Most killingest 7mm bullet you’ve used?

[Ross]

154 gr Hornady sst for two decades personally. Very very close out to 600 yds no issues.
My fathers camp 5-8 hunters all 7 mag users for 50 yrs using Remington core lokt 160-175 gr for all critters.

 

[Zdub02]

150 gr NBT for me. Has been accurate in my rifle and worked well on deer and antelope.

 

[Trr15]

I used 168gr VLDs this season and was very impressed. As previously mentioned, meat damage can be significant depending on shot placement, but they kill. No question about that. 1 deer, 1 antelope and 2 elk all dropped in their tracks.

 

[Jake Larsen]

Over the years I've seen more elk fall to 140 and 160gr accubonds than anything. But they are old and boring now. Last few have been eld-x and 165 sierra tgk. Been quite pleased with the sierra tgk actually, so far it has held together better than other cup & core bullets I have tried.
I bought some 180 eld-m to try this year but never got around to working up a load, maybe next season.

I’ve also been digging the TGK. OP is looking for those super heavy for caliber options, but for the 7mm-08 category, they’re a great choice. Happy medium IMO - create a good wound channel but nothing like the 168VLDs, if you’re concerned about meat loss. Also they shoot and reload awesome, and are cheap.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[djfergus]

Been really liking the 7mm lately. Shooting the big bullets fast and they’re pretty tough to beat ballistically.

I’ve killed big game with 195 EOL, 180 Hybrid, 180 VLD-H, 180 ELDM and 169 Hammer Hunter. They all performed as designed or intended.

Curious what others have used with the most success and maybe even just what else is out there that I potentially don’t even know about.

162 sst has the most one shot kills I've saw. The. 180 eld m is what I currently use and it's not far behind the 162.

 

[jpmulk]

162 grain eldx hasnt failed me yet from 30 to 500 yards on 10+ deer, elk, and antelope.

 

[mddat]

162 ELDM in 7rem mag has worked good on a few deer and 1 elk for me, not a large sample yet but will continue using them

 

[huntnful]

I’ve also been digging the TGK. OP is looking for those super heavy for caliber options, but for the 7mm-08 category, they’re a great choice. Happy medium IMO - create a good wound channel but nothing like the 168VLDs, if you’re concerned about meat loss. Also they shoot and reload awesome, and are cheap.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I love hearing about all of them! Definitely a personal interest in the heavy bullets, but also like all the lighter weight bullet info being shared as well.

Please keep sharing the whole variety of killing bullets. I bet others are gaining info that fit their personal cartridges they use as well!

 

[mainbeam pursuit2]

In the minority here, using 175 ABLR. Has worked very well for me out of a 28 Nosler.

 

[MThuntr]

I used to kill a lot of deer with 139 SSTs and then 139 Interbonds before I switched to my 280AI. The 143 Hammers have taken over as my killingest 7mm bullet. I plan to keep using coppers in this gun so I can hunt in areas that require non-lead. I have a bunch of 140gr Accubonds from my 7mm08 but I don't think they'll catch my 139SST killing.

 

[BallisticJesus]

180gr ELD-M from point blank in their beds to over 800 yards. BANG FLOP

 

[finner]

For monos, the CE 145 Lazer has delivered pretty great results for me this season on multiple animals between 70 and 600 yards. More consistent than hammers and better BCs. Emphatic effects on everything they've touched.

 

[Tick]

140 grain Accubonds have been great for my 7mm

 

[bergerking21]

180 eldm in 7 prc and 7 rem mag, numerous mule deer 100-450 yards, all bang flops. Most had exits, lots of internal damage. Few elk, 330-400 yards, suppressed, was able to get multiple shots off while they were standing there, probably not necessary but better safe than sorry, all chest hits, lots of damage to lungs. No exits on the elk.
180 hybrid, 7 rem mag, deer, bang flop.
180 VLD, 28 nosler, deer, interesting result and something that probably happens more than we might realize. Bullets can have weird deflections and paths through tissue. Shot just behind shoulder, did not hit arm/shoulder bone, did go through the muscle, entered chest cavity, did not hit rib, immediately J hooked inside chest cavity, went through diaphragm and hit/exploded stomach. He looked sick but walked probably 50-70 yards, stood there, shot again, hit high shoulder/ lung, dropped.
Made me think about all the stories of people having "perfect hits", it's possible the bullet deflected, took a weird turn, pencil through, Gunwerks Aaron was talking about bullets sometimes end up stabilizing backwards as they are traveling through tissue, therefore not expanding, tumbling or tearing apart, interesting stuff. If we didn't recover that deer, would not have known it J hooked immediately into diaphragm and stomach, looked like a great hit but very minimal lung damage on that shot, Good damage on the high lung follow up shot.
168 classic hunter, 7 rem mag, deer, bang flop
shot a lot of deer growing up with 140 core lokts and 150 federal power-shok, 7-08, some absorbed multiple shots, none of them went very far

 

[2-Stix]

I shot an elk Tuesday with a 139LRX. I am in CA so I have to run copper...I run the same out on out of state hunts. Once I move I will never shoot copper again. ELDm or x. Copper has penciled through all the big game I have took. Not ideal.

 

[bergerking21]

I shot an elk Tuesday with a 139LRX. I am in CA so I have to run copper...I run the same out on out of state hunts. Once I move I will never shoot copper again. ELDm or x. Copper has penciled through all the big game I have took. Not ideal.

Might give hammer's a try if having to run all copper, I've seen a few animals shot with them. quarter to 50 cent piece main exit and sometimes the pedals exit

 

[Castle Rock]

For me the 120 Ballistic Tip

 

[Wyoming Hart]

Berger 168 VLDs have been what I have been using since purchasing my Best Of The West 7MM Rem Mag. There have not been any issues with them on a couple elk, sheep, mountain goat, and moose. Everything dropped on the spot or only went about 50 yards.

 

[Brucebarker024]

I’ve had great success with the 180 hybrid targets thus far. Only 3 deer and an elk but I like them.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

I killed alot with the 145lrx moving fast from a 280ai and was pleased with that one. I recently put together a shorter barrel 284win, we killed two deer with it this fall one with the 131hammer hunter and one with the 162eldm, still collecting thoughts on those.

The VLD on a bull elk at 450 yards lost and entire shoulder, all the rib meat, and the inside of the other shoulder. On a mule deer buck at 300 yards left a baseball size exit hole, and lost both shoulders, rib meat, neck meat and back strap...

Do you do your own butchering? I have a VERY hard time believing you legitimately lost complete shoulders, esp. on an elk. There may have been bloody fluid worked up between muscle groups up/down the shoulder but when you separate out the muscles that stuff just wipes off. An elk shoulder is a big surface and extremely hard to believe the actual meat on the entire shoulder was bloodshot. If you used meat processor who just tossed them in the interest of saving time that is a different story, the meat wasn't all a loss the person just didn't want to take the time to clean up the situation.