Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Deer kills and bullet holes...............

Wish I had snapped a pic when I walked up to this deer yesterday, but my little point-and-shoot camera crapped out on me. So it was cell-phone pics after the drag out. The exit is the bright spot between the two dark blood clot spots. Heck of a blood trail, sprayed on tree trunks and the ground, no real "tracking" required on a 40yd death run through the briars. Exit hole in the rib cage was about nickel-sized when you moved the hide to really see it.



What impressed me was the fact that this was a reduced load we were trying in my daughter's 20" barreled 7mm-08 and it utilized the 120 TTSX at roughly 2,550-2,600fps with 31gr of H4198 (Guesstimate on speed, as another member here quoted 2,530fps from 30gr IMR4198 in a 20" gun). We have a lot of hogs here, so I wanted a bullet that would penetrate. Impact speed at 125 yards should have been only 2,300fps or so, but it thoroughly wrecked the lungs, with soup pouring out when we rolled the deer over. No shoulders hit on the broadside shot. The load is 3/4MOA and seems to work well enough even on ribcage shots on 100lb does, so we'll stick with it for now. And my 11yr old enjoys practicing with it in her 7.75lb scoped M700. A sight-in of 2" high at 100yds is only 1" low at 200yds. Have to love the flexibility of handloading sometimes.....