Mule Deer Hunting
- Thread starter dgradinaru
- Start date
It depends. I generally shoot double lung and quite often they drop where they stand and sometimes they go 20-40 yards. I use, almost exclusively, Nosler Partitions. The majority of the mule deer I have shot has been with a 7mm RM and 175gr Partitions. But you never know. With two identical shots one might drop where it stands while another runs a short distance.
Edit - I should say "drop where they stand" I mean they might take a few steps or circle around for a second or two - as opposed to running off.
Edit - I should say "drop where they stand" I mean they might take a few steps or circle around for a second or two - as opposed to running off.
Last edited:
BigUglyMan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- New Scotland
I'm curious to hear more about what the wound channel looked like. I've read a lot about how great the Berger bullets are but being an old time Fudd I wonder why I would change from Partitions which always perform, to something that seems more frangible. How did you fare with meat loss?
I have a bit of experience with the bergers that have totally turned me off of using them for hunting ever again. A buddy hit a smaller bodied white tail buck in the brisket about 80 yards away. We tracked that deer between 6 and 7 miles. We found that it just blew a big flap of skin off. I used some in my 257 and hit a average sized white tail buck at 165 yards, did not encounter any bones or anything and it failed to penetrate to the opposite side of the ribcage. Quite a mess inside. I made the exact same shot a year earlier with a ballistic tip bullet and it smashed through both shoulders on a bigger buck and was found right under the hide on the opposite side.
I've gone back to the old faithful partitions for pretty much all my hunting requirements.
i really like the 175 grains in 7mm but was wondering if you ever tried the 160 grains partition?
my question is coming from my experience with Wyoming clients that were using 7mm magnum for all will it be in their homeland for elk and mule or alaska for moose or caribou and i was impressed with that combo also on black bear and barren ground caribou but needless to say most of the calibers will work on that kind of game.
I've hunted on and off with the 7mm rem mag over the last 15 years. I use the 160gr , either nosler partition or accubond. Have not had to "track" any animal after the shot, dying in the vicinity of where they met the bullet.
I'd estimate 24 big game animals, mostly medium to large mature cariboo/chilcotin mule deer, a few moose and a 300lb black bear. The 7mm RM/160gr nosler is a killer combo for sure hehehe
I usually seek out the factory loaded 160gr partitions but couldn't find any this season. So I bought the win supreme with 160gr accubond. So far I've pulled the trigger twice this season and both animals down fast.
Edit to add, I always, whenever possible, place the shot broadside, right behind the elbow.
Last edited:
I have used the 160 Partition in the past, but I stopped a long time ago . IIRC the last animal I killed with it was a 5x5 bull elk 26 years ago. I actually think the 160gr may be a bit harder bullet than the 175. I've shot really small Sitka deer - I don't know how many but more than 5 - behind the shoulder with 175 Partitions and the bullet opens up very well. Those deer have a live weight between 60 and 100 pounds or so. On the other end of the spectrum they do very well on large game such as elk and moose. An added bonus is that they have always been very accurate for me - although I can't say the 175 and 160 are any different from that perspective. In my main rifle the 175 is just ridiculously accurate. Typically less than 1/2" 3 shot groups at 100 and quite regularly around 1/4". These are typical groups shot in a cut block:
I tried the 168gr LRAB and shot 4 or 5 animals with that bullet, but have since gone back to the old standby 175gr Partition. The bullet just works on game and shoots very well. The only reason to change, for me, is out of curiosity.
