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Unlike the TV hunting shows where the deer always turns broadside, I had a buck (9 pointer) facing me straight on and had only stopped for a few seconds. I hit him in the front going straight back, almost straight down the middle. Missed his heart, might have nicked a lung. He acted hit, but I diod not find him in the first 50 yards, so we did a tracking job. Found him after him going maybe 250 yards downhill. Plenty of blood to track. Entrance hole was about 1" in diameter (?), and that's where the blood came out. He bled a lot internally.

I was using a .30-06 with 150 gr Accubond at around 2850 fps from my 20" barrel carbine.

On body length shots like this, ya think a heavier bullet would have been better?

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I shot end to end on one like that a few years back. I was shooting a 7mm/08 with 154 grain Hornady RN bullets. Did about 75 yards worth of tracking on that one. Highly unusual for that rifle. It was the last year I used that bullet out of that rifle.


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Folks tend to aim a little low on a frontal, myself included.

I started shooting maybe six-inches higher and it picks up the spine every single time. That dumps them most rickey-tick.

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Not a gun writer here, but took that shot as a teenager with a 30-06, 180 gn Hornady RN. I caught a 5x5 buck walking up a trail directly toward me and so I thought I'd see how close he'd get. Well, he got REALLY CLOSE, like 5 yards before I shot him. My fixed 4x Weaver pretty much just showed hair. I centered on fur and shot. The buck went up on 2 legs for what seemed like 5 seconds or more and crashed right in front of me. Scared the begeezes out of me young self when it looked like a bighorn getting ready to ram me. Can't help but remember the look in it's eyes when on 2 legs. If there can be a look of bewilderment in a buck's eyes, that sure must have been it.

Turned out that I pretty much center punched the heart.

Since then, I think every front-on shot has been to center it up on the white spot under the chin. But I'm not really a trophy hunter, so I don't care about mounts


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Originally Posted by Richdeerhunter
...
Missed his heart, might have nicked a lung. He acted hit, but I diod not find him in the first 50 yards, so we did a tracking job.
...
Plenty of blood to track. Entrance hole was about 1" in diameter (?), and that's where the blood came out. He bled a lot internally.

I was using a .30-06 with 150 gr Accubond at around 2850 fps from my 20" barrel carbine.

On body length shots like this, ya think a heavier bullet would have been better?


I don't think a heavier bullet would have made any difference based on the information you provided. The only thing that would have worked better is to have gotten a solid hit on a lung or the heart, and that isn't as easy to do on a shot from the front vs. one from the side, OR as Steve said a spine shot. From the side you can get both lungs AND possibly a piece of the heart. Based on the shot you were presented, it appears you had the right bullet.

Last edited by Ramblin_Razorback; 11/30/11.
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Not particularly. A heavier one might have gone out the other end but a deer is not going to bleed that much around the butt and hips - all the heavy bleeding will be in the chest cavity - so you probably would not have gotten a more extensive blood trail.


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Originally Posted by Richdeerhunter
Unlike the TV hunting shows where the deer always turns broadside, I had a buck (9 pointer) facing me straight on and had only stopped for a few seconds. I hit him in the front going straight back, almost straight down the middle. Missed his heart, might have nicked a lung. He acted hit, but I diod not find him in the first 50 yards, so we did a tracking job. Found him after him going maybe 250 yards downhill. Plenty of blood to track. Entrance hole was about 1" in diameter (?), and that's where the blood came out. He bled a lot internally.

I was using a .30-06 with 150 gr Accubond at around 2850 fps from my 20" barrel carbine.

On body length shots like this, ya think a heavier bullet would have been better?

I made the same shot with a Winchester 100 grain semi pointed silvertip out of a .257 Roberts....the deer dropped in it's tracks....DRT

I strongly believe we should not judge a bullet by one incident....unless there's a lot of evidence it was a normal occurrance.....and this isn't the case with accubonds!

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I think the only problem was your bullet missed the key vital areas allowing this buck to travel farther with both heart and lungs intact. Not sure a heavier bullet would have changed the outcome in your example.

Two seasons ago I had a deer facing dead straight at me. Put the cross hairs in the center of the white patch in the neck and the deer was DRT.

