7mm bullet

[icehook]

Hi looking for a good bullet to use in reloading a rem 7 mag thanks for input

[Gissert]

I am partial to Barnes bullets myself, with Nosler Partitions running a very close second. I have used them deer and elk, with excellent results.

Other really good choices are the Swift A-Frames, and the Winchester Fail-Safes.

Depends upon what you are hunting also. Lots of people like the Nosler ballistic tip bullets for deer or antelope, but this is not a good bullet for elk or moose.

[almostthere!]

The only bullets I will use now are the X-bullets from Barnes. I need to try their new MRX bullet.

I must be going "green".

[Gissert]

Here is why I like Barnes so much:

This bullet was recoverd from a white tail buck I shot at about 40 yards. Bullet entered the front chest hitting lung, and then hitting the left shoulder/leg bones. It then traveled along the the outside of the rib cage under the skin for a few inches before exiting and lodging in the rear knee joint. After all that bone and tissue contact, it still weighted 210 grains, the same as the day I handloaded it. It had opened with 4 perfect petals, measuring nearly 50 caliber. Gun was a .338 win mag.

I have another bullet just like it from another buck my wife shot with her .338/06. This one went through both shoulder blades, lodging under the skin on the far side. It too still weighed 210 grains, and looked like it could be in a bullet ad picture.

[Benny]

Holy bat wings batman, a .338 win mag for these little puny whitetails????

Just kidding, but it does seem a little big for a deer.

I just picked up a 7mm Rem Mag in a Winchester model 70XTR, can't wait to see what I can get for accuracy out of it at the long ranges.

My brother shoots this caliber for deer and has had instant drops with it.

The only time I had instant drops was once with my 700 30-06 when I hit the back bone on a bounding deer at 75 yards.

And when I used to take head shots with the winchester model 94.

Benny

[Gissert]

Yep, overkill for sure! I use it because it is very accurate, and is the only left handed gun I have. I am left eye dominant, and I bought the gun for elk hunting.

Someday I will get something smaller for deer in a left hand gun. The .338 is no treat to shoot much.

I have seen no more or no less damage on deer shot with a .338 vs a 30/06 or a .270.

I have had deer drop instantly with the 338, and have had them go 100 yards also.

[83walleye]

Great retention - surprised you didn't get a pass through. That big bullet sure did some damage, but two holes bleed better than one, no? A hit high in the shoulder/spine area with just about anything will put a deer down immediately.

[WalleyeGod]

Also like the Barnes from the earlier post.

WG

[SmilinBob]

As a gunsmithing student I would tell you to go get a bunch of different manfactures and try them out until you find one that shoots well in your gun and one you really like. That is really all you can do because of all the different loads and differences in each and every gun. Good Luck.

[Cootz]

Here's some info, stay away from Hornady's A-Max for deer hunting. I didn't clearly read the info on them and reloaded some 30-06 loads and they were nice shooting into paper and they brought the deer down fast because they just exploded. I'm very doubtful that if you are looking for an exit hole and you hit bone that this bullet will do it for you. It's a really nice flat shooting and stable bullet but it does not stay together. I love Hornady's bullet's for prairie dogs, but I think I too will be switching to Barnes.

[Blair Nelson]

Our hunting camp is heavy with .284 bores. 4 .280's, a .284, and I am even working on a mannlicher 7x57 FN Mauser woods gun. I load a fair bit of 7mm boolits.

Unless you are shooting your 7 Mag at extreme ranges (and considering we are on Fishing Minnesota, I will ASSUME you are not) you have a helluva lotta gun for whitetail. Once again assuming shots at anywhere from point blank to 300 yards, your biggest worry with bullet selection is that the projectile may be going too fast for your application and a sub premium bullet may not hold together at short ranges.

I have had great results with 140 Barnes TSX out of my .280 ... even at ranges of 50 -75 yards ... 7mm hole in ... chest cavity turned to an organ smoothie ... Big F N hole going out. This is at about 2990 fps chrono'd 15 feet from the muzzle. TSX are spendy ... about $25 per 50 bullets (not counting other components).

