Took a 10 point right at dark last night. Using my 7x57 loaded with the 150 grain uncoated Ballistic Silvertips pushed to 2700 fps. Hit him at the bottom of the shoulder blade just about in the middle at thirty yards the bullet destroyed some spine, made soup out of just about everything in the chest and part of it or some bone exited leaving a 3/4 inch hole in the offside. I found the jacket in the far shoulder blade expanded to nearly an inch. I like it when they drop on the spot just before dark.

The 7mm 150 BT is a varmint round on the vitals of deer sized animals. Out of a 7mm Remington Mag it’s a little more explosive.

The 25 caliber 115 BT does the same thing and so does Sierra’s 117 SPBT.

I also like a bang flop at the end of a hard days hunting.

Yeah, the 150 grain balistic tip works exceptionally well at that launch speed.

I only use 150 grain balistic tips or 162 Hornady SST's in my 7mm-08 and nothing hit well with them has ever gone more than a few steps.

Once you increase their speed though, they effectively become a varmint bullet at all but long range.

quote:

Originally posted by Tumbo:
Yeah, the 150 grain balistic tip works exceptionally well at that launch speed.

I only use 150 grain balistic tips or 162 Hornady SST's in my 7mm-08 and nothing hit well with them has ever gone more than a few steps.

Once you increase their speed though, they effectively become a varmint bullet at all but long range.

That happens, the BT is not the best for hypervelocity rounds, but it works.

But there is one thing that makes the 7mm X 57 somewhat equal to a 7mm Remington Magnum. Time and distance.

I have a 7MM RM and it gets fed either heavy bullets or 140 grain Partitions. Where I hunt a shot over 200 yards rarely happens so the 7x57 is a bit better than my magnum. I just got thru cutting up my deer and neither shoulder was a total loss though there was some damage.

quote:

Originally posted by rickt300:
I have a 7MM RM and it gets fed either heavy bullets or 140 grain Partitions. Where I hunt a shot over 200 yards rarely happens so the 7x57 is a bit better than my magnum. I just got thru cutting up my deer and neither shoulder was a total loss though there was some damage.

Yup, time and distance. The 7x57 with a 150 Nosler BT out to 200 yards is a killer. The 7 Mag is still slowing down (falling off fast at 200 yards) at 200 yards to match the 7mm Mauser.

I’ll look with interest on this subject.

quote:

Originally posted by MickinColo:

quote:

Originally posted by rickt300:
I have a 7MM RM and it gets fed either heavy bullets or 140 grain Partitions. Where I hunt a shot over 200 yards rarely happens so the 7x57 is a bit better than my magnum. I just got thru cutting up my deer and neither shoulder was a total loss though there was some damage.

Yup, time and distance. The 7x57 with a 150 Nosler BT out to 200 yards is a killer. The 7 Mag is still slowing down (falling off fast at 200 yards) at 200 yards to match the 7mm Mauser.

I’ll look with interest on this subject.

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With identical bullets the 7 mag will hold the same velocity advantage over all distances.

Tumbo, I have often considered, yet to try the 150 ballistic tip and 162 amax the supreme long distance deer bullet in 7/08. Expecting to do some testing in my heavy barrel gun, the gun has shot 139 Hornady and 140 ballistic tips, as well as 150 matchkings into one hole at 100 yds, with 5 shots if I trim some decent brass and seat bullets to the lands.

I often use 120-140's for less recoil but the heavier bullets do their thing when you get way out there, passing up the lighter ones as we know, and add to the on target impact energy.

Ironically 100 gr Hornadys on top of Varget put 3 in 1/2 inch and another group in about 5/8 at 200 yds! That should not have happened as the faster 9 twist for those short bullets but a benchrest shooter once said, never argue with what works!

I bought a box of 150 Btips as they will get good speeds but still not eat up as much capacity as the 160's so you have a good trajectory. The Amax, well, I have yet to hear anything but stellar field reports, myself included with 105's in a 6BR, and even a 400 yd kill.

What powder do you use under those 2 bullets, speeds/barrel lengths if you don't mind? Thanks.

My next ballistic tip tests will use the 95 grain 6MM version at 3000 fps. The problem with fast bullets and close range is the unknown performance quotiant. The vast majority of my hunting for deer includes shots at less than 100 yards. Next year I will use a 308 and 165 grain ballistic tips.