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Originally Posted by Richdeerhunter
I was using a .30-06 with 150 gr Accubond at around 2850 fps from my 20" barrel carbine.

On body length shots like this, ya think a heavier bullet would have been better?


Yes. A 180gr bullet provides more reliable performance in the 30-06 than a 150 of like construction. However, I don't think your deer would have died any sooner regardless which bullet you use. Your shot destroyed vascular plumbing which is eventually fatal, but not usually instantly fatal. If you want them to die more quickly, or drop at the shot, you have to damage the CNS or skeletal structure, or both. Next time try aiming for the white spot under the chin. Hit there, they tend to travel about 2 feet - straight down.


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Originally Posted by CrimsonTide
I shot end to end on one like that a few years back. I was shooting a 7mm/08 with 154 grain Hornady RN bullets. Did about 75 yards worth of tracking on that one. Highly unusual for that rifle. It was the last year I used that bullet out of that rifle.


CT,

There may not be any better bullet for your 7-08 than the one you abandoned. There is nothing wrong with the 154gr Hornady that a little better placement won't cure.


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In 50 yrs. of deer hunting I have shot three buck that were facing me. The first, a 254# 10pt. was shot with a Hornady 180gr. RN from a .308, he went about thirty yards. The next two bucks were taken with 12ga. shotgun slug, one went thirty yards and the last was a bang flop. If a frontal shot is all I am presented with I have never hesitated to take the shot.

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Can't help but hit something vital, heart or the big blood vessels, or the liver if a little high. I don't like that shot much but sometimes you don't get a choice. Had one facing me that was getting ready to run so I took the shot. Died fast but the bullet hit the stomach. So a quick trip to my cousin's farmyard to rinse out, which was not pleasant below freezing. Could've been worse.


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I've only taken two that way. One was an injured little doe that would not have survived the winter. My mercy shot was with a .308 and a 150-gr Nosler Solid Base. The bullet didn't exit but I never found it. The deer went straight down. It ended up being inedible, as everything inside sloshed.

The other deer was a long time ago. That one was with a 45 Colt and a 255 SWC cast bullet. The bullet did go lengthwise, exiting from the left ham. Perhaps three and a half feet of penetration - and may still be going for all I know. The deer went a few feet.


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As mentioned, the key is the bullet missed the heart/lungs which allowed your buck to travel further. Like nighthawk, my most memorable frontal shot was at 50yds on a buck in MO that was ready to run. I took the shot with a 270 130gr partition and hit him dead center, low in the chest. He stumbled 30 yds before dying in the middle of a shallow pond. After I dragged him out (freezing weather), field dressing revealed the heart and one lung were liquified.


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The AB is optimized to penetrate...and not much of that is needed on a deer.

A heavier bullet of lighter construction like a Ballistic Tip, Berger, or A-Max might have worked better, because it would have done more damage earlier on in the chest cavity itself.

I would have expected the AB to do well, but it's entirely possible to thread the needle and penetrate the entire chest cavity barely missing anything vital on extremely unlucky occasions.

You should count yourself "lucky" you weren't in Vegas that day.

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A quality of the BTs, et.al.,is that they tend to fragment creating a larger, but shallower wound area...a fair choice for lighter game.

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Monday afternoon I killed a doe in PA. The shot was head on, frontal and a bit lower in elevation. Distance was about 200 yards. I was shooting a 243 Winchester with Barnes 80gr TTSX bullets @ 3400fps. She took about 10 steps backwards. Entrance hole size was considerable and low in the chest, taking the heart & lungs south. It was getting dark so I didn't have much of a chance to look for the bullet and the remainder of its path of destruction. It did not exit!

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I've taken quite a few head-on over the years with 12 and 20 gauge slugs, .30-30, .243 and muzzleloader. That shot has always proven particularly devastating usually taking out heart, lungs and liver. I've never had a deer go far after taking one front to back regardless of what they were shot with and the majority have just dropped in their tracks.

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I've shot a few facing me and they generally don't go far. I aim for the brisket bone and drive the bullet thru the top of the heart and the lungs. It's worked with the 250 Savage[100gr remingotn RN], 284win[154gr Hornady RN], and 6.5x55 [120gr Nosler Solid Base].

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I've had frontal aspect shots before, but always at a slight angle. The deer never went very far.

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