Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Which Bullet????

I need some help in selecting a bullet that will leave a good blood trail and QUICK. Hunting scenario is heavy woods with heavy brush.so a hit deer will be out of sight in 2 jumps and with no blood trail, it is only a guess which direction your shot deer went. The 2 calibers in question are 7x57 and 25-06. What are your suggestions??? Thanks

I’d be more inclined to high shoulder shoot them if you are worried about tracking them. Since it’s heavy woods I’d say a partition, accubond or TTSX whichever your rifle shoots well.

Yep

.308 Winchester, 2700 fps, 15 yards, Sierra 165 grain BTHP Gameking.

Deer can be seen top-center of pic, he was leaking too bad to go any further.

Hornady SST, both of which are available in factory loads for the rifles you listed if you don't reload. I'd probably go with the 139gr in the 7x57 in heavy brush. I shot a mule deer buck with a 165gr SST hand-load out of a .30-06 @ 180yds. The exit wound was at least golf ball sized, the deer didn't take a step and there was a good spatter of blood on the juniper behind it.

In my 25-06 I’ve used a Speer Hot-Cor 100 grain and shoot them right square in the shoulder. Put the whole front end out of commission....drops them in their tracks.

That’s one hell of a blood trail!

I have killed dozens of deer with the 25/06 and all but one have been killed with plain ol' 120 gr. Remington CL's. I don't shoot high shoulder all the time...depends on the shot. However, 80-85% of the ones I have shot expired right where they were shot at. And to the best of my memory, of the ones which have run none ran more than 25-30 yds. after being shot. Of the ones that ran, I had one for some reason that didn't bleed at all yet it barely made it off the right of way I shot it on before dying. I talked my BIL into shooting the 25/06 and he got him one. He killed a big doe yesterday with it and although he hit it a little far back with the CL, he said there was blood everywhere. He gave it 45 minutes before he looked for it and said it wasn't 20 yards or so into the briar patch.

All that being said, this year I have been shooting a 270 with the Barnes factory ammo with the 130 gr. TTSX and count me impressed. I have also killed a lot of deer with the 270 over the years and have never been as impressed with it as some are. However, this year has changed my mind with the bullet. So...I ordered some of the Barnes ammo with the 100 gr. TTSX for the little 25 and can't wait to see how it shoots in my rifle and if it shoots well, who knows, I might still get to try it out on a deer this year. If it performs like the 130 gr. does in the 270, I might well be changing my fodder for my favorite caliber next year.

That was my thought, too.

I used a Hornady 200 gr. RN in my .35 Whelen this deer season, hit the buck just ahead of the last two ribs on a quartering shot. The bullet traversed the chest and lodged just under the hide on the point of the far shoulder. When the buck was field dressed his lungs had been liquified they just poured out of his chest. Still he managed to run 40 yds. before crashing into a fence, amazing what they can do fueled on adreniline alone.

I'd pick a bullet that'll punch an exit, preferably a mono metal and then a partition bullet. I'd probably go with the TTSX 80 grain in .257 and the 110 grain in 7mm and drive them as fast as I accurately could. I've been thinking of trying the 80 grain myself in my .25-06 and .250 Savage.

That is a heck of a blood trail right there. Saw one like that about 20 years ago when I was trying out the Sierra 140g BTHP Gameking in a .270Win. The armpit exit hole was substantial.

That was a similar shot. I was in a treestand, shot that deer and the exit was as you described.

Another smaller buck traveling with him was confused at the shot, ran right under me and stopped with a "merp" about 25 yards away. He was facing away, a shot to the center of the neck where it meets the body dropped him like a poleaxe.

That bullet works great in my .308(s), but I did find out it is very similar to a varmint bullet in a .300 WinMag when applied to the shoulder of a large deer at 40 yards. I lost the whole shoulder on that deer, and never used a .300 afterwards anyway, coming to prefer the .308 for various reasons.

Partitions. Shoot low in the chest for quick blood. High shoulder for bang-flop.

I tried the 80 TTSX in my 25-06 this year and I’ll never use it again. One deer definitely isn’t fair judgement, but damn hitting a deer behind one shoulder with an exit through the other and I get no blood trail at all. Yes the deer died, but he ran 250 plus yards; not acceptable considering where he was hit. For me, a Nosler Ballistic Tip is a no brainer for whitetail!! Most drop in their tracks, the few that don’t leave a blood trail that a blind man could follow.

This is more the way I go: somewhat frangible bullet with high sectional density. You want the bullet to lose weight if you want big holes and quick death, and you want the bullet to get through bones and through the vitals at tough angles. Somewhat frangible, heavy for cal bullets work great for this task.

