Great morning!

24 on/ 48 off · 10-06-2002, 01:01 PM

What kind of bullets are you using?

--spud-- :smile:

Rusty · 10-06-2002, 01:40 PM

I don't know what it is about the 7MM, but I've had the same problem with mine.

A few years ago I shot at a cow elk in the West Biggs Unit. I was only about 50 yards from the critter, so missing was NOT an option. Anyway, I shot and the elk showed NO reaction, nothing, nada. So, I shot again, same reaction. I looked around to see if Canbdid Camera was filming me in order to get a good laugh! The cow took about 4 steps, and then fell over dead. No "humping up", no flinch, just a lung shot that took some time to be effective. I did not like this scenario one bit.

I was thinking about a bigger gun anyhow, so I sold my 7MM and went to a .338 Win Mag. and added 210gr. Noslers. End of problem!

Rusty

TheRogue · 10-06-2002, 02:17 PM

What bullet??? A very stout bullet (Failsafe, BarnesX, etc.), will sometimes NOT open up going through the middle of a deer's ribs. Personally, I don't think those bullets are good deer pills, unless you're a shoulder shooter; but ideal for elk, bear, etc.

Personally, I use the Winchester Ballistic Tips for deer....instant expansion; but makes a big mess if you hit shoulder or backbone!

TR

batman · 10-06-2002, 03:36 PM

Thanks for the help guys. I had a bunch of 140gr ballistic tips loaded by a friend of mine - shot super groups but these were what would just zip thru - little hole in, little hole out..... I am shooting store bought Federal Premium Trophy Bonds right now - interestingly enough, my second shot hit low on the sternum and blew apart I guess - I found a rip in the skin on the sternum and two small holes in the lower portion of the back leg at the knee when I skinned the animal. The first shot was in and out thru the liver, little holes both sides... The last shot was in the neck at close range to "put him to sleep" - Man! Talk about bloodshot when I got in there! Not much left of the neck I am afraid. batman

corrirod · 10-06-2002, 04:53 PM

I've had the same success as The Rogue with ballistic tips. I shoot a 30.06 with 165 gr. ballistic tips. Hunted it the last 2 years......2 rounds fired....2 deer down within 5-10 seconds. Bullets really expanded well. Neither hit bone but I could see how they might really tear things up if you did.

Haven't shopped for anymore ballistic tips lately, do they make any larger 185 grain versions? I'd really like to use them for elk.

batman · 10-06-2002, 05:30 PM

corrirod it is funny you say that about your .06- when I hunted with my old 30-06 pump the deer tumbled down the hillside as soon as I hit them but with this 7mm they do not.....I really like the way this gun shoots so flat, I can hold right on an animal out to 300-350 and not worry about missing them - except for me shaking like a dog - and I like the long shooting down here (I am hunting the Applegate Valley)......but it would be nice if they went down on the first shot so I don't shoot the bejesus out of them - maybe I just need to have more confidance in my shots and wait to let them fall down before I shoot again. batman.

batman · 10-06-2002, 11:06 PM

I hiked up to my trusty old stand this morning that I have been hunting for 20+ years (arrggghhh, it gets harder every year). When I got there, a doe was snorting at me so I thought I would just sit for a little while as she had likely warned everyone on the mtn. well after 15min, I look across the canyon and see two deer step out at 300 yds, one looks like a spike and one I can make out a fork at least - so I let fly and the deer does not go down - Darn I missed - so I shoot again and the deer still keeps walking albeit w/a limp now - the other deer is still standing there looking around. so I hike on over all the while watching what I now can see is a forked horn just standing there - when I get there he leaves and I see my buck laying under a tree, one more shot and its all over by 8:30. A very respectable 3X4 is tagged and I am back by 10:00am to watch the Raiders.
What i am having a hard time with is that this is the fourth deer I have shot with this 7mm and they do not go down - this one was hit hard in the ribs and through the liver. This rifle shoots fast, 2900fps or so and the bullets seem to go right thru and the deer don't know they are hit..... I have shot some deer multiple times because of this (which is not good w/a 7mm). Any ideas? I could go for the neck or head I guess but the gun shoots better than I do. batman

mudsucker · 10-06-2002, 11:30 PM

Great job batman :smile: . As far as the gun goes i had the same problem with my 300 weatherby on a bull two years ago and unless you have some one there watching when you shoot it's hard to tell and a person has a problem not shooting again if it's still up and moving. :grin: unless you hit a big bone area at that range with a bullet thats moving that fast you will never be able to tell if you got a hit or not.

Curlew · 10-07-2002, 02:06 AM

I have had good luck with Hornady btsp 117gr out of my 25-06. Group real well and never had to trail a buck yet. I don't think its uncommon to have a deer run 20-30 yards after being shot through both shoulders. Most likely they are dead on the hoof. Out of 9 deer I've killed, only 3 have gone right down when hit. I would suggest waiting to see how the animal responds before shooting again. As far as the elk standing broadside after a good hit and not reacting, I would have shot it again also. They can be tough to bring down. Deer on the other hand I would wait, most likely they will fall moments later.

mike

Flying Roast Beef · 10-07-2002, 02:08 AM

Here's your ballistic tip info.
http://www.nosler.com/charthunt.html
I've been using the 165 gr. ballistic tip behing 60 gr. of H4831sc for quite a while now and it shoots real well out of my '06.

[ 10-07-2002, 03:09 AM: Message edited by: Flying Roast Beef ]

KingFisher85 · 10-07-2002, 05:33 AM

I think you should go for the 165 gr. bullet, that's only if you can shoot that.
2 deer two shots, no more then 100 yards.
1 elk two shots. 275 yards away
both deer and elk did show sign of being hit in the lung with my 308

Artwo · 10-07-2002, 08:43 AM

I shoot a new Remington 30-06 bolt action and have done some research on the Remington premium ammo's that are available over the counter for this gun. The area I hunt for deer, shots out to 300+ yards are common so I have been shooting the Remington 165gr. ballistic tip with very good results. This year we drew elk tags for this same area so I went searching for a bullet that was a little heavier but still had good nockdown energy out at 300+ yards. I decided on the 180gr. Scirocco since it had 1910 ft.-lbs of k-energy at 300 yards. Go into Remingtons web site and look at their ballistics charts under center-fire ammunition for your specific caliber, some real useful information in there.

JK

Killertraylor · 10-07-2002, 08:52 AM

The 7MM mag caliber is not the problem - that's an excellent caliber for both deer and elk. I had the same thing happen 5 years ago with my .257 Weatherby shooting 120 grain balistic tips - the bullet just passed right through the deer at 250 yards without expanding and he just stood there and continued feeding until he dropped about 30 seconds later. I think sometimes the bullet goes too fast to expand before it exits the animal if you don't hit anything hard. The deer I shot last week folded like a ton of bricks, not a flinch at 200 yards with a Nosler partition which mushroomed beautifully and stayed in the animal.

Try switching bullets with the 7 mag to a Nosler partition or a Remington Core lok - I've had excellent results with the .300 Win. Mag. 180 gr. Core lok's on three elk I've killed. I hand load them and get about 100 fps more than the factory loads and much better accuracy.

nerta · 10-07-2002, 03:19 PM

don't worry the deer is on the cutting table. in our camp we throw lead until they fall, deer or elk. just know where the lead is going. 7mm is a great round and bullets are in the hands of the beholder try grand slams... good jod and enjoy the viddles.