose hunt. Right now I am shooting hand loads with Barnes Triple X bullets 140 grain, muzzle velocity of 2600 fps. Would the Hornady light Mag be a better choice on Moose???:-D

[Untouchable]

thatll do the job just fine buddy
tsx's let the air out of everything

[wapiti]

Hey flyfisher. Those Barnes XXX's are good bullets...the Hornady's have a higher muzzle velocity, about 2900 fps, but I think the Barnes are a better bullet. Should do fine on a moose up to 200 yards with the 140 grains!!:)

[moose hunter]

put it in the right spot and the moose will drop

[fly-fisher01]

I thought of going a bit bigger (30-06) but the 7mm-08 is such a light gun.......would be nice to just keep on using it........do you think I should hand load a heavier bullet???

[Rackmastr]

I think you're right where you need to be.....a 140 TSX will kill a moose, elk, bear, etc, etc and I wouldnt worry one bit about it. If you're happy with it, shoot straight and hammer down a moose.....

I have a 30-06 and a 7-08....and plan on using the 7-08 for 95% of my hunting.....

[fly-fisher01]

Thanks for the great advise.........Rackmastr!!!!

[swampdonkey]

i've got one has not let me down yet deer moose and elk8)

[mcrae]

7mm-08 is a great choice! It will do the job just fine.

[fly-fisher01]

Thanks all you guys for the great info..........I think I will stick with my 7mm-08 sounds like it will do the Job right for me..........Take care and hope you all have a great hunting season!!!!!! CHEERS

[moose hunter]

You could play with 162 gr might be fun

[todbartell]

140 tsx will work just fine. you probably can squeeze another 200 f/s out of the 7-08 with the 140s. Should be pretty effective out to 250-300 yards

[Ltbullken]

140 grn TSX would be fine for a moose. Would I take it at 400 yds with 7-08? Maybe not but most hunters take game within 200 and a 7-08 should be good enough especially with 140 grn TSX bullets. Good hunting!

[Mattimoose]

I had a customer in Moose Factory Ont. with a 7mm-08 BLR that wouldn't part with-it for all the tea in china as it was in his words a better gun than the .270 he used to use for moose, but I think the short and light aspects of the SA BLR had more to do with that than caliber. I do know for a fact that he wouldn't sell-it to me as I see-it as an excellent choice for deer in that package.

The 7mm Mauser is ballistically identical to the 7mm-08 when loaded to the same PSI and that caliber has even killed elephants, in the hands of a woman who was confident with-it. Of course, plunking 173-grain FMJ's into the ear canals of elephants at close range requires nerves of steel, but if the bell of Africa could do that with her 7x57, I'm sure you will do fine hitting the vitals of a moose out to 200 yards, and you won't have to worry about the moose falling-over and crushing you either, even with a brain-shot.

[StoneChaser]

I had a customer in Moose Factory Ont. with a 7mm-08 BLR that wouldn't part with-it for all the tea in china as it was in his words a better gun than the .270 he used to use for moose, but I think the short and light aspects of the SA BLR had more to do with that than caliber. I do know for a fact that he wouldn't sell-it to me as I see-it as an excellent choice for deer in that package.

The 7mm Mauser is ballistically identical to the 7mm-08 when loaded to the same PSI and that caliber has even killed elephants, in the hands of a woman who was confident with-it. Of course, plunking 173-grain FMJ's into the ear canals of elephants at close range requires nerves of steel, but if the bell of Africa could do that with her 7x57, I'm sure you will do fine hitting the vitals of a moose out to 200 yards, and you won't have to worry about the moose falling-over and crushing you either, even with a brain-shot.


I think you mean Walter Dalrymple Maitland "Karamojo" Bell...he killed over 1000 elephant and is touted as the greatest ivory hunter of all time.

He used the 7x57 (among others) to the job done. That is who is commonly referred to as "Bell" when speaking of Africa...not "The Belle of Africa"....dude was guy!

[todbartell]

the babe was a hottie

[wapiti]

All the same, pretty amazing that one could kill hundreds or even thousands of elephants with a 7x57 Mauser cartridge...I suppose he used solid bullets though to penetrate into the skull. Must have had brass balls the size of watermelons to creep up to one of those critters and put a bullet in the earhole!! YIKES!!!!
Elephants weigh what, about 10,000 pounds? That's about 10 moose in one lump...so the 7-08 should definitely be good enough for moose!!

[StoneChaser]

the babe was a hottie

Wasn't her name Ruth?

[kutenay]

If, you actually read Bell's writings, particularly those in his last years, he openly states that about 25% of the Elephants he shot were wounded and lost as well as that his main reason for using the small cartridges he did was due to the light weight and availability of the rifles and ammo.

Bell was a decorated, (MC) veteran of WWI, R.F.C. and he meathunted in the Klondike before joining the British Forces in SA for the jolly old Boer War. He was an incredible shot, no question and at times, shot flying Cormorants with his .318 Westley Richards rifle. But, his feats of long ago really have little bearing on contemporary BC hunting, IMO.

I have two 7x57 rifles and have owned/loaded for and shot others; it will slightly outdo a 7-08 as it has a bit more capacity, but, it is a neat round. I like bigger cartridges for my use on elk and so forth, but, would not hesitate to shoot a Moose with a small seven, using a good 140 gr. bullet.