If you body shoot them in lungs/chest cavity, I would presume you get close to an DRT kill even at close range, based on what my 105 amax has done in a 6BR at 2840 mv, it explodes inside the animal, they die very quickly, only one moved out of it's tracks, went 25 yds or so, VERY dead on it's feet and could hardly stand at all after the impact-double lunged 400 yds, a 95 btip@3000 under 100 yds should = lights out. I expect my 6BR 26" to drive them at 2950 or better and will load some soon. 243 was sold so I will load them in 6BR at similar speeds, will post if I get a shot in the field.

quote:

Originally posted by rickt300:
My next ballistic tip tests will use the 95 grain 6MM version at 3000 fps. The problem with fast bullets and close range is the unknown performance quotiant. The vast majority of my hunting for deer includes shots at less than 100 yards. Next year I will use a 308 and 165 grain ballistic tips.

1 of my 30'06's loves 165 bal tips but after having 3 pencile through medium size deer I gave them up. I think nosler uses heavier jackets on the larere rounds.

Tom, likely correct, I'd use a 30 cal in 150, the 165's are pumped from someone I know in a 300 Jarrett at 3400.......he hunts ARMOR plated deer I guess.

Nosler I believe beefed up many or all b. tips since intro, know the 180 30cal looks 'elk capable' as is said of the 338 200 gr that was made, now replaced by a more expensive I reckon Accubond.

For you a 165 Hornady or Sierra in conventional design should be all you need, if not any 150 but they do sometimes seem to do alot of meat damage, though I have seen 180 roundnose Power Points do the same on shoulder hit deer I have seen.

I bought 500 .308 165 grain BT's from Shooters Pro Shop so I hope they work. If they are too tough for deer I'll use em on the feral hog population/problem.

There is a big difference in the BTs in 308 165 between when they first came out and now. I had some of the first ones and they also penciled through. I sent them back to Nosler and they sent me a new batch and those have worked flawlessly since then.

quote:

Originally posted by Fjold:
??????????????

With identical bullets the 7 mag will hold the same velocity advantage over all distances.

You’re right Fjold, I don’t know what I was thinking. Too much of this maybe

I use 140-150 grain bullets in my Mauser and 150-160 in the 7 Mag. Although the 140 out of the Mauser has basically the same trajectory as the 7 Mag with a 160, that’s the only comparison that can be made between the two.

So far this year I have taken two antelope (buck and doe) and a mulie doe all with 130gr ballistic tips out of my 270 wsm. So far none of the animals have managed even a step after bullet found purchase. Last year I used federal 130gr soft points on all my deer. The round worked well enough but some animals ran up to a hundred yards after the shot. After hunting season I was lucky enough to load up on some Winchester Supreme's when the Scheels in Great Falls moved. I found that my model 70 will shoot a five shot group with these under an inch. That compared to the occasional but sometimes better two inch group with the soft points it was easy to decide which round to hunt with this year. I might have to try some in my 7x57 though for next year.

Kinda nice that you can now mention Ballistic Tips and Gamekings and not get into some huge pissing match over them. The BT's have evolved into some pretty good bullets for the thin skinned game.

This is good to hear. I've got some freshly loaded 150gr .277 BT's for my 270 that are ready to whack 'em and stack 'em this year for whitetail. They're moving about 2865fps, so I'm expecting lightning kills to about as far as I can shoot.

Hey Rick, Congratulations on the Kill. Yes, it sure is nice when you can locate them quickly at dark.

Any flicks?

Best of luck to you.

If shooting for the ribs, and broadside, any bullet will work on whitetails including 55 Sierras from a .220 Ackley Swift. This I know well. If they are moving, or headed away from you, it's a big problem. I've always thought I'd rather have them run 40 yards when hit broadside and be able to shoot through endwise on a running buck, but i am definitely not a tree stand hunter. If I were I'd shoot a smaller rifle and get more broadside shots.

I took a small mulie several years back with a 165 grain B-tip from a .308. It did real well !
I tried to take a mulie with a 140 grain B-tip from my Ruger #1A but I did,nt get the chance. I hunted with that rifle for 2 days, and did,nt see a buck.
Got one later with my 270. 130 grain SSt DRT
but I shot him in the neck so I thats what would expect...tj3006

I've only used one ballistic tip on a game animal in my life and that was to shoot an antelope buck in the neck at 268 yards. It took out two vertebra and blew a hole out the other side about 4" across.

He was in tall sagebrush and the doe he was with burned me so I had to take the neck shot. It was definately a bang-flop

I wasn't in a tree, I was sitting in a folding chair in brush up to my neck. I am sure glad the deer didn't go 40 yards because in that "Shinnery" I might not have found him that night. Too many feral hogs and coyotes, he's have been bloody bones by daybreak. Not only that but the rattlesnake is a big nerveracker at night in that stuff.

TJ, don't you love it when you get a DRT neck shot? Very effective, but sometimes risky depending on range and animal's nerves, risky as to them moving causing a miss, which a clean miss is better than a wounded animal lost.