7mm-08.... Avoid the shoulder?

[woods89]

If you put a bullet in the > odds are pretty high you’ll watch it tip over. Usually within a few steps.

This is the way!

 

[WYelker]

ALways a good heart lung area shot than a shoulder shot. I had shoulder shots, lots of wasted meat.

 

[deer_shooter]

que a @BuzzH picture montage of dead elk from a well placed 7mm-08 in 5, 4, 3, 2...

Yep. Was gonna say that this is a question tailor made for Buzz.....

 

[Lilhowie83]

This is as perfect a shot as you can get. Tight against the shoulder blade and through both lungs. I never understood the mentality of trying to blow bone fragments through good meat. Why does it matter if an elk runs 50 yards when it has a good blood trail?

I couldn't agree more. I was very proud of him when I saw that shot. Nothing aggravates me more than trying to trim bloodshot meat off the shoulders.

 

[Bam Bam]

Ok, thank you for all of the replies. If you heart shoot a whitetail, it can run 40 yards or more before piling up (usually in the thick stuff). I thought that a 500-pound animal would run that much further if I didn't take out the shoulders. Doesn't sound like it, from the feedback. Much appreciated everyone!

 

[D4570]

A 7mm/08 is basically a 308 but with more choices of bullets.

 

[OntarioHunter]

I can only recall shooting one elk/moose in the shoulder with my 30-06 back in 1975. It was a calf that stepped out of sight after the shot. I continued shooting at the rest only to discover later it had fallen over almost immediately. Very lucky to spot it on the ground as the snow was deep and powdery. In 2019 I shot a blue wildebeest in the center of the shoulder with 165 gr Partition and he went down in a cloud of dust. That is not my preferred shot location (I typically aim just behind the shoulder) but that's where the PH told me to put it. We had just taken my first African animal, a blesbuck, a few minutes before. I shot it walking at 100 yards behind the shoulder and he went over immediately but the shot was a bit high. Glen wasn't familiar with my abilities and I wasn't familiar with wildebeest or Partition bullets so when he said put it on the shoulder I did. For cape buffalo the broadside shoulder shot placement is MUCH preferred (usually insisted) by PHs. Obviously, if the bugger decides to take you, he'll be a little easier to hit incoming if he's only running on three legs.

If the shoulder shot is in just the right spot to hit that big nerve (can't remember the name), the animal will collapse instantly. Presumably, that's what happened to my wildebeest. But that's a very small target. If the shoulder shot animal is hit in the heart it's not going far and usually will leave a blood trail that Helen Keller could follow. You can always tell a heart shot: animal jumps and then runs like hell head down for maybe forty yards before running over itself or into a tree. No need to shoot it again.

A shoulder shot with that gun should work fine but I would pull it a little behind the shoulder if I had the choice ... even if I was shooting a 300 mag. You may not get bang-flop but unless it runs over a cliff, you won't have any trouble finding it.

 

[JLS]

Money.

 

[Buck Fever NW]

My son has harvested three elk with his 7mm-08 (140gr Accubonds), all hit in same location as Lilhowie's boy, and they all were easily recovered. Two fell within just a few yards of where they stood. The other made it about 30 yards. We've always aimed just behind the shoulder, going for both lungs. Biggest target and least amount of waste IMO.

 

[Brad]

A 7mm/08 is basically a 308 but with more choices of bullets.

Huh?

 

[Brad]

The legendary toughness of elk is more legend than reality. That's not to say elk aren't hearty, but hit with any decent bullet in the vitals it's going to be lights-out. And yes, any standard cup and core bullet from the 7-08 will penetrate an elks scapula and get in the lungs. If you really want an in and out on the "shoulder" with the 7-08, a 140 or heavier mono bullet will be your huckleberry.

I center-punched the big knuckle on a 6pt bull a few years back with my 308 and a 165 Hornaday BTSP. The bullet made a loud "crack" on impact, and the bull went down. The bullet penetrated the knuckle and into the lungs. I found it in the chest cavity. That's a pretty good torture test for any bullet, let alone a standard cup and core. It performed admirably.

My favorite elk bullets are the Nosler Partition or Accubond, but they're not necessary. One of the biggest, oldest bulls I ever took was with the 7-08 and a 150 Ballistic tip. I shot him in the far back ribs as he was angling away. The bullet penetrated 32" of elk and was under the scapula on the offside. The bull dropped at the shot and was completely dead when I got to him. Fastest kill I've ever had on any elk, having used over the years the 270, 7-08, 308, 30-06, 300 WSM, and 338 WM.

The 308 is my favorite cartridge...

 

[MTLabrador]

Shoot them here with whatever you’re shooting your elk with. They won’t go far. The shoulder joint is further forward.

 

[JLS]

 

[blacksheep]

Shot placement is more important to me than if I can shoot through an elk. Put the shot in the vitals and use good ammo and it should be a done deal. I like Hornady Precision Hunters 150gr E-LDX.


blacksheep

 

[brockel]

I think this is where a lot of the armor plated elk stories come from. Guys are so worried about not hitting the shoulder that they end up holding to far back and hit liver and the elk goes for a long ways. As long as you aren’t low and forward into the knuckle you will be fine. With a good bullet you’d be fine there too

 

[brockel]

This bull took two to the shoulder. First one through both blades. Second one hit the knuckle and still made it into the vitals. And guess what bullet it was. One of those terrible Berger vlds that supposedly grenade on a fly. 140 Berger vld from a 6.5-06

 

[blacksheep]

I hit mine right in the sweet spot. Just behind the right shoulder. Put two shots into him and he dropped like a stone. Bullet placement and enough energy to make a clean kill are that is really needed. I was always taught that the minimum energy for a clean kill was about 1,000 ft/lbs.

blacksheep

 

[Flatbrimmer]

Nope, heart and lungs. The one I shot in the shoulder required a follow up shot 20 min later. No tracking but it didn’t need to suffer while it waited for me to get there.

Same. Also cut myself on this little bugger because I blew bone into good meat.. I had to find and keep my souvenir.. Now I will throw a stick in the cog here and say don’t count-out a neck shot. I’d rather get clean miss than hit guts or bones. Some may argue. Just make an ethical shot. Trust your judgement.

 

[ImBillT]

View attachment 225152
This bull took two to the shoulder. First one through both blades. Second one hit the knuckle and still made it into the vitals. And guess what bullet it was. One of those terrible Berger vlds that supposedly grenade on a fly. 140 Berger vld from a 6.5-06

I shot a knuckle with a 140gr Berger Elite Hunter from 6.5-257AI . It went through the knuckle and into the lungs.

 

[buffybr]

Dangerous game and most African game that I've shot, I shot through the shoulder.

Elk meat is one of my favorites. Here at home I aim for the crease just behind the animal's shoulder and 1/3 up into his body. Even the 6x6 bull that I shot with a 117 grain Sierra GameKing bullet, just behind his shoulder, simply dropped dead where he was standing.

These pictures are of a 5x5 bull that I shot with a 168 grain Barnes TSX bullet from my .300 Weatherby, just behind his shoulder. He also simply dropped dead where he was standing. The 1st pic shows where the bullet entered and the small amount of bloodshot meat next to the entrance hole. The 2nd pic shows where the bullet exited just behind his off shoulder. The exit hole through the skin was less than 1" in diameter and again very little bloodshot meat.