quote:

i would bet that at 7x57 velocities, an 160-grain Sierra GameKing would do very well.....

This topic is about using just one bullet for big tough animals like elk and also whitetails. It's a lot to ask and still have optimum performance. In fact it's almost lazy.

As to the 160 Gameking on whitetails I have not had good results. I shot one large doe broadside in the lungs at 40 yds as it just stood there. The damm deer ran into a swamp and it took hours to find it. The gun was a 7mm RM!

Another great 7mm bullet that is very underrated and sometimes completly forgotten is the 150 gn core lock. I think they are every bit as good as the interlocks, possibly even better.

quote:

Originally posted by Savage99:

quote:

i would bet that at 7x57 velocities, an 160-grain Sierra GameKing would do very well.....

As to the 160 Gameking on whitetails I have not had good results. I shot one large doe broadside in the lungs at 40 yds as it just stood there. The damm deer ran into a swamp and it took hours to find it. The gun was a 7mm RM!

Regardless of gun would you not expect a lung shot deer to be able to make up to 75yards at least as often as it falls down in a couple of yards?

Yep guess that is me "almost Lazy". Expecting one bullet to kill both an Elk and Deer. Darn that time I killed an Elk, mule deer, and two whitetail does in about 6 weeks with the same rifle and bullet must have not happened.

I have 30+ rifles and 60-100 load combinations from 22-250 to 416 TAylor. If to be perfect it must drop a deer with a lung shot without it running then I guess I don't have any optimum loads.

Well, I guess I'm in the minority here, but under the conditions you laid out, at 200 yards or less, with a hunter picking her shots, on medium to large non-dangerous game, I would go with the 175 gr. Hornady Round Nose bullet at 2400-2500 fps. The 7X57 was designed around a 175 gr. RN and performs quite well with it (see Bell and others). At that range limitation, trajectory will be a non-issue.

I use the Hornady in my scout rifle, an old modified Chilean M98, for stalk and drive hunting whitetail. So far it is 6 for 6 on running deer, all one shot kills. Despite what I have read about this bullet needing a higher velocity to perform, I have seen no lack of expansion with my 7X57. I would not hesitate to stick one through the ribs of an elk if the proper shot presented itself.

I use the 139-140 grain bullets in my other 7X57s and 7mmX08s because the shots are typically well chosen and the heavier bullet is unneeded. The RN is used because I don't know what angle shot may present itself while stalking and I want the ability to penetrate to the vitals from any angle of the whitetail, if necessary, when using the scout.

Jeff Cooper always said that if the 180 grain 30 caliber bullet at 2500 fps can't do it (his original scout rifle specs), you'd better get a lot bigger rifle. I firmly believe the 175 gr 7mm bullet at 2400 fps will perform as well, if not better.

Without a doubt, use the 154 grain Hornady Interbond. Good compromise of weight, BC, expansion, and penetration.

Guess I'm just lazy....I started using Barnes 140 gr (.032 jacket) spitzer years ago in a Mark X carbine with a butter knife handle and double set triggers. Have killed things from rabbit and fox to elk and caribou with it and it has never let me down. I'm almost out of those bullets, so I may need to move to corelocks next since they are cheap and work so well im my other 7mm's.