Big Drift had super results with plain ole Hornady 139 Interlocks at 2850 out of his .280. Brisket to Ham pass through at 50 yards. 100 Interlocks can usually be had for $12-15 bux.

I will also be playing with 120 TSX and 120 Nosler Ballistic Tips this summer ... While Ballistic Tips in other calibers and weights are notorious expanders, some gun goo roos like Steve Timm swear by them and claim they are made "tougher" with extra jacketing for silo shooting. He pushes them out of a .280 Ackley at real fast speeds with good results.

If I was going to hunt exclusively bambi in Minnesota with a 7 mag, I'd go heavy for caliber in something like a 154 - 175 grain Hornady Interlock at it's most accurate speed. Working up a load for that bullet is far cheaper than playing with Barnes bullets. If you are a serious long range shooter, look at a 140 Barnes TSX but be prepared to spend money on developmental AND practice rounds at the range you will hunt.

I play with Barnes' because I am a rifle looney with a "one gun one load" dream for Rocky to Bullwinkle out of my .280 mountain rifle. If I was practical and focused on whitetails only the extra boolit technology would be unnecessary. But that is just me and my rants and rambles for today.

[almostthere!]

Stay away from Ballistic Tip bullets. Very accurate, but explodes on impact at close ranges. I shoot a .300 Win Mag and the Ballistic Tips just exploded each and every time a deer is hit, leaving behind a mess of lead shrapnels in the carcass not to mention the gaping, football size hole.

It is better to spend a few extra bucks on the Barnes X-Bullets than to throw lead all over the place, especially the shooting ranges.

[Blair Nelson]

Have to disagree with the notion of bullet quality over shooting practice.

As I recall, bullet placement trumps projectile quality every time. Can't place without the practice. Well, I sure can't. Of course I shoot a .280 because it forces me to handload, which forces me to shoot at the range, yadda yadda yadda.

BTW, I agree with the evaluation of "most" ballistic tips. However, the 7mm 120 grainers are constructed differently than most and are reputed to hold together better than other weights and calibers. I'm testing that myself this summer (and maybe early doe season if I like the looks of the paper groups)

[DitchPickle13]

I have to second the above post...shot placement and marksmanship is paramount in deer hunting and way underestimated by many who shoot 10 shots at the range before each season. Then you hear guys ripping off 4 shots in a row while you're sitting in your stand.

You can easily kill a deer - and not worry about tracking it far - with any legal MN deer cartridge...but not if you shoot it in the foot. : )

[almostthere!]

Load up a variety of bullets and head to the range. This will help determine which bullet and load are most accurate with your rifle. Then, buy yourself some Barnes X bullets and use them for all your hunting and range shooting needs, because they will not harm the environments.

There has to be something wrong with lead bullets. Why else would the armed forces research on green bullets.

Can not remember the last time I went to the range. The only deer within the last three seasons which required 2 shots was a fawn running at full speed, appearing and disappearing between trees and brush. The first shot was mainly to get it to stop. The second shot dropped it as it was trying to determine what that first shot was. Other than that, all other deer were one shot kills, with 90 percent shot through the heart. Not bad for a rifle that goes to the range once every 5 years or so, eh.

[big drift]

I would agree with ya why go to the range every year?

Except what do ya do when ya wound an animal and have to trail it. How do ya know if your weapon is working properly.

What about your scope if ya use it or your sights are they still on. And what if ya get your shot of a lifetime out at 200 yds. or more and you have never practiced at that range. What does your round place at at 100 yds. in 30 degree weather now try at 70 degree weather and again at -30 + degree weather your point of impact will be different.

IMO as a hunter it is your responsibility to know what your weapon can do under all conditions for the animal and for the people around who are near you safety.

bd

[almostthere!]

