After a couple of frustrating days of hunting at the San Angelo Wildlife Management Area, I decided to get aggressive in my tactics today (the last morning of allowed permit hunting there). Using some of Tink's 69 gel and a grunt call, I got this guy to respond around 7:20 a.m.

One shot at app. 95 yards from my Contender carbine in 7mm Bullberry did the trick. I don't like frontal chest shots, but's that's all I had as there was a narrow window through limbs/brush to shoot through. Nonetheless, the 140 grain Nosler Solid Base spitzer performed perfectly, destroying the plumbing around the heart, taking out one lung and apparently lodging in the stomach or nearby organs (did not make it to the intestines). I was somewhat hurried, and despite my efforts, I did not recover the bullet.

No, this isn't some super-scoring book buck and will pale in comparison to what many others have already bagged this season. But considering the weather, time constraints (hunt was Wednesday p.m. to noon Friday) and other factors, this was a hard-earned buck that's a trophy in my eyes.

Anyway, I just wanted to share the photos...

Nice rifle nice buck I'm sure it was a great morning in the woods thanks for sharing.
By the way I forgot to tell you the .223 TC barrel was waiting for me when I got back to IN.
Thanks.

Thanks for the update on the barrel. Hope you enjoy it!
Bobby

Congrats Bobby.Theres nothin wrong with that Buck!!!!

That's a nice buck. San Angelo isn't exactly a major tourist or hunter destination. I visited there a few years back to do some driving on the test track. Congratulations to you.

Excellent deer Bobby....congrats.

Ike

Congrats Bobby. Heck that looks like a keeper to me. Beisde the hunt itself is what you are going to remember not the size of the antlers.

Larry

Jeess Bobby couldn't you have killed something bigger than an 8 point, I guess if you are just meat hunting that's ok.
Just kidding Bobby, that is one nice Deer, you would laugh if you could see some of the things they call Deer running around in my yard. My German Shepard is bigger than most of them and just about every 4 point back home in the South is as big or bigger than an 8 point here. The ones on the Presidio are even smaller as they are fenced and have been for years. Take care and hope you and yours have a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Steve E.......

Bobby,
Great looking BUCK!

Jay

Nice buck Bobby. What exactly is a 7MM Bullberry? I have a pistol and rifle version of Bullberry's 7-30 Improved. Is this the same thing?

X

The 7mm Bullberry is to the 7-30 Waters what the .30 Herrett is to the 30-30: a more efficient version of an existing cartridge. So your 7-30 does pack the potential for additional horsepower over the Bullberry -- though really not that much in shorter-barreled versions.

The 7mm Bullberry is a 7mm International Rimmed with the unnecessarily long neck trimmed back to give a case length of 1.750. What I actually do is buy Eben Brown's 7mm US brass and fireform it. It comes up a tad short, but that is no problem at all.

My barrel is 20 1/8th inches long and drives a 130 grain Sierra SSP to 2505 fps or a Nosler 140 grain solid base spitzer to 2480 fps. The loads are fairly mild: I have some brass that is well above 20 firings and is still going strong. And the best thing is that trimming is a rarity for this cartridge case.

I will try and get a picture posted later. My good gear is at my shop, but I will see if the little digi laying here around the house will allow a decent close-up.

What bullets are you shooting (and at what) in your 7-30 IMPs?

7mm Bullberry on the left. Hornady factory 30-30 round on the right

Sorry in advance for the LOW quality of the photo. It's direct flash with a cheap digi (I even hate to post the picture, but it's all I had at my disposal today other than directly scanning the cartridges, and that gives a "flattened" look).

Anyway, here's hoping everyone is having a wonderful Christmas and that 2008 brings prosperity, happiness and good health your way...

Bobby,

Thanks for posting the photo and taking the time to explain the difference in the 7MM Bullberry and the 7-30 Improved.

