Well now the buck season is just about finished, how did everyone else get on??

I managed to get a further 1,000acres to stalk on in the last week, litteraly out of my back door, but on 2 outings saw 40+ does each time, and no bucks.

Still managed 15 in the evenings aftr work, and 4 muntys in the last two weeks, so not too bad a finish.

On a side note, who is using a 7mmremmag, as i started trying to use mine in the last two weeks, and had terrible expansion from the 140gn Sako rounds, they were drilling holes through fallow with no expansion. Went back to using the 243ack with 95gn SST's which worked excellently.

having just read my post it looks like i managed 15 does, ment to reasd 15 bucks on another estate!

I have used my 7mm mag on Fallow 140gr nosler B.T very messy if you don't neck shoot,like you i use mainly my 243 for Fallow.I'm going to try 120gr barnesX in 7mm mag this winter.You could try 120gr V-max or 115gr speer HP

sws & Top,

Finished? Our Roe Buck season opens tomorrow morning!

The 7mm Rem Mag is alot of rifle for "smallish" Deer and I consider Fallow to fall in this class.

I'll probably open an avalache of hate mail but like yourself so far my experience on Roe & Fallow Deer with this cartridge is:

With the lighter 140 grain Ballistic Tips, it appears as though the Roe & Fallow have been done in with a hand granade. Not a pretty sight.

On the opposite end of the spectrum the 177 grain TIG's - like you say - just bore straight through without affording the bullet an opportunity to do it's thing on these animals. Yes, I take almost exclusively broadside lung shots.

My Rifle is extrodinarily accurate but IMO the heavy bullets just whistle through and the lighter one's explode.

So now I use a 7x57R with 120 TXS's, 140 gr. BT's and Hornady 154gr RN's, all work just fine right up through Red Deer.

My 7mm Rem Mag is now my Long Range Target Rifle.

Nosler ballistic tips again!! Drive them fast and they explode,they are too thin skinned to hold together, on the hand the premium bullets don't expand enough because there is not enough pressure/resistance in small deer such as fallow and roe.
7mm rem mag is far too much gun for roe/fallow, if you reduce the loads to less than 2800fps you should see a huge difference in meat damage in both animals.

regards

griff

I agree with Gerry and Griff. I use a 7 x 57 and the 154grn RN hornadys and they are perfect.
Try those bullets and as Griff advises load down to 7 x 57 velocities and you're home and dry.

For Fallows I use my .300 Win Mag downloaded with 165 grs bullets, kills are clean and fast with little meat damage

Aleko

Another vote for the 7x57R. I just use the factory Norma 154gr sp (working through the case of ammo I bought to feed my Blaser 95 BBF), and it seems to work fine on Deer up to the size of Reds. On Fallow it is completely adequate round (it Chrony's at just on 2600fps), no failures so far, in 17 Deer taken.
So perhaps the idea of loading down your 7mmRem Mag could be the way to go?

I have rolled quite a few fallow bucks with my 7 mm and it works fine,maybe our bucks are a little heavier,not sure.Not much of a buck here but a great hunt for a free range deer.I`m actually cooking some fallow meat right now..

Finished the season on a high note( 16 fallow, 2 muntjac and a roe buck) with a small fallow pricket taken just at last light yesterday. Our herds are still quite mixed up with some fine big bodied 2 year old bucks.
I use a moderated 308 which as last night proved does not disturb the deer too much.
Ballistic tips are I think to fragile and the core easily sheds and make a big mess if they hit bone. Premium bullets such as A frames dont expand well on fallow.
At present I use Sako superhammerhead 150 gn which is absolutly fantastic. I have had excellent results on roe with Hornady Interbonds which are ballistic tips with a bonded core with minimal damage/contamination even at a MV of 3090 ft/s in a 7x64.
Just got hold of some 100 gn hollow points from Lapua which should be good for something such as a close quarter finishing shot as they fragment reducing the risk of ricochet.

regards

Mark

well from the sound of it, it looks as though i might have to abandon the 7mm on the deer in this country, and save it for my future trips abroad.

I was going to try some of the 120gn nosler hunting ballistics, but that looks like it might not be a great idea. Still the 243ack seems to work rather well on everything so at least i dont have to look for another rifle just yet!

Thanks for all the tips

Hi SWS

You could try and download the 120 gn by 200 fps but IMO they are more of a varmint round at that weight. In 7mm I use 139gn interbonds or 170 Speer hotcore.

Regards

Mark

quote:

Originally posted by sws:
well from the sound of it, it looks as though i might have to abandon the 7mm on the deer in this country, and save it for my future trips abroad.

Mate you have to be kidding dont you? Abandon because others tell you its not the calibre! Make up your own mind cobber...i did and have great results too..meat damage BAH! Get your seven mill and go and get one,up close and for the long field shots it dosent matter,i use Winchester factory 150 gr rounds on Fallow and their far bigger cousins the sambar. My Tasmanian mate has over 80 fallow bucks to his credit and cannot see any diff in meat damage to a stag that is shoulder shot with a 243 or 7mm mag..he has used both rifles for years.

sws,
I agree with gryphon, don't bin it, just find the right combination of bullet to velocity and you will have a calibre which is in a league of its own. Jon1 shoots with a 7mm rem mag, and to very good effect, perhaps a PM to him and with the promise of a diet coke, he may let you have some pet loads. What I can tell is that he doesn't use NBT'S...
Instead of loading down,try going heavier the heavier bullets tend to stay together a lot better then the lightweights and the difference in drop is nominal.
regards

griff

Well, it's nice to see it's not just us Yanks squabbling over various cartridges!

Thanks for sharing the pics... very interesting.

Also, can't see why the 7mm RM isn't superb in open country on those Fallow Deer.

SWS,
I use a 7x57R here in the states for deer. I load the 120 and 140 grain TSX with excellent results. Great accuracy, good expansion (even on smaller does) and not ruined meat. Give them a try in you mag. you wont be disappointed. Congratulations to all you hunters!

Perry

quote:

Originally posted by Brad:


Also, can't see why the 7mm RM isn't superb in open country on those Fallow Deer.

Thats right Brad IT IS superb for all sorts of shots and there isnt much better for those real long shots in open country where fallow are often encountered...they cant argue that one now can they.

Maybe in the confines of small holdings where shots are much closer a lesser calibre will suffice but for the wide open spaces in Oz where you might just have to go for that barrel stretcher they are good to carry.

quote:

Thats right Brad IT IS superb for all sorts of shots and there isnt much better for those real long shots in open country where fallow are often encountered...they cant argue that one now can they.

Just like Montana... :grin:

I guess i shall just have to spend the summer trying out range of different loads, and seeing what performs best.

Should be fun!

Thanks for all the advice.

SWS