Barnes LRX 139 7MM

[UTJL]

Anyone using Barnes 139 7MM on elk?

My 7mm really likes these would love to hear feedback on how they perform for elk.

Thanks

I shot my elk this year with the 139 LRX out of a 7mm mag. It was a 300-350lb bull at 250 yards broad side. Bullet hit the onside scapula and shattered it. Continued down through the chest cavity punched through the offside lower shoulder bone and exited. Exit hole was ~1/2 inches in diameter. The elk took 1 step then reared up on its hind legs and fell on its back dead.

When we cleaned the elk, the lungs fell out in pieces and the chest cavity was chock full of blood. Also found 1 petal in the offside shoulder when butchering the meat.

I don’t expect every the performance on every animal to be this dramatic. But I do feel comfortable on shots with an impact velocity above ~2400fps. I also think the LRX retains enough weight that you could take a steeply angled shot and get enough penetration.

 

[HiMtnHntr]

Definitely a good idea to shoot for the shoulder using the lrx. Glad they worked out for you.

 

[Earlierbird]

i Used 7mm 160 accubonds on my bull . I would use the same combination again.
Can I say , I like to see a pretty kill , not excessively blooded or “ shot up”, accubonds do all I ask for

 

[hikehuntrescue]

tl;dr it's a great elk bullet. Good luck on the hunt!


Longer answer:

How they perform on elk will, obviously, depend on the impact velocity (taking proper shot placement for granted).

I'm looking at loading the 139 LRX in my 7/08, and per Barnes's email "An impact velocity of 1400 fps will get you about 1.7x expansion of the bullet’s original diameter. If 2x expansion is desired then add approximately 100-200 fps. This is NOT across the LRX line; just the 139 gr LRX."

So, assuming your rifle gets near Barnes's factory load velocities, the 139gr LRX out of a 7 rem mag should easily put down anything on the continent out to at least 500 yds and possibly a whole lot further. Insert here all the normal caveats of long range shooting regarding wind, shot placement, practice etc etc.