I've got two versions of the 7-30 Improved. I've got a 15" pistol barrel and a 22" rifle barrel. The pistol started out as a blued barrel and it wore a laminated grip and forend. However, I had problems with moisture causing rust on hunting trips that lasted several days so I wound up Duracoating the frame in matte black and everything else in Mossy Oak. Here is what the pistol looks like now:



I have hunted with the pistol for several years and have killed one buck with it. Unfortunately I don't have a digital photo of the buck as that particular picture was made with a film camera. This gun seems to be a coyote magnet, becuase I have killed several coyotes with it while deer hunting like this one:



This year is the first year that I have had an opportunity to hunt with the 22" rifle. I matched it up with a G-2 frame, rynite stock, and a Bullberry modified G-2 rynite forend. I have only hunted with it for a couple of days this year and saw only does and small bucks. Since I took an elk in Colorado earlier this year, I don't have any need for meat so I have been holding out for horns. However it seems to be a coyote magnet as well.



I'm shooting IMR4895 in both guns. I'm shooting 120 grain Nosler Ballistic Tips in the pistol and 140 grain Ballistic Tips in the carbine. I haven't chronographed the carbine load yet, but I'm getting about 2600 fps with the 120's in the pistol.

Yes, it definitely looks like your 7-30 Bullberry Improved guns have a thing for canines. Nice going! Coyotes are always a tough target.

I don't know the particulars of your carbine load, but you should be around 2550 fps with the 140 grain BT -- and maybe approaching 2600.

A compressed load of Re-15 (am at work and don't remember the charge) is what I am loading in the 7mm Bullberry with the 140 grain Nosler solid base spitzer for 2480 fps, and my old load for the discontinued Sierra 130 grain SSP was/is 32 grains of H-335. The latter does 2505 fps from the 20 1/8th inch barrel.

Of the various cartridges I have loaded over the years, the 7mm Bullberry is the easiest in that there has been no combination of bullets, powder & primer that didn't shoot incredibly well.

Hi Bobby,

Seems like the 7mm's are sweet no matter what the flavor. I have a Gary Reeder custom 20" bull barrel in 7 GNR, which is about the most you can improve the 30-30 case. Stocked with extra fancy Bullberry wood. Three years straight the carbine is all I have hunted with. Light weight set up that shoots like a laser beam....

quote:

Originally posted by Steve E.:
Jeess Bobby couldn't you have killed something bigger than an 8 point, I guess if you are just meat hunting that's ok.
Just kidding Bobby, that is one nice Deer, you would laugh if you could see some of the things they call Deer running around in my yard. My German Shepard is bigger than most of them and just about every 4 point back home in the South is as big or bigger than an 8 point here. The ones on the Presidio are even smaller as they are fenced and have been for years. Take care and hope you and yours have a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Steve E.......

Check out G3 the Goodale Hunt area only 35 tags a year buck to doe ratio 70 to 100 big racked mule deer there are many zones with cross over muleys into blacktail areas.Check X9a,b ,c good mule deer zones.I'm going to load some 110gr HP's .308 bullets in my 06 cases for my encore 15" for varmints but will have to wait to see where we can't shoot lead per the liberal left g&f com.

scr83jp

Thanks for the info, I'll check that out.

Steve E.......

quote:

Originally posted by Steve E.:
scr83jp

Thanks for the info, I'll check that out.

Steve E.......

You're welcome this state has a large bear population & the season recently closed when the 1700 number was reached by tags turned in CA has antelope;roosevelt ,tule & rocky mtn Elk.I saw a Wolverine in the Klamath NF about 29 years ago.There are a lot of wildlife varieties in N. Calif we've seen river otter,beaver,mink,mtn lion,bears,bobcats,porcupines,ducks,geese.bandtailed pigeons,grouse,cottontails , CA gray squirrels,coyotes.Tule Elk are in the Owens Valley east of the Sierra Mtns along Hwy 395.BTW I'm a USAF SAC vet '52 to '56