Ive only shot one deer with this load and it went a total of 75 yards, the first 60 without a drop of blood, after that the blood was spotty at best. I found the deer bedded down looking at me, so I shot it in the neck. Now Im not saying that barnes bullets wont kill deer, however I am saying that the 7mm 140gr XLC isnt disigned to expand on whitetail deer. HAd the conditions been different (no snow) I may have had a very tough time finding this deer.

The x bullet works great on deer. Yes they expand perfectly on deer.
No they will not blow a 4" hole in the off side of a deer.

Generally a more explosive bullet like a ballistic tip will drop a deer faster than a controlled expansion bullet like an x bullet.

It is not considered abnormal for a deer shot with an x bullet to travel 20 or 30 yards before falling.

The benefits are if you hit bone, if you have to shoot from a less than perfect angle, if your shot is not perfectly placed. In all these conditions you are better off with the x bullet.

Try the Triple Shocks version of the X. I think you will find them to be accurate and to have excellent terminal performance on deer.

Expecially in your caliber you can also use a lighter bullet because the x loses little bullet weight upon impact. Flatter trajectory and still maximum penetration.

This was my exact line of thinking. A 120 grain bullet out of a 7mm-08 shell would be a very flat shooting puppy.

Todd,
I agree with your thinking.
Try the 120gr x.
Make sure you do not try to load them close to the lands. About .05 back should work for you.
Make sure your barrel is as clean as possible before trying the x bullets.
Start your loads well below max loads in your reload book, x bullets will sometimes not take a full max load of powder that other bullets may take.

If you can't get the 120's to shoot then try the 140gr Triple Shocks. People have been having excellent results with them. I have had my best luck with IMR4831 with the Barnes bullets in several calibers.
Good luck!

I never had much luck shooting deer with a 243 but it sounds like the x bullet may be just the thing for the fragile 95-100 grain bullets. Anybody tried them in a 243?

You could spend a lot of time trying to get the standard "X" bullets to work if you ever get them to work at all. The Triple Shocks seem to be working out for most everyone who has tried them. You might want to just go with the Triple Shocks.

My camp has used X-bullets exclusively for the past 7 years. I'd say we've taken at least 25 deer in that time. Two of them went about 25 yards and the rest dropped in their tracks. They expand perfectly - they're hollow points with four petals pre-cut in the metal. I'm surprised to hear people saying they wouldn't drop a deer flat. I've heard that they can group poorly in some rifles and they foul barrels, but never anything bad about terminal performance.

Scott Meier
White Oak Lodge

I used the x bullets for I don't know, maybe 4 or 5 years after they first came out. I don't have anything bad to say about them really, for what they are designed to do, they do flawlessly, but a few years ago I switched to the trophy-bonded bearclaws because they have just enough lead in them to where they leave a bigger exit hole, not terrible like a bazooka or something, but a whole lot easier to blood trail than the barnes X. Listen, the whole reason i shoot these type bullets in the first place, is because in these thickets where I hunt IF I have to track one it is because I pulled off a little bit or the lungs were my only chance, because 99% of the time I'm going for the slightly high shoulder shot to drop them in their tracks, but If I do have to blood trail I'm pretty much gauranteed an exit hole.

I have only shot 1 deer with my abolt .270 130gr XLC . 5 1/2 y/o buck at about 160 yds. hit him in the upper right part of his shoulder and he never flinched once after i pulled the trigger.

I love Barnes. I think they have thier place. They will certainly kill a deer. And if it didn't you got a bad shot. But for deer I like 165gr gamekings. You get explosive expansion from a 308win. I also like the bullistic tips and partitions. Any of these bullets should get a pass thru up to 200 yards. I like barnes for moose, pig and elk where penetration can be an issue. I have killed deer with 150gr x out of my 308 but I found I like the gamekings a tad better.