Dozen Arrows

You did not say at what distance you shot the aminal at. Try the Hornady SST.

stubblejumper

I use a 7mmstw driving a 140gr bullet at 3500fps for deer,and with lung shots,meat loss is not an issue.It is minimized even more if the 140gr tsx is used.

JagMagMan

I would NOT do this! A bullet designed for heavier game will not expand at all at closer ranges in a
7 mag, resulting in worse than ruined meat, lost, dead animal!
That said, I went back to my .308 and also a new .243 that has taken 5 deer this year! I'm over my bout of "magnumitis," you don't need a 7 mag for ANY Whitetail!

vadeerkiller

Call me crazy but I use my 300 RUM for deer and love it. I'm human and sometimes make a bad shot and like to have the odds in my favor.

tkendall14

I understand the frustration of losing good meat but I usually try and kill two or three does during bow season to eat on in the duck blind but after that its all for the head gear and the 7mag does the trick for me. Works out good that big bucks don't taste good so it doesn't matter if you mess him up.

Swampdog

Like stubble said A high rib or a lung shot will save meat and will still kill them graveyard dead.You might have to track them a little ways sometimes but they are going down.JMHO

LittleChief

Thanks for all of the replies.

It wasn't that I thought I needed it to kill a deer - I wanted a gun to hunt the pastures on my 530 acre lease in Arkansas.Looooooong shots.

Exactly why I bought it.

It was only 35 yards away. It figures. I set myself up for long shots, and I end up getting a shot that was almost within bow range.[>:] I guess that explains a lot.

Instead of changing ammo, I think I'll just get another barrel and save the 7mm barrel for certain hunts.

bighorn11

Sounds like the gun did its job to me. I shot one Saturday evening at about that range with 140 grain nosler ballistic tips. Pretty messy, but I like to put them down. I've ruined a lot of meat with a 30-30 before, so I've decided unless I want to neck shoot everything, I'm going to live with it. If your hunting requires some longer shots I would suggest a25-06 barrel for your gun. That should handle any long range shot on a whitetail.

eldeguello

A bullet designed for heavier game will not expand at all at closer ranges in a 7 mag, resulting in worse than ruined meat, lost, dead animal!

While it could be that a bullet designed for heavier game will expand less on a deer, this effect is multiplied as the velocity drops (at longer ranges), NOT vice-versa. It is an old wives' tale that a bullet can be moving too fast to expand!

I suggest trying the 175-grain Nosler Partition. It will expand at very long range/low velocities, yet the rear holds together for maximum penetration.

DeerandbearhoG

I dont think, just because a less powerful cartridge is sufficient for deer hunting , it makes the mighty 7mag a bad deer round. I dont see how a deer can be too damaged or "too dead" I think what you hit, like bone, muscle , or just skin and organs is gonna have more of an affect on "meat damage" Than what you hit it with.

The 1st deer I ever shot, a fawn,was w/ a 30 06, 180 gr. corlock . Way overkill, but my 1st shot was at 10 yds through the ribs, "penciled through" but dropped it, I put another(same load) in its neck as it layed kicking in front of me and the hole was litterally big enough to put my fist through!

I think the 7mag is a great round for whitetails any all ranges w/ 140grainers, as long as its comfortable for the shooter, I say thump away.