Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Terminal Ballistics - My Own Study

After reading about the study in South Carolina of deer kills using different calibers and average distance deer covered etc. I decided I'd look in my deer kill log to see what I came up with. Here are my results.

Average Distance of All kills - 85 yards
Weight Range of all Deer - 88 lbs to 200 lbs.
All shots were placed either in the shoulder area or the rib cage

12 gauge - 77% of all deer were dead on the spot
average distance traveled after shot - 25 yards
(only those that ran)
bullets - #1 Buckshot

.223 - 86% were dead on the spot
- average distance of those that ran - 40 yards
-bullets - 55 grain TSX
.270 Winchester - 0% dropped on the spot
-average distance traveled after shot-40 yards
- bullets - 130 grain Interlokts & Power Points

7mm-08 - 33% dropped at the shot
-average distance traveled after shot - 40 yards
-bullets - SST, Corelokt, Interlokt, Nosler Partition, Ballistic SilverTip all in 140 grain

7mm Rem. Mag - 43% dropped at the shot
-average distance traveled after the shot 25 yards
- bullets were all 150 grain, Corelokts, Power Points, Nosler Ballistic Tips


.30-06 - 60% dropped at the shot
- average distance traveled after the shot 25 yard
- bullets- a few with 165 grain Corelokts, rest were killed with 150 grain Sierra Gamekings, Speer HotCore, Federal Powershoks, Power Points, Corelokts, Ballistic Silvertips

I like that. There is no BS.

Seems like regardless of caliber or speed, lead on lungs results in a dead deer 25 to 40 yards from impact. Good shooting trumps headstamps and even boolits!

No 6.5mm caliber.
No 6mm Caliber.

Mighty .270 didn't fair well. ;-)

Very interesting; how many animals with each cartridge? Totals as well as percentages if you are inclined to share that data. Thanks GRF

The 223 Boys will love this one!

Interesting figures. Thanks for compiling them. I do have a question - would it be possible to indicate the number of deer as well as the %? If a sample of two deer yields 50% "dead on the spot" it doesn't mean much! Still, your figures are far better than a lot of the "opinions" passed off by others as "facts" on this forum.

Interesting....how many with each cartridge?

Laffin' Proof of nothing...

three .270 deer here - 3 deer DRT. 130's are your friend

I imagine it has more to do with the time it takes for the deer 's blood pressure to drop and the oxygen in it's brain to be used up. I guessing somewhere around 2-5 seconds and it probably is about the time it takes for the deer to react to the shot and run 40 yds or so regardless of caliber used. The DRT shots usually involve some sort of skeletal hit in my experience.

7mm08 - I appreciate your record keeping. I have kept records for a lot of yrs BUT I didn't record how many DRTs (dropped right there) or how far any ran.

I'll be as honest as my memory will let me.

I have killed deer with many cartridges from 243/6mm up thru 8mmRM, not all inclusive.

I can't say that any particular cartridge gave more DRTs than any other.

I've had DRTs with nearly every cartridge, but not all of them DRT.

The 270 Win has accounted for as many DRTs as any other but not more.

I'm NOT counting any that I shot in the head, neck, or high spine. Those ALWAYS DRT, for me.

I shot a few deer in the SHOULDER and REGARDLESS of cartridge there was too much meat damage. I've learned to hit HIGH SHOULDER (spine), and not damage MUCH meat at all.

My preferred shot is 'double lung' AKA thru ribs. There is not enough edible meat to worry about. The majority of deer kills I've had, have been this shot.

Some double lung kills have been DRT and some have run a little ways. It seems to me the EMOTIONAL STATE of the deer has bearing upon its reaction.

unless you shoot SC deer...

Well good thing the 6.5-06 wasn't part of the mix.. eh...

Probably woulda been the cartridge that ruined the curve for the resta the class. *grin*

Makes me chuckle, thinking of the possibilities. I have shot "zero" with a 6.5 .....

But,I can't reconcile in my head sometimes....6.5's and 7mm's are killers(I like 7mm's),but something squarely in between will have game shrugging off hits like flies around the ass end of a cow...

It's perplexing. Last 270 kill for me (DRT,and he weighed a lot more than 200 pounds),I recall thinking..."here's another one that's not supposed to be dead"

That is about as scientific as a beauty contest...continue to judge on such a small sampling and you'll likely miss out on the real Miss America and the 1st runner up...shot placement and bullet construction

Ya know I used to be one that looked at the "energy" "ft lbs" thing.
I've now (past 7 or 8 yrs) really began looking at the impact velocity side of things. Then you have situations where you have a so called good bullets that impacted with grand velocity and then the animal shrugs it off. Then runs off.

I've really studied over the past 5-6 yrs the perfect shot placement to anchor something. Top of the shoulder/base of the neck is where it's at.. with just about any cartridge. At the least high shoulder to take out the front wheel house.

I've surpassed the whole boiler room thing.

Then you can say: "All of the deer I've shot with a 6.5 were DRT."

The high shoulder is just generally a good DRT shot, whether rear of the shoulder, where it meets the scapula, or the front where it meets the neck. If the bullet is hitting shoulder and coming close to the lower spinal processes, animals are usually DRT.

I'm impressed with the 12ga buckshot stat. I've only shot deer with a 12ga and buckshot that have been wounded by cars. Results have been the extremes, either stand there and look at me or fall over dead. I have had better results with 1oz slugs. Something about big chunks of lead knocking stuff over seems to be elementary.