139gr too light a bullet for 7mm RM?

[Alpsman]

Hello,

I used to shoot a 165gr SPBT and got tight 1" groups at 100yds. But they just punched hole in deer and I had to track.
Switched on a recommendation to Hornady SST 139gr. First deer out inside of 17 yards dropped like a stone with no solid vitals remaining.
Problem is I have a scattered 1.5 -2" groups now at 100yds. Driving me nuts. Do 7mm like a heavier bullet? Want the deer to drop, but also want to get back to those tight 1" groups at 100 yds.

Any thoughts??

Many thanks,
Alpsman

 

[Olspark]

High shoulder shots drop deer right now with almost any bullet/caliber. Deer aren’t that tough. Neck shots are also good. A 2” group will kill deer all day long at 100yds. How far are you shooting? Your one example was 17 yds. Would seem that a 2” group would suffice. Do you reload? Most 7RM factory guns are 9 1/4 twist. Is yours a factory? A little more info would get a better response. I’m shooting 154 SST‘s in mine though.

 

[Kurz]

Hello,

I used to shoot a 165gr SPBT and got tight 1" groups at 100yds. But they just punched hole in deer and I had to track.
Switched on a recommendation to Hornady SST 139gr. First deer out inside of 17 yards dropped like a stone with no solid vitals remaining.
Problem is I have a scattered 1.5 -2" groups now at 100yds. Driving me nuts. Do 7mm like a heavier bullet? Want the deer to drop, but also want to get back to those tight 1" groups at 100 yds.

Any thoughts??

Many thanks,
Alpsman

This is just not that hard.

Hopefully you reload but that's uncertain although possible based on your comments and wording.

During one depredation hunt quite a number of years ago, I shot the Speer 130gr. Flat Nose bullets in my 7mm Rem. Mag. These bullets were made ostensibly for the 7mm-08 cartridge but they performed excellently in the 7mm RM. I did not need to run them slower and in fact ran them near 3300 fps.

You need to test your SSTs with both powder charges and seating depth or vice versa. Not all rifles will like the SST design and will show you with inconsistencies and poor group size.

I used to shoot a 165gr SPBT and got tight 1" groups at 100yds. But they just punched hole in deer and I had to track.

Always? Every time? How many times did they 'punch through'?

Normally the SP design with exposed lead tips will open even in thin skin game. Lung shots on deer might (will) shoot through unless they hit a rib. More explanation will help.

 

[jackieschmidt]

The object of any good hunting bullet is clean kills.

Since you have a 7mmRem Mag, you might enjoy this video.

 

[Field_2_Fork]

My first rifle was a Tikka M65 in 7RM, I hunted with it for 3 or 4 years using 139 Interlocks. Took 5 deer or so with no problem at all.
2 years ago I switched to 140 TTSX and took a cow elk very cleanly. Maybe not an apples to apples comparison, but no issues for me either way. I think I'll try the 140 TTSX for deer this year.

 

[Sniper338]

Lol funny post. You should ditch the 7 mag and get a 338 lapua for those extreme distances. Way more stopping power with the berger 300 gr bullets. If the deer still runs more than 3 yards better to go to a 50 BMG and just be done with it.

 

[Charlie-NY]

I've taken a fair number of whitetails with a 7STW and the (then) 162gr A-Max bullet. Distance didn't seem to matter. Shoulder shots resulted in DRT almost every time. Tight behind the shoulder either dropped them or they'd get a maximum of 35-40yds. The bullet was remarkably accurate at the 400yd line where I would practice.

Today, Hornady calls the same bullet (but newer version), the 162 ELD-M. I'd recommend giving that bullet a try in your 7mm mag.

 

[ballisticxlr]

The ridiculously high velocity can be pretty punishing in terms of meat damage especially inside 100yrds but the 7RM seems to excel in that respect anyway on shots under 100yrds. If you can't get it to group you should try a different bullet. I'd probably turn to monometals like the TTSX since they'll be a little longer for the bullet weight you get which might help if your rifle prefers a little longer bullet and I'd go that way anyway given the high velocities since mono's are tough. I've personally had pretty terrible results with SST's in a few calibers in terms of jacket/core separation but that's never stopped them killing the heck out of whatever I've shot with them so I've not developed a particular bias against them. The core still goes plenty deep and does the job.

 

[JEFFPPC]

139 Spire Points now called Interlocks are great on deer. Shoot a buch of deer with thrm out of a 280 loaded very warm. Accurate also.

 

[Homerange]

The ridiculously high velocity can be pretty punishing in terms of meat damage especially inside 100yrds but the 7RM seems to excel in that respect anyway on shots under 100yrds. If you can't get it to group you should try a different bullet. I'd probably turn to monometals like the TTSX since they'll be a little longer for the bullet weight you get which might help if your rifle prefers a little longer bullet and I'd go that way anyway given the high velocities since mono's are tough. I've personally had pretty terrible results with SST's in a few calibers in terms of jacket/core separation but that's never stopped them killing the heck out of whatever I've shot with them so I've not developed a particular bias against them. The core still goes plenty deep and does the job.

The same was often said to my uncle about his 270W and Norma FL 130 grainers. His reply always was: Bruised venison is better than no venison !

 

[ballisticxlr]

The same was often said to my uncle about his 270W and Norma FL 130 grainers. His reply always was: Bruised venison is better than no venison !

This is one of the reasons I'm a super fan of fast 7's. I've never had an animal take more than 1 step after meeting a bullet from one. 7RM I have a sentimental attachment to. Killed my first deer at 30ft with one pushing core-lokt's. The damage was tremendous but I didn't have to look for it at all. It's feet were sticking up in the air right where it was shot.