White tail hunting rounds

[Arsyx]

Ok guys, white tail season starts for me very soon. I get the best spot on our land this year and I'm confident I'm bagging a buck because no one has hunted this spot and not taken a buck.

I was originally confident in using Winchester Silver Tip 400 grain sabots in my Mossberg 500 but now I'm sort of worried. Make fun of me, call me PETA, but I care about a bucks last minutes of life taken by me for sport. I want a round that will take him out quick, and with the least pain possible.

Is the 400 grain sabot too much? Will the larger wound cause more pain, or will it cause so much nerve trauma that he dies quicker and feels less pain?

Last but not least, am I a wimp for caring? Have you guys ever chosen a round based on this sort of belief?

 

[marksman13]

The general concensus is that it is better to use too much gun than not enough. That said, the deer is probably gonna hurt regardless. I've often heard that animals don't experience pain in the same way as humans do. Don't if that is true or not. Never could get the animals to give me a straight yes or no answer. To be quite honest though, I'm not so worried about how much the animal hurts before it dies as much as I am about how fast it dies. You are not gonna take the pain out of it, but putting your lead in the right spot and killing it fast is the most important thing. Just my take on things. YMMV

 

[30-06 lover]

You should not be ashamed or consider youself a "whip" for having ethics and integrity. It is you responsibility as a hunter to dispatch the animal you are hunting as quickly as possible. I always try to respect the animal I kill by always remembering that it died so I may live. Do not be wasteful and do not disrespect the animal by not utilizing all that you can.

That being said, shooting an animal with a larger caliber or bigger bullet isn't going to cause more or less pain to an animal. The animal will never think "I wish they would have used a 150 grain 30 cal rifle on me, this 400 grain shotty slug really hurts." All instinct will kick in and the animal will try to escape without recognition of what piece of lead just forced it's way through it's vitals. You certainly have enough gun to ethicly take a deer and with proper shot placement, you will have a quick clean kill.

 

[Arsyx]

Thanks for the posts guys, they help alot. My family processes all of the bucks we shoot ourselves. Matter of fact, we have no meat left over from the last buck we shot, used every bit of it.