My 2 pics would be the 160 grain 7MM Nosler Partition and the 120 grain 25 cal Nosler Partition.
Many other bullets work very well too, but those 2 have always done extremely well for me.

Damn Vic....that deer was a hell of a bleeder.

In woods hunting inside 150 yds I would use the 7x57 and due to its velocity, I would opt for very soft, heavy for caliber 160 gr on up. Sending out a stout, tough bonded or mono like a Barnes bullet for example in 25-06 at 3,000 plus will penetrate, exit and leave a hole the size of a straw, not exactly the best for tracking in my opinion. At short woods range, the bigger, the softer, the better in my opinion.

Ballistic tip

I agree with this. Various 165's and even 180's in .308win cup/cores have shown me good results for that kind of hunting.

I shoulder shoot mine, dead right there!!!

Most of mine have been shot in the neck.... they don't take steps, they drop....

Yep! I think I broke something important...

160 Partition gets my vote.



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In thick woods I personally would want the 7X57 with a 154 gr Hornady RN interlock if you can find them. Then a 150 or 160 partition. You want an exit hole so go heavy for caliber. The 7x57 won’t over stress a cup and core bullet so no need for a mono metal. 25-06 I’d go as heavy as I could 117-120 and maybe back off the gas so you don’t have it blow to hell if you get a close one. I had good luck with 117 Hornady RN interlocks and backed them down to 2800 ish when I had a 25-06. I ran 100 gr Sierra BTSP for a bit but at 3300 I got a lot of blood shot meat and very few exits.

No question. For these ranges and those calibers any Nosler Partition will provide the most devistating wound channel with an almost guaranteed exit wound.

Cross

Good grief, how did that deer make it as far as he did?

As for the original question, I’d load the 160 grain bullet of your choice in the 7x57

Here's how he looked when I walked up on him. He had one helluva constitution....

You can see the source of the leak just behind his left foreleg.

The 110 accubomb is my choice for the 1/4bore. If I didn’t shoot it it would be a 110 nbt. Both have worked great but I’m partial to the accubombs.

Blood can happen or not happen with any bullet. If you are worried about it that much, go with a tipped, frangible bullet. Amax, SST, Nosler Ballistic Tip, etc. Blow a big hole in the front shoulder and they won't go far. Not fun to butcher though.

what is a 110 nbt?

I have a handful of recovered 110gr .257 NAB's I shot over the course of a season or two. They killed well enough, but exits were not the norm at 25-06 speeds. A .284-.308 heavy softpoint at 2,600-2,700fps is a potent deer-wrecker in my experience and has never let me down at short to medium range. Leakage is generally copious.

110 grain nosler ballistic tip

My pick would be the 140gr Nosler Partition in the 7X57 and in the 25.06 it would be 115-120gr Nosler Partition. I'd push them hard even though you mentioned thick cover and short range shots because NP's generally are more accurate when pushed hard. So, try not to shoot the good eating parts. BTW, you will not be able to blame the bullet choice if something goes wrong.

super T, I think you have may answer! I am going to give both options a try. We have 3 more tags and plenty of time to try both options. Thanks Daniel

I use both cartridges.
In the 7x57, try the 140gn Barnes TSX at around 2900fps and in the .25/06, the 100gn Barnes TTSX is the stand out bullet in that caliber. It will usually load somewhere in the 3350-2450fps if the barrel is as long as it should be.

Bergers or Scenars are very frangible, Hornaday SST's are too. Me, I am using Nosler LRAB for just this purpose. They have worked well so far with three deer to their credit. It is hard to beat the Ballistic tips for this purpose too. Either of the Noslers will keep at least 40% intact for better penetration. In the 25-06 I am going with the 115 Nosler BT and it has done well. I don't have a 7x57 currently but in other 7mms the various 120 bullets have done very well. I would give the nod to the 10 grain TTSX for the by 57. But even softer bullets might do better.

Agreed. I would also add Interlocks to that pick.

This season, I switched from H SST to Barnes TTSX 150 grain in my 30.06 and 308 both running about 2,900 FPS and have been very pleased with them. Shot 4 bucks so far this season and the furthest one went was 30 yards.
Deer 1 150 yd broadside just behind shoulder went in a 20 yard circle stood and fell over. Innerds were soup no meat damage. 30.06 Win 70 SG
Deer 2 40 yard running (hobbling) wounded deer that I had to help buddy track and put down. 40 yards quartering away shot behind shoulder exited far shoulder and dropped. 30.06 Win 70 SG
Deer 3 monster (SC monster) 130 yards straight on in chest breaking one shoulder flopping 30 yards and down, innerds were soup no meat damage. Watched him from the climber run and fall. 308 Ruger 77 RSI.
Deer 4 (this am) 100 yds broadside high shoulder just a bit behind, and he dropped on the spot, innerds soup and good red blood right where he fell. Ruger 308 77 RSI.

