Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Log of 113 deer killed in the last few years with different bullets.

7mm08's post here , motivated me to add some numbers up.


Here is a log of 113 deer that mostly I have killed, with a few from friends that I witnessed. Deer killed by others are marked with an asterisk.

Even though there are A LOT from culling, I only included ones from open hunting seasons, and only ones I have pictures of and logged. I wish I would have kept better logs as there are around 150 or so not accounted for. Also I didn't include onesies and twosies of various rounds. Only those which have a statistical sample. All but two were Whitetails. The other two were Mule Deer and are noted as such.



300 Win Mag, 178gr Hornady AMAX.

There are significantly more that have been killed with the 300WM/178gr AMAX combo. They were all chest shot and DRT. These are the ones that were recorded and that we have pictures of.

383 yards. Slight quartering away, top of heart and lungs. No bone. DRT
369 yards. Mule deer. Broadside, back edge of liver bottom third of body. No bone. DRT.
270 yards. Broadside, back edge of lungs/spine. DRT.
170 yards. Broadside, high shoulder. DRT.
30 yards. Broadside, front edge of shoulder. DRT
218 yards. RODEO! Facing neck shot. No bone. Dropped then ran 60-70 yards. Shot in ham running away. Dropped. Finisher broadside through lungs.
*374 yards. Broadside, back of liver. No bone. Ran 60 yards.
70 yards. Facing. Top of spine just foreword of hips. DRT.
860 yards. Broadside, just behind shoulder. No bone Slid 40 yards downhill on his face.
402 yards. Broadside, center lung. No bone. Stumbled 40 yards.
40 yards. Broadside, neck. DRT.
70 yards. Facing, center chest. No bone. DRT.
30 yards. Facing, front edge of right leg. NO penetration of chest cavity. Ran 60 yards.
35 yards. Slight quartering to, neck. DRT.
35 yards. Facing away, left ham. DRT.
170 yards. Broadside, neck. DRT.
720 yards. Broadside, center lungs. No bone. DRT.
274 yards. Broadside, center lungs. No bone. DRT.
440 yards. Broadside, walking, rear leg. Ran 50 yards. Finisher to lungs.
70 yards. Broadisde, center lungs. No bone. DRT.
*110 yards. Facing, center chest. No bone. DRT.
330 yards. Broadside, center lungs. No bone. DRT.
200 yards. Quartering to, skimmed bottom edge of chest, exiting between rear legs. Ran 200 yards.
40 yards. Broadside, very bottom of chest. Stumbled 30 yards.
60 yards. Broadside, center chest/spine. DRT.
80 yards. Quartering hard away. Left ham. DRT.
80 yards. Broadside, center lungs. No bone. DRT.
130 yards. Broadside, center lungs. No bone. No bone. DRT.
100 yards. Broadside, center lungs. No bone. DRT.
*170 yards Broadside, center lungs. No bone. DRT.

Total= 30
DRT= 22
Ran= 8
Average distance of runners= 67.5 yards.

Only one deer that was shot cleanly through lungs moved after being hit. It was 860 yards. He pushed kicked himself/slid downhill on his face for approx. 40 yards.







300 Win Mag 190gr (and one 220gr SMK) Sierra Matchking.

30 yards. Whitetail. Quartering to, center chest. No bone. DRT.
35 yards. Whitetail. Broadside, center lungs. No bone. DRT.
110 yards. Whitetail. Broadside, just behind front leg, lungs. No bone. Ran 80 yards.
240 yards. Whitetail. Broadside, neck. No bone. Ran 150 yards.
80 yards. Whitetail. Broadside, center lungs. No bone. DRT.
220 yards. Whitetail. Broadside, center lungs. No bone. DRT. (220gr SMK).
300 yards. Whitetail. Broadside, center lungs. No bone. Ran 30 yards.
525 yards. Whitetail. Broadside walking, center shoulder. Traveled 140 yards. (FREAK experience!!!)


Total= 8
DRT= 4
Average distance of runners= 83.3 yards.






300 Win Mag miscellaneous bullets.

220 yards. Broaside, center lungs. No bone. DRT. (180gr NBT)
74 yards. Broadside, center lungs. No bone. Ran 20 yards. (168gr NBT)
*45 yards. Sharp quartering to, broke offside front leg. Ran 20 yards. (168gr NBT)
310 yards. Broadside, tight behind shoulder. No bone. Stumbled 30 yards.
160 yards. Running away, split bottom of belly from between rear legs to front of chest. Ran 100 yards. (165gr Hornady SP.)
40 yards. Broadside, center lungs. No bone. DRT. (165 or 168gr? NBT)



Total= 6






308 Winchester 168gr AMAX


120 yards. Slight quartering to, lungs. No bone. DRT.
280 yards. Broadside, high chest/spine. DRT.
285 yards. Broadside, center lungs. No bone. Ran 30 yards.
288 yards. Quartering to, lungs. No bone. Ran 40 yards.
*80 yards. Broadside, center lungs. No bone. DRT.
*250 yards. Broadside, center lungs. No bone. DRT.
*250 yards. Broadside, center lungs. No bone. DRT.
*342 yards. Broadside, center lungs. No bone. DRT.
*312 yards. Broadside, center of body. No bone. Traveled 200 yards.
*200 yards. Broadside, center lungs. No bone. Ran 40 yards.


