Hey guys,

I do not post much but I do hang out here and read all of the info quite a bit. I have a bit of a technical question and there are about a million answers depending upon who you ask. I hunt in Florida but i also hunt in kansas during gun season. I Shoot a Savage 7mm Mag and I have been using 150 grain ballistic tips (Winchester ammo) for the last couple of years.The gun seems to like them and they shoot pretty good for me for the most part.

Typically, I shoot deer behind the front shoulders through the ribcage so i do not mess up any meat. The ballistic tips just make atremendous mess and then they fragment and tear the animals from stem to stern inside. I would like to switch to another type bullet that will put them down good without pureeing the guts inside theanimal. However, I have never really understood why the deer in the hunting shows always run off and have to be tracked where mine typically fall in their tracks and don't move. I do not care to have to go looking for them either.

Is there a compromise? The ballistic tips do the job but there has to be a better round.

Thanks

Charles

[ol][*]YOu can try a little heavier bullet that is constructed a little heavier like a Partition . My brother uses 160 Grain Partitions in his BAR 7 Rem mag and nothing moves and has a lot less meat loss then when I use Corelockts or BT's. YOu might also want to try the Corelockt Ultra ..that one should mushroom rapidly deliver all the shock and not go to pieces . Good Luck and glad to see your a Seminole fan.[/ol]

Try federal fusion 150's or heavier and also corelokt's 150 or 175 gr.

I'd consider trying out a box of the Federal Premium Vital-Shok loaded with the Barnes Triple Shock X-bullet (TSX). For deer I'd probably choose the 140gr version, but they also load the 160gr TSX for 7mm Mag as well. The TSX will expand quickly and will penetrate extremely well (I doubt that you'll ever have one NOT go all the way through a deer), but won't fragment and shouldn't create the mess the ballistic tips make at magnum velocities. I've had good results accuracy wise with the TSX, but haven't yet used them on game (yet) so my suggestion is based on educated speculation, not hard empirical experience, but the TSX has a good reputation for taking down game.

I guess it really depends on what you mean when you say they "...tear the animals from stem to stern inside..." Are you talking about causeing edible meat damage, or just blending their innards? If the latter, I'd say stick with the bullet you know your rifle shoots well and gives you dead-right-there performance. When you liquify their insides, deer don't go far.

Mike

If you like the Ballistic tips you can try the Accubond they will probably hold togeter better.
As far as them running off, the elk moose and mule deer goat and sheep I've seen have succumned to first on shot kills with my 3006.Yeah I've had to funish a few off but only cause they are layng there not 20 yrds away taking there last breaths.These all acted like they were hit, dropped clse to in your tracks for me, and I knew
it was going to be a matter of a couple of minutes before they died.
In fact the one moose reared backward and fell flat on back,and the last elk never went 20 yrds before it dropped.
By the time i got there it was dead.
I watched my uncle shoot a 145 class White Tail last year,
the first shot was behind the shoulder, with a 7mm Rem mag,this thingbolted like it wasn'teven hit,and3 more shots it fell about 150yrds fromwhere the first shot was taken.
He has shot a few of them before, but he's pushing 65 so he asking me if its a hit,, and I had never even seen one shot at so I didn't know the visable signs to look for.
It was a Rookie mistake to keep it simple.
I'll take the blame
Needless to say, between the videos I've seen, and people I've talked to, plus the one I witnessed, I figure its safe to say pound for pound a white tail deer is the hardest animal to do a one shot "DROP IN ITS TRACKS " kill on.
We do have whitetails in my area, but theyhave really notbeen worth my time pursuing, cause in Western British ColumbiaI consider my self a "high country"hunter.
And whitetails just aren't there.
I have never pursued Whitetail seriously, but after tasting the meat this last year for the first time and appreciating the amount of skill it takes to hunt these things,and the fact they are a tough animal, I might just by a whitetail tag and give it a shot.

If you are concerned about meat damage then go to a heavier-slower bullet. In the 7mm mag you can go to the 175 grain bullet. This will also give you better long range ability also if you are lookig for that. You must remember that you are shooting a 7mm mag and you are going to do some damage. And massive internal damage is necessary to put them down in their tracks.

As far as the guys on TV are concerned. I have noticed they never show where their shot hits. I try to watch the impact closely, a lot of their shots do not look very good to me. I have also watched them practice before the hunt. They do not seem to be very good shots to me. Or at least some of them do not appear to be very good shots to me. Tom.

How far do you shoot exactly? There are plenty of soft points that do the job and are more affordable. In any case, the 160 grain bullet is the perfect weight bullet for long range out of a 7mm Rem Mag.

A good broadside, heart/lung shot with a 7MM mag won't ruin anymore meat than a 7MM-08 or other smaller calibers!
A double shoulder shot and you can kiss the front quarters goodbye with just about any legal caliber from .260 on up, even a .243 at close range!

I use the Sierra Game King 150 gr. B/T in my 7 mm mag. As long as it is in the boiler room you are not messing up any meat. I'm not sure if you can get that bullet in a store bought round. I've been reloading so long I'm not quite sure what's available pre-made but if you can get a cartridge with the Game King as your bullet I think you won't be dissapointed.

A lot of people say the Hornady SST is more solidly constructed than the BT. I personally have shot both but have not noticed a difference. That being said I have shot them out of an 06 and 270WSM.