Earlier this year I got a TC Encore 50 cal muzzleloader and also picked up a 7mm Rem. Mag. barrel. I shot my first deer with this rifle last weekend. I'm shooting standard "off the shelf" Remington 150 grain cartridges.

My question is, what's up with the absolute devastation of this round? I'm not happy with it at all. Sure, the doe that I took only made it a few yards (and I think she was dead before she slammed into a tree), but it really tore her up. The shot clipped the left front leg, blew through the middle of the heart and the exit hole was the size of a small orange. The path of the bullet would have just missed the right front leg, but there was still a huge curved chunk of the right front leg missing. When Ifield dressed her, the bottom of her heart was loose in the chest cavity.It had exploded.

I'm not a guru when it comes to this stuff. I lost quite a bit of venison, and I'm not happy about that because I don't like waste. Is there another bullet out there for the 7mm that would cause less damage, or should I just get another barrel?

There's really no need for magnum loads for any whitetail on Earth... Give the 140 grain Remington Managed Recoil rounds a try. They dial the 7mm Mag down to about a 7mm-08 power level, and should be very effective on deer. I used one last weekend and it dropped a 200 lb. boar in its tracks.

Use a heavier premium bullet designed for bigger game, it won't coma apart on a deer and should cause less destruction. Why did you think you needed a 7 mag to kill deer though?

I think that you just witnessed what high velocity magnums do by their nature. The faster you push the bullet, the more damage it'll do down range. You can use a tougher bullet like the Barnes TSX, Nosler Accubond or Hornady Interbond, but it's still going to make a mess. The managed recoil ammo is another option as it slows the cartridge down quite a bit and will be less destructive. Barring that, your best bet would be to aim a little farther back to avoid the shoulder altogether and make sure you only take direct broadside shots.

Mike

After shooting a big mulie with a 7mm Rem. Mag., (many years back!!) I quickly bought a 7X57mm to use on deer instead. The magnum, with 175-grain bullets, is a great elk round, but IF you want some venison to eat, leave the maggie at home!

Now you know why I shoot a .243!!!

What yo witnessed is what the & mag is designed to do 3100 fps of pure hyrostatic devistation. It is really unneccasary to use a mag on whitetail. If you want to slow down try using a heavier bullet like a 160 gr or a 175 gr. They will hit the deer like a hammer but will be traveling under the 3000 fps mark.

I handload my 7mag to reduce recoil ,and of course to save $$$. The meat damage doesnt bother me though. As far as Im concerned, I'd rather lose some shoulder meat, than the whole deer.

I use 52 grs of R15 and a 140 gr corlock. Get about 2850-2900fps w/ that load. Sorta like a .280, Small holes in the hide, but like jelly inside. Pretty accurate too.

I have a 7mm Rem mag on a Encore that I use for deer hunting. I've used the following ammo harvesting 2 deer with this particular gun. 7mm Remington Magnum 140 gr. Supreme® Ballistic Silvertip®. One deer was shot at 250 yards the other at 25 yards.Very little damage done on entry and exit.

The magnum is a long range round. Remember that. 200 yards is still a veryclose, easy kill for a gun with that much power (given the shooter can aim).The big7 has power aplenty to whack a deer at 500yds if you can aim that far.You can shoot reduced poweror heavyweight loads to tamethedamage down at closer ranges.The bottom line is shoot for the ribs.