DRT: The Rounds that Do It

I lost count long ago but am sure I have shot over 100 deer with bows rifles, shotguns and handguns. The only time I expect to see one drop in it's tracks is when shot in the head or spine. The vast majority of the heart and or lung hit deer I have shot ran 50 to 150 yards.

An old boy that ran the local locker for decades passed away recently. I don't know how many thousand steers he shot with a 22LR. As far as anyone knows, every one of them dropped where they stood.

Here is my experience.

Very small buck maybe 1.5yo 6pt shot with a 12ga SST sabot slug or a 50cal SST sabot from a Muzzleloader at around 75-100yards. Deer took one hit to the side from the first sabot slug and then DRT with the second shot. Both my buddy and I shot at the same time and I didn't want to fight over a deer so gave it to him. Deer had one round in the back leg, one in the guts and one in the side hitting one lung.

Second deer was a 2yo or so Doe and hit with a 45-70 325gr FTX bullet at 50yards and she DRT. She was coming through a very, very thick thicket with several other doe and my scope was turned up too much and she turned just as I dropped the hammer sending the bullet through the front shoulder and through the stomach and out the rear butt cheek.

3rd deer was with a 250gr SST type bullet from a 50cal Muzzeloader at 50yards. Perfect broadside shot, 4yo buck and the bullet never left his other side and not a single drop of blood. He ran 75yards and died. Both lungs were mush when field dressing him.

4th deer was a BIG doe (160lbs dressed) I shot her with a 300gr Hornady HP 45-70 from 60-75yards, broadside and she took off like a bat out of hell! I thought I heard her drop some 50yards away so climbed down to check and jumped her. I tracked her for about 15min with probably a pint of blood or more all over the place. Double lung hit as well.

5th deer was an older 12pt Non Typical at 120yards broadside. I hit him square in the neck with a 300gr HP 45-70. Wasn't aiming at the neck but he kept biting at an arrow wound when I was watching him for 15min. I'm guessing he turned to bite the wound when I fired. He dropped in his tracks, crapped (diarrhea) himself and didn't move one bit. Man did that stink!!!

6th deer was a 1.5-2yo doe at 45yards with a 300gr 45cal HP from a Muzzleloader. I hit her right in the heart and she ran maybe 15yards and reared up like a horse and collapsed. The heart was blown into 3 pieces when I dressed her, so I have no clue how it didn't DRT.

I figure it this way. The Muzzleloader buck came in very, very weary, so must have saw me or smelled me and adrenaline took over making him run like that. The 160lbs doe definitely saw me move because I was about to shoot something smaller when she appeared and just got ready to run when I shot her. Again IMO adrenaline. 6th deer was a zombie deer!

My buddy jokes with me that the side of the farm I hunt the deer have anti freeze running through their veins. Heck one time I shot a buck from the ground with a crossbow, watched him run and fall over in the beans only to wake up when my buddy went to grab him. He made it another 100yards before he died. Blood with bubbles everywhere! A whitetails will to survive is so great and IMO that's why they run like they do.

The cartridge/ammo manufacturers want you to believe their new products are DRT capable. I'm not buying any of it.

Way too much emphasis on gear. The basics haven't changed, just marketing BS to sell more stuff to fewer hunters.

DOT if fine by me.

Killed a few dozen deer.
A few dropped dead, some made a couple steps.
Most ran, but not very far.
A couple went a ways.

Most were bow, shotgun, MZ and handgun kills.
Now here in IN we can run HP rifle.

Oh the horror!
I've shot three w .35 rem and one w .243 win.
None fell over dead at the boom.
Farthest bloodtrail was 100.

That w good hits and rifle.

I've had DRT with lesser gear.

Just never know. At least variability keeps it interesting.

I shoot heart and lungs most of the time.
But if they just won't show that area, yeah I have neck shot em on purpose.
It worked great too.
But I still like a big hole through the lungs.
Doesn't bother me to follow the barn paint on crisp frosty leaves.
Actually, I kinda like that.

DRT is not common unless the nervous system is disrupted in my experience. Not sure how many deer . Far side of 80 for sure. 10-15 hogs . Rest of the family, dad, uncles, brother and wife have accounted for maybe 200 to 400 deer and assorted elk. Most have been rifle kills. Their opinion matches mine. We find that a double lung hit results in a 10-75 yard run most of the time. This has been the wife and my experience with bows on deer. Sometimes a double lung results in a bit of a longer run. Never have had any issue with recovery. A heart shot generally results in one of 2 things. A lunge, either straight up or kicking out, the n a collapse or flat out run. The run can be up to 200 yards with sparse to moderate blood. With the pump out of commission the blood just doesn't spray. Shoulder and lung shots vary. Both shoulders is a knock down. May slide the front end for a bit, but , that is all. Hitting 1 shoulder and lungs sometimes is a knockdown, but is always quickly fatal. One of my favorite knock down shots, although a bit messy, is thru the back of the lungs, front of the launch, and the liver. I have used it a dozen times or so and have never failed to have it knock one down. Only use it on perfect broadside shots when I can quickly get the animal to the house and rinsed out. Ruins 0 meat. This just my, and my families experience over about 100 years. My oldest uncles would be about 110 if still around. Others may have different experiences to relate.

