1000+ yard deer hunting

[MontanaRifleman]

Tank,

No flame intended here. But 1000 ftlbs KE is a VERY subjective requirement for killing deer. Does that apply to a 300 lb Idaho mullie buck as well a s 70 lb Texas whitetail doe? IME, KE is not a very good indicator of killing effectiveness. Bullet design and construction and subsequent terminal performance are what one needs to know. KE doesn't mean diddly to me... I dont even look at it when I run ballistics. I look at bullet design, construction and velocity.

Your 28" 7mm RM is a little longer than a "normal" hunting rig and the velocity of 1756 @ 1000 yds is very marginal for the Berger VLD which advertises an expasion velocity of 1800 fps. It would at least likely produce an exit hole if it didn't expand, but it would produce very little permanant wound channel and little to no blood trail. I would probably be willing to experimment on antelope doe's for terminal performance because they are very delicate and easy to kill creatures.

IMO, for 1000 yd game killing, a substantial cartridge is best.

Cheers,

-MR

 

[liltank]

Not sure where to origianl poster lives and is going to hunt, but if you take into account elevation, higher than 1000ft of elevation is going to improve the outcome of the bullet performance. I know that when hunting Mullies the elevation is usually greater than the fine moutains of PA which are generally around 950 to 1500 ft. I would not be afraid with some practice with this caliber to attempt a shot on a whitetail.

Respectfully,
Tank

P.S. I have come to respect you and your opinion, so no fire being flamed.

 

[kiwi3006]

I agree with liltank a 7mm mag will deliver the goods at 1000 yds. Running my load of 168 berger (BC G7 0.316) at 3080 fps at 2500 ft with std atmospherics gets the berger to 1000 yds with 1821fps 1237ft-lbs. That should be enough for any deer, maybe not an elk.

The round is ballistically capable of doing it, it is then up to the rifle and shooter to deliver it accurately.

Stu

 

[liltank]

Grey Bull custom rifles don't chamber anything bigger than 7mmRM for this very purpose. Just thougth I would throw that out there.

Tank

 

[bigbuck]

I know a guy who dropped a BULL not an elk an actual BULL at around 250 yrds I know not 1000 yrds (but) he did this with a 22-250 50 grain hornady soft point bullet. just thought I would share that true story with you guys. Now for my .02 on 1000 yrd deere rifle I believe a 300 rum would be the all around best choice you could kill white tails as far as you could actually hit them and with a 210 grain berger I wouldn't doubt hesitate shooting a bull elk at 1000 yrds . If I'm not mistaken you can watch an elk shot on one of the videos on this site were a guy uses I believe a 6.5 caliber to take an elk at 1000 yrds or around that distance.Lastly, you could buy the 300 rum shoot white tails out to 1000 yrds until you shoot the barrel out and then rechamber it for the big daddy .338 edge

GO WITH THE BIG 30!

BIGBUCK

 

[MontanaRifleman]

Hey guys, been a long day here. I've had a family emergency so may not be replying to your posts real soon.

Take care,

-MR

 

[remingtonman_25_06]

I wouldn't hesitate to wack any big buck that walked out to 1K with a 7 RM.

Several bullets that could work, 140-150g nbt's, 154-162g sst's, 160g ab, 162g amax, 168g and 180g vld, 175g smk. Any accurate, quick expanding bullet will work on deer, they aren't the hardest animals in the world to kill, especially when they dont even know there being shot at...

My longest deer kill ever actually is with my 7 RM, was couple years ago and was right at 800. Hit him behind the shoulders with a 162g amax at 2900fps and he went a little ways and bedded down and was done for. The bullet hit a rib going in and blew up and DID NOT exit. Found pieces of bullet was all.

I was aiming for the shoulder, but the wind pushed the bullet a few more inches then I had anticipated, probly a good thing.

Anyways, I am not using AMAX's anymore for deer as they are more like a varmint bullet IMO. They just make a mess of things and dont penetrate for crap.

Definately not my 1st and only choice for deer out to 1K with a 7 mag thats for sure.

 

[shootinfool]

You don't need anything super duper fancy. If you only knew how many "non-magnums" I have seen plunk 'em right down in there at 1000 yards!

Basically, you need a semi-frangible bullet about 100 grains or more with a bc of about .45 minimum going about 3000 fps minimum and you'll be able to kill any deer you want.


The trick is how good are you at reading wind? My above mimimum example does not leave a lot of room for error in the wind department. If you haven't got much experience with it, a super high bc bullet going sufficient velocity will afford you more forgiveness. But not everyone can OR wants to shoot a firebreathing dragon caliber with 300 grain bullets and SHAME on any gunsmith or outfit that forces this kind of thing on a novice shooter! If you're flinching, your missing. It's that plain and simple. A 15 year old girl with an accurate .243 win is way more deadly than a flinching macho man with his "super magnum"!

+1 well said

 

[kiwi3006]

My longest deer kill ever actually is with my 7 RM, was couple years ago and was right at 800. Hit him behind the shoulders with a 162g amax at 2900fps and he went a little ways and bedded down and was done for. The bullet hit a rib going in and blew up and DID NOT exit. Found pieces of bullet was all.

I was aiming for the shoulder, but the wind pushed the bullet a few more inches then I had anticipated, probly a good thing.

Anyways, I am not using AMAX's anymore for deer as they are more like a varmint bullet IMO. They just make a mess of things and dont penetrate for crap.

Definately not my 1st and only choice for deer out to 1K with a 7 mag thats for sure.

