Did my .30-30 let me down???

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let's imagine the deer is at 235 yards, broadside and walking slowly. How much lead would you put on the shot? I would probably use no lead in that situation.

Now you say the deer was quartering away and WALKING SLOWLY. That means that the distance the deer has moved(causing Point of Impact to be different from Point of Aim) was pretty darn small. It's less because it's moving slowly and less because the horizontal distance is lessened b/c the deer is quartering.

Bottom line is that no horizontal lead was necessary whatsoever, and by aiming at the front edge of the animal you put yourself in perfect position to miss in front of the animal.

I'm not saying you definitely missed in front, just that you sure made it a likely possibility.

People tend to get awfully carried away with leads and holdover, most shooters would be well served to not shoot further than what will allow them to use a simple "aim where you want it to hit" approach.
 
Based on the numbers you gave you simply missed. You zeroes 1.5 inches above at 100 yds but at 200 yds the bullet drops a little over 8 inches, that plus the fact that you did not really aim at the deer, your point of impact was away from the deer and low, may be a riccochet might have help...just kidding. When dealing with elevations and zero adjustment most people forget that it is a quadratic equation that take place for every click at 50yds, 100yds, 200yds. etc.
 
I think you need to actually make shots at the distance you will attempt while hunting and prove to yourself the trajectory as well as your ability to hold a satisfactory group.
I'm not going to come down like a ton of bricks but if that shot would have been at 600 and you were shooting a 300WM all h__l would be breaking out.
Shooting is shooting we need to know what the bullet will do and that we can make it do that at our will to be able to take shots around the margins.
 
You said you know the trajectory, so let's see, unsupported standing shot at 220 yards on a moving target. You or the rifle, you or the rifle.....

Obviously, 99.999999999999993% chance it was a field hold error. The remaining chance is that your scope was off. I don't mean to be a jerk, but seriously, do you really need to ask the question? That's a very long ways for an unsupported hold on a still target without adrenaline; nevermind a moving target with.
 
I don't mean to be a jerk, but seriously, do you really need to ask the question?
Click to expand...

I would never accuse you of being a jerk, doc. I posted this for the exact feedback I am getting, to see if anyone has something I can use in the future. As usual, I have learned some stuff.
 
Sounds like a miss. 99% of the time you can't blame the rifle.

Don't feel bad. We all have missed at one point or another.
 
deer

I've done the same thing (approx.). You probably fired in front of the deer, at least I did. I will not sight "off" fur anymore. It's magazine writer BS to "lead" anything at most normal shooting ranges in Virginia. Just an opinion based on experience (a bad experience!).
 
Some of us miss at much shorter ranges. :cuss:

You think your misses are bad, you should have seen some of mine. Naw, I'm glad you have not seen mine......
 
You know, sometimes you just miss.

With a 30-06 that would shoot 1.25" groups at 100 yards, at 25-35 yards, the first shot hit the hip of a deer jumping across an electric line clearing. Deer goes down but is crawling. Second and third shots were total misses. As I was cranking the bolt I was wondering, "is this deer bullet proof?", last shot was through the neck and that ended it.

I shoot all the time. I shoot in at least two rifle matches a month, have attended the National Rifle Championships since 1996.

And yet, I missed. Twice. At 25 yards, not 600 yards.

Pride goeth before a fall.
 
And I just missed a deer at about 35-40 yards with a 12 guage. For whatever reason, it was definitely me, and not the shotgun, the sights, or the ammo.
 
It happens amigo. If you hunt a long time, it'll happen again.
Click to expand...

I've been deer hunting 30+ years, and this is definately not my first miss. I have more than I can count; this is the only one I have decided to post about. All the confessions are definately helping my ego--Keep them coming!
 
It happens amigo. If you hunt a long time, it'll happen again.

I have been hunting for 50 years, shoot a lot and don't take low percentage shots. In fact I never take a shot that I don't feel very sure that I can make. 3 years ago I was watching a field near a hay stackyard. The deer was a 3 point (8 point), so I surely wasn't rattled or feverish. He was standing broadside at 190 yards. I used a big square bale 4'x4'x8') for a rest and squeezed off the shot. I didn't chamber a new round, I make shots like this with monotonous regularity. The deer trotted off. There was no sign of injury, no blood or hair at the scene, and nothing in his tracks that would indicate a hit. I drove the mile to where I target practice and the rifle was as dead on as ever. I saw that deer a few days later in about the same spot, but I had already filled my tag.

I just missed
 
I have a remington 513T 22lr with peep sights that I purchased for the only reason of practicing off hand shooting. The sucker is heavy with a 27" bull barrel. But this helps me mimic my hunting rifles, and helps with the basic skills of shooting off hand. Such as breathing, sight picture alignment, trigger control. Any mistakes you make is really magnified on the 22lr, especially at 100 yds. This type of practice always gives me the confidence I need to shoot at any animal I hunt off hand knowing that I will hit what I am aiming. After shooting one or 200 hundred rounds your muscles ache, but you get good muscle memory.
 
blackops,
We are all aware of your distaste of the .30-30. If you can't actually contribute to the thread, why do you waste the time bashing the round? It seems it would be easier to just leave it be.

Op, I agree, sounds like a clean miss. Your rifle can do that shot, but I would recommend a better rest. It doesn't sound like your rifle let you down... I suspect it was the other way around. Oh well, it happens. I am glad to see you went looking for trail even though you doubted the hit.
 
my personal opinion is that you should probably use a different caliber if you intend to take shots that far, cant really blame the gun for you missing but with practice im sure you could hit the vital area of a deer with the 30-30 at that range but your leaving alot to luck wether the bullet still has enough energy to penetrate and get a clean kill at that range.
 
The only way your gun would have let you down is if it didn't go bang when you pulled the trigger, and even that could be an ammo problem.

It appears you had operator error when taking the shot.:neener:
 
the 30-30 at that range but your leaving alot to luck wether the bullet still has enough energy to penetrate and get a clean kill at that range
Click to expand...

You are kidding right? I've had a 30wcf go clean through a 500 lb cow ELK at a lazed 275 yrds. My rifle shoots about 13" low @ 300. She ran about 50 yrds and droped. I took out rib bones on both sides along with both lungs. At 300 yards the 30-30 has roughly the same energy as a 44 Mag at the muzzle. Trust me it works that far out, if you can hit the target.
 
Most centerfires will make humane kills as far as you can shoot the rifle accurately.
 
BJ,

You implied penetration at 300 was iffy, I completely disagree. Further, I fail to see how changing rifleman changes penetration at that range?

Regarding your ballistics, those are some watered down flat nose rounds. I hunt with either NP's or Leverevolutions, both carrying +700 ft-lbs at 300 (the hornaday numbers are inflated some and my handloads are a bit stronger than Federals load) The point was they are similar energy levels. In fact, at that range the spire point Hornaday's carry slightly more energy than your average 44 at the barrel. It's close enough not to split hairs, call it the same energy of a 357 mag if you want. Either way place your 357/44 on the deer and pull the trigger, it will DRT!

http://www.federalpremium.com/products/details/rifle.aspx?id=302

http://www.hornady.com/store/30-30-Win-160-gr-FTX-LEVERevolution/
 
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