It ain't the rounds. It is the individual animal. I've had deer DRT with 223 and I've had them run 100 yards with a double lung shot with 165 gr 30-06 loads. The exit wound was 2-3" and lung tissue was running down the front leg but he still ran 100 yards.

I have shot ~200 deer in my life, so far. Using my 7x57 rifle, I pretty much knew which deer were going to drop on the spot. If they were angling towards me, they dropped due to neck/shoulder shots in the crease of the near shoulder. I have inadvertently (brain fart) shot 2 deer in that position with my compound bow; they also dropped.

Heart and lung-shot deer ran an average of ~80 yards.
I have never shot a deer with a caliber less than .257 and I always handload Nosler partition bullets because they work.

Shot placement is what matters. Hit the CNS and it drops.

A lot of people so swear by the 25-06 with sierra 117gr. though.

True DRT is based on hitting the CNS, nothing else will kill instantly. So many confuse the term with ‘drops and stays there’, ‘falls over and stays down’, etc. I assume the latter is what the OP means. IME, either true DRT or ‘drops and stays there’ are not that common, regardless of what some may claim.

I’ve killed pigs, deer, caribou, goats, brown bear and moose with everything from a .223 to a .338 WM and seen dozens and dozens more killed by hunting partners. The cartridge which immediately dropped (not just killed) deer-sized animals consistently was the .45-70 with flat- or round-nosed jacketed bullets. It wasn’t 100% but it led the pack noticeably. This does not count CNS hits.

.

Dropped on the spot dead w no CNS hit......one. Doe that dressed 105 #. Shot was 60 yards w Hawken .50 using 240gr sabot XTP on top of 100gr powder.

From stand....deer same plane as base of tree. Hit was fwd of onside shoulder. Exit behind opp. Crumpled. No kick no nuthin. Just gone. No spine hit either. Was halfway up....where aimed.

Have shot bigger and smaller....closer and farther. Some made it a step or two
...or quivered and fell....to expire very soon after. But only one non CNS dropped and was done. Maybe a chunk of jacket came off and tagged CNS on that one. I didnt check ( autopsy ). Had offside exit

Shot a 10 pt and he took off and as he jumped a log i hit him again. His front feet touched down and his face followed.....did a somersault. Leaves kicked high in the air. And he was done. But that was after 2 foster slugs crisscrossed his lungs Dunno what effect the 2nd shot did

Maybe hed have run and jumped then rolled from the first. But it was super cool to pop a mover up close and see the wipeout......and have him dead over there

Love shooting movers

Using .243......double lunged an 8 pt. He jumped and kicked......and trotted the 50 yards to me. Licked his nose as i dropped a fresh one into the RSI. He then walked another 50 yards away from me then toppled.

HP rifle...... effect was not impressive. Gut pile had hole though lungs.....like you poked a finger through em. Hmmmm. Wont try that bullet again

I did not do a full autopsy on my one apparent non CNS drop dead deer. Maybe something happened to the bullet and CNS was hit.

Appeared to just be a really good smack in the vitals and very weak hold on her ghost.

ive killed dozens of deer over the years with a 243. I always used the Remington 100 grn corlokt factory loads.

a center or high shoulder shot almost always was a instant kill. they might kick a little but rarely ever took a step. I quit doin that tho. the meat damage was very excessive. often both front shoulders were entirely bloodshot.

lung shots were very predictable. quarter size exit,massive blood loss. deer almost always walked or ran around 50 yrds. same with heart shots.

after 20 years or so I became bored with the 243 and purchased a 30-06 hunted a few years with that and then a 6.5x55. neither more powerfull caliber seemed to do any better on deer. they did well of course but honestly not any better.

to be fair I rarely ever shoot deer at more than 250yrds and they normally weigh less than 250 lbs.

Fine Figure of a Man said:

IAn old boy that ran the local locker for decades passed away recently. I don't know how many thousand steers he shot with a 22LR. As far as anyone knows, every one of them dropped where they stood.

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My Great Grandpa ran the sawmill for the county up here. 20's-50's was his operating era. So he knew the Ranchers and the Butcher and the...so on...

He said the Ranch used a spiked hammer to put down the steer. 22lr was too spendy in the hard times. But the the man hammering the cattle was only allowed a 3 hour shift. I asked him why? He told me they figured that 3 hours was enough before you start getting numb and whacking people over the head.

As far as DRT. Shot placement.

earlthegoat2 said:

This is a largely academic query and HIGHLY SUBJECTIVE I know. Just curious about anecdotal experiences and not scientific explanations where the hunter made a double lung hit (not spine, neck, or head shot). If the double lung hit got both shoulders it. An give the impression of a DRT but usually there will be flopping if death is not quick. I’m talking about a single shot, a crumpled animal, and no more movement.