You experience with the a-max is quite different to mine.
I have used the 162 a-max out of my 7mm mag at 3067 fps.
It has taken 6 animals from 358 yds to 638 yds.
On all but two animals the bullets exited, this included a fallow spiker at 638 yards and a bull tahr at 630 yds. Most shots were just behind the shoulder, hitting ribs and sometimes the shoulder blade.
The animals where it did not exit were a pig at 380 yds, hit the near shoulder and went up into the spine, and a red hind at 380 yds, went in behind the shoulder and then seemed to turn at right angles and ended up in front of the near side hind leg.
I have not used the a-max inside of 350 yds because it is too explosive I feel, but I have no complaints about it beyond 350.
The only problem is they are unobtainable in New Zealand at the moment.

Stu.

 

[MontanaRifleman]

I wouldn't hesitate to wack any big buck that walked out to 1K with a 7 RM.

Several bullets that could work, 140-150g nbt's, 154-162g sst's, 160g ab, 162g amax, 168g and 180g vld, 175g smk. Any accurate, quick expanding bullet will work on deer, they aren't the hardest animals in the world to kill, especially when they dont even know there being shot at...

My longest deer kill ever actually is with my 7 RM, was couple years ago and was right at 800. Hit him behind the shoulders with a 162g amax at 2900fps and he went a little ways and bedded down and was done for. The bullet hit a rib going in and blew up and DID NOT exit. Found pieces of bullet was all.

I was aiming for the shoulder, but the wind pushed the bullet a few more inches then I had anticipated, probly a good thing.

Anyways, I am not using AMAX's anymore for deer as they are more like a varmint bullet IMO. They just make a mess of things and dont penetrate for crap.

Definately not my 1st and only choice for deer out to 1K with a 7 mag thats for sure.

Any accurate quick expanding bullet? That's the whole point. Your average 7 RM will not get a bullet 1000 yds down range with enough velocity to expand. Most bullets open and expand at about 1800 ps. A 160 NAB shot @ 3100 fps (a generous velocity) out of a 26" barrel @ 1000' elevation arives at 1000 yds with 1575 fps and 881 ftlbs of KE. That is well below expanding velocity for the AB. If we climb to 5000' elev it stills comes up short with 1721 fps.

If you want to "wack" a big buck with that load, that's your choice. I'll pass. I dont use A-Max's either, I just mentioned them because they are the only high BC bullet I know of that will open well less than 1800 fps.

Now if you want to build a 28" or longer barreled rifle and work up a good fast load, maybe you can stretch it to 1K.

The OP is asking about a 1000 plus deer rifle. IMO, I would NOT recommend a 7mm RM as a cartridge to go out and buy or build for that. It is at best a marginal cartridge for that type of shooting. Why recommend a marginal cartridge??? Go with the 7 STW or bigger.

My $.02,

-MR

 

[FEENIX]

Longshot5.9,

Welcome to LRH and enjoy!

Maybe this will help you on your decision making process ...


http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f52/974yard-over-33-mule-deer-35387/index4.html


Good Luck!

 

[countryrebel]

Any accurate quick expanding bullet? That's the whole point. Your average 7 RM will not get a bullet 1000 yds down range with enough velocity to expand. Most bullets open and expand at about 1800 ps. A 160 NAB shot @ 3100 fps (a generous velocity) out of a 26" barrel @ 1000' elevation arives at 1000 yds with 1575 fps and 881 ftlbs of KE. That is well below expanding velocity for the AB. If we climb to 5000' elev it stills comes up short with 1721 fps.

If you want to "wack" a big buck with that load, that's your choice. I'll pass. I dont use A-Max's either, I just mentioned them because they are the only high BC bullet I know of that will open well less than 1800 fps.

Now if you want to build a 28" or longer barreled rifle and work up a good fast load, maybe you can stretch it to 1K.

The OP is asking about a 1000 plus deer rifle. IMO, I would NOT recommend a 7mm RM as a cartridge to go out and buy or build for that. It is at best a marginal cartridge for that type of shooting. Why recommend a marginal cartridge??? Go with the 7 STW or bigger.

My $.02,

-MR

So what about the guy's on the best of the west using 7mm's? How come they have such great succes way out there? Are they using more than 26" barrels? Not trying to be a smart ***, I really would like to know.

 

[MontanaRifleman]

So what about the guy's on the best of the west using 7mm's? How come they have such great succes way out there? Are they using more than 26" barrels? Not trying to be a smart ***, I really would like to know.

Well I guess first off.... I dont watch TV Soooo... I have never watched BOTW and I know very little about them so it would be hard for me to comment other than...

When I was young I was taught not to believe everything I saw on TV. TV footage is usually highly edited. If the BOTW guys missed any shots, do you think those would be aired? Maybe they have, I dont know and haven't watched them. I dont know anything about their loads or the bullets they use, meaning, I dont know their external and terminal ballistics. If the BOTW guys want to join the thread and explain their external and terminal ballistics and actuall success %, that would be great.

What I do know I have already stated. It's real easy to run the numbers for yourself. Out of a 24-26" barreled 7mm RM a typical hunting bullet will NOT reach 1000 yds with expanding velocity except maybe at higher altitudes, and then, just barely. Can a 7mm RM kill @ 1K? Sure, but how effectively, and how often?

Like I said, it's a marginal cartridge at best at that range.

BTW, a 7mm RM was my go to rifle for many years... longest shot I ever made with it was 425 yds using Kentucky windage. I have a pretty good idea for their potential.

-MR

 

[JARHEAD1371]

I went with a custom 7mm SAUM pushing 168 gr Bergers. With a Surgeon Action, 28" Brux Barrel, Manners Stock, CSR Muzzle Brake, and all work done by Jim See at Center Shot Rifles. Topped off with a Mark 4 6.5-20x50mm scope, stored in a Pelican Case, and finished in light tan CeraKote. I can't tell you how it shoots because I should get it tomorrow (well technically today). But I will post pics and info as they become avaliable. gun)