Really like the 150s in the TTSX, seams I had to track more with the SSTs but they gave good exits and blood. Also shooting high from a climber sometimes they don’t leave a blood trail while their chest fills with blood and then they cough.

Using 150 TTSX with Varget in the Win, and VV N540 in the short barrel RSI, both running a bit over 2,900 with good accuracy. Keeps it simple and holdovers are the same. Climb with the Ruger and stand hunt/cutover hunt with the Win.

In my .30 cals I am a huge fan of the 180 grain Speer Grand Slam. Always makes two holes. I'd assume the rest of the GS family would perform similarly.

Nosler doesn't make a 110 ballistic tip. Just 100gr and 115gr...

I don't shoot the TTSX in either .257 or 7mm, I shoot them in .243 and .308 and haven't had your issue. That's why I recommended them, but I like partitions as well. Berger dumps them better than a lot of bullets from what I've been around, but I've never been happy with the amount of bloodshot meat the Berger produces.

Good thing you shot him, deer with a problem like that would never have survived the winter!

I am partial to Nosler Ballistic Tips for this, but I’ve found the Accubond to work well for deer in my .300 Winchester, too. Shoot em in the shoulder with either bullet, and tracking won’t be a problem, they die right where you shoot them.

90% of the stuff I hunt, exotics up to red deer, whitetails and hogs , most under 200lbs, but some bigger, I use my 7x57 with 150 partitions. If you reload, load that. If not, almost OTC ammo will perform the same. capt david

If one wants a blood trail it's a fairly simple thing to create. Shoot'em where they bleed and make two holes. It ain't rocket science.

You don't need any special bullet to do the job. I would stay away from Ballistic Tips in brush though. My favorite deer bullet is the Nosler Accubond. I had a mishap where I hit a small tree (several inches in diameter) on its way to a buck and it still killed the him cleanly. I don't know if you can get factory ammo with AccuBonds in those calibers though. I use Barnes TTSX in my 25-06 but would switch to Accubond is I found them.

The tree (back side after 165 gr. Accubond from 308 Win):



The buck:

Apparently, you can get 110 grain Accubonds for the 25-06.

For the 25-06 100 grain NBT.

Theeck huge deer and not just because of the size of the young man in the photo. Good use of ammo collecting fire wood and then using the log stand to hang the deer. Multitasking.

Interesting the range of opinions. I think the heavy bullet recommendations are from stalking and still hunters and the light frangible or partially fragmenting bullet choice is from the stand hunters which there is a lot of in Texas.

I use 140gr TSX in my 7x57 and 100 TSX in my 25-06. I have killed several deer with the 100gr NBT, but blood trails were non existent on two separate occasions with a rib cage hit. I have a pile of 110 NAB that I bought to use in a 257 AI, but sold rifle before ever trying them out. I would think they would be the ticket too.

That was probably, the albino, haemophiliac Dink winner !

nosler partition or hornady interlock in either caliber will get your desired results. agree with the others if you want DRT then high shoulder but both of the projectiles I recommended should get 2 holes the majority of the time. Nosler accubond is also never a bad idea. Depends on whether you wanna pay "premium" or not.
good luck,
Big Ed

[bleep] happens, doesn't it?
That's why I moved from Foster slugs to Brenneke's. Killed a deer just like that with Brenneke's.

Thanks Tejano: I posted the pick to show it was no frail little thing that the bullet killed. I was surprised the bullet held together well enough and still had the energy to kill it cleanly. I was sold on Accubonds after that.

I pulled the same stunt with a little bit smaller tree and a lot smaller buck using a 30-06 and 150 grain core-lokt. I shot and the deer ran a short way and keeled over. I did not know I hit a tree until I went up to the deer and could not find a hole in it anywhere. I went back to get my climber and saw the tree I shot. When I cleaned the deer, I found that three pretty good sized shards from the bullet hit the deer just right in the lungs and killed him about as quick as a good hit....sort of like a load of buckshot.

110 Accubond in the 25-06, 140 Accubond in the 7mm

I’d use the 120 NBT in the 7x57. It’s a devastating bullet in the 7mm-08 and would be the same out of the older cartridge.

For the 25-06 I’d just load 120 Partitions and not worry about hitting a deer at 20 yards or 450.

The 150 grain Ballistic Tip in the 7x57. I have shot a bunch of deer with this bullet and they all went through leaving a big enough hole to leak but most of the time deer went right down or were found inside of 30 yards. Muzzle velocity was 2600 fps and nothing was shot at more than 250 yards. Took a heck of a bunch of feral hogs using this bullet too and recovered exactly one from a huge pig.

Yeah but did you use it in brush?