[browningguy]

I klnow it's nothing to brag about, but I got this 8 point on a business aquaitances ranch this weekend in south Texas. This is one of the culls he wanted off the property:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/jcm9371/8pointdeerjan2008web.jpg

It's not bad for an 8 point, weighed in at 155 pounds, went down to a 7x57 with 140 gr. Barnes TSX. We also took two doe's and four pigs. There will be plenty of venison sausage at Browningguys this year! He invited me and one of my clients to come back the weekend of 15 Feb. for a doe culling, he still has to take 28 doe's off the place with his Wildlife Management Tags.

[wilson]

What kind of rifle did the 7x57 come out of?

[George Hill]

Good job. Handsome buck. Kudos!

[BIGR]

Nice 8 point, I wouldn't turn one down like that. Do you like the 7X57 ?

[browningguy]

Thanks guys. I love the 7x57 and it's become my main hunting rifle. Mine is a VZ24 Mauser action, Douglas 24" barrel, Timney trigger and a B&C stock, the gunsmith built the whole thing for around $800. It shoots the 140 TSX into an average of about .75", and factory 173 gr. S&B load into 1.1-1.25". I'd feel comfortable with the 173 gr. load on anything in North America, it really seems to have the mythical knockdown ability. The 140TSX bullet, while expensive, seems very accurate, it's running about 2700 fps in my reload and seems to get the job done pretty well.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/jcm9371/Rifles/275_Rigby.jpg

Kind of plain looking but gets the job done.

[critter]

Sweet gun! I love M98 guns and it looks like your gun/caliber WORKS! Good on ya! Eat well.

[wilson]

Yeah nice buck i would be proud too, and i like the rifle.

[surjimmy]

What do you mean nothing to brag about. Nice gun, great deer.

[B.D. Turner]

If that deer is a cull I must be a trashaholic. I would be proud of that one.

[El General]

If that deer is a cull I must be a trashaholic. I would be proud of that one.


South Texas is a different kind of place. The biggest buck I have shot to date has been a cull off my buddies South Texas Lease, though it was about 4" from being a trophy and costing me alot of money.

P.S. That is a beuatiful deer

[Quigley]

Congrats! It truely is a trophy if your willing to share it with us...

[ldv444]

Browning Guy-
Very nice deer! That cull could hang on my wall anytime. So...if your wall is full, just send it on up to Oklahoma and I'll take good care of it for you!:)

I too shoot the 7x57 and I love it-my favorite caliber! I have a Ruger M77, Ruger #1, and Encore all in 7x57. What is your specific load with the Barnes bullet? Did you get full penetration on that buck? What did the exit hole look like and how about the terminal performance of the bullet on the buck? Any other feedback on experience with game and this load of your would be appreciated. I'm thinking about trying the Barnes bullets and I wonder how they would be, in terms of point of impact, compared to my 140gr Sierra's.

Again, congrats on your buck and your very nice rifle.:)

[browningguy]

Thanks guys, this one is going on the wall, but in October the owner shot a 14 pt. that scored 187, and I saw about a dozen deer this weekend that would score in the 160+ class, one is pushing 185-190. But when you hunt for free you shoot what they want shot, and in this case it had to be a 3 year old or older with only 8 or 9 points, that's good enough for me. The deer was facing me but pointed to my right at an angle. You can see the bullet inpact on the shoulder, broke the shoulder, exited the other side breaking through a rib on the way, probably a 1" opening on the offside. I was actually worried I had hit him to far back as he hunched up like he was gut shot, he moved maybe 10 feet to the right, turned toward me for a few steps and fell over. Total movement around 20-25 feet I would guess.

WARNING:IF YOU BLOW UP YOUR GUN OR YOURSELF IT"S NOT MY FAULT. THESE LOADS ARE SUITABLE FOR MY GUN ONLY AND MAY CAUSE SEVERE INJURY, DEATH OR A CATASTROPHIC FAILURE IN YOUR GUN.

My hunting load is RL19, CCI LR primer, Federal cases, my gun is also throated long for the 173 gr. bullets. Also note that for my sporter weight guns I just shoot 3 shot groups. I use 48 gr. RL19 for an accuracy load, it shoot's in the mid to high .5"'s pretty regularly with a long term average of .655". My hunting load is 50 gr. RL19, best group ever was .568", long term average is .750". I've been using this rifle for 4 seasons using my handloads and the S&B factory 173 gr. SPCE (a bullet I wish I could buy to reload). The S&B is not the most accurate but certainly good enough and really seems to pack a wallop.

The TSX is a good bullet, but on deer size game at medium ranges (under 250) I am just as happy with the performance of the 154 gr. Hornady that I previously reloaded. With the TSX I can get a usable velocity increase and good accuracy which is why I went to it. As an example one of the spots I hunted this weekend had a watering hole that ranged from 250 - 360 yards away. With the 140 TSX and its trajectory I feel like that is do-able, my load with the 154 gr. Hornady only runs 2550 FPS and velocity drops off a little more quickly.

If you keep velocity about the same I would guess POI would remain the same, but haven't tried it so I'm not sure. My loads aren't really comparable, the S&B and Hornady reload shoot to almost the same POI, the 140 TSX load shoots almost 4 inches higher but is running almost 200 FPS faster.

[omcjf]

Congrats. I would be very proud of that deer.

[B.D. Turner]

Makes me want to go out and buy some lottery tickets.

[Reyn]

I would crap if i saw a dozen deer in the 160 class. How many acres does he have?

[paintballdude902]

wow can i come lol just kidding nice buck man

[browningguy]

He's got 2800 acres, high fenced, about 10 stock tanks for water, and lots of food plots. Pretty typical for a private ranch, most of these guys really concentrate on growing big deer.

[Deer Hunter]

Browning,

I think I know where you are talking about. A cousin of mine pointed it out on Google Earth. Is that around Kuykendahl Road, around highway 2920? My girlfriend lives in Spring, as does some of my cousins.