One thing that gets discussed here in Australia is cartridges for sambar deer. They are a large deer from india that are running wild in the Victorian high country and up into NSW. They have a reputation for being tough and like to hang out in very thick bush. I guess they are used to living in thick jungle back home. Sambar have a reputation for running several hundred metres after a hit with cartridges like .303 and .30-06. A deer that runs 200 metres and then falls over in very thick mountian bush can take most of a day to find.
So experienced sambar hunters tend to pick cartridges that not just kill deer after a 200 metre dash but kills and drops them on the spot.
Slip a little bullet between the ribs and most cartridges will kill a large tough animal like eland. But how far will the eland run before it dies?
I know two blokes that have shot sambar with 7mm-08s and the deer have run off and were not recovered. No doubt they died somewhere out in the forest. I can personally attest that a .35 Whelen drops them on the spot if hit right. And I can also personally attest that a sambar, hit eight inches too far back with a .35 Whelen, will run 100 metres before falling over.
So personally, I think that when discussing cartridges for large, tough game, the question shouldn't be what cartridges will kill them, but rather what cartridges will kill and anchor them in the immediate vicinity.
Last edited by Elvis; 07/19/20.