If I have the opportunity to hunt on a farm where rifles are legal and the field is over 200 yards, I might put in 9 rounds at the range prior to opener. Here in the north woods on public land, the longest shot the average person will ever take is 100 yards. Now, put in good optics, not the cheap junk that one may get for one or two hundred dollars (retail), but some really good optics that the zero will not magically move on you. Also, factor in the fact that the average Joe treats his hunting weapons with respect and only goes hunting two weekends a year. How much can a guy miss to wound a deer? From personal experience, a good piece of optics will not deviate from such little use once sighted in (when shooting big boy guns, sighted in at 200 yards). So, under 100 yards, good optics, little usage, and a big boy rifle (7 mm mag is a big boy rifle), it would be extremely hard to just wound a deer unless you are having extreme deer fever or shooting through brush (in which case, no matter how often you dispence rounds at the range, the gun and optics will not fail you but you will fail the gun and optics).

Good optics don't fail us as much as we fail good optics.

Another thing about zeroing in, wait for the rifle to completely cool between each round. This will drastically reduce the wheather effects.

Trust your equipments, use good optics, cold zeroe your rifle, use good bullets, and take good care of your equipments. The rest rest upon you, the shooter.

I, for one, just do not buy into the whole "automatic spending time at the range if you are a hunter" thing. One should only spend time at the range only if one's hunting situations demand for it or one has lost the trust in one's equipments ability to get the job done for one reason or another.

[big drift]

That kind of makes my point.

How can you trust your equipment if you only shoot a) once to zero it only at deer or other animals and c) only after you realize there is a problem.

As far as less then 100 yd shot in the woods yes, but then why use a rifle why not a slug gun, pistol, bow or ML. And there are circumstances other then a farm field where 100 yd plus shots can come into effect, clear cuts, bogs, trails, or if you decide to hunt elsewhere say No Dak, or out west confidence and trust in your equipment is made only by use.

As far as "good optics" what is that 1x4 power or 4x14 or do we go just by brand. In that case who is to say the scope you picked out matches well with your rifle. Example which is better a sightron or leupold oh wait they are the same but about 250 dollars in price different.

As far as trusting your gear I had a rifle I got for my daughter put about 11 rounds through it one season sighted it in and hunted with it. Went to the range the following summer and the bolt literally blew out in my hand. I am thankful this did not occur with my daughter using it. All because the bolt retaining pin was made with bad metal and this was a new rifle.

Range work is just about as much as safety as accuracy. Whether it is a big boy rifle or big kid .243. shooting skills are developed upon repitition and exposure not just slinging lead. I want to know where my round is going when it leaves my rifle.

I am not trying to start a fight here however in all honesty lack of training, exposure, and knowledge causes more harm then good.

out,

bd

[almostthere!]

Drift,

You are way off.

Keep in mind that this is a 7mm bullet, that is hardly a shotgun or bow and arrow.

Good optics refers to quality worksmanship not power. For instance, Leupold makes some very reliable VX scopes but also made some not so good LPS. The LPS is twice the price of the VX models but they ran into some design flaw a while back.

A good piece of optics sighted in once should hold well for several years. If you find this false, there are several fixes: 1) make sure your optics do not get bang around during hunting and the off season; 2) make sure the gun case is of good design so that the rifle is not banged around during trasport; 3)send the optics back for replacement as most good optics are warranty for life; and 4) do not expect every deer to drop in its tracks because the coincidence of a bullet hitting the deer just as its heart begins the pumping mode doesn't always happen, so we end up tracking the deer for x-many yards.

As far as safety goes, one should follow the 10 commandments(sp?) provided by the manufacturer, with each and every rifle. If one does not know where one's bullets are going, one must have slapped the optics on wrong: note to self, mount scope parrallel to barrel with objective facing same direction as barrel.

A rifle blowing up on you has nothing to do with going to the range or not. All it tells you is that sometimes our trusts are misplaced by one manufacturer or another for one reason or another. An example would be the Sako stainless steel barrels of a few years back blowing up because they picked up some bad steel from a supplier. We know that Sako rifles have good reputations for being durable and accurate, but the unfortunate event still occurred and Sako quickly corrected the situation.

