I got back from my elk hunt yesterday. I had originally planned to use a 160 grain Nosler Partition in my 7 mag but I simply couldn't get them to shoot right through my gun.
I ran out of time to get the load right so I grabbed my sons .30-06 and shot a 150 grain Hornady Interlock.
I had a friend who was shooting Hornady 162 grain SST's through his 7 mag.
I hit the elk with 3 out of 3 shots at ranges between 150 and 200 yards, and recovered one bullet. One was a complete pass through in the lungs so I have no complaints about it. The one I recovered hit a quartering away shot, passed through the heart, and hit the far shoulder where the core separated from the jacket. The jacket below is what was found lodged against the far side of the elk under the skin. The Interlock that i recovered had a weight retention of roughly 25%.
Untitled by scarfam, on Flickr
My buddy hit the elk in the rear leg at 150 yards with his 7 mag. The Hornady SST absolutely shattered the leg bone and mushroomed perfectly. No separation at all, and a weight retention of 65%.
Untitled by scarfam, on Flickr
I thought I'd share these pics for those of you who like to track such things...it's a few more data points to use when evaluating terminal ballistics in hunting rounds.
I ran out of time to get the load right so I grabbed my sons .30-06 and shot a 150 grain Hornady Interlock.
I had a friend who was shooting Hornady 162 grain SST's through his 7 mag.
I hit the elk with 3 out of 3 shots at ranges between 150 and 200 yards, and recovered one bullet. One was a complete pass through in the lungs so I have no complaints about it. The one I recovered hit a quartering away shot, passed through the heart, and hit the far shoulder where the core separated from the jacket. The jacket below is what was found lodged against the far side of the elk under the skin. The Interlock that i recovered had a weight retention of roughly 25%.
Untitled by scarfam, on Flickr
My buddy hit the elk in the rear leg at 150 yards with his 7 mag. The Hornady SST absolutely shattered the leg bone and mushroomed perfectly. No separation at all, and a weight retention of 65%.
Untitled by scarfam, on Flickr
I thought I'd share these pics for those of you who like to track such things...it's a few more data points to use when evaluating terminal ballistics in hunting rounds.
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