Mule Deer Hunting

dgradinaru

dgradinaru

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Well I have been thinking recently regarding how strong mule deer are, I mean in regards of when being shot. I know that shoulder, neck, head, frontal chest, and spinal shots will usually drop them in their tracks. The main question here : how long does it take for your deer to expire (die off) after being cleanly shot in the lungs or heart? Do your deer drop or take off?

Please do include what caliber is being used and what type of bullet.

From my experience regarding what caliber I have used it seems like most deer run off 15-75 yards.

I have used the 9.3x62 (285gr PPU @ 2440fps), 6.5x55 140gr Serria @ 2650fps, 8x57 Hornady INTLK 195gr @ 2550fps, 180 ballistic tip @ 2740fps, 30-06 Rem Factory 180gr@ 2700fps.

On average most shots are 100yards give or take.

Let me know as im curious to what others experience.
 
Your question is not really answerable as there are just too many variables to consider.
What was the adrenaline level in the animal at the time of the shot ?
What path did the bullet take and how much damage was done ?
Animals are like people some can take more punishment that others ?
A 223 could give you a bang flop while a 338 lapua may have the animal run . As a general observation having taken a fair number of mule deer from does to big mature bucks with muzzle loaders , mid level and magnum rifles they pretty much react like white tail or any other deer for that matter.

There is no magic formula just use an adequate rifle place your shot well and be prepared to track if an animal runs off because they can even when we'll hit. No such thing as a bang flop round. Anyone that claims 100% bang flops either hasn't taken many deer and has been luck or is just BSing.

The deer I took with my muzzle loader this year had shredded lungs and a big tear in the heart and it went a good 80 or so yards into thick bush before it piled up.
 
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As far as clean heart/lung shots go,
- 243 win 100gr corelokt, heart/lung, 75yds, 2 steps and maybe a minute.
- 30-30 win 170gr Fusion, double lung, 125yds, dropped on the spot and maybe a minute.
- 30-30 win 170gr Fusion, heart, 90yds, stumbled 5yds and expired.
 
To me it seems like the higher the velocity the more bang flops. This also holds true with black bears as long as you shoot a decent Bullet other than mono metals .
 
7mm mag, 175gr partitions, shot one side, then turned and shot other side, both lungs gone, still went over a 100yds.

308, 180gr partition, quartering away shot, bulllet entered at an extreme angle starting behind the ribs and was recovered in the chest, one lung collapsed and it took 1 step and folded.
 
My experience mirrors powdergun, each deer will react differently to a very similar shot regardless of species. Last year I shot a mule deer doe with my wife's 7-08 and it dropped, the other I shot with my 280 and it ran 50 yards yet both were dead before I reached them in a minute or so. I have seen a heart shot buck run 200 yards and another drop on the spot.
 
.303brit, 150 grain SP (federal bluebox)
Young spiker. Hit in the neck severed the vertebrae, dropped instantly, didn't even twitch.
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300WSM, 180gr Sierra Gameking (Federal)
Mature doe. Got the heart and both lungs she ran 100m jumped over a fence, and ran another 300m till she dropped.
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300WSM, 180gr Sierra Gameking (Federal)
4 point buck. shot in nose, walked about 25m and dropped.
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from my experience the it's like a 50/50 chance with a heart and lung shot, regardless of caliber. It varies from deer to deer. That's why recently i've been going for spine or head shots.
if you disrupt the central nervous system they won't go anywhere.
 
Neilm said:
To me it seems like the higher the velocity the more bang flops. This also holds true with black bears as long as you shoot a decent Bullet other than mono metals .
Click to expand...

My experience is the opposite. Slower bigger bullet seems to dump em hard whereas the faster (+2700fps at muzzle) calibers zip thru getting the job done but not dumping all their energy in the target.
For this reason, I like a 180 gr .303 brit from a 18" barrel for close range (under 100 yards) for ambushing deer and calling in bull moose. It works very well for me.
 
