# 7mm to much gun!



## jwdinius1

I am planning an antelope hunt for wyoming, and i am wondering if a 7mm grained down to 100 or 85 grain would be suitable, i also have a 257 roberts and a 22-50, but i love my 7mm would those work or would it be overkill?


----------



## hunt4P&amp;Y

If you grain it down I would say that would be a great gun. Im not sure on the balistics or bullet options, but I would consider like a 100 grain balistic tip. They would do the job. That grain range will fly out of that gun. If you have a good shot on the animal aka heart lungs the size of the gun doesn't matter. When you start blowing through the texas heart thats when it gets messy.


----------



## jwdinius1

Thanks, that what i figured, i shoot nosler ballisitics through all my rifles, just never had the opertunnity for any goats so i figured i would check to make sure people thought that would be suitable, will i see a big difference in flight performance (dropping, wind etc.) with that light of a load compared to the 150 i shoot at deer? :sniper:


----------



## People

I use a 7mm STW with 140gr BT and as long as you keep the slugs off of the butt area it is a great gun. I have also been using the 140 Barns X and that really does not do too much damage at all. Using a tougher bullet will cause less damage.


----------



## jwdinius1

Thanks!! Now just to hit the damn things!!! :beer:


----------



## Alamosa

I think 7mm RM would be a good choice. Flat shooting and good at long distance.


----------



## Horsager

I'm more of the one rifle, one load school of though. If you are currently using 150gn Ballistic Tips I'd see no reason to change. Your time would be better spent practicing more with the load you already know.


----------



## Burly1

Agreed! Knowledge of, and confidence in your rifle/load combination is all important. Practice from field positions at ALL distances. you won't regret the time and dollars spent. Don't worry about the bullet. A Ballistic Tip will do all you'll ever need for pronghorn. Besides, there won't be any excess damage to the meat if you shoot him tight behind the shoulder anyway. Right? Have a great hunt, Burl


----------



## jwdinius1

Thanks, :beer:


----------



## Sin man

i use a 140 gr BT in my 7mm and they drop deer like crazy.


----------



## bwnelson

First off, forget the 22-250 for 'loping in Wyoming. 22's of all flavors are illegal for big game hunting.

Next ... a 257 Bob is absolute pronghorn medicine with most any big game bullet. I shoot a fair amount of 25-06's and a Bob is within an eyelash of performance. 100 gr Ballistic Tip, Interlock, TSX, heck Sierra or Speer for that matter; 117's or 120's if the rifle likes 'em better ... Whatever shoots best in your rig ... go for it!

Next, I just have to ask ... a 7mm what? 7mm08, 7x57, 7mm Express (280), 7x64 Brenneke, 7 SAUM, 7 WSM, 7 Remmy Maggy, 7 Roy, 7 STW ... They'll all work - so would a 284 Win ;-). Smallest I'd go in a .284 bore is a 120 gr bullet. 120 gr Ballistic Tips or TSX's are FINE big game bullets. 120 VMAX's may be a little hard on the vittles. Most of the rest in the 120 or lower class are designed as varminters. They'll kill but you may not like the field dressing process.

I recently had an online discussion in the 24hourcampire forums with John Barsness regarding his Handloader article on the 7x57. I asked why he didn't cover loading for the 120's. His answer, he simply never used a 120 in a 7mm of any kind and preferred at least a 139gr bullet out of a 7 due to wind drift issues. Of course I am currently playing with 120's out of a 7mm-08, 7x57, and a few 280's that I load for. Figuring on spending some time this summer deterimining which rifles prefer which boolits.

Bottom line, either the Bob or the 7mm whatever will do the job. Up to you to figure out which one you shoot best out to 400 yards or so. That, by the way, requires PRACTICING from field positions out to 400 yards or so. Particularly on windy days.

Of course I am currently playing with 120's out of a 7mm-08, 7x57, and a few 280's that I load for.


----------



## Sin man

22 cal centerfires are legal to shoot big game in south dakota and with something like a 220 swift or 22-250 is a great gun for antelope or deer.


----------



## bwnelson

.224 = legal in sodak

.224 = illegal in wyoming


----------



## Sin man

ya i dont know what their laws are.


----------



## R Buker

Too much gun???? Overkill???? Are you worried that when you shoot them they'll be too dead?

The I've got a 7mm Rem Ultra Mag and it's a great round for the wide open spaces. I realize that goats aren't big critters and they don't take a lot of killing but with that round I know that if I have to reach out and take the 400 yard shot, I can and that the bullet will still have plenty of energy when it gets there to get the job done.


----------



## iwantabuggy

Well, I have never actually shot an antelope myself, but several of my friends have, and it seems they will fall over dead if you blew on them. I don't believe it will matter much as long as you can hit it (based on what my friends tell me).


----------



## hunt4P&amp;Y

I don't know about fall over dead, I have shot more antalope double lung heart that run about 50 yards then deer. I think they are so thin skinned that they don't retain the knock down power of the bullet. It blows through without the big expansion. I use ballistic tips and I think they work great. Thats my .02 anyone else found this the case?


