7mm RM pressure problems

[roysclockgun]

bteate, Please accept this in the sympathic way in which it was written.
I regret hearing that you lost your buck. Sounds like you made the, absolutely right decision to bring that buck under fire and like the bumper stickers used to announce. "S--t Happens!"
That said, the story cannot be taken as evidence that the 140gr. AB is not more than adequate to cleanly kill any buck. Something prevented you from bagging that buck, but I doubt that if you could recreate the exact same shot, that a 160gr. AB would've have made any difference.
As it has so many times been said, if the bullet is off the mark, going to a bigger bullet will make little or no difference. The 140AB did not plow through in a way to quickly, cleanly put the buck down. I wager that a 160AB would not have either, given the same, precise circumstances. I and many other contributors here, have taken bigger, tougher game, using the 140AB, to use an anecdotal story of loss as reason to go to a heavier bullet.
Steven A.

 

[DrMike]

Steven A. is correct. Loading a 160 grain AB would not have made a great difference as you describe the shot. I have shot a fair number of whitetails and mule deer with a variety of bullets. A well-placed shot with a 140 grain AB from a 7mm RM will put down any whitetail. I am sorry to hear that he made thick stuff, but I doubt that you can fault the bullet.

 

[bteate]

Whoa gentlemen, it was not my intent to in any way "put-down" the 140 AB, it is a very capable and well constructed bullet. I just thought that maybe the 140 was just under the hide and another 20 grains might have made it another inch or two. I really don't know exactly what happened so I can't make an educated decision on bullet performance, but I'm sure it did exactly what it was supposed to do. My rough estimate on penetration was about 18"-22".

 

[roysclockgun]

beteate : I did not believe that you, in any way, "put down" the 140AB.

Any WAG at this juncture is pointless.
Again, given what info we have, it is impossible to say with any surety, that a heavier bullet would have bagged the deer.
If I had my feet held to the fire, I would say that the shot entered the deer too far back, as the shooter said that he aimed for the far side shoulder.
I took a fair number of deer moving away as described, using a 130gr. bullet from a 270Win. In those days, I was not using bonded bullets and the 130gr. bullets performed as expected and cleanly killed the animals.
If anything, a 140gr. bullet on a whitetail is more than is needed to anchor him. My instinctive shot would've been aimed at placing the hit in the area of heart/lung, and therefore, forward of where you say you aimed.
Elk hunters are reporting great results from 140gr. 6.5mm bullets, so bullet weight is not the problem here. (See E.A. Brown Co. site)
In this particular case, I cannot look to the bullet weight as being the cause of the buck's being lost.
Both the 140AB and 160AB 7mm bullets have good weight retention and penetration. When the hit is right, either will go farther into the animal to provide quick death, than would be the minimal requirement. When the hit is not right, a lost animal can be the result.
There are only two types of hunters. Those who have, at some point, hit game and lost it. And those who, if they hunt long enough, will hit game and lose it.
Steven A.

 

[TXbaldhunter]

I load up to 65.3grs of IMR-4350 with 150gr bullets in my 7mag. and it is right at max load and gives me 3240fps.I worked up a load for it with Winchester WXR which is about the same as Reloader-22 from what I can tell.I stopped @69.5grs and 3200fps with a 139gr bullet because it was giving me nearly one hole groups.I'd say give Reloader-22 a try.http://www.flickr.com/photos/40165144@N04/3691515103/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/40165144@N04/3692318492/

 

[DrMike]

Not bad at all, TXbaldhunter; not bad at all. WXR is (was) one of my favourite powders. I'm down to my last five pounds, which I'm parceling out as required in my 300 WSM and my 7 mm RM. 63.5 grains behind a 160 grain CT Fail Safe still gives me a single ragged hole at 100 yards.

 

[TXbaldhunter]

That WXR is great in my 300WSM.I load 69.0grs with 165gr bullets and it will print nice tight little clovers.Graf's and Widener's still have some in stock.15.00 a pound at Graf's and 16.00 a pound or a 110.00 for eight pounds at Widener's.Hard to beat those prices.

 

[DrMike]

TXbaldhunter,

I load 69.5 grains of WXR with 180 grain Fail Safe bullets in my 300 WSM and 59 grains with 140 grain BST in my 280. Groups are around 0.4 inches and velocity is about 2950 in the 300 WSM; groups are around 0.6 inches and velocity about 2850 in the 280. The price was never that low in Canada, but it was not terrible at $28 a pound when I bought.

 

[jtoews80]

I'd think that we/you would need a look at that buck's carcass to actually know where and what happened. Supposition would lead to assumptions, but we'll never know for sure, the deer was unrecovered.

Sounds like a decent chance and one of the times nobody wins, regrettable, but likely still no worse than any other way nature dispatches her young.

Not to set that as the standard, but don't beat yourself up over it either.

JT.