I'm having deer travel way too far after being hit at close range (20-50 yds.) with good shot placement, with one not being recovered. I'm seeing poor blood trails, even with exit wounds. Ammo is basic, off the shelf, Winchester 150 grain powerpoint. I hunted for 20 years with a 30/30 and never had any of these issues. I always had deer go down in sight. Has anyone else had any issues with a cannon like this at close range? Any help or solutions would be appreciated. I like being able to reach out and touch one at a distance, but I need to get 'em when they're close too.

7 mag at close range will sometimes blow up on impact. I have seen it happen with BT but never a soft lead point bullet.

If you're getting that many shots at that range you may want to go with something bigger and slower.

I experienced the opposite and would ruin a lot of meat at close range with my 7mag. I always shot 155 grain ballistic tip no matter what. Even tried core lokt a season or two so I dropped way down this year with a 308 and love it. I'm so over I've gotta have the biggest rifle in the woods as I've gotten older but to each his on.

I've never trailed a deer that I've shot with my 7mag. Most were at the range you specified. 139 grain Hornady. Bang-Flop

Some deer run when they get shot. 20-50 yards isn't far at all. With that being a high shoulder shot he is going to be laying in his tracks

Try something other than Powerpoints just to see. For close-in and medium-range work at velocities around 3000FPS and slower, nothing wrong with a basic Core-Lokt.

I don't have any first-hand experience with Powerpoints and never use them, but I have heard 2 different guys say the same thing (blowups) about them at close range.

I wasn't clear in my post....these deer are shot at a close distance of 20-50 yards....sorry .....they travel much farther

I shoot a 7 Mag too. If I get them inside the 20-50 yard range I shoot them in the neck or high in the shoulder. They usually only travel downward about 36 inches.

When the 7mmRM came out it had a reputation for wounding and losing smallish(deer size) big game. The cartridge was designed to be a med to big biggame cartridge and bullets were designed accordingly...tough and deep penetrating. 150gr bullets are not designed for light skinned deer but for elk and such.

shoot a lighter bullet, any of the 140's will do better than a 150. Not much difference in weight but a good bit in design.

BIL and a friend had similar probs with 7mmRMs shooting 162gr Sierra Match King bullets, bullets zipped thru with little to no expansion. I tried to tell em to shoot sometthing else after they wounded and lost several deer. But their reply was " the 162 is ballistically superior and more accurate". No chitt, it's a target bullet. Just what does it do AFTER IT HITS SKIN??????

Mr. Troy, that answer makes more sense to me. He IS seeing exit wounds and I agree with you. He ain't tearing enough of the wheelhouse up. It's like driving a nail through the animal.

I once shot a nice 7point with my 7mm mag BAR at maybe 7-8 yds from the base of the tree I was in. Almost straight down shot from around 20' up, right behind the front leg. Deer ran about 75 yds before piling up. I thought I had missed. You could have stuck a baseball in the exit hole and upon dressing him, the lower half of his heart had been shot off. Sometimes I think they are just pumped up and run. I will add once I started shooting deer through the front shoulders they don't have the ability to run whether they are DRT or take a second to expire.

Thanks for all the input. Keep it coming. Sounds like I should consider different ammo, and/or make sure I take that front shoulder out with these close range shots. I hope something works, because my confidence is gone in this gun for now...lol..I even caught my self looking at .270's last night, but who knows, I could have the same issue with it as well....

Not a fan of ANYTHING with Winchester on it...a 7MM is over kill on Bambi..get a 139 grain Hornady Interbond ...and no caliber is bang flop everytime ...bang flop is on bullet placement anyway...high shoulder makes them DRT...neck if you can hit it with a decent caliber and a good bullet...

My son had a 7mm magnum, and used to shoot winchester silver baliistic tips, in 150 grain. Killed deer, but a lot of them would run off, and the blood trails were spotty. I convinced him to change over to Hornady SST ammo, in 139 grain. Now everything takes a dirt nap, massive wound channels.

I've shot a 140gr Nosler Partition in a 7mmRM for years. Great performance at any range. Federal loads this bullet in a factory load.

...bought a 2 yr old Rem 742 30-06 once for $100...guy was shooting 220 grain bullets in it...said it didn't drop deer...resold it 2 days later (I didn't need it) for $300
...guns shoot...bullets kill...

DRT requires nervous system damage. At that distance shoot 'em in the base of the neck, or high shoulder. A .223 will drop them dead in their tracks if you hit spinal cord or a main branch of it.

They can run with no heart or lungs for 50-75 yards, if their nervous system is intact.

well , i ain't having no problems with horaday 154 grain customs . even the ones i lung shot don't go far . i shot most of my at close range but do stretch it at at times and they work fine then too . the four does i killed this year dropped .