Buck vs. 7 Rem Mag

redneck2 · Nov 24, 2018

Deer I got yesterday. Used my 7 Mag X-Bolt with 168 grain Berger Match Hunters. Shot was maybe 70 yards. No pass thru. Perfect broadside shot. Couldn’t find any part of the bullet. Totally disintegrated. Went maybe 30 yards. Wasn’t enough left of the lungs to try to show. Think grenade.

LoonWulf · Nov 24, 2018

Nice buck!

redneck2 said:
No pass thru. Perfect broadside shot. Couldn’t find any part of the bullet. Totally disintegrated. Went maybe 30 yards. Wasn’t enough left of the lungs to try to show. Think grenade.

This has been my experience with berger bullets (and specifically the older 7mm 168s) as well. With shot from muzzle burn to a few hundred yards performance has been almost identical, outside of 100 or so i would usually find the very bottom of the jacket folded back on itself somewhere in there, but rarely would there be an exit.
Not the bullets to try a texas heart shot, but extremely effective and lethal when properly employed.

Bfh_auto · Nov 27, 2018

redneck2 said:
Deer I got yesterday. Used my 7 Mag X-Bolt with 168 grain Berger Match Hunters. Shot was maybe 70 yards. No pass thru. Perfect broadside shot. Couldn’t find any part of the bullet. Totally disintegrated. Went maybe 30 yards. Wasn’t enough left of the lungs to try to show. Think grenade.

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I would call that a successful hunt. He looks like a good sized deer.
I would rather have a bullet disintegrate at close range than not open up at longer range.

alsaqr · Nov 30, 2018

Congrats on the nice buck. Bullet did a good job.

Patocazador · Nov 30, 2018

That's the reason I use Nosler Partitions. You get expansion and penetration without destroying everything.

Very nice buck, congrats.

LOLBELL · Dec 1, 2018

I use Hornady 140 BTSP in rifle and a lead flat point or wad cutter in handgun calibers, good expansion and penetration. Disintegrated bullets ruin too much meat.

H&Hhunter · Dec 1, 2018

Beautiful buck redneck....

I am not a fan of explosive light jacketed bullets, but they do have their place and you can’t argue with success!

redneck2 · Dec 1, 2018

H&Hhunter said:
I am not a fan of explosive light jacketed bullets

I’ll most likely not use them again for deer. Too fragile. It worked well this time because it was a perfect broadside shot. Unless I can talk the deer into posing every time, I’ll opt for something a little more stout.

Being Berger, I’d have thought they’d be a little more adequate. I thought when they said Match Hunter they would have been more hunting grade, but not so much. I had high hopes when I saw the accuracy potential

H&Hhunter · Dec 1, 2018

redneck2 said:
I’ll most likely not use them again for deer. Too fragile. It worked well this time because it was a perfect broadside shot. Unless I can talk the deer into posing every time, I’ll opt for something a little more stout.

Being Berger, I’d have thought they’d be a little more adequate. I thought when they said Match Hunter they would have been more hunting grade, but not so much. I had high hopes when I saw the accuracy potential

My thoughts exactly. While I can see the advantage to that kind of bullet performance under certain circumstances. The possible disadvantages out weigh them IMO.

Riomouse911 · Dec 5, 2018

Sweet! Looks like the 7mm RM came through for you with that beauty :thumbup:

.

Stay safe!

BigBore44 · Dec 5, 2018

7mm Mag for a 70 yard shot..... :rofl:

Nice buck though redneck. Would think about the BarnesTSX or Nosler Partitions.

H&Hhunter · Dec 5, 2018

BigBore44 said:
7mm Mag for a 70 yard shot.....

Nice buck though redneck. Would think about the BarnesTSX or Nosler Partitions.

You use the rifle you have with you.

I’ve gone both ways on that deal.

d2wing · Dec 5, 2018

You should always use bullets designed for the task. I had the other problem, Elk rated 170 gr bullets that killed the deer but seem to have not fully expanded before exiting. I grabbed the wrong box.

stringnut · Dec 5, 2018

Dandy buck. Bullet did the job. The Berger website seems to give a description, for bullet performance , that matches your results. Penetrates a bit and then comes apart. As long as you weren't trying full length from the rear should do the job on deer. Not sure I would slam one into something of sturdier construction such as a big hog or elk.

redneck2 · Dec 6, 2018

BigBore44 said:
7mm Mag for a 70 yard shot....

Actually, originally he was maybe forty feet out when I first saw him. I had to wait until he moved far enough and looked away so I could move into shooting position

BigBore44 · Dec 6, 2018

redneck2 said:
Actually, originally he was maybe forty feet out when I first saw him. I had to wait until he moved far enough and looked away so I could move into shooting position

Been there for sure. It’s amazing how they can sneak up and appear out of nowhere. I don’t know why, but I have this innate ability (read as luck) to walk out in the woods, pick a random spot, sit down, and have deer walk right to me or right by me. It really frustrates my brother when we hunt together. He doesn’t say it. But it’s written on his face. It’s why I’ve stopped deer hunting with my 45-70 and 444. I haven’t killed a deer past 40 yards in 5 years. And before that I never even hunted with a rifle. The last deer I shot with my 45-70 was at 5 yards. The last with my 444 was 35 yards. All hunting from the ground. So now when I go hunting with him, I take my 44 Mag and keep my scope on its lowest setting. I’d take the scope off but at 3 power, it’s not too much.

I have several “high power” rifles. But really have no use for them for deer.

H&Hhunter · Dec 7, 2018

BigBore44 said:
Been there for sure. It’s amazing how they can sneak up and appear out of nowhere. I don’t know why, but I have this innate ability (read as luck) to walk out in the woods, pick a random spot, sit down, and have deer walk right to me or right by me. It really frustrates my brother when we hunt together. He doesn’t say it. But it’s written on his face. It’s why I’ve stopped deer hunting with my 45-70 and 444. I haven’t killed a deer past 40 yards in 5 years. And before that I never even hunted with a rifle. The last deer I shot with my 45-70 was at 5 yards. The last with my 444 was 35 yards. All hunting from the ground. So now when I go hunting with him, I take my 44 Mag and keep my scope on its lowest setting. I’d take the scope off but at 3 power, it’s not too much.

I have several “high power” rifles. But really have no use for them for deer.

I don’t use “ high power” rifles on deer because they are hard to kill. But I do use some flat shooting rifles on deer because of the terrain I hunt them in sometimes. Out in the coolies and plains of Western Nebraska or the mountains of the Rockies longer shots are common on deer. Therefore by default my deer rifles are “high power” for the ability to reach out a bit.

BigBore44 · Dec 7, 2018

H&Hhunter said:
I don’t use “ high power” rifles on deer because they are hard to kill. But I do use some flat shooting rifles on deer because if the terrain I hunt them in sometimes. Out in the coolies and plains of Western Nebraska or the mountains of the Rockies longer shots are common on deer. Therefore by default my deer rifles are “high power” fir the ability to reach out a bit.

Which is the point I was making in my post. I don’t need to do that. My deer are close.

redneck2 · Dec 7, 2018

My blind was across a hay field about 140 yards from where my hunting buddy killed a 183. This one came down the fence row where my blind is sitting

d2wing · Dec 9, 2018

Where I hunt, you never know. I shot a nice buck right under my stand a few years ago, I could have used a pistol but I didn't strap it on that day. From the same stand I shot a deer 250 yards across a swamp in a woods last year. I use different guns sometimes just because.

Buck vs. 7 Rem Mag

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