6.5 Creedmore or 7mm?

They look just like what i found under the hide on the opposite side of the doe i hit.
Stevens 200 chambered in 7mm-08AI. 413 yards. 140gr Berger VLD Hunting.

Sorry for hi jacking this thread but I’m curious on everyone’s thoughts on a light weight backpack mountain hunting rifle for mule deer and elk. Short action options would be great as well. Calibers of interest would be in the 6.5 creedmore to 7mm Rem Mag range. Distance would be no further than 600 yds at very most. I’m looking into the Kimber’s right now but are a bit pricey at the high end of what I want to spend. Would also like a muzzle break as well. Any info would be great. I don’t have any preference on hair styles either. I currently shoot a cheap Remington ADL in 7mag. Any info would be great.

Wapiti23 said:

Sorry for hi jacking this thread but I’m curious on everyone’s thoughts on a light weight backpack mountain hunting rifle for mule deer and elk. Short action options would be great as well. Calibers of interest would be in the 6.5 creedmore to 7mm Rem Mag range. Distance would be no further than 600 yds at very most. I’m looking into the Kimber’s right now but are a bit pricey at the high end of what I want to spend. Would also like a muzzle break as well. Any info would be great. I don’t have any preference on hair styles either. I currently shoot a cheap Remington ADL in 7mag. Any info would be great.

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Your requirements pretty much exclude the 7 mag, as they need a long barrel to perform the best. I think that if you do the math on most rifles, there is not enough difference to make it worth it, as far as weight. The ADL that you have is great. If you just want a new cartridge, then I would go with either the 6.5 Creed, or 7-08. Unless you plan to wear hearing protection, I would not even consider a muzzle break. Any of the calibers in that list are generally moderate kickers and you obviously have handled your 7 mag just fine.

Wapiti23 said:

Sorry for hi jacking this thread but I’m curious on everyone’s thoughts on a light weight backpack mountain hunting rifle for mule deer and elk. Short action options would be great as well. Calibers of interest would be in the 6.5 creedmore to 7mm Rem Mag range. Distance would be no further than 600 yds at very most. I’m looking into the Kimber’s right now but are a bit pricey at the high end of what I want to spend. Would also like a muzzle break as well. Any info would be great. I don’t have any preference on hair styles either. I currently shoot a cheap Remington ADL in 7mag. Any info would be great.

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I’d spend the money on a McMillan edge stock and run your 7mm. Would be 7.5-8lbs ready to rock

brockel said:

I’d spend the money on a McMillan edge stock and run your 7mm. Would be 7.5-8lbs ready to rock

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While your waiting on the stock send the barreled action out to get it trued up/blueprinted and a trigger. Then you would have a great rifle for a whole lot less money.

Thank you for the recommendations guys. I do love a 7mm Remington Mag.

mtmuley said:

View attachment 92453View attachment 92454 They don't all look like that. mtmuley

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Heck, in the ones I’ve recovered there wasn’t even that much jacket intact. I only found tiny pieces of jacket. Of course, all the 185 VLDs exited, and the 130-140gr Bergers were launched between 3175fps and 3400fps. Some of them exited as well. I’ve not used a Berger any lighter than 130gr, so I can’t speak to their effectiveness at lighter weights. I certainly think a little more weight is a good thing in the more explosive bullets. The difference between the Bergers and most other highly explosive bullets is that the Bergers, at least in my experience, actually do get 3-5” deep before going off. V-maxs, A-maxs, and in a few instances Balistic Tips have yielded surface blowups, and failed to get into the vitals before going off. I’ve also had the opposite problem from balistic tips, and witnessed it with Accubonds when velocity was too low.

You say you became less and less satisfied. Were the animals not dropping quickly? This far they r treated me quite well.