At a crossroads are diving into Form

[The Harbor Master]

Do whatever you want. Hunting with smaller cartridges is nothing new. Nobody on rokslide came up with the idea. In reality it’s probably the least important thing to get hung up on.

If you want a new gun, get one. If you want to keep using what you have already, do that. Do both….dosent matter.

Fitness and skill mastery will take you a hundred times farther than changing a rifle cartridge…

I posted before reading all the responses but I just wanted to say this is a great post.

 

[Tmac]

I'm in Canada- here are my options:

1. Barnes TSX
2. Barnes TTSX
3. Barnes LRX
4. Hornady ELD-X
5. Nosler AccuBond
6. Nosler AccuBond Long Range
7. Federal Trophy Bonded Tip
8. Federal Terminal Ascent
9. Berger VLD
10. Gunwerks Absolute Hammer

I’ve used 2,3,4,5, and 7 off your list. All worked well. 4 can be hard on meat but killed very well.

 

[mtnbound]

I spent about 5 hours going through Form’s content and a lot of it stuck. I was previously running 7mm copper bullets, and now I’m at a bit of a crossroads and would like your thoughts.

I really like my 7mm Tikka T3x—it shoots great and I’m planning on a few upgrades like the Precision Altitude stock, upgraded brake, etc.

My question is: do I stay the course with the 7mm, switch over to the 7mm .284 162 gr ELD-X fragmenting bullets in line with his recommendations, and proceed with the upgrades? Or, before putting money into it, do I spend the extra ~$1,000 and move to a Tikka T3x in 6.5 PRC or something similar?

I’m a sub-600-yard hunter, and I’m wondering if the recoil reduction is really $1,000 better for the couple of hunts I do each year.

If money weren’t a factor—since I could likely sell my current rifle for what I paid given Canadian price increases—would that change your answer?

Thanks!

If you were planning to shoot more or were recoil sensitive then I would say pick up a trainer rifle and shoot the crap out of it. With you only shooting for a couple of hunts a year, then use what you have.
As far as bullets all of them accept for the ELDX are either a mono or bonded so the X is in a field of its own. It’s gonna do more damage.
If you have a load that works use it, if you want to try something else buy some and see what the rifle likes best.

 

[mtnbound]

Im in Canada so its just a limbsaver and a muzle brake.

I am more worried about having the ELDX blow a white tail up at 300 yards out of my 7mm?

The deer I shot with them was at 75y and I had a complete pass through with lung material plugging the exit hole, which was fist sized.

 

[UnckleBob]

I have been gradually moving towards his advice. No complaints.
1) I bought a 223 Tikka to practice with.
2) I bought a 243 Tikka to be my main deer rifle until I swap the barrel to the inevitable 6 BC (or similar technology). I really do love speed.
3) my last scope purchased was a Trijicon

I still have and will keep some guns that are more powerful.

 

[UnckleBob]

Im in Canada so its just a limbsaver and a muzle brake.

I am more worried about having the ELDX blow a white tail up at 300 yards out of my 7mm?

I shot a whitetail at 100 yards with a 280AI and a 150g eldx. No explosion.

 

[TNHighlands]

I've killed a boatload with tikka superlite 7rm and 162 eldx. Great combo and super accurate. Swfa 3-9hd for the scope.

Vertical grip and limbsaver only modifications.

 

[Gmr777]

Im in Canada so its just a limbsaver and a muzle brake.

I am more worried about having the ELDX blow a white tail up at 300 yards out of my 7mm?

The right brake and recoil pad can make 7mm very shootable.

Whatever bullet you choose just need to understand its expansion for your gun and velocities. I like the ELD Ms but also shoot the X in a couple rifles, just came down to which one shot best for me.

 

[RockAndSage]

I spent about 5 hours going through Form’s content and a lot of it stuck. I was previously running 7mm copper bullets, and now I’m at a bit of a crossroads and would like your thoughts.

I really like my 7mm Tikka T3x—it shoots great and I’m planning on a few upgrades like the Precision Altitude stock, upgraded brake, etc.

My question is: do I stay the course with the 7mm, switch over to the 7mm .284 162 gr ELD-X fragmenting bullets in line with his recommendations, and proceed with the upgrades? Or, before putting money into it, do I spend the extra ~$1,000 and move to a Tikka T3x in 6.5 PRC or something similar?

