7mm Mag no exit wound...twice

[Ferny]

My buddy shoots a 7MM Mag with Core-loc bullets. Not sure of weight. This is his second deer that has not had an exit wound. Last one was sniffing his scent wick quartering towards him. Pinhole entrance, no exit. Absolutely zero external blood loss. Luckily it dropped. This year it was a doe quartering away. Hole in entrance ribs stopped in far front shoulder. Ran uphill 75 yards good blood trail. Both shots about 100 yards.

Have you guy's experienced this with 7mm Mag's? I would expect with this thing there would be a pop can sized hole for exit?

Thanks,

Ferny

[harvey lee]

I have a 7mm and it does serious damage to a deer. One time years ago a new bullet came out by Winchester and I shot a nice sized buck in the heart lung area and the bullet never exited the deer. I never shot that bullet again and I have never had an issue with it again.

I might look at the shot being taken and the type bullet it is shooting as in a soft point or what. He could be shooting a low weight bullet with a expanding bullet and at the angles he is shooting he may have hit the shoulder on the other side.

He may not be shooting enough bullet.

[reinhard1]

i have seen a 30-06 hit the shoulder blade and end up in the hind qtr. i also have seen the same with a 300 mag hit the shoulder and end up in the neck. good luck.

[DooWap]

I had a similar problem this year. I shoot a 7mm Mag and was shooting Federal Fusion 150 grain bullets. I had no exit wound but my entrance wound was the size of a grapefruit. My guess was that I hit a rib and the bullet just detonated like a grenade. Most blood I've ever seen and the deer didn't go far but I still wasn't real happy with the bullet performance.

[Steve Foss]

There are a lot of deer calibers that will lodge in the off shoulder instead of exiting on a quartering-away shot. On the one where the deer was facing toward him, we haven't heard enough details about shot placement and where the bullet ended up to comment on it.

[Ferny]

I'm only asking because on the 4 deer he shot with this thing he's 50% for no exit?

I quit shooting Nosler Partition Ballistic Tips in my 30.06 because of too much meat damage.

I wouldn't rule them out for trophy hunting though. We butcher our own deer and throwing away a lot of blood shot meat didn't make me happy. Since then I have had good luck with Fusion 165 gr since switching.

Ferny.

[picksbigwagon]

ballistic tips are designed to do damage, I would never use a ballistic tip bullet on a deer or any game I was going to eat. WHen I hear ballistic tip bullets I think of praire dogs.....

[NoWiser]

Ferny,

I am running into the same issue with my 270 WSM. Out of the 10 or so deer I've shot with it since I got it I'm guessing 60-70% did not have an exit wound. All but one were the traditional broadside shots and ranges anywhere from 20 to 80 yards. This has happened with Fusions, Partitions, Accubonds, and Powerpoints. My only theory is the bullet is traveling too fast and explodes on impact. The deer don't go far, but I'm always worried when there is no exit wound and I can't find a chunk of bullet bigger than a BB while butchering. This offseason I'm going to work up some handloads using Barnes TSX and TTSX which are suppose to hold up better. I'll report on my findings next year......

[fishuhalik]

I shoot a 25-06 and had the same thing happen this year when I switched to the fusions. 120 gr bullets. I could easily fit my fist in the hole, then it went into the back shoulder, it was quartering away just a little, and barely went into that second shoulder. I always shot my uncles handloads up until this year when I ran out, and those handloads did a number. I wish I could remember what he loaded for me!

[harvey lee]

In my 7MM Rem mag the best bullet I have found for flat shooting and good bullet retention and performance is the

Hornday 7MM 162gr Interlock BTSP. These bullets have always cleared the body and left a nice exit wound for tracking of a blood trail if needed.

They are designed with a tapered jacket for controlled expansion.

Most of the shots I take are long range and up to 250 yards and the bullet fits the bill.

I have used these Hornday bullets for quite some time.

[DRH1175]

The reason there is no exit hole is these are long range guns and long range bullets. At the extreame velocity they are hitting the deer they are all disinigrating. They are doing extreame damage internally but just not exiting. 7mm mag, 270wsm etc are capable of shooting hundreds of yards. Balistic tips are designed for 200+ shots where reduced velocity will occur and still expand like they are suppose to. They will literally blow up at close range. I would never use them on close shots. Honestly If I was shooting 100 yds or under I would reload reduced loads. Or use a heavier cased bullet that can take that velocity. Not all bullets are created the same. This is the exact reason I use my 30-30 for MN deer hunting. It works perfect on my short shots i encounter. I leave my .270 and 7mm for out west where you offten are shooting 200yds.

[sportfish]

mags are ment to shot long range and bullets dont hold up at close range. Try the all copper bullets and you will like them ! I tryed them on elk and was real happy 275 yards and passed throw with a gmx 165 grain in a 30-06. My friends 7mm didn't make it throw a mule deer at 80 yards with 154 grain interloc.

