7mm Pills for White Tails!!!

[vancewalker007]

I am sure there are many that will do the job!!! I am building a 28nosler with a 28" Hart #5 contour 1:8 twist, and really looking at what pill I want to send down, I know each barrel has it's on likes, BUT what do y'all think for White Tail deer! Our bucks down here close to the Mississippi River in North East Louisiana run 200-270lbs, doe's will run 165-185 lbs, shooting ranges will go from 48yds to about 700yds. So I have really thought about the Berger 195s, figures about a 3000ish muzzle velocity, but also have looked at the 175 Berger elite hunters and the 180 VLD. Or the 168 or 175 accubond LR.
holding up at 400yds and in is probably more important then 400+. So the falter the trajectory is the better and I know the lighter weight would do best but the wind drift will be worse and the further out the heavies will do much better at all things.

So if y'all were in this boat how would you have the barrel reamed as far as throat....I know some set up really long for the 195s but I am concerned about doing that and being kinda stuck with only that round....I may be over analyzing this lol.

also what pill would y'all be most interested in knowing that WT will be the primary game!!!

First question, you're only shooting to 700 yards at deer why bother with a monster cartridge like a 28 Nosler. There are a ton of cartridges that will do the job that burn a heck of a lot less powder.

Anyway, I assume you're stuck on this cartridge, so to the bullet. You could throat to an in between length bullet like the Berger 180 Hybrid then you still will have lots of case space either going up in weight or down. So a 175 or a 195 will work I great case space wise. Frankly if I were going to have shots mostly less than 500 yards I'd choose a tough bullet like a Barnes TTSX or LRX, Nosler Accubond, Swift Scirocco (a little light). There are various small batch copper bullets like hammers that would work great as well.

Unless most of your shots are 300- OMG, I'd stay away from cup and core bullets like Bergers and Hornady ELDx/Ms. These bullets will disappoint at close range a lot. I use Berger's on Coues deer but most of the shots are 300-700yards. On elk I use an Accubond or LRX depending on which rifle I'm using.

Have fun with your big Boomer.

 

[keithcandler]

I am on my second 7 STW reamer with zero freebore. We shoot 140g Nosler combined tec bullets on an 11 twist at 3650 on 27" barrels, brother has three, cousins have several. Groups are 2.5" or less at 600, and brother let me tell you deer flop near and far. We have never had a surface splash, never.

Cousin shot the 120g Nosler solid base lead tips at 3850 for years out in Missouri, then he ran out of them.

7 STW is the equal of the 28 Nosler in ballistics.

We put up a food plot 500 yards away from the ladder stand, and dubbed it the stw stand. No telling how many deer have been killed out of that stand as the food plot is remote and half way up a gentle slope near a buck trail.

We usually have little wind here to contend with, unlike the folks out West where a 10 mph breeze is a calm day.

Accuracy with the 140g c/t in Win brass with fed 215's and 7828 is in the high twos and low threes maximum at 100 yards and 300 yards, groups are 3/4". We are using high power scopes.

A pard borrowed my reamer and he is shooting 140 ttsx, he has had more deer run off in the area of 450 yards than me and all of my family members combined. He is running the 140 ttsx at 3500.

Speed Kills! Permanent stretch from wound cavity is tremendous at speeds I am talking about.

Pard is shooting the 165g Sierra game changer at 3300 out of his 7 stw with short freebore with good success.

Since the OP is talking about 700 yards being a max, chances are the vast majority of his shots will be way less than 700 yards, which is why I am bringing up the issue with these lighter bullets.

A std 7 Mag with a 28" barrel will shoot the 162's at 3200 fps with extreme accuracy.

Best of luck!

Depending on what part of the country you hunt, it may be advisable to go for speed vs BC, depending on the distances you will shoot. Do your homework on a ballistic's program, do your due diligence.

 

[thatguyshm]

168gr LRX. I shoot the 145 in my 7mm RM and it's very accurate. I've used most of the mid weight bullets, they all do the job well. I had blow ups with the 180gr HVLD, didn't trust the penetration on water jug tests, only made it through 3.