I’m a sub-600-yard hunter, and I’m wondering if the recoil reduction is really $1,000 better for the couple of hunts I do each year.

If money weren’t a factor—since I could likely sell my current rifle for what I paid given Canadian price increases—would that change your answer?

Thanks!

Something to keep in mind on the whole issue of cartridge, bullets, etc, is that "small caliber" isn't a single factor.

Here's the formula: Lower recoil = more shooting = better shooting.

Combine that with just how cheap it is to shoot .223, and you start getting really outsized gains with your ability to shoot that 7mm, just by going through a case or two of .223 at a fraction of the cost. Imagine going through 1000 or 2000 rounds of 7mm. Also, how much of that can you shoot in one session, before pain and/or flinch start setting in? You by no means have to hunt with the .223, but your hunting will the 7mm will be far better for putting time and money into a trainer gun.

 

[backcountryplatinum]

I've killed a boatload with tikka superlite 7rm and 162 eldx. Great combo and super accurate. Swfa 3-9hd for the scope.

Vertical grip and limbsaver only modifications.

any issues shooting in the 50-400 range?

 

[backcountryplatinum]

The deer I shot with them was at 75y and I had a complete pass through with lung material plugging the exit hole, which was fist sized.

is that a good or bad thing

 

[TNHighlands]

any issues shooting in the 50-400 range?

Nope. Kills from 60-300 with them. No mess, no fuss. Most DRT and furthest ran maybe 25 yds.

 

[Dave Thomas]

Im in Canada so its just a limbsaver and a muzle brake.

I am more worried about having the ELDX blow a white tail up at 300 yards out of my 7mm?

It won't

 

[Pharmseller]

Do you guys see any concerns shooting that bullet in the 50-400 range?

150-ish

One shot, died right effing now



375, died RFN



One shot, 350-ish, died RFN



612, a couple of shots, but he was still standing, so…

 

[mtnbound]

is that a good or bad thing

For such close range, I was glad that I didn't lose any meat to speak of. Just giving you an idea of what it can do, it's not going to blow up a deer, but there will be damage, probably more than you are used to seeing.

 

[myhuntingjournal]

Have you been happy with the results of your copper bullets thus far?
At those ranges you'll likely be fine shooting the right monos, don't over think it.
There seems to be a lot of great bullets nowdays, including copper monos...which is what I happily shoot and don't plan to change.

This is great advice for a sub 600 hunter with a magnum.

Lack of speed is where the disparity is more noticeable.

Sent from my SM-S906U1 using Tapatalk

 

[omicron1792]

I’ll go the opposite way. Get a smaller caliber and shoot the mess out of it. Use non monos too

 

[SDHNTR]

Monos and 7RM work quite well together. You don’t need to change anything unless YOU want to. Certainly don’t do it because someone on the internet said to.

 

[elsb0048]

If you haven't already you should consider listening to Forms discussions on the EXO podcast. While he certainly describes small calibers with match or rapidly expanding bullets as optimal he also mentions using monos as well in certain situations where meat loss is more of a concern and blood trailing or Dead Right There performance is less critical. I found it to be a helpful summary and potentially a more nuanced take than what comes through on the slide.

I feel like my takeaways from his stuff are more along the lines of: be aware of the tradeoffs of bullet construction and caliber choice but ultimately that head stamp is far from the most important characteristic of a good rifle.

In your shoes I would try killing a couple critters with both monos and eldx/eldm and see if you notice a difference or care. And in the meantime run what you brung and practice more

 

[Axlrod]

If it's me, for what you are doing, I'm getting a 6mm. Myself, and a bunch of the guys I hunt with used to use mono's. They were always pretty consistent, but the wound cavity is smaller than any of the match bullets I have had experience with. If you are staying with the 7 Rm, You could use the 120 gr. Barnes This will give you less recoil without changing rifles. I have seen that bullet and the 110 gr. in 270 used without any issues on elk out to 600 yds or so. In my experience lighter mono's work better than heavy ones. You get higher velocity, and plenty of penetration. I haven't seen much difference in exit wound diameter between the light and the heavy mono's.
We have been shooting elk with 115 Dtacs the last couple years, and they are dramatically more effective than any mono's I have seen in person.