alright will a 7mm mag do a lot of damage to a whitetail deer at 150 yards with a 150 grain soft point?

Answer 1

Not any more than a .270, .30-06, .280 or anything with similar muzzle energy would do with the same weight and type of bullet. You could shoot identical deer with each caliber, examine them all and not be able to determine which was shot with what caliber. The 7mm magnum is not a "cannon".
But yes, a .30-30, or other less powerful round will do less damage, as will a 7 mag with larger, slower tougher bullets like the 175-grain Nosler Partition.

Answer 2

i shot a mule deer about 160 pounds dressed at 125 yards with my 7 mag 160 gr soft point it brake four ribs going in and three coming out and pretty much everything in between was mush I have since learned better I now use a 165 nosler partition for my 7 mag and no matter 10 yards or 1000 same damage in at about a quarter and out at about a quarter.
and it makes no difference deer elk bear moose etc etc

Answer 3

It's a reasonable load. It's a bit too much powder and a bit too little bullet for my tastes, and will cause more meat to be ruined on a shoulder shot than I care for, but to each his own, and it isn't out of all reason, and I know at least one top-notch hunter who uses the load (Nosler Partitions, I think) for deer, sheep and goats.

Answer 4

Probably, but it depends on the bullet and it's placement in the animal. Try those that expand less such as Nosler partitions or the all-copper ones from Barnes. If you are a good shot and close enough, always try for a neck shot. This spoils less good meat.

Answer 5

Yes, probably much more damage (read bloodshot meat) than you want. If you are going to shoot whitetails at 150 yards, you might want to use a less powerful cartridge, or make lower powered handloads (if you can and if they shoot accurately in your rifle).

Answer 6

I do know that even a variance of 0.2 grains of powder either way in my 30-06 and 300 WSM will open up my groups,and while I'm closer to max load with the WSM the 30-06 has some room but never needed. I'm getting sub-MOA with hunting loads,Accu-Bonds in the 06 and TSXs in the 300-both at 165 grain. I found that when working up loads that you can find "nodes" where a certain powder/bullet/rifle combo will get acceptable accuracy and then you fine tune from there. I just stumbled onto the 06 load first day out,the 300 took a few tries with different powders to get what I wanted. First thing to realize is that max velocity isn't always going to get you best barrel harmonics-which is what you are really striving to achieve with accuracy/repeat-ability. 58 grains IMR 4831 is starting load level,you "can" go up to 62.5 max,and you are currently right about mid-point;you might have a more accurate node point with slightly higher/lower powder charge.Change too drastically and you can change point of impact,but you should see an hour-glass effect to your group data >< from open to tight to open again. I was running that 0.2 grain difference in test loads when I was close,some get folks take it to 2 or 3 decimal places. The Barnes bullet can shoot exceptionally well in some rifles-others not so well,so be aware of that too. My 30-06 didn't like Barnes and my powder choices together. You don't define where you are at for accuracy currently so also be aware that IMR 4831 might not be the ideal powder in your load/rifle. Powder burn rate/charge weight plus the bullet weight is what causes the barrel harmonic to act,we try to utilize that harmonic with reloading and incremental changes,but sometimes you have to pick a different powder or even bullet to get best results. 4831 is a fairly slow (relatively) powder that should maximize the 26 inch barrel,but you might try a different powder if you have one handy and is in the 7 Mag range. As for the barrel length difference,the Chuck Hawk article can deal with that. Keep at it,and I hope you enjoy your A-Bolt as much as I enjoy my Hunter and Stainless Stalker models.

Answer 7

More than enough damage.*

Answer 8

If you hit it then yes it will.