Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 6mm Remington + whitetail doe + 100 grain Federal = ??????

I shot a doe yesterday with a 243 and the 95 grain Partition. She was angling towards me. The bullet entered her chest just in front of the left leg and exited just behind her rib cage on the right side. Both lungs and the top of the heart were destroyed -- but she still ran 100 yards or so...

I shot her in an open field at about 150 yards and knew the hit was good. I was surprised she made it as far as she did, especially after examining the damage. I saw her fall and it was raining pretty good, so I didn't even look for a blood trail.

They can travel a ways when properly motivated!

Unless she jumped up and hauled a$$ after you snapped the photo, I would say the bullet worked perfect!

yeah with a dead deer laying there, even if she ran 50 to 70 yds...with the deer still lying there dead, I don't see how it can be called a bullet failure...

I've had deer run as far as any other that ran, after being nailed with a 30/06 and a 180 grain RN, destroying the lungs and winging the heart... still made it 150 plus yards... before belly landing nose first into the snow....

from the spot she was hit to where she expired, the snow looked like it had been sprayed by a red paint carrying crop duster...

I think if they've got their adrenaline up, they will run until the lack of blood flow drops them, because the brain shut down...

Typical of my results with 6mm cup/cores and non-broadside chest shots. While dead is dead, this is why I like Partitions in these chamberings.

We've lost two does shot with bullets of two different conformations -- Nosler Partition factory and Sierra hand load, both 100-grains. If you don't hit something "important" and hunt thicker stuff finding them may be a trick. Sometimes the bullet "failing" has to do with not retrieving the animal. Rifle is 6 mm Rem ADL.

A 50 to 70 dash is typical, and with Cup-N-Core, I was not getting a lot of exits. Bear in mind most of my shots are at close range, so impact velocity can be rough on the bullet.

I have a couple of .243s, and I've found several bullets I like. Those being the 85 grain TSX, the 80 grain TTSX, the 95 grain BT, and the 95 grain Partition.

The 80 TTSX is noticeably more accurate than the TSX in the rifle I use it in, and I've not had one of either flavor stop, yet. And they are virtually immune to bones.

The 95 Ballistic tip is one I'm trying on the word of the 6MM experts here, and it has proven to be a dandy so far. It is extremely accurate, and I've managed a through and through on a 20 yard shot, though I didn't try to take bone out. It has bested the Sierra and Hornady offerings given a similar shot in the fact that it exited, and is more accurate.

The Partition needs no explanation, it does what Partitions do. The BT is just more accurate in my rifle, so I use it, instead.

What I have noticed is that the blood trail is not as profuse with a 6MM rifle vs .30 caliber, but the deer are just as dead.

My take on your bullet performance is that, yea, I would have liked an exit, but there's still a deer in the skinning shed.

In the thick stuff in your area, having a dog might be a really good addition.

My wife killed her one and only bull moose - probably a 3 year old - with a .243 and 100 grain bullet ( I think probably a Corelokt, but might have been NP - I don't remember), through the lungs, at 70-80 yards. Threaded it between ribs coming and going, no expansion, jellied the lungs. Moose walked about 50 feet until behind a screen of willow, stood there for 2 minutes or so before tipping over.

Damned thing was a complete failure......

Didn't even have the common courtesy to spread some bone chips through your groceries, huh?

My favorite are CNS hits, the absolute longest tracking jobs were double lung with a 405gr WNFP out of my 45-70 at 100 yards and a 165gr BT at 10 yards out of my 308.

I have killed over 100 white-tails with my 6mm and 100-grain Hornadys. It never failed to kill as quickly as any of my other rifles.

I have seen white-tailed deer take tremendous hits and run quite a ways. They can do it with any bullet, any caliber. The only way to make it a guaranteed bang flop, is a cn hit.

I think that they are tougher than elk pound for pound.

I know what you mean. The longest tracking jobs I have had were with other cartridges. I shot a doe at about 140 yards with a 35 Remington and the Winchester 200 grain factory load. The doe made it about 200 yards across an open field before piling up. Another doe I shot at 235 yards with a 257 Roberts and a 115 Nosler BT ran 150 yards before expiring. Both were shots broadside right behind the shoulder.

What were the shot presentations?

They were both broadside and grazing. They didn't know I was there. I shot both right behind the shoulder taking out the lungs.