ORIGINAL: retired guy

No exit wound can lead to  poor blood trails  even on decent hits. Personally  like a heavier bullet to generally help ensure that exit.

 
If you don't have an exit wound with a 7MM-08, even with the lightest of bullets, it was darn poor shot placement.

ORIGINAL: rooster

steelie i have been reading alot of post on other forums about people saying that the deer dont bleed to good if they do happen to run.my question is have you had any problems with that.and yes i know if you drop the deer than you cant complain but they always dont go done everytime.thanks for the help.i have heard the damage they do is amazing

I've killed more deer with my 7mm-08 than I care to count. If you do your part, the deer will give up the ghost, and if it does run after a well placed shot, it won't go far, and you'll have plenty of blood....just like any proper deer caliber will.

I've never had an issue with penetration, even with some of the fast expanding bullets like the nosler ballistic tip, or reminton accu-tip. Right now I'm shooting the Hornady superformance SST's in 139gr. They shoot excellent out of my m700 mountain rifle.

Personally I would prefer that the bullet expend it's energy inside the target, if there is an exit wound you should be able to stick your fist in it...

ORIGINAL: retired guy

Hey Dar-
Tried some of those lighter  NEW bullets years ago with the 06. Recall that light silver tip hollow point that blew up a few inches inside a Deer shot through the ribs broadside It did extreme damage just inside impact in the heart lung area and dropped the Deer in its tracks. Didnt even go halfway through but the damage was teriffic. Never used it  again cause a shoulder hit with it seemed to be looking for a nightmare scenario.
  Went back to the heavy soft points that will plow through shoulders and bone and through the boiler room and still give a exit. Same issue on the quartering away shot- I want that exit.
Lets face it- mostly when opportunity and patience give the proper conditions there is no need to track but I dont want to minimize the odds on  that all too often scenario.
Fact is that most Deer are shot well within 100 yds and a light long range  cartridge here in the East isnt necessary like it may well be out West. IMHO for most of us a heavy projectile with lotsa FPS is more than adequate.
Please dont interpret this as one of those 'brush buster' issues cause we all know that all shells are so fast that they will be deflected by hitting stuff. Guess I just like cannon balls.

 
I will respectfully disagree.
 
During my early years, it was my intent to shoot as many deer with as many different loads as I could.  For many years, I never shot a deer with the same load twice.  When I started to run out of practical loads, I settled in on a few favorites.  For the .243 it is a 90 gr. Balistic tip.  For the .240 Weatherby, same bullet.   For the .257 Weatherby an 87 gr. soft point.  For the .270, a 90 gr. hollow point.  For the .308 a 165 gr. hollow point.  For the 30-06, same bullet.  For the .300 Weatherby, a 165 Balistic tip.
 
I guess I like small, high velocity stuff.  Maybe because the formula for KE = mass (bullet weight) X velocity squared.  I also, like some other posters, prefer that the damage be done inside and the deer never go more than a step or two.

Dar - I like that 165 hollow point in the 06 as well- have taken a number with it and its a fine deer stopper. Its another shell that does terific damage inside and drops them quickly.
  For whatever reason I still opt for the 180- soft point but that simply a personal preference. The 180 with the pass actually does less internal damage than that 165- now you have me second guessing-----

ORIGINAL: retired guy

Dar - I like that 165 hollow point in the 06 as well- have taken a number with it and its a fine deer stopper. Its another shell that does terific damage inside and drops them quickly.
For whatever reason I still opt for the 180- soft point but that simply a personal preference. The 180 with the pass actually does less internal damage than that 165- now you have me second guessing-----

 
No need to second guess -- we are talking about stopping a deer here, not a rhino -- LOL.  Just about anything will work with proper shot placement.
 
I have shot them with a 60 gr. hollow point out of a .243; a 110 soft point out of a .308; and even a 55 gr. soft point out of a 30-06 Accelerator (back when they were still available) -- although I don't recommend any of those for regular use.
 
I have also shot them with 180 Game Kings out of a .300 Weatherby and don't recommend that either, but for different reasons.

ORIGINAL: DarDys

ORIGINAL: retired guy

Dar - I like that 165 hollow point in the 06 as well- have taken a number with it and its a fine deer stopper. Its another shell that does terific damage inside and drops them quickly.
For whatever reason I still opt for the 180- soft point but that simply a personal preference. The 180 with the pass actually does less internal damage than that 165- now you have me second guessing-----

No need to second guess -- we are talking about stopping a deer here, not a rhino -- LOL.  Just about anything will work with proper shot placement.

I have shot them with a 60 gr. hollow point out of a .243; a 110 soft point out of a .308; and even a 55 gr. soft point out of a 30-06 Accelerator (back when they were still available) -- although I don't recommend any of those for regular use.

I have also shot them with 180 Game Kings out of a .300 Weatherby and don't recommend that either, but for different reasons.

Had a friend shoot and kill a bear in NY this year with a .243. I couldn't agree more with your comment.

ORIGINAL: retired guy

The 180 did its job on a heart shot this morning.

 
Great!  Congrats!
 
Let's see some photos.