I grew up hunting property lines so getting an animal down fast was important to me

Interestingly, I also hunted in a shotgun zone which worked favorably with putting down game right now albeit at shorter ranges.

I understand head shots will put hogs down fast and that is what I usually do because cover is generally thick and I don’t want to go looking for one.

Looking for stories on deer and hog size game and up. (Medium and big game)I’ve never hunted sheep, elk, mule deer, etc. Just Eastern US stuff and a black tail deer. I’ve witnessed Australian buffalo hunting and not one DRT with .375s.

It seems to me on much outdoor related media the game speeds away after an apparent clean hit through the vitals. This is shown to be acceptable. It only a little bit acceptable to me. It seems folks on the internet have more luck in achieving DRTs.

If I wanted to track deer after a good hit, I would use my bow.

For me, 12ga and 20ga Foster and Sabot slugs have worked well and it is what I have the most experience with. Maybe around 90% DRT with fosters and 75% with sabots in either gauge. 50 cal muzzleloaders with .45 cal bullets only result in DRT 20% of the time. All deer.

50% with .444 Marlin Deer and Hog
0% with 30-06 Hogs
0% with .44 Mag rifle. Deer and hogs.

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from my heavy loaded 7mag i generally expect stuff to take a drt nap on a reasonable hit. Most of what ive shot was under 200lbs tho, and heavy soft bullets blow substantial holes.
Velocity also seems to be key on non cns, or structural hits.

With my .375 Ive had 3 animals run after taking a 270 btsp launched at 2650, including a lost 40-50lb sheep. Step that up to 2800ish, and zero have moved after the hit.

Ive shot quite a few animals with everything from .22s to the aforementioned .375, and the only thing I KNOW, Is that nothing is a guarantee.

There are heart/lung shots, and there are central nervous system shots; (spine, brain) Heart/lung are almost guaranteed a death run. DRT hits are central nervous system (CNS) impact shots. Rendering animals unconscious with CNS impact shots brings death around through through blood loss, before consciousness is regained. Hydrostatic shock can accomplish both; to me the meat loss is not acceptable. That's my experience.

IF you miss bone, a lung shot at high velocity with a frangible bullet will drop them on the spot. However, if you hit a bone, you have a wounded animal that runs or limps off.

Back in my formative years I saw a man in Wyoming shoot 3 animals in the lungs with his .25-06 loaded with 87 gr. HP bullets. All 3 dropped right there. I was so impressed that I tried it myself the next year. I hit bone (a rib) and the buck took off. 35 minutes later I put a second shot in him after tracking/chasing him through the woods, this time with a 100 gr. Nosler partition.

I don't recommend using varmint bullets on deer or antelope.

I have taken deer with shotguns, handguns, rifles and muzzle loaders. Of the 40+ deer I have taken over the years only the last 10 or so have been DRT. I am very picky on shot placement cause where I hunt (in dense laurel) following a wounded deer can be an all day job of crawling on hands and knees, and if you don't get the deer within a couple of hours, the coyotes will. I now only shoot deer when I have a broadside, non-moving, shot. I aim for the shoulder joint which almost always breaks both front legs and the deer goes down in place. Sometimes a finisher is required, but rarely. I am willing to sacrifice a little meat to prevent a long tracking job. I do not like head shots, cause I just can't do that to such a beautiful animal, and neck shots are to iffy for me.

I would say that half of the deer I've killed dropped where they stood and didn't get up.
I used to shoot a .280 Remington with Winchester Ballistic Silvertips (just a teflon coated ballistic tip) and killed several does with it that just dropped from double lung shots.

Every buck I've killed ran 30-75 yards. They just seem to be tougher.

The does I've shot with MLs, or regular cup and core softpoints, ran a little ways unless I hit them high and spined them, which has happened a time or two.

Whether it's a .308 Winchester with a 168 grain SBTHP at 200 yards, or a fat doe at 110 yards with a 225 grain .530 patched round ball, or 10 yards with the same patched round ball....,

IF the deer aren't already upset by something, you have a better chance they won't go far when hit...

My experience, the broadside double-lung hit when the deer are simply feeding and un-alerted to the hunter's presence, you can see the downed deer when you stand on the spot where the deer stood when hit. (I don't like hitting the heart...I like to heat the heart)

IF you want bang-flop type results, the only consistent placement that I've experienced, and seen others also experience, mine with a .530 lead round ball, and others with .25-06, .308, .30-06 and a 6mm Remington, is the quartering-toward-you, shoulder shot. They literally are down right where they were standing when hit. It's quite dramatic.


Apparently the deer's skeletal anatomy directs the projectile into the spine and the massive shock to the nervous system does the trick. The deer don't seem to know if they've been hit by a reproduction of a 260 year old antique, or with the latest and greatest variation on a 6.5mm cartridge, or something in between...

LD