Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting What Is It About 300 Pound Deer?

The biggest deer I have seen taken at long range (423 yards lasered after the shot) was a western Nebraska mule deer that probably did weigh in excess of 300 lbs. alive. My younger daughter shot this animal with about a half-hour of daylight remaining on the last day of a hard Sandhills hunt. She used a 7mm-08 with a 120 grain Nosler Solid Base bullet. The deer was hit a bit farther back than we would have liked, but the bullet still got both lungs and exited. The buck walked about 10-15 yards and collapsed before she could get off another shot.

Another big-bodied Wyoming mule deer taken with one shot by one of my hunting companions back in the 1960s was killed at over 400 yards with a .243 with a 100 grain Nosler Partition.

Conversely, I have helped trail many, many wounded deer (both whitetails and mulies) shot with various high powered magnums from the 7mm Rem Mag up. More than I would have liked could not be recovered...