 

[keithcandler]

We have worked up loads with the 175g LRAB, get great expansion on deer. Cuz is shooting these in his stw, they penetrate completely on quartering shots. As a rule, cuz says that deer do not run with this bullet, he bought 10 boxes. His rifle is a Gen I Sendero, 7 Mag rechambered to a 7stw with my zero freebore reamer. Leade has grown about .060 on his barrel.

 

[cajun]

Have not had luck with the barnes 140 ttsx either. Pretty much nosler fan. AB or AB LR. The old amax new eldm is a good long range killer. The 180 would do well.

 

[Lahunter76]

Ty for all the information!! I am hunting in north East Louisiana! Atm my furthest shot would be 700, but this is at the beginning of my long range hunting, I want to have enough juice to push heavies with a good speed, and I am a Mag freak, I like them. I have done a ton of research on different ballistic and ballistic apps. My father shoots 7rm with 140 ballistic silver tips and loves them(it was my gun before it was his, but it's right handed and I wanted a left handed rifle so I gave it to him and picked up a browning ABolt in a 300wsm) I would also like to one day go elk hunting and would like to start doing that every other year. I know you can kill an elk with a 257bee(have one also) but I think I am really liking the 28nosler, always wanted a 7STW, so when the 28 came out I felt like that was just a more modern case for a 7STW. I also will have a Leupold VX5HD 3-15x56 to sit on top.

 

[keithcandler]

I suggest that you contact Alex Wheeler over on Accurateshooting.com on the 28 Nosler, he has built a LOT of them. His knowledge of the case is impressive. He really likes the 30 Nosler for elk, but I would run the 28 and never look back.

175g Nolser long range accubonds at 3200 in the 28 Nosler would do all you wanted to do.

good luck!

 

[Tiny Tim]

No experience with the 28 Nosler, but shot 7RM for 35ish years. 160 gr Accubond has gotten it done impressively since I started using them. Rapid expansion up front and deep penetration at the velocities I'm running. Only had one not exit, angling from near shoulder to offside ham.

 

[crazyhorse]

I've deer hunted with a 7RM for many years and tried just about every bullet on the market that was "the next big thing".

Having said that, I ALWAYS have a good supply and a reliable load for the Nosler 160 Accubond. I've killed deer (a lot of them) from 15 to 500 yards with them very reliably, and I cant say that about any of the other numerous 7mm bullets I've used.

 

[Overkill338]

I have nothing to add here, except, holy cow man, a big deer here is 150 lbs. Well, that, and a 160 Accubond worked magnificent from a 7mm Rem Mag.

Now that I'm here, I would use the 145 LRX or the 150 TTSX. Yes, I'm really sold on Barnes now lol

 

[gillettehunter]