  Sorry, dont carry a camera out there- probably should -fishin too- it was a flat head though- first one of those in a few years.
   Gettin tired of eatin shoe leather and decided to take an eater. Some small horns around but the bruiser have been after for the past coupla years has moved or passed on.
   Hes the one I popped just a cap on with the muzzel coupla years ago - made it one of the best hunts ever - no draggin- all perfect without killin that monster. Got to hunt him even more. Took soma his adult sons along the way too.
    Got smiled upon when  born - couldnt  imagine life  without a passion for huntin and fishin. We all share that disease despite the occasional bickering.
  Good luck guys

   OA- I/m so stuck in 'old ways' that when got my phone I specifically said no gadgetry - just wanna call in and out- -its got one of those message things on it and have never used it- also carry small hammer and chisel so as to chip messages onto  rocks.
Use single shot guns  an antique bow and like fly rods. But I'm happy that way- aint bout the killin but the huntin and fishin.
Was never one for 'hero' shots but never complain bout seein somebody all happy with what they harvested- kinda enjoy it and am happy for them too.
  Did ya ever think bout how much meat we would all bring home during Deer season by carryin a .22 instead of a big gun and shootin all them little bushy tails??
  BTW- that bigun stayed right in the scope the whole time with nothin but the cap goin off- stood there and saw the humor in it as he looked at me and got out of the bed I had snuck up on and he took off-  actually had a big smile and enjoyed the hole thing- Had been after him for a coupla seasons an did the perfect hunt- loved it.
  Its all bout the memories.

i have benn using an old revelation bolt action 30 30 for 23 years. i shoot 150 gr and i think i only ever had to look for 1 deer. it drops them in their tracks. 3 years ago i stared using my 22-250 when hunting fields or power lines. with 55 gr hollow points the deer go about 3 steps. never had a paa through, but every thing in side looks like red jelly. i would never carry the 22-250 when hunting in the woods, but it does the job in the open.

ORIGINAL: psu_fish

I'm interested in the .25-06 and the .260



I think the .25-06 ammo is easier to find then the .260, but they seem like good whitetail guns

 
Messing with the .25 calibers can be tricky.  Often times they are available with two different rates of twist.  Because of the diameter of the bullet, the lighter bullets like the 75 and 87 grain weights have a much shorter oglive bearing surface than do the heavier bullets like the 117 and 120 grain.  It is important to match up the correct rate of twist with the correct bullet weight.  I have not run across a .25 caliber rifle, at least the higher velocity ones, that will shoot the whole range of weights well.  They tend to either do well with the lighter bullets or the heavier ones, but not both.  I'm sorry but I do not recall which twist 1 in 9 or 1 in 10 works with which end of the weight spectrum.
 
In addition, the .25 calibers seem to be very velocity sensitive as well.  Since you state about the ease of locating ammunition, I am going to presume that you are looking to use factory loads.  If so, you might have to go through a few different brands until you find the one that works best.  When you do, buy at least 10 boxes, even if you only shoot very little, because you never know when the manufacturer will stop producing that particluar loading and then you would have to start all over again.
 
I had this bright idea for a long time that I wanted a .257 Weatherby chambered rifle.  I had the thoughts of a 75 grain hollow point for hogs and a 117 soft point for deer.  My wife had one built for me for our first wedding anniversary.  It is a quaility rifle -- Sako action; Shielen target grade barrel, turned down to a # 3 contour, but left 26.5 inches long; Canjar trigger; all set in a Fajan stock that was purposely inletted .16 inches too far and back filled with inert glass; and topped with a Nikon 4-12.  In other words, if there were accruacy issues, it was with the loading, not the rifle itself.
 
I bought Barnes, Nosler, Hornady, Sierra, and a few other brands of bullets in weights from 75 to 120.  I bought six different powders.  I bought some factory ammunion in different bullet weights as well as some unfired brass which I fire formed to the chamber.  I bought a chronograph.  And I spent a summer at the benches, both reloading and shooting, cranking out ammo ten rounds at time, .25 grains difference at a time, starting at the minimum and progressing to the maximum.
 
At the end of the summer I had discovered the twist issue.  I apparently had the twist that was better suited for the lighter bullets.  While I could get the 117 to group into a true (meaning consistent, not lucky) 1.5 to 1.75 inch center-to-center five shot group at 100 yards off the bench (sand bags, not a sled), that was as good as it got.  The max loads of 4350 and the Barnes X worked best.
 
However, shooting the cheaper Sierra 75 grain hollow points and the also inexpensive Hornady 87 grain Interlocks, again with a max load of 4350, produced consistent five shot, 100 yard groups in the 3/8 inch center-to-center size.  In addition, I could drive these through the chronograph placed 15 feet in front of the muzzle at a blazing 3825 FPS, which was also consistent within +/- 8 FPS for the shot string all day long.  I suspect that the reason for the same velocity from the two slightly different weight bullets was that the hollow point caught air and actually slowed it down to the velocity of the heavier pointed 87 grain bullet.  There also was no point of impact difference between the two.
 
I did push the velocities higher with a different powder, but the bullets started to keyhole somewhat, so I figured I had reached the hairly edge where maximum velocity and accuracy dance with the 4350 load.  Oddly enough, when I stopped reloading, I found that Weatherby produced a factory round with a 87 grain Hornady bullet that was just about the same as my handload, albeit about 15 FPS slower.
 
I guess the point of that long story is, be careful with the .25 higher velocity calibers, you might be in for more messing around that you want to be in for.
 
Best of Luck and let us know what you get.