Ethically speaking . . .

I have 2 - 38-55 Rifles. One is "new to me" having recently arrived back from Ron Smith, who made
the 38-55 out of a toasted bore 30-30. It is a 1893 Marlin, built in 1906.

The other is a 1979 built Winchester 94 "Legendary Frontiersman" With it I have shot two deer.
One was a nice meat doe, the other the largest Whitetail buck I have shot to date.
Neither was a long shot. [70M and 55M], but that big 255 grain FNSP at 1650 or so was decisive.

Neither deer went anywhere. [30 feet for the doe, DRT for the buck]

Yes, indeed, the 38-55 is an ethical choice for deer, IMHO.
FWIW, within 150 yards, I would not hesitate to shoot a moose with the 38-55.

Regards, Dave.
 
I hunt with an Ruger Old Army (black powder handgun) in Florida and in Georgia. I can watch and enjoy the deer/hogs that are not within my range with no problem.

I can harvest the ones that are within range with no problem.

I was called "un ethical" by a guy that lost 3 deer that year with a .270 while I was buying ice for the deer in my cooler.
 
LOL, kanook, good on you sir and thanks for sharing. I guess the big bullets don't kill fast or stop big animals memo never got the moose I took with my .54 Hawken muzzleloader.
 
woodchopper said:
interesting enough, I shot a calf moose at 50m with my 300WM using 200grn Accubonds. It just grunted and stood there for about 5 seconds, then fell over dead.
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Lol..... I shot a whitetail with one at a similar distance..... It actually momentarily went back to eating apples until it realized it was dead and keeled over cartoon style with all four legs in the air......

When I dressed it out, I found I went between the ribs on both sides and took the tops of both lungs out as well as the main pulmonary artery..... Never touched bone at all......
 
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Superbrad said:
Lol..... I shot a whitetail with one at a similar distance..... It actually momentarily went back to eating apples until it realized it was dead and keeled over cartoon style with all four legs in the air......

When I dressed it out, I found I went between the ribs on both sides and took the tops of both lungs out as well as the main pulmonary artery..... Never touched bone at all......
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That is funny. Did a question mark appeared on top of your head when you shot it? :d
 
If I was confident in my shot placement with it, I absolutely would use it for deer.

During the black powder season I hunt whitetails with a 38 caliber shooting patched round ball - many would consider that "possibly unethical".

But, I hunt with that for the challenge and not because "my whole hunt will be ruined if I don't shoot a deer".

Yes, I have to wait for an "unobstructed, standing broadside shot - no quartering, no small branches, no skiddish deer" and have to keep my shots less than 50 yards. If I can do all that, if I don't have to "kill something", then it's deadly.

If I follow "my rules" then the 79 grain roundball packing a "whopping" 325 foot pounds @ 40 yards IS ethical and takes down Bambi just as quickly as one of my arrows would have in the archery season.
 
Dake21 said:
A friend of mine told me he shot a moose on the lungs with his 300 win mag and he didn't even flinch. He said it took 3 rounds before he dropped.
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I shot a bull moose at around 40 yards twice through the lungs with a .35 Whelen 225 grain Nosler partition at 2550 fps. No reaction other than getting the hell out of Dodge. Went maybe 50 yards and laid down, blowing blood from both nostrils. Moose are relatively "shockproof" in my experience. They are generally dead but don't realize it.
 
Mike Webb said:
I shot a bull moose at around 40 yards twice through the lungs with a .35 Whelen 225 grain Nosler partition at 2550 fps. No reaction other than getting the hell out of Dodge. Went maybe 50 yards and laid down, blowing blood from both nostrils. Moose are relatively "shockproof" in my experience. They are generally dead but don't realize it.
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I always laugh when I read posts about moose being "soft". Aside from bison, there's no other ungulate in North America that can soak up big bullets without a noticeable reaction like a bull moose. They just don't inherit the same "flighty" characteristics of others like whitetail and elk.
 
Please tell me though OP, that you plan on using some decent reloads and not that milque toast factory offering we get now.
And I'd say a 38-55 will do the job if you do your part.
 
When you have a 350lb monster buck come out and stand broadside at 180 yards. You can feel proud that you did the ethical thing and let him walk. I do love hunting with lever guns but have come to the conclusion that when I have 60 hours a year to hunt whitetail deer, I use the very best rifle that I have for the job. I think if most old timers had the option of using a .38-55 or a Benelli R1 in .300WSM, they would have chosen the latter.

Ethics is a personal choice, but I would be afraid of giving up the opportunity of a lifetime because I intentionally handicapped myself for the sake of tradition.

I save my lever guns for bear hunting because there is about 3 months of hunting season for that and I don't take it as seriously. Deer hunting is something that I count down every minute of every day until legal shooting time on opening day. And that's a personal choice. 109 days to go...
 
tokguy said:
Please tell me though OP, that you plan on using some decent reloads and not that milque toast factory offering we get now.
And I'd say a 38-55 will do the job if you do your part.
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I do load a 250 (I believe) grain cast bullet at what should be around 1700 fps, definitely stronger than factory, but not exactly pushing the limits either.
 
Most cartridges are "ethical" providing:

A. The bullet will penetrate to the vitals and do sufficient damage.
B. The rifle is accurate enough to deliver the bullet to the right spot
C. The hunter is willing to pass on marginal shots due to distance or presentation that may compromise A or B.
 
tokguy said:
Please tell me though OP, that you plan on using some decent reloads and not that milque toast factory offering we get now.
And I'd say a 38-55 will do the job if you do your part.
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Bumping up the mild factory loads is fine but I can speak from personal experience that the old 255 grain flatnose bumping along at 1300 fps is good medicine for woods deer. And if you look at a ballistics chart it is amazing how the old girl hangs onto that velocity. The old .38/55 High Velocity loads from years back pushed a 255 at around 1700 and had a reputation for being an awesome moose load in my area.
 
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