I have seen 4 MD shot (2 by me, 2 by my buddy)

#1 me - deer was bedded down, shot through chest from about 100 yds above it, never moved (.270 win 130 gr Grand slam 3100fps)
#2 me- deer was standing feeding, shot through chest same gun, ran about 75 yds, dropped
#1B - deer was bedded down, chest shot with 375 JDJ TC Encore pistol. No idea of ballistics but you can look it up
#2B - deer was jumped, (we were after antelope at the time) deer stood up, chest shot with same pistol, dropped in tracks
 
I have shot a few deer in my time. True bang-flops, only occurred for me when deer was hit in the CNS (usually the spine or close to it). I have never once seen a deer shot in the lungs or heart that fell down and died immediately. Almost all of my shots were on deer that were standing and eating in place. Almost all of the deer I shot ran a few meters. The greatest runner I had was about 80 yards into a treeline and everything else was about 5-15 yards. If you consider 5 yards of movement a bang flop than I have had many bang-flops. I forgot to mention that the calibers I used: 223, 243, 308, 30-06, 300 WSM. I am sure I missed a few in there. I am now using a 300 WSM as I find that once you hit the deer with it in the vitals, the animal will be dead with a pretty minimal amount of suffering.
 
You shoot them, they run a bit and die. Sure, you can rug them where they stand with a high shoulder shot but then you waste meat. Behind the shoulders and through the lungs, they run a bit. Then they die and you carry them to the truck (or drive the truck to them). Personally, I like to eat venison more than I dislike walking so I shoot 'em behind the shoulder and go where they fall.
 
If I can't make a clean killshot that damages as little meat as possible, I don't take the shot, period.
I apply that ideology to ALL the game I hunt.
 
I have shot something around 70 or so deer, and very few ( maybe a half dozen, maybe fewer) died in their tracks if shot through the lungs or heart/lungs. The exception is when heavy bone is also hit, or in odd instances I believe that bullet shock can put lights out when systolic pressure is at its peak and the heart or aorta is hit. So called "bang-flops" are usually related to hit in the spine, head, or sometimes through shoulder humerus bones. Cartridges I've successfully used range from .243, .250, 257, 25-06, .270, 7mm08, 7x57, 7x64, .308, .30-06, .303, .356 win, .35 Whelen, .50 muzzle loader and probably some others. For deer i use standard cup/core bullet in 7mm and up, premium bullets in .24 & .25 cals. I usually use mid weight bullets for deer. A double lungs shot deer usually runs off a short way and falls over. It really upsets me when some hunters don't even check carefully for any sign of a hit on the spot where a deer that they have shot at was standing, figuring a miss when it didn't show any sign of a hit and didn't fall down. Many fatally shot deer have almost no reaction, just run away. It is critically important to learn to track, even with a powerful rifle, good bullets and shooting skills.
 
My experience has been, if they know you are there, about 50-50 they will run at the shot (with a solid hit) for up to about 80 or so yards.
If they are unaware, the bang flop scenario go's up, but there are no guarantees.
I've shot deer and moose with 25-06, 7mm Rem mag 30-30, 308, 300 Win, 338 Win, 375 Win and 375 H&H.
 
October third I shot a muley with my 7mm rem mag loaded with 168gr vld hunting Berger bullet. Clean heart shot @ 150 +/- 10 yards. He piled up on the spot. Not a step in any direction.
 
Last saturday my buddy took a smaller mulie spike buck at 40 paces with a 257 weatherby magnum. Heart lung , perfect shot. It did not take a step. It bang flopped and twitched a couple times that's about it. ;)

It is what it is and I don't believe any man has a sure fire recipe for the "bang flop yer dead" type of kills. Well, except for semi truck drivers LOL
 
Spiker blacktail shot in heart at 40 yards - jumped 4' in air and ran 20 yards then piled up. 300 savage 150 gr blue box.
3pt mule shot in heart at 180 yards - dropped on the spot. 300 win mag 180 gr ttsx.
A few whitetail hit in lungs that didn't make it far. One bad shot to one lung and the liver made it 40 yards.
 
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