Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting What is too much power for a deer rifle?

Just dont shoot them where the meat is. lung shot = no wasted meat.shoot'em in the azz with 243 = wasted meat.

Too much power?

Too much power is what you can't shoot and apply....

some guys can shoot a 338 Win Mag like it was a 223 all day long..

same guys shoot a 223 like it is some sort of 460 Weatherby...without a muzzle break...

"too much power" depends on where you fall in or between on the above two scenarios...

most good hunter don't need a magnum.. but most of us who think that way, have no problem with a guy who totes a magnum but can actually shoot it with precision...( most can't in my opinion.. but we don't want our opinion of that, reflect poorly or negatively on the gents who can apply the potential of their magnum...)

by the way, its zero dark thirty here still.. but just heard the leaves in the back yard crunching... turned on the outside light and spooked a real nice 8 point buck cruising thru the back yard..good omen for this fall I hope.. its time for Seafire Jr to get his first buck after 3 dry seasons and dad getting 2 larger bucks in the last 3 years...

I'm with the group that is telling you that it is more important to be comfortable with the rifle and the load you are shooting than the exact cartridge.

Is that maggie "too much" for deer? Well, it is surely way more than you need to get the job done, we'd all agree on that I think, but who is to say but you about too much. Depends on if you are comfortable touching it off or do you anticipate the shot and secretly think, "Damn this is going to hurt."

Personally I never saw the point in hurting myself shooting a rife and I am way past the age where I believe I have to prove how tough I am to anybody. That even includes eating jalapeno peppers.

Was it me in your position I'd go on and use the 150 gr bullet (less recoil) and back the load down at least a couple of hundred fps (less recoil). As long as you don't have to deal with a rainbow trajectory which makes difficulties at distance you will be fine and the deer will fall down dead.

BCR

I'd work up my elk load and use it on everything. Valuable trigger time and familarity with your rifle.

Bryant, SeanD and a bunch of other posters are right here. Contrary to popular belief amongst novices bigger heavier slower bullets do NOT cause more damage, they cause less. Lighter and faster equals more bloodshot meat.

Use your elk load, you will be pleasantly surprised..

Ingwe

I'm with Ingwe and company on this, keep it to one load to use for all, use your elk load

Dober

I have used that bullet, 150 grn Sierra Pro Hunter, in my 8mm06AI at 3200fps. Deer I`ve killed when hit broadside behind the front shoulder have been bloodshot from there to the hind quarters, if were just talking bloodshot meat.
I changed bullets, and went to the 175grn Pro Hunter at 3k. A bit tougher bullet, with less mess. The 180grn Nos BT works fine as well. My son uses it in his .325. Moves it at about 3100fps.

I forgot about that 175 Sierra... Did you ever try the 150 Speer to see how that compared to the 150 Sierra? The only kill I've seen from it so far looked to have relatively minor meat damage.

No, I`ve not killed anything with the Speer, tho they do shoot very well. I`ve done the 150 Hornady too, same results as the 150 Sierra, at the same velocity.
I my 8x57, at 3k, the Hornady worked well on Mule Deer, with little to no loss of meat to bloodshot. The extra 200fps changes things, IME.

As to the original question, if you flinch, it's too much. Otherwise, do what ever.

I'd be careful about making a statement like that around here.

unneeded penetration = waaaaay overpenetration ? ? ?

Just sayin'


fish head

I know, I know, I know... But you get the point, and even those who don't like Jeff O know what he was trying to say about waaaaayyyy over penetration. Deer chest is what 16 inches wide, maybe 18 for a biggun(going off the only mount I have in my house, which is an antelope at just 12 inches wide, never measured a live deer's chest width, just circumferences)? That's a lot of soft tissue, not particularly hard to punch all the way through.

I was just joking. I with the guys going with heavy and slow vs light and fast. Far less meat damage even if it waaaay overpenetrates.

Oops, I just said it.


fish head

Let us know how it works out. I'm still flipping back and forth between using my X-Bolt in .325 or sticking with my trusty M-70, 270. Both are very accurate. The .325 weighs less, but I've got an itch to try the 110 gr. TTSX in the 270. However, should I grab the .325 on the way out the door, it will be loaded with 200 gr. TSX bullets, in the hope the bullet will pass right through the heart and out the other side. ...I've never hunted deer with a magnum, but have been told that a 338 WM will do less damage than a 270 with proper bullet placement.

When I hear too much power for deer, it brings thoughts regarding the shooters shoulder. If a 257 is adequate, anything more is not needed but if the shooter likes it then all is well.
I was in a deer camp with a hunter who liked his 325 WSM but he was using a 180.

7mm Mag---- A guy at work told me that if you shot one closer than a hundred yards with a 7mm Mag there would be nothing left of him to eat. I just shook my head a walked away. I don't think he would believe anything I said. miles

".338 doing less damage than a .270" With proper bullet selection that is kinda true.

You are failing to take advantage of the perfect opportunity to buy another rifle.

You need a Montana in 223. You can justify it, also. You'll pay for it in saved powder, brass, cheap factory ammo...

The savings on detached retina surgery alone would cover it a couple of times...grin.

DJ

Last year I killed a few deer with my 300 RUM loaded with 150 grain TSXs. You could say it is more power than needed for deer, but even with that rifle deer run a ways after a fatal hit.

Use it if you want, but I wouldn�t. Sounds like a recipe for bullet fragmentation. I�d run a 160g Barnes TTSX instead.

Yes, they cost more. Do most of your load development with the Sierra, then you should have minimal development work with the Barnes. With expensive premiums I�ve been pretty successful getting load development done with 10 loaded cartridges at 0.5g increments. Just record the velocity and point of impact for each shot, then find a consecutive string of 3-4 shots that give you the velocity and accuracy you want. Then pick a load in the middle. Build a few test loads for verification and with luck you�re done. Do most of your practice with the Sierras and just enough with the TTSX (can�t tell you how much �just enough� is, it varies). Then go hunting with the Barnes.

Once load development is out of the way you can shoot hunt the Barnes without spending much more than if you use the Sierras. A few years back I filled my antelope, deer and elk tags using bullets that cost $1 each. I later calculated that, after a few years of such success, cheaper bullets like InterLocks would save me enough for a cheap glass of wine with my dinner out. Not a worthwhile trade, for my purposes, as the bullets I use work fine close up and far away � reliable expansion without fragmentation. Barnes TTSX/MRX, North Fork, Swift A-Frame for the speedsters.

I�m quite sure the Sierras will work, though - deer aren�t that big.