----------



## NDTerminator

If you like your 7MM best, use it with the loads you are accustomed to. In my 7MM's I like the 139-140 grain stuff for all medium game. You'll give up a lot of BC/ wind bucking ability by moving down in weight...


----------



## B&amp;C03

7mm is an excellent choice for speedsters. I have shot several in ND with the 7 and it has done great.[/b]


----------



## hagfan72

iwantabuggy said:


> Well, I have never actually shot an antelope myself, but several of my friends have, and it seems they will fall over dead if you blew on them. I don't believe it will matter much as long as you can hit it (based on what my friends tell me).


I have harvested 12 antelope in my life, and i can assure you that this is the farthest thing from the truth! Antelope have an AMAZING will to survive. For such a small, thin-skinned animal, I have been completely floored by some things that i have seen from them goats. Elk, mulies, whitetails; NONE can compare to the relative toughness of an antelope. Call it adrenaline, or call it whatever, they are hard to "drop in their tracks". PM me and I will tell you a few stories that, if I hadn't seen with my own eyes, I would raise the "BS" flag upon hearing them.


----------



## hagfan72

By the way, all the antelope I have taken or been along when taken were with 7mm Rem Mag's or 30'06's with one exception, that being a .270.


----------



## hagfan72

So what did you end up doing? For my two antelope this year, I used 140gr Winchester ballistic Silvertips for the first time, and BOY HOWDY, do those things ever work!!! Both were bang-flops. One was a relatively close 85 yard shot and the other was a 175yd shot.


----------



## jwdinius1

well i ended up doing great! i got a call from the taxedermist today and my goat is done and scored at 73 and some change so a nice first buck. im trying to get a pic up as of right now but my puter is being gay so check bakc in a couple days and i should have a pic!!


----------



## hagfan72

Gay computers SUCK!!


----------



## hagfan72

So what gun/load did you end up using? How far was the shot?


----------



## jwdinius1

ended up using a 257 roberts with a 115 gr. i loaded some 115 gr for my 7mm, but they wouldn't fit in my gun, i dont think the casing's were shaved down, so i ended up using the 257.


----------



## jwdinius1

the buck was about 75 yards and my doe wasa bout 200-225. both clean kills!


----------



## hagfan72

Nice!!! You got pics? Where did you get them? I got two in WY this year, and can post pics if anyone wants.


----------



## headshot

> I got two in WY this year, and can post pics if anyone wants.


Post them. I should get drawn for speed goats this year and I have never hunted them before.


----------



## hagfan72

No, i did not shoot the doe in the back. That was where she was lying in the blood in the sled she was in. Both were heart/lung shots, both bang-flops.


----------



## jwdinius1

i got great pics of him but im not what everyone would calla computer "whiz" im trying to get them up, if not ill have my computer literate bro do it when im home for the holidays!!! bear whith me.


----------



## jwdinius1

Both in NE Wyoming.


----------



## jwdinius1

umm im having trouble posting that pic, i go to reply, or even tried starting a new topic, click on upload pic, i can find it, then i hit send and nothing happenigns, where do i go from there it is a jpeg image so im lost any advice on how to get the pics up?


----------



## averyghg

email it to me josh and ill put it up


----------



## jwdinius1

it wont even go as an attachment, i dont know what the f is the prob, but ill keep trying1


----------



## TANATA

7mm is good for everything from Antelope to Moose. I would be happy to own one and you have nothing to worry about.


----------



## MagnumManiac

jwdinius1 said:


> I am planning an antelope hunt for wyoming, and i am wondering if a 7mm grained down to 100 or 85 grain would be suitable, i also have a 257 roberts and a 22-50, but i love my 7mm would those work or would it be overkill?


If you 'grain down' you are going to get results similar to 'varmint' hunting.
Those little bullets are going to be very destructive on meat and hide.
I would be using bullets of no lighter than 120gr.
Bigger,heavier bullets will do less damage than lighter bullets.
This is a common misconception,that heavy bullets are 'bad',and light bullets are'good',I do not know why most people get the idea that a bullet is OVERKILL,if any such thing exists,or a cartridge is OVERKILL,DEAD is DEAD!
I would be keeping the 'varmint' bullets for varmints,and using a lighter HUNTING bullet for antelope;120gr-140gr.
*MagnumManiac*
:sniper:


----------



## sdeprie

I can think of 2 different situations where someone might be "overgunned" and using "overkill." The obvious examble of the first situation would be using that same 7mm magnum on a squirrel. Now, I have personally taken a squirrel with a .58 muzzleloader. Yes, it was too much gun, but it was a reduced load and a round ball. I only lost one shoulder, but it was still too much gun. The other would be some 85 pound girl shooting a 50 BMG. The recoil would flatten her. Now, there is no magic formula that tells us without a doubt how much gun is enough up to how much is too much. There is a lot of personal preference involved. For myself, even though I'm a pretty big guy, I'm not real fond of recoil. If I could get a reduced load (reduced load defined as less recoil) that would perform as needed, I would use it. Barnes presents a number of their lighter bullets, or smaller calibers (as opposed to cartridges) as suitable for game traditionally out of reach for a specific bullet weight, or calibers. Once again, it looks like a whole lot of personal preference goin on.


----------

