Most killingest 7mm bullet you’ve used?

[peaceful_ruler]

I love the high BC’s of the ELD’s and Bergers but I hate the meat damage and lead spread. I’m liking the Federal TA 170 as a good compromise.

 

[casey36]

I use 120gr NBT in my 7mm-08 loads at 3020fps.
140gr NBT or AB at 3512 fps in my 7mm STW .
Both of those are whitetail loads.
160gr. Nosler AB at 3300fps in the STW for any thing else that I would use a 7mm for. I've also used various Barnes bullets through the years, but have pretty much settled in with these loads.
I do have a load with the 120gr Barnes TTSX at over 3700fps in the STW. Can't wait to try it on a deer or pronghorn!

 

[jdmaxwell]

Have alot of success with 175 eld x out of my 7mm. Most recent was caribou in August dropped at 590 yds.

 

[Still Hunter]

Used 160 Grain Federal Premium Nosler Partition for 30+ years. They quite making it this year. So I need to find a new one that the gun likes.

 

[grfox92]

162gr ELDM.

Sent from my SM-S931U using Tapatalk

 

[Clay Thompson]

180 ELD-M

But you will have a new champ next year...

Teasing the 7mm lovers amongst us with knowledge of a heavier TMK again, huh? When can we expect these to come to market (before I end up resupplying with ELD-M's)?

 

[glock233]

Teasing the 7mm lovers amongst us with knowledge of a heavier TMK again, huh? When can we expect these to come to market (before I end up resupplying with ELD-M's)?

Sierra 185 grain TMK in 7mm will be available in the next month or so. Sierra part number 7685C.

All signs indicate these will be completely devastating. Maybe more than they need to be in the 7mm+ size. The 175 ELDX and 180 ELDM are stunning with the destruction they give out, and the TMK seems like it will be a step up.

I'm a firm believer in TMK in the 223 and 6mm calibers. I haven't tested larger much, but the destructive potential seems very high.

 

[Clay Thompson]

Sierra 185 grain TMK in 7mm will be available in the next month or so. Sierra part number 7685C.

All signs indicate these will be completely devastating. Maybe more than they need to be in the 7mm+ size. The 175 ELDX and 180 ELDM are stunning with the destruction they give out, and the TMK seems like it will be a step up.

I'm a firm believer in TMK in the 223 and 6mm calibers. I haven't tested larger much, but the destructive potential seems very high.

Oh how fun... I will be very curious to see how they perform. Has Sierra hinted at what kinds of BC values we can expect, and what twist they will require?

 

[MorelMan]

I love the high BC’s of the ELD’s and Bergers but I hate the meat damage and lead spread. I’m liking the Federal TA 170 as a good compromise.

Completely agree. Shot one buck with ELDx and that will be my last. Switched to the Federal TA for the 2025 season and it seemed way better.

 

[nphunter]

168gr VLD's, we've probably killed 30 big game animals with the rifle. Devastating bullets at all ranges we've used them from 20-400 yards on deer, elk, antelope. They can ruin a lot of meat on a poor shot but I've always been more concerned about not tracking than losing meat. If you hit behind the shoulder instead of through it they normally drop in their tracks. Shoulder hits ruin some meat.

 

[TexasTB]

162 ELDX out of 20” 7mm SAW at 2750 fps… Have taken whitetail, wild hogs, Axis deer and aoudad out to 450 yards. Very accurate and consistent terminal performance.

 

[jeffpg]

I have gradually shifted to heavier bullets through the years as I became more educated about ballistics, but back in the day I was using lighter bullets in factory ammo. This was over a several year period around 20 something years ago and I was hunting the big bodied whitetail and mule deer trophy bucks that were more abundant and accessible back then on both private and public land all across the entire country. This was before I had custom built long range rifles, and my go to rig was a somewhat accurized Rem 700 SPS in 7mm Rem Mag with a Leupold 4.5-14x40 LR scope with the Varmint Hunter reticle. It shot Hornady Heavy Mag 139 gr SST bullets leaving the muzzle @ 3250 fps with great accuracy. (note the dual barrel de-resonators) With a 200 yard zero, each corresponding crosshair was exactly dead on at 100-yard intervals, making for very quick target acquisition after taking a rangefinder reading. I lost count of the number of 350 to 600-yard, one shot kills that I made with that rig over the years. The explosive SST bullet just plain worked, and it killed deer dead on the spot when placed in the center of the animals' vitals. On a side note, you could swap cartridges to Hornady's fastest .22-250 load in a 50 grainer and the Leupold's holdover reticle worked exactly the same, as those 2 loads from Hornady had the same flight path/bullet drop.

Here's an exit side pic of a Kansas buck that I put down with one shot from just a tad over 525 yards 21 years ago with the 139 gr SST. As stated, I tend to use heavier bullets these days, but I sure had a lot of success with the old lightweight SST. I believe that proper shot placement is by far the most important factor, period.

 

[88man]

BERGER 7mm 180grn vld hunting dead right there drt results lots of elk kills 200 to 800yrds @ muzzle velo 3050 from a 7mm Dakota

 

[7LRM]

I shoot all games with Berger 175 elite hunter