Hey, we were hunting in West Virginia for my first time and I used a 7mm rifle. lol Of course my first shot hit the deer in the

[Nathan Bonn]

Hey, we were hunting in West Virginia for my first time and I used a 7mm rifle. lol Of course my first shot hit the deer in the spine and was an instant kill. But the 7mm makes a bit of a mess, what ammunition/rifles would you also suggest that are close (but smaller than a 7mm)?

[jay]

Hit a deer in the spine with any caliber your going to have a mess. I find shot placement, not caliber, is the determining factor in what kind of mess lies underneath the hide. I shoot a 12 guage sabot slug and a shot through the lungs will not ruin any meat. A shot through both front shoulders will result in a lot of coyote bait.

[Sarge01]

I'm a retired WV Conservation Officer and I believe that the 7MM-08 or the .308 are the 2 best deer cartridges for deer here in our state. They have the range but are still good for the mountains and can be had in short action firearms that are easy to handle.

[bobbyirwin81]

im a fan of the 30-06, its an all around good caliber that is very versatile. but 7mm-08,25-06, .308, .243, and 30-30 are very popular deer calibers

[Treestand]

DITTO That Sargeo1!!!!
I have used The .243W and 7mm/08R most of my 54yr of
Deer hunting and the 7mm/08 is Tops!

[99explorer]

I have to agree with Sarge here. Stay with the 7mm to assure future one shot kills. Experimenting with lesser calibers to deterrmine the bare minimum it takes to get the job done is going to lead to a lot of grief. Just my two cents worth.

[Phil1227]

the 270 is a good choice, a little smaller but still plenty of power.

[WA Mtnhunter]

7mm what? 7mm-08, 7mm Rem Mag, 7x57 Mauser, 7mm STW? Quite the difference between the 7x57 and 7mm RUM.

[Clay Cooper]

I suggest the 25-06. For myself, my 22-250 has never let me down and those 55 grain Hornady Soft Point W/C sure makes a mess in the boiler room, blows the lungs clean out!!

[Clay Cooper]

7mm Mag, for back east 140's, out west 120's!

[libertyfirst]

You didn't mention the cartridge you used or the weight of the bullet. For instance if you used the 7mm Magnum and a 130 gr. varmint load the results might be a bit on the spectacular side while a 150-160 gr. load in the same gun would certainly get the job done with a less explosive effect. There really are no adequate cartridges for deer that won't make a mess on occasion. The 150 gr. handload I use in my 30-30, at times, looks like the deer was hit with a 300 Mag. I would suggest you stay with the 7mm rifle that you have and maybe study the characteristics of different bullet weights.

[guamfrank]

As others mentioned shot placement to critical to spoiling meat. As Libertyfirst mentioned, try different bullet weights and bullet types. You could also try a .270 and there are several relatively inexpensive rifles in that caliber that shoot really well.

[lefthandedshooter]

i would shoot in something called the VITALS it consists of the heart lungs liver and another good shot is the neck . but what i would use is a 270 or a 243. they work great and they wont make a mess .

[mcj81894]

the .270 is the next step down from the 7mm

[Cbass]

Some good answers here. I'd suggest sticking with your 7mm (I have to assume Remington magnum.) It suits whitetail and nearly everything else on the continent. Practice good marksmanship, as we all ought to, and avoid the spine in the future.

Good Luck!