courtgreene
Member
There was a thread on here earlier about doing autopsies and learning from them when cleaning deer. It inspired me to make observations when doing so this gun season, so here is what I learned.
deer #1: .308 win out of a savage. 30 yards. 150gr Sierra pro hunter. Shoulder shot. The bullet performed well and was not recovered. Bones shattered with a large secondary wound channel.
deer#2: .41mag out of a rifle. 30 yards. Hornady xtp. Lung shot. I thought I missed so I shot again. Deer stood there as if nothing happened so I thought I missed again. Shot higher on the third shot and hit the spine ending the standoff. When cleaning and counting holes I discovered that I did not miss. The bullets all did their job. They expanded well or passed through. This must be why so many say that deer behave inexplicably after the shot.
Deer#3: 8x57js mauser out of a vz24. 160gr ttsx. 60 yards. Lung shot. Ran 60 yards. Bullet performed well, unrecovered. Both lungs were destroyed with a large secondary wound channel and a large exit wound.
Deer #4: 7.62x54r out of a mosin-nagant m91/30. 150gr hornady inter bond (.312”). Twenty five yards (I like getting into the thick stuff. I have a lot of close shots). Shoulder shot. Performed exactly like the pro hunter above with one exception... no exit. Bullet hit bone and lost most of its mass on the way through. Base was recovered as well as a few small fragments. Large secondary wound channel, and destruction of heart and lungs.
Deer #5: 30-30 out of a marlin 336. Tsx made for lever guns (tube mags). 150gr. It was a heart shot at forty yards and was surprisingly quick. Most heart shots have given me long tracking jobs but it was all I was offered so I took it. Deer went down instantly and died quickly. Gigantic secondary wound channel. Bullet exited and was therefore not recovered.
Deer #6: .223 out of a savage axis. 65gr. Sierra game king. 150 yard lung shot. Entered behind the shoulder and went back at an angle through the liver. Deer ran forty yards and collapsed leaving a very light trail. Didn’t have to but put another one in its head when I got to it just because of the .223 lore. Right lung and liver were shredded. Not a very big secondary wound channel. I don’t know if the shot angle or the distance contributed most to its less than ideal performance.
if you aren’t really into this then you’ve been bored substantially, and for that I offer my humblest apologies. If you’re considering any of these hunting options, though, then I hope it has been helpful.
deer #1: .308 win out of a savage. 30 yards. 150gr Sierra pro hunter. Shoulder shot. The bullet performed well and was not recovered. Bones shattered with a large secondary wound channel.
deer#2: .41mag out of a rifle. 30 yards. Hornady xtp. Lung shot. I thought I missed so I shot again. Deer stood there as if nothing happened so I thought I missed again. Shot higher on the third shot and hit the spine ending the standoff. When cleaning and counting holes I discovered that I did not miss. The bullets all did their job. They expanded well or passed through. This must be why so many say that deer behave inexplicably after the shot.
Deer#3: 8x57js mauser out of a vz24. 160gr ttsx. 60 yards. Lung shot. Ran 60 yards. Bullet performed well, unrecovered. Both lungs were destroyed with a large secondary wound channel and a large exit wound.
Deer #4: 7.62x54r out of a mosin-nagant m91/30. 150gr hornady inter bond (.312”). Twenty five yards (I like getting into the thick stuff. I have a lot of close shots). Shoulder shot. Performed exactly like the pro hunter above with one exception... no exit. Bullet hit bone and lost most of its mass on the way through. Base was recovered as well as a few small fragments. Large secondary wound channel, and destruction of heart and lungs.
Deer #5: 30-30 out of a marlin 336. Tsx made for lever guns (tube mags). 150gr. It was a heart shot at forty yards and was surprisingly quick. Most heart shots have given me long tracking jobs but it was all I was offered so I took it. Deer went down instantly and died quickly. Gigantic secondary wound channel. Bullet exited and was therefore not recovered.
Deer #6: .223 out of a savage axis. 65gr. Sierra game king. 150 yard lung shot. Entered behind the shoulder and went back at an angle through the liver. Deer ran forty yards and collapsed leaving a very light trail. Didn’t have to but put another one in its head when I got to it just because of the .223 lore. Right lung and liver were shredded. Not a very big secondary wound channel. I don’t know if the shot angle or the distance contributed most to its less than ideal performance.
if you aren’t really into this then you’ve been bored substantially, and for that I offer my humblest apologies. If you’re considering any of these hunting options, though, then I hope it has been helpful.
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