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7mm Mag. Deer caliber?

Old 09-25-2009, 12:45 PM
  #51  
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get new friends. every deer i've ever killed with mine has failed to go more than 40 yards, and there's always been more than sufficient blood. i started dropping them more when i did two things: get ballistic tips and shoot out the front shoulder. you're not shooting a bow therefore you don't have to aim back and down like you are. there's so little edible meat (for my preference) on the front shoulders you're not really losing anything, and you're almost guaranteed to drop them. your friend sounds like he actually needs to shoot a 7 mag. i doubt i'll ever find a more suitable deer round.
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Old 09-25-2009, 12:56 PM
  #52  
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Originally Posted by gamewarden1
I shoot a Remington 7mm Mag. I shoot core lokt 150 grain bullets through it and i have never shot a deer with that thing that i havn't found. (Knock on wood) I have had my rifle for about 7 or 8 yrs now and have had plenty of people say that it is too big for NC deer but i disagree. The right grain bullets and you could shoot anything that you want with a 7mm mag.

hey we live like 16 miles more or less apart if you do in fact live in kinston, and i agree with you. people have told me i'm shooting too much gun for years, and i say too much is better than not enough. i either miss or it dies with the 7mmRemMag those are the 2 scenarios i've run across with it.
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Old 09-25-2009, 04:12 PM
  #53  
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Originally Posted by tf
I am the original author to the 7mm mag topic. I thank you all for the input. I have determined that the caliber, bullet type, and marksmanship are all needed for any situation. I believe the "problem" I was having is a result of the caliber being "too" big and "too" fast for med. game. I think most agree that the bullet may pass through without proper expansion, thus not leaving a good blood trail and obviously not knocking the animal down. I still intend on using it, but will keep in mind your opinions. Thanks again.
I would have to strongly disagree. Ive heard people say a 30-06 wasnt enough gun for deer simply because after shooting a buck, it ran off to never be found. Ive also heard a 300 win mag pushes bullets thru deer too fast to expand, and is too powerful. Neither opinion is correct, and it can be traced to armchair ballistics experts, or poor shooting skills.
The same 7mm bullet that goes into the magnum, also goes into the 7mm-08. The same 30-06 bullets go into the 300 win mag as well. The bullets in those calibers are made to expand on thin skinned game, end of discussion. The difference is, poorly built bullets at magnum speeds can cause them to blow apart and not to their job when hitting an animal. They expanded, but then kept going, as in turning its guts out. If you are hunting something under 100 yards, you dont need the big 7 mag, just a 30/30. If you are getting longer shots, then you have the perfect weapon for the job. I will personally bet a steak dinner, that is you put nosler partition or accubond bullets, 150-160 grain weight thru the shoulder of a whitetail, it will expand, it will drop, and you will fill a tag. If it doesnt, let me know where to send the money order for your steak,lol.

Last edited by streetglideok; 09-25-2009 at 06:23 PM.
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Old 09-25-2009, 05:13 PM
  #54  
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I agree with your synopsis. Bullets like the Nosler Partition are not a good choice for the 7mm Mag. on short shots. This caliber is outstanding for both short and long distance shots with the correct bullet choice. I shoot the SST when hunting on powerlines where a long shot is possible. The Core Lokt's are exceptional for dense foliage and shots out to 200 yard. Both will drop a medium size game animal in their tracks.
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Old 09-25-2009, 08:53 PM
  #55  
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I agree that there is no such thing as "too fast to expand," but "knockdown power" is also a myth! There is nothing wrong with using a magnum on deer, but it is more about bullet construction than caliber! A bullet designed to take down a 400-600+ lbs. animal just will NOT expand well in a 150-200 lb. deer unless you hit major bone!
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Old 09-26-2009, 12:38 AM
  #56  
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Back to the original post or reason for this thread; I have used a 7mm rem mag for coyotes to moose and never had a problem. I should mention I realize that a bullet used to shoot a coyote isn't probably the best for a moose and vice versa. Since we are talking deer my bullet of choice is the 150gr Nosler ballistic tip, close or far it works but the results (or damage) as some like to call it vary. That said my main hunting partner uses a 7mm rem mag as well and he stuffs it with only 160 NP. His results on the same critters mirrors mine, no problems. On shorter shots no doubt his NP does far less damage then mine and on long shots his does less. I refer to him as lazy not wanting to change loads like I did but really can't argue with his results either.

TOO BIG???? I guess I'm guilty of this b/c I used my 338wm with 225gr AB bullet to successfully harvest bull moose, bull elk and deer. The results where the same BANG, 2 holes, jello for lungs and flop. In fact the damage produced on the deer where less then what my 270 win produced in some cases.

I have used .25 to .50 cal ml's on deer, they all work if you do your work in the first place. Damage?? Shoot it in the shoulders, expect damage! If you want to minimize the damage to the shoulder and this is your shot placement of choice! Then use a better constructed bullet. However realize that if you take that shot behind the shoulder the bullet may not open up the same sized wound channel as a standard cup and core or polymer bullet..it's a give and take scenario and it applies to all calibers!

In terms of experiences unless you find the animal you have no way of knowing what happened with the shot. I can relate a fresh expereince from last week though it was on elk. A guy using a 300 RUM with 200gr NP made what appeared to be a good shot, lots of good blood at the hit sight and showed an exit wound as it was on both sides of his trail. Good trail continued 200 yards or so in the bush then petered out to droplets. I had noticed on the higher vegation at the start the blood was high, indicating to me it was a higher shot. With the trials inter twinded picking a route was near impossible so I went on my hands and knees searching for which way to go. To make the story shorter 300-400 yards later we found the bull elk, still alive but unable to get up so he was quickly dispatched with a neck shot at PB range. CSI showed the bullet clipped the upper lobe of the onside lung and exited 2" below the spine. The entrance and exit holes went between ribs - now thats luck, so the wound channel was fairly small and eventually sealed up. The distance of the shot was 300+ yards. On the flip side I called in & shot my bull right behind the shoulder at less then 50 yards with the 338/225gr AB, bullet smashed ribs, taking out both lungs, leaving a large wound channel and resulting in flop with only a few leg kicks to follow. I can relate other stories about the weird happenings of bullets or game, the fact is sheet happens and sometimes you'll need to work hard to find out why and other times you'll have to leave sctratching your head to what actually happened but more times then not its operator error vs equipment failure!

Last edited by skeeter 7MM; 09-26-2009 at 12:41 AM.
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Old 09-28-2009, 05:21 AM
  #57  
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Originally Posted by rustynobles
i say too much is better than not enough. i either miss or it dies with the 7mmRemMag those are the 2 scenarios i've run across with it.
That's the same result that I've had with my .243.


Except for the "miss" scenario...
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