Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Europe High Velocity - game for meat

I am a meat hunter and use mostly a 270 Win to hunt with. I like to use 150 grain bullets factory loads for this because of less blood shot meat. I have noticed the popular cartridges in Europe run in the 2300-2600 ft sec range. Is this because of less damage to game?
Sometimes I think this velocity race has gone a tad too far.

Where in Europe ?

Mostly driven hunts around here, shooting game under adrenaline and @ full speed works well, and often seems to work better, with heavy slugs and / or short barrels. It often gives bullet speeds in the 2300-2600 fps range, with extra short barrels or calibers such as 8x57 JRS, 9.3X74 R ...

Heavy bullet = deeper penetration. Most of the driven hunt shots would be 3/4 rear shots, angles can vary alot and adrenaline stags and big boars are very tough merchandise trains. You can't count on a very good prepared lung shot from plain side.

So bullet weight and barrel length can explain why so many "low speed" bullets could be statistically used in Europe.

Damage to the meat is linked to the softness of the nose and, mostly, the bullet trajectory. You can make a lot of damage with a slow bullet if you want. Just hit the fanny or the rear of the back ... Even the 30-30 can be extremely explosive in a roe deer.

In driven hunts, at least in Belgium, we use not to consider damage as long as you don't hazard fanny shots, in order to stop the animal as quick as possible (and the price of the meat is so ridiculous you can afford to loose a bit of it)).

Any lethal chest hole, no matter the size is a good shot to me if you don't waste the rear legs and the back. Front legs preservation is a bonus. (not the same everywhere, in Scotland, for example, I think they don't like to loose a single ounce but they only hunt by stalking).

So we probably use alot of slow bullets, among others, but we don't necessary do it to avoid any damage to the meat.

150 grains bullet / 270 Winnie sounds like a standard to me, for stalking. I can't believe this would not qualify, even in stalking highlands.

Thanks to marketing effect from Browning and Winchester, 270 WSM benefit growing popularity and it's not exactly what I would call "low velocity" bullet.

I personnaly use 375 HH, 7x64 and now .300 WM but I use to favor heavy bullets (respectively 300, 170 and 220 grains).

hi DeerSkinner,

What GV said is right, but i must say, that in France most of the hunters use high velocity cartridges (280Rem 7RM, 300WM, 270WSM and 300WSM) for driven hunt even if they are not really adapted for the business because more than 70% of rifles used are semi auto (Bar, Argo, Impact, Merkel SR1, HK SLB 2000 + Rem 7400/750) chambered for such ammo.

The lower velocity cartridges like the 8x57IRS and 9,3x74R are fired through doubles or combination guns. As there's a lot of this rifles in service, pressure and velocity are kept low not to have accident. If you handload you can boost them a little with no problem...But not a lot of hunters handload here....

The 9,3x62, 35Whelen, 444/450Marlin are also used by the ones like me who prefer heavier bullets for driven hunt. Note that a french manufacturer load 270Winch and 270WSM with 160grs Partition because we find them more effective in driven hunt on big boars than most of other bullets. Norma makes the 156grs Vulkan for the same calibers and for same reason. They do well in frog's land...

The problem with meat destruction depends more of the choice of the bullet and the shot placement than speed, but for sure, if you combine all these elements the results will be spectacular to say the least. For exemple a 444Marlin factory loaded by Remington can be a real blood meat shooter of a bullet when fired at close range on a deer or boar because of too thin structure even if it's not an high intensity cartridge. A 300WM with NBT can be spectacular too fired at 40m...

Most of the hunt are collective hunts except for some trophy hunters (roes, tags, mountain games) and hunters from the east of France close to german border who use a lot of high seats.
Most of the shots are close, from 0 to 100m on running game and shot placement sometime a bit "so-so".

Like GV said even a 30-30 at the rear of spine can do great meat damage.
Hunters who are responsible, sell meat or simply want to do the things right select bullets a bit hard or bonded with controled expansion or copper alloy (French Sauvestre FIP or Sologne GPA, Barnes, Norma Oryx, old RWS TUG,Swift A-frame). When they need immediate effect (not to have game taken by neighbour for exemple) and loosing a little meat does'nt matter we go to more expansive one (Norma Vulkan,RWS Tig and H mantel,Nosler Partition).
Not all the bullets are well adapted to the "battue", some are better than other and some are more versatile. The new Winchester Power Max, which combine Oryx and Vulkan technology is an attempt to fill the european hunt market and Browning Int hope to do well on the french market with a bullet that can be good for all sorts of hunting including "battue".

In France most of the meat taken of the hunt is shared by all the the hunter of the team. Except in Alsace (german border)and some private hunts where meat is sold to butchers for commercialisation. And the price of that meat sold to the processors is very low, so loosing a bit is not to be worried about.

sorry for being a bit long.
Dom

Bullets play a big role, as well as velocity. From my experience, shot placement is always important, though less so on drive hunts. Hunt a state revier and you will be buying a lot of game if you are not careful, another revier I hunt all the game is sold in his Gasthaus, so I'm probably more careful than most. My standard for ansitz or stand hunting is a 30-06 and 180 gr A Frames, they have done very well for both Roe and Boar, Waidmannsheil, Dom.

Hi Deerskin
What GV and Marseille speak is right. Here in north corner of Europa (Estonia and Finland) hunters are mostly meat hunters ... mean normally all game meat is divided among hunters. Drive hunt to wild boar or moose in Estonia is hunt on short distances (40-60m max 100m) and you need to stop animal fast do not run after it for miles. Shot accuracy is not always the best as you shooting running game and wild boar can be fast. Therefore it normal to use slightly heavier bullets. But velocity we use is 2700-2800 not as you mark 2300-2600. Most used caliber are 308 or 30-06 and cartridges 180-200 from Sako Hammerhead, Lapua Mega or Norma Oryx. All this bullets are designed to prevent core separation and allows controlled mushrooming to deliver excellent stopping power.