140 vs 150 BTips in 7RM

[ksubuck]

I have always used 150 BT in my 7RM for deer hunting and have had great success. On rare occasion, I have had a deer run a bit after a vital shot. It seemed like those instances the bullet penciled through and didn't leave much blood trail. One of my favorite hunting spots has helacious cover that I hunt the edge of. If the deer break into cover, the retrieval of the carcass can be maddening. Would dropping weight to 140 be of any benefit?

 

[Ridgerunner665]

Hit the shoulders (high shoulder shot)... Put the front legs out of order and they'll fall right there.

My hunting hole has an almost 200 acre swamp on one side and a 150 acre clear cut (5 years old) on another side... The swamp is impassable, the clear cut nearly as bad...

I'll forfeit a little meat to ensure a recovery.

 

[Charlie-NY]

For DRT results shoot the Berger 180gr and they'll only go 18 inches - straight down!
Shoulder shots with any bullet result in incredibly fast incapacitation.

 

[ksubuck]

That is kind of what I resorted to. If ya hit just right it will take the spine out and shut em down. But if ya miss just a bit, they like to scurry off. And saw one run off using its sternum as a skid plate. Had to recover that one from the river.

Really just wondering if I would get a little more expansion and scrambling using a 140.

 

[Yoda]

I don't really know what's up with the BT and deer, I've shot 1/2 a doz whitetails with the 140 BT out of the 7 mag, never a blood trail, and that's putting lung tissue in the balsems behind them, 50 t0 60 yd they run, with a baseball size exit holes. Frontal shots, same thing only no exit and will usually find the jacket in the hind quarter , lots of times I was hunting snow so not a big deal,, the 25-06 does way better for me....

 

[Ridgerunner665]

I don't really know what's up with the BT and deer, I've shot 1/2 a doz whitetails with the 140 BT out of the 7 mag, never a blood trail, and that's putting lung tissue in the balsems behind them, 50 t0 60 yd they run, with a baseball size exit holes. Frontal shots, same thing only no exit and will usually find the jacket in the hind quarter , lots of times I was hunting snow so not a big deal,, the 25-06 does way better for me....

The same has been the case for me with my wife and her 270 Win with 130 BT's...hit em right (shoulders), they'll be laying right there....hit em anywhere else, no blood trail to speak of (very few small drops here and there) and maybe 2-300 yards worth of tracking...thats why I've switched to the 140 AccuBond for this year...looking for exit wounds.

I don't consider a 50-60 yard run a bad thing...even 100-150, but anything over 200 is getting to be a pain in the rear...any lung shot deer (or anything else) may run for nearly 200 yards, regardless of what you shot them with.

 

[JD338]

I've shot quite a few WT deer with the 7mm 140 gr BT loaded in a 280 Rem at 2900 fps.
Most of them dropped in their tracks with a high lung shot tight behind the shoulder.
I would give the 140 gr BT a try. The 140 gr PT is also a fast killer on deer. Put it through the shoulders and they will never take a step.

JD338

 

[Charlie-NY]

I've shot an awful lot of whitetails with the fragile 162gr A-Max bullet from a 7STW and have been very impressed with the results. Lung shots left a silver dollar size exit hole and deer that typically got about 30yds before realizing they were dead.
High shoulder shots would drop them like they were hit by a train but did not exit. All shots were from 100-500yds and the terminal performance was the same almost every time.

If I were you i'd try either the A-Max bullet or the Berger bullet and shoot for the lungs. You'll be amazed at how they will perform.

FWIW - Many 7mm mag shooters rave about the 120gr B-Tip for taking whitetails. I've never used them so I couldn't say but the increased velocity must have something to do with the deadly results that they report.

 

[Oldtrader3]

Between the 140 PT and the 160 PT in the 7RM or the .280 Rem, I have probably killed a dozen or so deer with each. They both kill well but the 7 RM with the 160 PT just does it further and with more certainty

 

[1Shot]

So you also have discovered that shots on the average deer inside 200 yards unless you hit the CNS with a 7mm mag, no matter what bullets used, has a good chance of being a tracking situation. I used to do crop damage control work and killed A BUNCH of deer every year for 15 years. The 7mm mag was the WORST caliber no matter what bullet was used for runners. I told people that I could not carry enough batteries for my flashlight to track them they ran so far. Can't tell you why or understand why but it happens. I did find that if you slow the bullet down to about what a 7-08 will do it kills much better DRT. Best caliber I have ever used is a 25-06 Remington using most any SP 100 to 120 gr bullet. BANG FLOP 99% of the time. I like the 117 gr Sierra Pro Hunter best.

 

[Bruce Mc]

I can't believe that a 140 gr at 3250 fps would have any different effect on a deer than a 150 gr at 3150 fps given the exact same circumstances of encounter.

 

[grry10]

I agree with Bruce Mc. I've owned a 7m/m Remington magnum since 1965 and over the years have take well over 50 head of game with it using 120s (not recommended), 140s, 145s, 154s, 160s and 175s. I noticed little difference on white tail with 140, 145 and 154.

 

[Oldtrader3]

Shooting mule deer at 200-400 yards, you can begin to see a difference between the 140 and 160 gr bullets. The 160's put deer down in their tracks if well hit at 350 yards.

I shoot mostly mule deer in the desert mountains of Utah and Wyoming. Shots are 250-400 yards mostly, across canyons.