Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles bullet selction for mule deer 7mm saum

if drawn i will be hunting mule deer in the badlands of ND
what bullet do yall reccomend and what experience have you had with it

right now i am looking at
140 accubond
120 nosler BT
150 sierra btsp

i will take what shoot the best but leaning toward the 120 bt or accubond

thanks

For mulies try the 139 grain Hornady interlock they shoot good and work well on game.If you would like a tougher bullet try the accubond from Nosler or the interbond from Hornady.I have found with deer a good shot with standard cup and core bullets never fail.I guess the biggest factor is pick the one you are confident with and shoots the best from your rifle.

shoot barnes TSX in 120 or 140gr versions. they simply work in all situations. me and my hunting buddys use nothing but barnes and the simply work.

i have a 7 saum and have been looking at the 120 barnes. the data suggests it screems and the bullet has gotten a lot of praise

Of the three bullets you've listed, I'd go with the 140 grain Accubond first. That weight in a 7mm SAUM will give you all the velocity you'll ever need (flat shooting) plus great terminal performance. I've never experienced problems using Sierra GameKings, though some folks have had jacket/core separation issues, especially at close range. And the 120 Nosler BT is a bit light for the job (even though some folks swear by it for big game). Just my $.02 worth!

This past season I used a 140 accubond to take a doe. Excellent performance. Lately I've been loading non-premium bullets. I think they will work just fine on deer. I have a load with a 150 gr. core-lokt and 61 grs. of 7828 that shoots into a ragged hole.

7mm + 139/140 grain bullet = perfect deer killer

Been doing it for a long time with 7 mag, .280, .284

I am in the same boat as you, sorta.
my Kaibab client used a 150 Nosler ballistic tip on his big mule deer he took this last season. It hit hard and the deer buckled. the buck probably weighed over 200 pounds easy.
This was done with a 7 Rem mag not a saum, so I figure it should do fine in your rifle.
Then AKJeff took a muley in Sonora using the TSX bullets out of his 7x57 and they did a great job.

Currently I am planning on working up a load with the 140 TSX bullets or the 154 interbonds for my 7 Rem Mag and am hoping they will be good for everything from the small coues to a big elk. I think these should also be good for your saum if loaded right.
You should also know I am no brain when it comes to reloading. The information above is of experience when guiding and also from the info people have shared with me online. However, those are the loads I am thinking for my 7 so I thought I would share that with you.
Should I draw a Kaibab tag this year, I don't want my trophy to run off, so one of the above loads will be what I will be using out of my 7 if I can get one ofthem to shoot well.

Enrique

I agree with lightfoot. Based on my limited experience, my 7mm Rem Mag really likes 140 grain partitions. Haven't killed any muleys with them , but I have dropped couple of cow elk and a few coues whitetails with them. I like the slight velocity advantage over 150s and 160s. I have never messed around with 120s though.

Couesi,
Where in T town are you at? I am in Oro Valley. We need to go shoot some dogs or something. I have some ammo for my 270 ihave to burn. Have any ideas?

Enrique

The first one on your list rocks!!

Enrique,
I'm actually in Catalina.... Lots of coyotes just across the street from me! (Rail X ranch)

Deer Assn:

I would definately NOT go with the 120 BT's...or BT's in any wt at high velocity. The 140 Accubond would be a good choice...also 139/154 Hornadys in either Interlock or Interbond. I a not a fan of Barnes X's, but many people swear by them...I think they are probably better suited to heavier game where penetration might be an issue, which should not be on deer. JMO.

Good Luck on your Mule Deer hunt.

Anything will work fine on deer with a 7 Mag. I must say I'm not as impressed with the penetration of the 154 gr. IB's on elk class stuff as I've been with either the partitions or the X. On the big stuff, I really appreciate a blood trail from an exit. Some of the big ones can go a surprising distance with a good lung shot or a "bad angle" shot. E

Lets not confuse the issue at hand, even a giant mule deer does not rival an average elk in body mass or stamina.

Of those listed the 140Ab would be an excellent place to start. I myself plan on developing this load in 7mm rem mag for antelope - deer for 06'. Current choice is 150NBT, it flat out performs on range and in the field. Never seen the gerinade internet blab that is so commonly referenced. Maybe our 300lb plus canadian bucks are not enough of a measure? I degress..not part of the question asked. If your wanting to try the NBT bump up to 140 minimally. In my rifle the 150's just shoot better thats all.

I have used the 160AB for deer and it performed very well. The TSX although not mentioned by yourself should not be thrown aside either. My experience with the old x bullet was not a raging love affair however the TSX succeeds it by a large margin. 120 TSX if you get it to fly will flat out scream and no worry about penetration or excessive expansion. However the 140's would also be an excellent choice. I worked a 140 TSX load up last year which was used to harvest; bull elk, bull moose and 2 deer.

Boils down to what the rifle and shooter likes best for the situation. I can't think of many bullets that would not be consider mule deer acceptable, in all honesty.

E, if your wanting an everything load for the 7mm mag and for any possible situation look no further than the 140TSX BT or 150TSX BT. You'll be hard pressed to find many bullets that perform in this manner. If your going to shoot ribs only then a bonded polymer, etc will work equally effectively on big elk on down. I used the 160ab for the same animals as the 140TSX, both resulted in 1 shot harvested animals. The only thing is I never pushed the AB into them big shoulders on the likes of a moose or elk!! The 140TSX was put to that test on my bull moose in a heavy 1/4 away shot of approx 70 yards. Bullet took out both lungs thru opposite scapula and only a few akward steps were taken before tumbling. I found it tucked in the under side of the hide, recovered bullet was slightly over 2x dia expansion(losing 1 pellet) and retained 91% of original weight. Very little meat loss from the opposite shoulder. Considering it was driven at over 3200fps, I simply can't imagine a better result. The other were all pass thru double lungs, only difference higher wound or vital damage with the polymer bullet over the barnes. Just my experience but I really saw no huge differences with a rib in or out shot so either seem like a viable option. While I never pushed a Ab into the shoulder I have a pretty good idea that the results would not have been the same as a TSX. Could they work well the NP has and AB is designed along the same premise but of course without doing it myself it is based on theory. My own experience with a polymer tip bullet is it will work but at a cost of some meat and lost forward progress. On a deer no worries about getting pay dirt but on elk sized tough angled shot or shoulder flush hit I'd stick to what has shown or proven to work.... TSX, NP's, etc.

Good Luck