Walloped a doe this AM with the 7mm-270WSM XP-100. Hit her with a Nosler 7mm 160gr Accubond w/ a MV of 2750fps. Range was nothing extraordinary...around 200yds. Bullet entered between the front right shoulder and the neck and exited behind the left shoulder. The deer did the usual 75yd downhill heart shot sprint and cartwheeled to a halt.

Entrance was caliber in size and the exit was about 1.5"...looked like a great hit to minimize meat damage for the oppurtunity I was presented. Heart and lungs were mush when I opened her up.

From the following pic it all looks good. This from the inside of the chest cavity showing the entrance on the right at the very front and exit on the left.



The next image is of the entrance (right) side. As you will see, the entire right side of the ribcage is jelly. And this was with a hit in FRONT of the shoulder.



This is the exit side.



I had thought the bonded core Accubond bullet would not blow up this bad. And I'm not driving this bullet near as fast as rifle shooters. I've drilled a bunch of deer with the 180gr .338" NBT @ 2500fps and not gotten this kind of meat damage. Any thoughts??

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Range was nothing extraordinary...around 200yds

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i beg to differ. just cause an animal wasn't shot at 500, 600, or 1000yrds doesn't mean it wasn't a special ocassion or less of a trophy imo. 25yrds....100yrds....200yrds....it's all good.

looks like pretty wicked performance out of that big bullet that far out. you'd think it would be a tougher bullet than that huh?

carnage is a good thing ,the 8 point my friend shot with a 7mm magnum at 30 or so yards with a factory federal load wasnt tore up that bad,i killed a 6 pointer once with a 139 gr. sst and it looked alot like yours.congrats on the deer and quit hunting in the thick stuff...200 yards dan,i figured youd stretch that xp out a little , ...jim257

maybe the large exit wound was caused by the direct hit on one of the ribs driving that pc of bone thru to the other side. I can't imagine an accubond blowing up like that. If they do what is all the hype about? Regular old SST's will do the same thing for a lot less $$$.

Well Dan I'm no expert by any means, but it kind of looks like the bullet hit the edge of the Rib Bone on Entry. I have seen bullets do really wierd things over the years. I wonder if hitting the edge of the bone like that cause the bullet to tip or tumble. If so that could explain the carnage.

Congrats on the harvest.

Larry

kinnda makes ya wonder if it's a tough enuff bullet fer ELK size critters...eh dan?
maybe breaking the rib bone started it like larry mentions.

at least ya know it will expand though

Dan, I cheated this year and used my 300Rum, I'm shooting 200gr Accubonds @ 3100fps. I shot a doe @ about 80yds, she was broadside uphill, the bullet went through the near shoulder took out 4 ribs and on the exit side took out 3 ribs and the opposite shoulder. I know it's a big gun for deer but I really didn't expect a hole I could put my arm through

dan i know how you feel i used a 308 with 150 sst loaded to 2500 .i shot a doe at about 80 yards through the middle of the neck about 3" in front of the shoulder, no bone hits but the exit hole was the size of a softball! .i used the same load on a doe the next day at about 160 yards ,the bullet entered just in front of the rear quarter and did nothig ,i wacthed the doe walk about 100 yards then lay down ,walked over to her and she was dead . when we opened her up the bullet had entered the guts but did not penetrate or even make it to the lungs!dont know about some of these fancy bullets.

Dan...interesting observation of the bullet performance. Is this the first animal (deer size) taken with that particular load? I wouldn't have guessed the violent "explosion" on a deer sized animal without major bone contact. Anyway...nice pix and a good discussion by all.

The AB are fairly "graphic" from what I have been hearing from the rifle guys, but they also do a good job on elk.

it would be kind of hard to imagine a 160gr 7mm bullet not being enough for them. never killed one here, but just a big tough "deer" i suppose


i would think it would assure expansion at long ranges with a handgun. thats a purrty good trait i'd think.

Have you tried the Barnes X? That looks like way too much kaboomage from a 160 at 2700. I can't imagine what it would have looked like coming out of a rifle at 3000+ on a less than 100yd shot.

I too would think it would perform very well on elk.
Besides ya only need to get the bullet threw one wall.
The vitals are always in the inside. LOL
I know-I know.
Everybody likes 2 holes for better blood trails.

If your worried about elk running away then shoot em a bit higher and catch just below the spine.
Drop em and have no trailing to worry about...
That bullet would surely do that and more IMO.