I have my boy shooting the nosler 140 grain Ballistic tips and they shoot great and has dropped both deer he has shot at since he was able to start hunting last year.
I am starting to reload some new ones for him and going to use the Nosler 120 Ballistic tips .
I shoot a 7×57 Ackley Improved that's loves the 120s and have killed everything from bison, elk,deer,antelope, black bears, coyotes and other varmints.

My wife and I shoot big game with .308s. We've both shot a bunch of elk and deer, and bighorn sheep with Remington Core Locked bullets. The have always performed very well for us in .308.

Use some old-school soft points. Most newer premium bullets seem to just hold together a little too well for lighter game like deer.

I've had the same issue for the last two deer I've shot; 300WM with Barnes Triple Shocks. Great for heavy game, not at all for deer.

I have taken Elk.. Bear with 7mm-08. Nosler Partition works well.
I have plenty of 7mm-08 ammo for sale. quality hunting ammo, & soft lead point.
I'm downsizing my collection....

Another choice if you ever reload your own would be either a Speer 130gr Hot Core or the standard 130gr flat base spitzer.

If anyone wants to compare bullet performance, the calibers and velocities need to be similar. Comparing a 7-08 to a .350 Legend is apples to oranges.

I second Swamp Wolf. 140 grain Winchester ballistic silvertips out of my Remington 7mm-08 Mountain rifle. Killed a good many deer with that load.

I have only shot handloads from my 7-08. 120 gr Hammer Hunters or 140 gr Sierra GKs. I've shot a half dozen deer with it, all within 100 yds.
The only one that didn't drop within 20 yds or so was due to a bad shot on my part, and it was recovered about 50 yds away in the brush. Most dropped on the spot, which I really like. Remember that you probably won't get a blood trail until the body cavity fills with blood, and if the deer is in the thick brush before then, you won't have an easy time finding blood to track. I rarely get a blood trail but find the deer in a puddle where they dropped.


Like others said, I think the problem may be your bullet. The Hammer bullets worked good for me if you want a mono, or use 140 gr GKs, Accubonds, or Ballistic Tips. The Rem Core-Lok has a great rep as a killer too.