Looking for good long range deer caliber!!!

[califoriahunter]

Ok so I need some suggestions on a good caliber for blacktail deer! I'm looking for something that is capable of taking a deer out to 1000 yards but more than likely the shots will be around 200. This year I killed a buck at 619 yards with my 7mag but there was a Lot of meat waste and I'm mostly in it for the meat so any suggestions would be great!!!

 

[Ridgerunner665]

Anything that will make a clean kill at 1,000 is gonna damage some meat at closer ranges...you have as good of round as you could have, maybe look at changing bullets though.

 

[J E Custom]

Ok so I need some suggestions on a good caliber for blacktail deer! I'm looking for something that is capable of taking a deer out to 1000 yards but more than likely the shots will be around 200. This year I killed a buck at 619 yards with my 7mag but there was a Lot of meat waste and I'm mostly in it for the meat so any suggestions would be great!!!

The 7 mag should have performed well without a lot of meat loss at that distance so I would look at other bullet choices for it first.

Deer don't need big cartridges at those distances and maybe something starting with a good 6.5,
or a smaller 7mm (7/08 or 280 Remington) both have very high BC Bullets and Many different
bullet choices.

To much meat damage normally means hollow points or match bullets. For hunting I recommend
bullets designed for hunting and bonded cores where it is legal to use lead.

J E CUSTOM

 

[califoriahunter]

I'm using a 154gr hornedy sst any other suggestions?

 

[Ridgerunner665]

160 Nosler Accubond

 

[J E Custom]

160 nosler accubond

+1

Or the 140 grain Accubond for the deer.

j e custom

 

[Waynard]

For your 7Mag. I would look at the 150gr. Nosler partition on top of Reloader 19 or IMR 4350 powder with a good powder charge. {Always start with a reduced powder load and work your way up.} That should get you out there a ways and not cause to much meat damage in close. Also, I've heard good things about the Barnes TTSX bullet. gun)

I like one shot kills where possible and prefer to do all my hunting before I shoot. Elmer Keith

 

[Engineering101]

Like you I'm all about the meat so I shoot Barnes TTSX or LRX bullets. Case in point. I shot a small Montana whitetail a few years ago just to see how bad the meat damage would be with my 338 RUM. I was using a 210 grain TTSX at 3,200 fps. The shot was broadside at 220 yards. The deer hunched up and staggered for 20 yards and fell over. As I suspected, it didn't hurt a scrap of meat. You could eat the bullet hole.

I'm running the 145 grain LRX in my 7mm WSM and it groups around 1 inch at 200 yards so you can get pretty good accuracy even loaded to magazine length. Barnes bullets don't blow the crap out of what you are shooting like say a Berger HVLD or Nosler Ballistic Tip would when up close so I use them from zero to 600 yards. Out past 600 yards where you need all the energy delivered to the animal I shoot Bergers.

 

[Jluck]

Barnes? California had a lead free law anyways, no? Barnes are great for retention and penatration (narrower and longer wound channel). They might not have the DRT characteristics of a HP or match type bullets though.

 

[scottishkat]

Like you I'm all about the meat so I shoot Barnes TTSX or LRX bullets. Case in point. I shot a small Montana whitetail a few years ago just to see how bad the meat damage would be with my 338 RUM. I was using a 210 grain TTSX at 3,200 fps. The shot was broadside at 220 yards. The deer hunched up and staggered for 20 yards and fell over. As I suspected, it didn't hurt a scrap of meat. You could eat the bullet hole.

I'm running the 145 grain LRX in my 7mm WSM and it groups around 1 inch at 200 yards so you can get pretty good accuracy even loaded to magazine length. Barnes bullets don't blow the crap out of what you are shooting like say a Berger HVLD or Nosler Ballistic Tip would when up close so I use them from zero to 600 yards. Out past 600 yards where you need all the energy delivered to the animal I shoot Bergers.

+1 with the barnes tsx bullets you can eat pretty well up to the bullet hole. Have not tried the ttsx as yet. I have shot the tsx from 2 rifles the 257wby and the 338 federal and both did not damage alot of meat.

I have shot many deer with the NAB and it is an excellent choice but they damage more food than the tsx.

The 7mm Remington magnum is as good a round for deer as any.

Good luck and shoot straight

Bob

 

[califoriahunter]

I want to thank everyone for the great info! This site is great keep it up! I'm a bow hunter but the last few years started rifle hunting to extend my season so it's great to have a place I can ask questions!

 

[JOHNNIE WALKER]

Personally, I'm a really big fan of the SST. But I'm shooting it a lot slower than you are. Velocity is a big concern with this bullet. It is very soft and higher velocity rounds often give it a bad name. It performs wonderfully out of my 260rem (140gr), but I could see your 7mm mag having problems with it. If I shot the same bullet I'm using in my 260 out of a 264 win mag or a 6.5wsm I would expect explosive results. If you switch to a good bonded bullet you might be surprised at the difference. I'm also a meat hunter, but I'm also a big fan of a clean and quick kill. Sometimes you have to experiment to find out what works. That 7mm is great long range round. If you can shoot it good, stick with it. Try a different bullet.