Your Experience Taking Deer!

I've shot deer at 35 yards, Sierras at 400 yards , Speers, Partitions, C.I.L. Saber Tips and their soft points, Remingtons, Normas, and everything in between, as well as loading for a zillion more people that have done the same.
If they are hit in a vital spot, they tend to drop.
It didn't matter what type of bullet.
back, neck, head, spine both shoulders, etc and they go down.
Caliber was inconsequential, as was bullet design or construction.

The only solid conclusion that I have ever come up with is crap happens , and there are NO absolutes, and I have seen the exception to all these.
Cat
 
back, neck, head, spine both shoulders, etc and they go down.
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Absolutely correct.They will go down with virtually any bullet if struck in those locations.However,I do find that with lung shots,a rapidly expanding bullet at high velocity does result in quicker kills than a slower moving or less rapidly expanding bullet.
 
stubblejumper said:
Absolutely correct.They will go down with virtually any bullet if struck in those locations.However,I do find that with lung shots,a rapidly expanding bullet at high velocity does result in quicker kills than a slower moving or less rapidly expanding bullet.
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Never seen the difference there too much, not enough to use a particular bullet exclusively anyway.

Hit them there with a Barnes or a Remington and they are
"hooves in the air , antlers on the ground"!:D

Cat
 
Ive shot most of my deer with two cartridges, a 7mm Rem Mag & the 260 Remington. Loads in the 7mm were 150 grain Ballistic Tips & 160 grain X bullets. In the 260, Ive shot them with 140 grain Nosler Partitions, 140 grain Sierra GameKings, and 130 grain Barnes TSX.

Ive found the 260 to kill just as fast if not faster than the 7mm Mag. A 140 grain Partition @ 2600 fps or a 130 TSX @ 2850 fps will hammer them like lightning.

For deer hunting I believe its hard to beat something between 257 Roberts & 308 Winchester loaded with a mid range bullets. Dont need anything bigger in case size than a 270, as its hard to beat a 25-06 or 280 or whatver for a 400 yard deer gun, IMO
 
I've shot quite a few deer over the years.

I've used 25-06, 7mmRM, 30-30, 303, 308, and 300WM on deer.

and as above only the head/neck shots will drop them in their tracks.

I shot one deer about 120m with 25-06 using 117grn Nosler BT, broke both front sholders and destroyed the heart, bullet exited. Deer still manged to run / stumble / skid and kick about 50m down into a little valley before it stoped.

another head shot deer was laying there not dead, eyes open and blinked when I poked it in the eye with a stick. Brains were sticking out of the hole but deer was not dead. So after slitting its throat (second head shot would do nothing as the brains were already pulped) the deer flopped about for about 2 min before finally dieing.

They just dont want to die sometimes.
 
stubblejumper said:
However,I do find that with lung shots,a rapidly expanding bullet at high velocity does result in quicker kills than a slower moving or less rapidly expanding bullet.
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From a ground blind last season I shot a 9-point white tail on the first morning of muzzle loading season(about Oct. 16th) . He was broadside to me, 20 yards away . The 50 cal. Hornady sabot(with a 44/300 gr.JHP/XTP) double-lunged him, smashing completely through his chest....I could see a finger sized stream of blood arcing about three feet on either side of his chest as he raced, straight away, across the snow covered field (as I quickly endeavoured to reload my 50 cal. Hatfield).
He ran about 80 yds. before staggering around in a tight circle and falling over .
The sabot was prolly traveling at around or a bit less than 2000'/s but did so much blood-shot damage to the ribs(both sides) that I was only able to salvage enough ribs for one small meal of barbecued ribs .
Another time, a few years ago, I placed the cross-hairs just behind the front shoulders of a standing still, thick-antlered W.T., squeezed off a shot ...and he just continued to stand there . I had cycled another round into my 280 Remington bolt-action and was going to squeeze off another shot when I noticed his head slowly starting to tip forwards. He stood absolutely still except for his head and neck slowly tilting towards the stubble field. When his nose finally touched the frozen grass he stood there like that for what seemed like quite a while, but was probably only a few seconds, then fell over.
I was using handloaded 139 gr. SP Hornady's @ 3000'/s. The deer was double-lunged at a bit over 200 yds.
 
woodchopper said:
I've shot quite a few deer over the years.
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Me too !

woodchopper said:
I've used 25-06, 7mmRM, 30-30, 303, 308, and 300WM on deer.
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I've used .22 lr( when I was 13 or 14 and didn't know any better....plus we were hungry),30-30, 303 Br., 30-40 Krag, 25-20, 44-40, 38-55, 32 SP., 30-06, 270, 280 Rem. etc., etc.

woodchopper said:
and as above only the head/neck shots will drop them in their tracks.
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I shot a big 160 class WT in the boiler room with a 30-06 at a distance of about 100 yds. He went down so fast, in the belly high brush, I thought I had missed...but I hadn't seen him run away .Checking on him, I found him lying dead in his tracks .After gutting him I noticed that a piece of rib, or part of the bullet had glanced up and severed part of his spinal column .
There is always an exception to the rule :)
 
I have hunted for 45 + years and have shot deer with 21 different guns, only magnums where .308 Norma and a 7mmwsm, others 243win,30.30win.308, 30.06 .303 British, 30MI, lots of different .280s and even a 44-40win and what everyone has said is pretty much the way it is
One time three of us where making a drive, thats the way we hunt in West Que I was middle man each about 100 yard apart, we just stated and the fellow on right started a buck and he yelled it was going towards me I raised my gun a .308 win model 100 the buck passed right infront of me 40 yards wide open I fired and the buck hit the ground his legs where up in air then they fell down to his side, I yelled at other two guys to hang on a minute went over to buck small 6 point, I set my gun down pulled out knife and grabbed rear leg, well that leg fired out the buck jumped up, fell down and up again I was astonished, never got to my gun deer was heading to guy on my left, he saw him but did not shoot as deer was between us,and never got a shot, no blood, and I had not seen where he was hit when I Iwas standing over him. I must have hit his horns and knocked him out I have seen this done a few years ago when a buddy hit a 200lb 8 pointer through the rack he went down a got up and he finnished him with a shot through back bone.I have seen moose go down with a shot through rack
 
I haven't shot a big lot of deer, but the dozen I have were all with my 3030 marlin and federal 170 grain (?)

I have shot at 30 yrds and at 180 or so twice.

I have never had a to track a deer yet. (don't ask about a 13 shot moose)

I have had about 5 just buckle, one jump and fall, and 5 or 6 just stood for about 5 seconds after the shot, looking, blinking then drop.

I am very fortunate for that.
9 of the deer had exit holes.

The most devastating shot I have ever see was with a Browning Lever action, 7mm mag, (?)
It was a shoulder shot, rolled the deer like a barrel,both front quarters destroyed. It was not nice. at about 75 yrds.

I saw a 45 70 body slam an Elk, not a gig at 100 yrds.
looked just crazy!
 
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