[HunterLee]

Thats part of the problem shooting deer with rifles to close. I shoot handloaded 150gr berger hollow points, both blew through my deer and both were over 200 yards. Ballistic tips are not deer bullets, and i used to shoot coreloks with good success. Shoot a heavyer grain if he is not worried about flat shooting, as at 20-80 yards thats not what a 7 mag is for, get some of those 175gr coreloks should blow through them

[Gordie]

in my 30-06 I have hand loads that are 165 speer btsp and never have had an issue with it not coming out and one time I switched up for a season to the ballistic tip (cause it was all the rage) and it was the first deer that I lost no blood and I knew that I had hit that deer the next day I found it late afternoon she bled out inside and no exit very depressing as the meat was spoiled. I posted about this about 3-4 years ago. I have never used that round since and hve went back to the 165 speer btsp that seems to work best for me..BTW That deer was slightly quartering towards me and the entrance was a pin hole in the kill zone but hit the othe rshoulder and destroyed it.

[Tom7227]

I don't know much about what all you guys are discussing but I do have a question. Wouldn't it be desirable to have all of the energy expended in the animal? I would think a bullet that passes through still has some energy and it is wasted. I understand the issue of having a bullet fragment excessively and creating a mess.

Thanks to anyone who can help me understand.

Tom

[Gordie]

But if the bullet doesnt pass thru there is the possiblity of no blood trail and just because the bullet frags inside doesnt mean the deer will drop in its tracks.

Its IMO best to have a pass thru shot incase the deer decides to exit the area from which it is shot at least for the most part there should be some sort of blood trail to track the animal to recover it. Thwee deer that I had to throw away was internally damaged severely and still ran abotu a 1/4 mile I recover the animal late the next day I could find no exit wouund and no blood on the outside of the body I gutted the deer and it smelled bad but I tagged it and registerd it brought it home and made calls to the local butcher to get an opinon on keeping it he said any doubt throw it out its not worth getting sick over. I belive I did my part correctly. and decided that I would not use that style of bullet again as not to hopefully ever have that happen again. I also shot a buck that year almost the identical shot with my other choice of bullet and didnt have any problems finding or tracking that deer.

At the End of the day the most important part is the most ethical way to dispatch and recover the animal

[harvey lee]

It's fine with me if the bullets fragments in the deer. I typically shoot a 300 Win mag and the deer do not go far at all if they even go 5ft with a faitly good hit.

With that said, if I am using a rifle with a small caliber, then yeas I want a pass through for a blood trail so I can track it as all shots are not perfect.

[reinhard1]

my son-in law used a 300 mag and made a perfect shot in the shoulder but the bullet deflected and went up in his neck. i had to do a real forensic job of tracking it down. only a few drops here and there and i put markers at each blood spot. 30 yards later i found the 8 pointer under a pine tree. the body cavity was full of blood but no exit wound. i guess if the shot did not hit bone it would have had a great blood trail. my brother gave me his 7mm mag and had similiar results. the deer do not go far but we hunt in northern minnesota and have plenty of cover around us. i will take some of the suggestions on bullet type and go from there. good luck.

[harvey lee]

I never try to hit the deer in the shoulder as one will not get a pass through more than likely. I pump them through the heart lung area and they do not take too many steps and the bullet always goes through.

I believe that's the issue with many of the shots that do not clear the deer. Too many shots hitting large bones.

My father alway shot them in the neck. They go a very short distance if any at all.

I in no way would shoot a deer in a bony area as it causes to many issues and a shot in the front shoulder damages way too much meat for me.

[NDL]

I agree with what many of the others have said. It depends a lot on the bullet choice and shot placement. A lightly constructed bullet such as a Nosler BT at close range out of a magnum round will likely break apart on impact especially if a large bone is hit. My dad borrowed my 7mm mag for his MN moose hunt last year and got 3 complete pass throughs on his moose. All three shots were in the chest. He was shooting 175 grain Trophy Bonded Bear Claws. While this particular probably won't expand well on deer it goes to show what different bullet choices can do.

[mrklean]

my 7mm usually doesnt leave an exit on the deer i had shot it messed them up good inside and dropped them but no exit wound, as long as the deer is dead and i dont have to track it forever the bullet did its job.

[mwal]

When I had 7mag I tried 175 grain pointed sp and it passed thru deer and did not expand at all. Had to track 150 yards. I then went to 139 grain pointed sp and they exploded on any deer under 75 yards no exit holes. I then settled on 150 grain boattails in Fed premium and killed many deer all pass thru's with good expansion at all ranges. I now shot a 7mm-08 with Rem corelockt 140 and have been satisfied with performance.

Mwal

[JJensen]

I shot a buck last year with my 30-30 the hornady leverution bullets and i didnt even find a entrance hole and no exit. and there was no external blood. just lucky he dropped.

[Ray1]

I shoot a 25-06 and had the same thing happen this year when I switched to the fusions. 120 gr bullets. I could easily fit my fist in the hole, then it went into the back shoulder, it was quartering away just a little, and barely went into that second shoulder. I always shot my uncles handloads up until this year when I ran out, and those handloads did a number. I wish I could remember what he loaded for me!

I shoot the same exact thing out of my tika 25-06 and have always had a exit. That being said i have had a pass through on both shoulders so i dont know why yours are not going through.

[fishuhalik]

Huh, coulda just been a fluke. The area I was shooting into was pretty clear, a few branches so I guess I coulda hit one and sent it sideways or soemthing. First time using the bullet so I'll give 'em another shot, most everyone I talked to at my sporting goods store said they were great