7mm SMKs or A-Max for Whitetail?

[craigp40]

Have any of you used the 175 SMK or 162 A-Max out of a 7mm for deer? How did they perform?

I'm getting ready for deer season in PA and my 7 RM will shoot both of these quite well (SMKs a little better). I'm just wondering which load I should take out, as I have not hunted with either of these bullets. My shots will range anywhere from 200-600 yds. Any experience you guys could share would be much appreciated.

 

[reed mosser]

The 162 a-max will flat out kill. Close or long range no problem. The matchking is a target bullet, and will not perform like a ballistic tip. The only concern with the a-max is extremely large exit wounds. Good luck

 

[chris matthews]

I would go with the MK if it shoots best......animals react poorly to bullets...especially out of a 7 mag!!!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Charles A]

[ QUOTE ]
The matchking is a target bullet, and will not perform like a ballistic tip. Good luck

[/ QUOTE ]


Nope... They dont. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Kenster-Boy]

Well, I would be able to tell ya all you need to know but man the F'in angles messed me up this deer season. I shoot a savage 112BVSS in 7 RM with 175 smk. I missed 2 bucks at 833 10 TIMES!!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif I didn't have an angle cosine indicator and had to guess at the knock off of shooting up hills. Well turns out I was over shooting them. So later that day I shot at another SMALL buck and he was 610 once again didn't knock off enough and shot 2 inches over his back. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif So the next day went out and found another buck at 894 and I knocked off almost 300 yards. Shot was right on but there was a crosswind on the hill the buck was on and I hit less than 6 inches behind him! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif Man talk about disappointing. Oh well maybe before your season opens I will have a kill under my belt that I can share the results with.

How well does your 7mag shoot the 175 smk? Here is a picture of my 5 shot group from yesterday at 551 yards. It measures right at 4 inches center to center.

 

[drags]

7mmmag man
What twist is your savage?
Drags

 

[Kenster-Boy]

It is a 1 in 9.5

I am shooting 58.5 gr of reloader 22 with the 175 smk loaded about 10 thou back from the lands.

 

[drags]

Thanks magman, the reason I asked was that sierra recomends a 8.5 twist for the 7mm 175smk, I have shot this bullet in a 7br at about 2350fps with good accuracy out to 300yds in a 9 twist barrel but haven't tested at 500yds yet. I have shot and seen shot many whitetails with the 168smk out to 850yds shooting a 7/300wby velocity was about 3250 to 3300fps and the kills were impressive. Have not used the hornady amax on game but know people that have with good results, have used the 162 amax in my 7br out to 300yds and the 5 shot group was 1.473 for five shots. Keep us posted on how the 175smk is shooting in your 9.5 twist barrel.
Drags

 

[D.S.]

7mag man, REGARDLESS of what anyone else says, its extremely irresponsible to be shooting 900yds at a deer, in a crosswind, when youve just missed 10x's at 2 deer that were 830yds away and then another deer that was 610 yards away (610is a chip shot compared to 894!). Imagine the kind of suffering that buck would have been in if your 7mm bullet had shattered one of his hindquarters instead of missing it by 6". Then imagine the outcome of an otherwise open-minded non-hunter, stumbling across your half-dead buck, half a mile from where you last found blood. LR Hunting is one thing, taking pot-shots at <u>big game</u> is another. I hope I didnt offend too many of you guys w/ this post--your awesome stories, advice, and knowledge is invaluable and I sure as heck didnt mean anything against LR hunting and shooting (Im obsessed w/ it /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif)

I hope all of you guys have a great hunting season--Drew Stuart

 

[CrossHare]

I don't know why anyone would be shooting at the nasty tasting things anyway. Let that foul beast try to keep up w/a good ribeye grilled by me /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[craigp40]

The rifle Chris Matthews built for me has a 1 in 9 Broughton barrel. It has no problem stabilizing the 175s, even at long ranges. If I do my part, it will hold .3-.4 MOA out to 500 yds, which is the farthest I've shot groups with it. I have also put it on steel at 1370 yds. Bottom line is that the 8.5 twist that Sierra says it requires isn't necessarily true.

Getting back to the subject at hand, thanks for all the input. Looks like I'll stick with the 175 SMKs for deer season. Let's hope I get one so I can share the bullet results with all of you.

And Chris, hopefully I'll be contacting you soon with my next project. The itch is getting stronger...

 

[Ernie]

7mm Mag,
Have you bought an ACI yet?
I have two of them and they are a good tool in the field.

 

[Kenster-Boy]

Nope not yet but when the next pay check gets here you better believe that one will be on it's way.

D.S. it's one of those things that you really had to have been there. I am sure that you would have been fooled by that wind as well. There was NO evidence of any kind of wind where I was at. But up on the hill it was a different story. The wind was moving fairly good. Now about the 10 times part. All of those shots were in the same spot I am sure. I didn't have a spotter and therefore was hoping to see a bullet impact and due to the ammount of rock that was up on that hill it just wasn't going happen. So have you ever missed a deer once? at extended range. So if what your telling me is ture you should be so discouraged and were so disrespectful to the animal that you should never try again? All those shots were in the same place so you could sort of say I missed it once. GoodGrouper said that he misjudged the wind on his doe antelope and shot just in front of her chest. That could have just as easily have been a gut shot. However I didn't hear you rake him over the coals about that. WE ALL MAKE MISTAKES. My first problem was the elevation angles. Once I got them figured out the last shot I got I got burnt by the wind. I don't see the problem with shooting the distances I was. I HAVE PROVEN MY SHOOTING ON PAPER AT THOSE RANGES!