One final note: Range time does not equal good shooting, good shots, nor instant kills.

I, myself, hate fights and would never put up a "fight" here or anywhere. However, I do love a good debate and I hope that we are just meerly doing so. After all, how would we ever know the other side of any story if there is never a debate. I only responded after someone mentioned people not putting in enough range time.

BTW: Whenever I hit the range, I put out 40 rounds each and everytime. Now that is abusing the shoulder(300 mag) and very expensive ($40/box of 20 and $15 for range time; that is like almost a day's wage). I can only take this kind of abuses once every few years. Thank God I managed to pick up a good piece of optics: just can not imagine the pain.

[Blair Nelson]

"Range time does not equal good shooting, good shots, nor instant kills"

True, Range time = BETTER shooting, BETTER shots, MORE EFFICIENT kills. It certainly never hurt anything unless ...

"Whenever I hit the range, I put out 40 rounds each and everytime. Now that is abusing the shoulder(300 mag) and very expensive ($40/box of 20 and $15 for range time; that is like almost a day's wage). I can only take this kind of abuses once every few years"

40 rds of 300 Winny Maggy without a lead sled ... yep that would introduce a gawdawful flinch to my game too. I don't want that kind of abuse either. But rather than relying on "good optics" (BTW, I drive Leupy's and Sightrons, not bad glass) which will also change point of impact from time to time. I'll use a sane cartridge that I can shoot comfortably and frequently at the range to constantly check my zero and take the shooting practice (since I DO need it and it is good therapy).

Back to the original topic, I DO use Barnes bullets in my rifles (25-06, 6.5 Swede, 7x57, .280) because they are accurate, penetrate like crazy and cause massive wound channels. However, they are unnecessary for Minnesota whitetails. An overboomer like the 7 Remmy Maggy will not benefit from the expensive bullets and will get equivalent performance from 154-175 gr Hornady Interlocks at ranges up to "Way the F out there". Push those heavys at 2700 to 2900 and you are more than fine. Plus they are $.11 each rather than $.50 ... when you can load the whole round for 30 cents rather than 50 for just the freaking bullet, you will be much better off after the affordable practice.

For those of us that are recoil intolerant (reconstructed shoulder in my case) a PAST recoil pad ($26.99 at midwayusa.com) is a fantastic range accessory. Straps on like a shoulder holster and really cuts down on felt recoil.

So, load up some slower heavy bullets, buy a PAST pad with the savings, go to the range and get familiar and comfortable with your 7 mag.

We wont even go into the inverse relationship between rifle case capacity and anatomical characteristics of the human male user.

[Gissert]

Ditto on the PAST recoil pad for range shooting, thanks for mentioning that!

I have one, and it takes a lot of the punch out of a .338 on the bench. I love my PAST pad, and best of all, they work for both left and right hand shooters.

[tacklebox7FF]

Hey.. my dad owns a browning 7mag.. and I own a 280 rem.. We both shoot Speer Nitrex Gran-Slam bullets... they hit the deer hard and they never leave there tracks.. Best bullets we've ever used..

[Mark Christianson]

We can get into all types of cartridges, bullet sizes, reloading recipes, etc..... Any high powered rifle will drop deer in its tracks if you are a sniper.

Bottom line, make quality shots, and the list of effective calibers is as long as my arm.

I shoot a .243, and I have shot the same gun since I was 13. Its a deer killing machine.

Make the shot count. Period. There is no magic gun to make you kill more deer. Its up to you as a hunter to practice and know your limitations.

[tacklebox7FF]

yeah. I've seen guys in our party shoot deer in the vitals ( heart and lungs shot out and both front legs busted) and it still ran into the nieghbors land and died there. We used to have neighbors that claim the deer if it's dead on there land. it's not always about making a sniper shot... They don't all drop on your land.. Theres some tuff ones out there... But since we've used these bullets they don't go more than 10 feet and fall down dead..