Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[younggun]

Well i managed a buck this weekend, dressed out at 140 lbs, after the 10-15lbs of bloodshot/torn to shreds meat we had to cut out. I saw this buck, stalked him to within 65 yards, shooting my 308. win BLR, I jacked a shell and let him have it. The rounds are factory hornady bullets, 308. 150 grain boat tail spire points, they're going 2800fps with just under 2900 foot pounds. I hit this deer right through both shoulders 3/4 of the way down, took out both lungs and heart, everything demolished. The entrance hole was like my pinky exit was probably 2 inches, but internally it was done. Buck dropped in his steps, i'm choked cus I wrecked a tone of flesh, the gun is grooping 4 rounds in a tooney at 125. (i head shot a grouse at 35yards) So i dont know, mabey the spire points are just gut busters, or the shell was off, but it really screwed up the buck.

ANY THOUGHTS?

[searun17]

were was the damage ,on the entrance wound or the exit wound, ,if the damage was on the exit side chances are it could have been caused by your bullet breaking up on its way through and sending bone and tissue everywhere ,any bullet you shoot will cause blood shot damage and ruin some meat when you shoot em through the shoulders,in my opinion there is never any need to shoot deer through the shoulder ,just for this reason,i know sometimes stuff happens but i would never shoot for the shoulder unless there are difficult circumstances.i shot my elk this year with a 308 win using winchester 180 grain silvertip traveling around 2500 fps and it did the job quite well.Congrats on your buck.

[Steelhead King]

The ideal shot should be 2-3 inches behind the front shouder, your bullet will go though both lungs and will cause almost no damage... But i perfer to do head shot unless its a trophy.  Again animal down is animal down, shoot him when ever you can, waste couple packs of burger.. big deal.   Anyway, good job on the buck younggun.

[IronNoggin]

aYup, 2-3 inches behind the shoulder, and just below the elbow point - with a perfect broadside standing shot that is. And although those do occur, they ain't quite as frequent as we'd like.

I'd suggest a slightly heavier bullet in the 308. I inherited one from my late Grandfather that is a real shooter, grouping within the inch at a hundred. Likes eating 180 grain spitzers which also perform well on game. A heavier, slower moving bullet will often pass right through without causing too much in the way of bloodshock... generally speaking. Likewise a differing bullet construction such as Nosler boat-tails or solids (solid copper bullets with an expansion point are made by many manufacturers) will do the same.

Regardless of what you shoot, where you shoot is even more important when it comes to damage. Many of my rifles create a MEAN amount of damage when I send their offerings through shoulders themselves. Pin the ribs behind that, and most are quite clean. Then again, I much prefer a neck/head shot if the animal is an "eater" and not ol' Mossy Horns.

With a rifle as accurate as you describe, neck/head pokes shouldn't present any problem within a reasonable range.

Cheers,
Nog

[younggun]

i was going for a neck shot, but the buck moved and kinda troted towards the edge (steep hill side) so i figured drop him no chances. I had stalked him for about 15-25min, felt like 2 hours, and i just didn't wanna loose him.

Also i dont like the heavier rounds, i think a 165 would be all i would shoot out of it. Its a 30. cal gun but a low power gun. I should have taken the rib shot, i know, but in the moment i didn't. But as soon as i'm out of these i'm switching up my to usuals (165 grain Barnes X!)

I am buying a new gun from a friend very soon. Its had 9 rounds through it. Its the Tikka T3 in hunter style (wood with a blued barrel) Its got a new Zeiss 3x9-42 scope, scope covers, sling, case, and and extra clip $1000. That is gonna be my go 2 for a long time to come.

[Tadpole]

What caliber will be your new gun?. I have a Tikka myself. Great guns. Mine is 338 WIN MAG. It is a bit of a cannon but doesn't do much meat damage due to high power and it shoots same at 100yds and 300yds. . I use 200 grains on it(smallest factory load I could find) and of course it is equipped with muzzle break.

[nosey]

I used to shoot 150's in my 300 win. mag where they came out a t 3400 fps and they just destroyed the meat, the static shock would leave a hole in a deer you could stick your head in after you cleaned up the shredded and blasted crap away. I always thought it was just from the speed of the bullet hitting it cause I have shot 180's in it now for about 20 years and I don't have that problem any more. The last few years I've calibered down and generally use my 308 win. for deer now mainly cause I'm getting older and the weight of the rifle affects me more. To tell the truth none of the deer I've shot with the 308 seemed to know the difference as to what was whacking them down.