7mm-08 120 gr Ballistic Tip on Elk?

[SloppyJ]

Bullets do weird stuff.

It’s not like I don’t have any elk hunting experience.

Last week…
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Not taking anything away from you man. I just don't strictly agree with your terminal ballistics hypothesis.

I've done it too but I think the blame gets put on the bullet for splashing or exploding when the shot wasn't as good as it should have been.

Hey, that's why they make chocolate and vanilla. Do your thing!

 

[Scorpion]

Ballistic tips suck on elk. They have thin jackets. They will work at close range, but there are too many better options to use them. Why do you want to possibly set her up for failure?

Wrong. The 120 grain BT has a much heavier jacket than most BT’s, it performs very well. I’d use it on elk with no concerns.

OP - look up Steve Tim. Old gun writer that used the 120 a lot. Killed a bunch of elk with it, usually out of a 280 AI.

 

[butcherboy]

My daughter is 16 yo and will be 17 yo when elk hunting. She has a fair amount of hunting experience with success harvesting deer, turkey, and bear. I am fairly confident in her shooting ability, however, this will be her first elk experience. There will be a self imposed range limit of 250-300 yards.

She has experience shooting .243, 7mm-08, .308 Win, and 20 gauge (TSS & Slugs).

I’m still trying to decide if there is a potential advantage to a heavier (140 or 150) bullet with elk. I am leaning towards trying a 140 or 150 at the range to see how both my daughter and the gun shoot it.

My daughter and the gun do shoot the 120’s really well.

If she is 17 when the elk hunt starts I would opt for the heavier accubond. I shoot the 140 grain accubond out of my 270 WSM for everything. Last elk I killed with a rifle was a cow at almost 500 yards blew through her and broke the offside leg. Down in 20 and rolled down the hill another 15 yards or so. My son is 13 and used the same rifle last year on his elk hunt when he was 12.

 

[freddyG]

Wrong. The 120 grain BT has a much heavier jacket than most BT’s, it performs very well. I’d use it on elk with no concerns.

OP - look up Steve Tim. Old gun writer that used the 120 a lot. Killed a bunch of elk with it, usually out of a 280 AI.

It does have a bit heavier jacket. Much heavier is a stretch. If you coat a turd in chocolate, it’s still a turd.

 

[MoeFaux]

To no one's surprise, you're getting a lot of mixed reviews. I'm actually surprised nobody's chimed in yet to tell you she should be shooting a suppressed a 223 instead of that old, over-bored Fudd gun she's got

In all seriousness, though, it sounds like YOU'RE a bit uneasy with the 120's. So I say you load up something heavier and take it to the range. If the gun and shooter perform with the heavier pill, then put your mind at ease and take them both hunting!

. . . and come back to post pics of her first elk!

 

[jazz3ring]

To no one's surprise, you're getting a lot of mixed reviews. I'm actually surprised nobody's chimed in yet to tell you she should be shooting a suppressed a 223 instead of that old, over-bored Fudd gun she's got

In all seriousness, though, it sounds like YOU'RE a bit uneasy with the 120's. So I say you load up something heavier and take it to the range. If the gun and shooter perform with the heavier pill, then put your mind at ease and take them both hunting!

. . . and come back to post pics of her first elk!

I’m leaning towards getting some 140 AB and some 150 ELD-X or 150 ABLR and seeing how the gun and my daughter shoot those.