New big game hunter, shot placement and bullet choice.

[lucky07]

I get that it was kind of a dumb question but I was thinking more so about the idea of adding some lead, swinging the gun etc.

My guess : amount of lead is minimal, if any.

Depends. On a deer at 60 yards, no lead needed really. Not anything precicely measurable anyways.

Coyote at 100, some lead but not much, with a .222 I aim pretty much for the front of the chest if they're at the the bouncy walk pace. If they're faster than that then add some more depending on how much faster it's going.

Amount of lead At 200 when they're flying it really depends on the gun. With a .222 I'm looking at a 1 to 1.5 coyote lead.

I shot one last week at 260 yards. I thought he was a bit further than he was so I hit him high and in the spine but my horizontal was mint.

When I walked out to my spot I broke off some of those cattail pogos in the ditch and stuck them in the snow in the field. 3 at 300, 2 at 200 and 1 at 100. He popped out a little over 300 yards east of me and was going south across the field at at bit of an angle towards me, kept looking back to see if the dogs were coming but they were on another one. When he stopped long enough to give me a good shot I aimed for the boiler room but just as I started squeezing the trigger his front leg started coming up, he was going to start moving again, so I just swung a bit to the right, sent it when the crosshairs reached the front of his chest and he walked right into it. Perfect horizontal placement that would have hit him dead in the lungs, I figured he was a little over 280 but he was actually at 260 so shot was a bit high and the ballistic calculator confirmed it hit right where it should have at that distance.

The only way to get good at hitting moving things is to practice. That's where some of the "is it ethical to shoot at running animals" questions come it. When you have hounds the worry of losing a wounded one isn't there because you can throw the dogs on it and they'll go either find it dead, bay it, or run it.

I'm not a big fan of taking low confidence shots without dogs available, but that's just me.

Game animal vs varmint also changes things a bit IMO. ie. Taking low confidence pot shots at a running moose is much more of a #### move than doing it with a coyote.

 

[Dogleg]

Picture a balloon pushed as far ahead in the chest cavity as it’ll go, then inflated until part of it bulges out behind the shoulders. Your job is to pop that balloon.

For the sake of the analogy, the center of the balloon works better than the back edge. Then you pop the balloon, mess up a pump and major plumbing, some pretty cool wiring and maybe a chunk of what’s holding the deer up.

 

[tactical lever]

Yeah definitely only boiler room shots for me(maybe high shoulder).

With a 20in barrel and 165gn Sierra I’m pushing 2600ish . Trying to be careful not to up the velocity too much given bullet construction.

Yes, I’m definitely over thinking but hey, I’m trying to be careful and considerate to my quarry as well.

Which Sierra are you using? Game King?

As long as they aren't "match, target, or FMJ" they'll work fine on deer (and bigger). Wouldn't worry about overstressing the bullet at the highest velocity a .308 can reach.

165 seems about perfect for .308. If it's a GK you'll have plenty of penetration.

Keep your scope on low power for close and fast shots. You'll have lots of time to dial it up for a farther shot.

Take your .308 out for walks and lots of informal offhand shooting. Tin cans, water bottles, golf balls, rubber reactive ground targets are always fun. Sometimes I'll kinda chase a rolling target with lead before it stops.

Kill some coyotes if you have the opportunity, gophers, groundhogs and grouse. I like using a .22 LR, or .22 Mag for grouse mainly, but probably killed just as many with various big game rifles.

 

[KodiakHntr]

Which Sierra are you using? Game King?

As long as they aren't "match, target, or FMJ" they'll work fine on deer (and bigger).

The Tipped Match King is pure murder on meat, regardless of bullet diameter….

 

[tactical lever]

The Tipped Match King is pure murder on meat, regardless of bullet diameter….

I'll take your word on it, but I'm always leery of anything labeled "match".

Though I do hear of good performance with some of them; particularly at long range, lower velocity and heavy for caliber (naturally).

 

[g3arhead]

Which Sierra are you using? Game King?

As long as they aren't "match, target, or FMJ" they'll work fine on deer (and bigger). Wouldn't worry about overstressing the bullet at the highest velocity a .308 can reach.

165 seems about perfect for .308. If it's a GK you'll have plenty of penetration.

Keep your scope on low power for close and fast shots. You'll have lots of time to dial it up for a farther shot.

Take your .308 out for walks and lots of informal offhand shooting. Tin cans, water bottles, golf balls, rubber reactive ground targets are always fun. Sometimes I'll kinda chase a rolling target with lead before it stops.

Kill some coyotes if you have the opportunity, gophers, groundhogs and grouse. I like using a .22 LR, or .22 Mag for grouse mainly, but probably killed just as many with various big game rifles.

165gn Sierra gameking , spire point boat tail.

Also tried my hand at loading Speer Hot Cor 150 , spire point with flat base.

They both shoot good enough out of my gun that if i tossed a coin to pick one, id be fine with either.

 

[tactical lever]

165gn Sierra gameking , spire point boat tail.

Also tried my hand at loading Speer Hot Cor 150 , spire point with flat base.

They both shoot good enough out of my gun that if i tossed a coin to pick one, id be fine with either.

Oh yes, either is just fine! At close range you're very likely going to see an instant drop, and no getting up. Or even any attempt.

 

[MRP]

You sharpshooter wannabe's can have your high risk running shots, judging speed, distance and change of direction on the fly. I'll stick to no pressure head shots where I only shoot when everything lines up.

 

[canadian hunter312]

You sharpshooter wannabe's can have your high risk running shots, judging speed, distance and change of direction on the fly. I'll stick to no pressure head shots where I only shoot when everything lines up.

Hey man, don’t hate because you can’t make such shots

Funny how you label me a “wannabe sharpshooter” when I’ve made tons of posts against long range hunting and I’ve always said hunting is all about getting close. You realize the heart and lungs is roughly an 8-10 target? Thats easy under 100 yards with an accurate gun. Nobody said anything about long range shooting…I’m limited to a shotgun. Most shots are 10-100 yards.


And who said running shots means Hail Mary shots? High percentage shots are what it’s all about. My Savage 220 alone has taken in neighborhood of 20 deer with at least half of those running. All 1 shot kills. I don’t take any low percentage shot.



To me it is the exact same as shooting birds or rabbits. Just lead them depending on the speed and be sure of a good follow through. Just let instinct take over and watch the brown hit the ground



Most people look at me like I have two heads when I tell them I’m shooting a round of clays to knock the rust off for gun deer season