Anybody have any experiences with either? 7 Rem Mag, for deer. thoughts?

I use the SST 150 grn in my 30.06 and it does an excellent job on deer here in NC. I switched from the ballistic tip because it was coming apart and i had several shots where it didn't blow through it just sort of blew up on impact. The SST blows through and stays together due to the inter-lock ring. The SST is a great bullet in my opinion.

I *just* got home with the 150g for my 7mm. As soon as I find a good recipe for it, load it, take it to the range, and hopefully kill a deer and elk with it, I'll let you know <img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>

I agree with Mykey. I used the SST 150 in my 30.06 with excellent results.

Just re-read my Nosler mag and they state right in there that the Bal. tip will likely seperate the core from jacket at high velocities (under 100 yards). In those cases you must decide if you want maximum energy into the deer or if you would rather have controlled expansion and a consistant wound channel.

Most rifle-shot deer are killed by the shock of impact and not a blood trail (unlike bow hunting). I suspect (although I'm no expert) that pretty much any bullet will kill deer pretty well if shot placement is good and there is enough energy to give that shock value.

Now Elk or other larger, tougher game you'll want to start looking at bullet construction more closely. If you only hunt deer under 100 yards I don't think you could pick a bad bullet.

Power, all I want this bullet for is deer. If I was going for Elk or Moose I would look to Parts, Barnes X, etc. I have always been a firm believer the more energy you can release the quicker he drops. I have used BT's for a number of years and killed many deer. Our deer are bruisers most tip the scale in the 250-300 range on the hoof. I have never used my new 7mm for deer. Always a 270 win with 130 Gr BT, so I think the 154 SST or 150 Nosler BT out of 7 Mag will do a good number and the job. Shots can range from 50 to 300 but I have taken most of my deer 100-200 yards. I like to hunt the bush with meadows and funnels as my locale. I do sometimes sit on afler fields when the rut is on and the does are hitting it hard...that is where I may have to strecth her out to 300. My guns and I like Boattail bullets, so i think it will be a matter of 154SST or 150Nosler BT which ever yields me the best groups at 100, 200 and 300.

Anybody have any experience with 139 Hornady BTSP out of 7MM? My buddy said they shot great out of his...is this going backwards?

thought and comments appreciated?

Skeeter- I know what you mean and I agree with you. It's the energy that drops an animal, not penetration (mostly).

I'm going to try some 175g Partitions since I need a bullet for deer and elk. I think at around 3,000fps it should work pretty good. Plus it has a BC of .519 so should fly pretty well. Just hope accuracy is good.

Power, I hope your 175 fly well too. Personally I have never had great groups with Parts, but they do serve their purpose for the bigger game.

I still have decided for sure what bullet I will throw this fall for WT's. I am leaning toward the 154SST, just because I am curious on their performance in the field. As far as accuracy they are both great, the SST has a bit of advantage at 200, so far with my range time, but either are very acceptable.

As far as what I want, massive shock/stop power, I don't aim for the wheels anyways. All the game I have taken only one was in the shoulder and that was all my fault. I only take shots that provide me with the ribs and H/L. I am not above letting a buck walk b/c the shot isn't their, some people say &quot;Yeah Right&quot;, but it is true. Last Saturday I let the biggest WT I have ever seen in the wild walk b/c it was out of my comfortable range with my ML. My buddy even stated &quot; I was nuts and probably never see him again&quot;. Which maybe true, but why would I wound him and run the risk of killing him and never seeing him again through my ignorance...to me it isn't ever worth the risk. Call me stupid, but thats the way I play the game.

Thanks, for your replies.

Sounds like you got it all figured out Skeeter. Good luck with the WT and please let me know how the SST performs. I think they might be a little better for deer vs. the BT but I'd like to see performance and hear what other peoples thoughts are. I can get the BT's to shoot well in my gun and I would imagine the SST's would be about the same with maybe a little more weight retention on deer-sized game. Still, the BT seems to work well as long as there isn't much blood shot.

Speaking of which I had a ton of blood shot on my deer this year with the Scirocco. Kind of weird considering the bullet went clean through both lungs and barely nicked the ribs. It did take us about 20 minutes to find him and after we did we let him lay there for probably another 1/2 hour before gutting him, waiting for the sun to hit him for pictures . Since he had bled a lot I wonder if that might have caused some of the blood shot? Anyone?

I don't use the 7 mag but took two bucks using the SST's(06 150 gr. and 139gr in 7/08) last year
this year I have gotten them loaded for my 06,7/08 and 260
so they must work pretty well.

http://www.hunting-pictures.com/memb...ght&encore.jpg