My post on Bergers on another forum. 180's in a 7 SAUM.
I will start this with a few observations. All bullets are designed with a use in mind. There is no one size fits all in bullets. I have no problems with other bullets. I have taken Barnes TTSX's and Nosler accubonds to Africa. Both have served me well. This last trip I took Bergers. I usually get extremely good accuracy and good results with them. Bergers are often used in longer range hunting and are designed to expand reliably at lower velocities. If you plan to use them I will strongly suggest that you heed the next observations:
1) Use heavy for caliber bullets. I used 180 grainers in my 7mm SAUM. If you use a faster bigger .28 caliber cartridges then use their 195 grainers. In .30 caliber use the 215 grain hybrid. Easy to load and deadly effective on game. In a .26 caliber use the 140's or 156's. Apply the same to other calibers.
2) Always check the points. Bergers are a hollow point design. Occasionally the point will be "clogged or closed". That bullet, if not opened, will act like a solid and pencil through an animal. A small drill bit should be used to make sure they are all open. If closed then use that one for practice or drill it open.
3) Do not expect reliable expansion at over 3100 fps at close ranges especially on a shoulder. You are more likely to get over expansion at higher velocities along with poor penetration. My SAUM runs the 180's at 2900 fps. That is about right. My .30 Nosler runs the 215's at 2990. Works well too. I would not run them at 3300 fps and expect reliable close range expansion.
On to the point of this post. 16 animals of assorted sizes were taken with my SAUM and the 180 gr bullet's in Africa this past Sept. They are as follows:
1) Cape eland cow at 469 yards. Hit slightly further back than wanted. Down and dead quickly.
2)Cape eland bull at 511 yds. Heart shot. Dead in less than 20 yds. Pretty impressive.
3)Springbock at 175-200 yds. Broadside shot slightly back and high. Down in its tracks.
4)Duiker spotlighted at maybe 40 yds quartering to me. High shoulder down in his tracks.
5)Vaal Rhebuck at 313 yds. Hit way back top of back. Spine hit. Down in his tracks.
6) Klipspringer at 269 yds. A little far back and high. Down and done in place.
7)Blesbuck cow at 130 yds? Back a little and a little high. Down immediately with no fuss.
8) Bull Livingston eland. Huge animal. Well over 1500 lbs. 75 yds. First hit was high shoulder. Staggered him. Went perhaps 75 yds and He appeared to be staggering when I hit him again up high mid body which put him down.
9) Hartebeest cow at 200 yds. Quartering slightly to me. Hit mid way up behind the shoulder. Went 40-50 yds.
10) 2nd Hartebeest cow. Broadside at 80-90 yds. Hit behind shoulder. Went 30 yds or so.
11) Hartebeest bull at 150-170 yds quartering to me. Low shoulder into the heart. Went maybe 60 yds.
12) Bushbuck at 200 yds or a little more. Hit a little high behind the shoulder. Went perhaps 30 yds.
Mikes animals as follows:
1)Waterbuck at 150 yds broadside. Hit behind shoulder. Went about 70 yds.
2)Puku at 80-90 yds perhaps. Quartering hard away. Hit in front of hind quarter lining up on far shoulder. Went about 40 yds.
3)Bushbuck at 120 yds. Broadside. Behind shoulder. Went 25 yds.
4)Lechwe at 230 yds. Behind shoulder half way up. Down in its tracks. Kicked twice.
I will add the following NA animals for additional consideration:
A) 6.5-06 w/ 140 grain bullet. Bighorn ram at 100 yds. Broadside. Hit back too far. Got liver. Went perhaps 100 yds.
B) 180 in the SAUM. Antelope at 130 yds. A little high behind shoulder. Down in his tracks.
C)180 in SAUM Whitetail doe. 75 yds facing me. Down in her tracks.
D) 180 in SAUM WT buck. 300 yds. 1 shot in leg and one mid body. Went perhaps 30 yds.
E) 215 gr in .30 Nosler. Bull moose at just over 100 yds. Quartering to me. In front of shoulder. Went less than 20 yds.
F) 6.5 SS w/ 156 gr. Whitetail buck at 20 yds. Quartering away. High behind shoulder. Down in his tracks.
G) 6.5 w/ 156 gr Pronghorn buck. Broadside. Hit slightly low behind shoulder. Went 25 yds.
H) 6.5 w/ 156 gr. Pronghorn doe at 325 yds. Behind shoulder a touch high. Down in her tracks.
Notice that I needed more than 1 shot on a wt buck that I screwed up on and the Livingston eland that likely didn't need it. Bergers work fine. Just keep in mind the suggestions I started with. The times they pencil through is when people fail to check the tips and make sure they are open. At least that has been my experience.
Bruce

 

[Lahunter76]

Wow.....a lot of amazing information!!! Ty so much for this! Really enjoy a lot of reading the information!!

Gellettehunter!! You and I have the same mind set!

 

[RockyMtnMT]

Run an 8" twist and use a standard throat.

For your range I would run our 143g Hammer Hunter. These are running about 3600 fps depending on the powder. This kind of speed with a bullet that can handle it is a whole different world. This will give you a near 500y hold hair combo when zeroed for max point blank range. It is a legit 1000y combo though it will give up some drift to the very high bc bullets. The Hammers have no issues with high vel impacts. They will retain the same weight as an 1800 fps impact. Speed is very underrated simply because it was not too many years ago that there wasn't many bullets that could survive launch speeds much over 3000 fps let alone handle high vel impacts. When you have a reliable combo running North of 3500 fps it is simply amazing. Makes 600y shots feel like 300y shots. The shock of the impact is undeniable. Yet meat damage is still far less than lead bullets. You simply can't get the same performance from less bullets, maybe some other pure copper bullets, but none that I know of.

 

[Lahunter76]

Yes the Hammers would be my mono bullet of choice!!! No doubt been wanting to try them, have used Barns with my 25-06 and just have not loved them like some do.