Total= 10
DRT= 6
Average distance of runners= 77.5 yards.





308 Win. Miscellaneous bullets


245 yards. Broadside, center shoulder. Ran 20 yards. (168gr NBT).
124 yards. Broadside, center lungs. No bone. Ran 40 yards. (168gr SMK)
*80 yards. Broadside, low through the center of body. No bone. Ran 50 yards. (175gr SMK)
*200 yards. Broadside, center of lungs. No bone. Ran 40 yards. (175gr SMK)
*197 yards. Broadside, back of lungs. No bone. Ran 20 yards. (175gr SMK)



Total= 5






243 Winchester. 95gr Nosler Ballistic Tips.


197 yards. Broadside, tight behind shoulder. No bone. DRT.
60 yards. Broadside, both shoulders. DRT.
220 yards. Quartering to, tight behind near shoulder. No bone. DRT.
*280 yards. Broadside, high in lungs. No bone. Dropped, then rolled down bank. Second shot, high lungs, dropped in to river.
*40 yards. Broadside, center lungs. No bone. DRT.
35 yards. Slight quartering to. Lungs. No bone. Ran 30 yards.
*40 yards. Quartering to, lungs. No bone. Ran 30 yards.
*80 yards. Broadside, lungs. No bone. Ran 35 yards.
*250+/- yards. Broadside, lungs. No bone. Fell into creek. DRT.
*270 yards. Broadside, lungs. No bone. DRT.
240 yards. Broadside, lungs. No bone. DRT.
40 yards. Broadside, high lungs. No bone. DRT.
18 yards. Quartering away, running. Lungs. No bone. DRT.
*70 yards. Broadside, lungs. No bone. Ran 20 yards.
*200 yards. Broadside, center body. No bone. 30 yards.
*427 yards. Broadside, high shoulder. DRT.
240 yards. Slight quartering away, running. No bone. Fell into creek. DRT.
150 yards. Broadside, lungs. No bone. DRT.
100 yards. Broadside, back of lungs. No bone. Ran 80 yards.
85 yards. Broadside, lungs. No bone. DRT.
*60 yards. Quartering to, lungs. No bone. DRT.
*50 yards. Facing, center chest. No bone. DRT.



Total= 22
DRT= 15
Average distance of runners= 37.5 yards.







243 Winchester miscellaneous Bullets.

*80 yards. Quartering away, left ham/stomach. Traveled approx. 200 yards, then a finisher broadside dropped at 40 yards. (Barnes 80gr TSX)
*40 yards. Broadside, high shoulder. DRT. (Barnes 80gr TSX)
35 yards. Quartering to. Entered near side shoulder/leg. Ran 30 yards. (Barnes 80gr TSX)
30 yards. Slight quartering to. High lungs, near shoulder. DRT.
25 yards. Broadside, high lungs/spine. DRT.
574+/- yards. Slight quartering to. Entered back of liver, broke offside rear leg. Traveled 80 yards. (115gr DTAC)
110 yards. Quartering to. Lungs. Dropped at shot. Needed finisher. (100gr Winchester PP)
35 yards. Broadside, lungs. Dropped at shot. Got back up and needed finisher. (100gr Winchester PP).


Total= 8







300 Tomahawk (300 RUM IMP) 220gr Sierra Matchking

260 yards. Broadside, lungs. No bone. DRT.
330 yards. Broadside, lungs. No none. DRT.
*250 yards. Facing, center chest. No bone. DRT.
774 yards. Quartering to, lungs. No bone. Ran 40 yards.
*250 yards. Broadside, lungs. No bone. DRT.
*302 yards. Broadside, lungs. Hit offside elbow. DRT.
*290 yards. Broadside, back of rib cage. No bone. Ran 45 yards.
270 yards. Broadside, lungs. No bone. DRT.
270 yards. Broadside, center body. No bone. Ran 50 yards.
240 yards. Broadside, high lungs. No bone. Hunched up at the shot. Second shot, center lungs. DRT.
280 yards. Laying down. Spine. DRT.
450 yards. Broadside, bottom of chest/leg. Stumbled 40 yards.
* 420 yards. Broadside, lungs. No bone. Slid downhill. DRT.


Total= 13
DRT= 9
Average distance of runners= 43.75 yards.






300 Remington Ultra Mag. Miscellaneous bullets.


250 yards. Broadside, lungs. No bone. DRT. (180gr Nosler Partition)
70 yards. Quartering to. Entered near side shoulder. Stumbled 30 yards. (180gr Nosler Partition)
100 yards. Broadside, lungs. No bone.Ran 40 yards. (180gr Nosler Partition)
100 yards. Facing, center chest. No bone. DRT. (180gr Partition)
190 yards. Broadside, lungs. No bone. Dropped at shot. Finisher at 40 yards to chest. (180gr Partition)
300 yards. Broadside, lungs. No bone. DRT. (180gr Partition)
304 yards. Broadside, lungs. No bone. DRT. (180gr Partition)
310 yards. Broadside, lungs. No bone. Humped up and fell over with in 10 yards. (168gr SMK)
80 yards. Broadisde, lungs. No bone. DRT. (168gr SMK).
200 yards. Broadside, lungs. No bone. DRT. (180gr NBT)
*160 yards. Mule Deer. Broadside, lungs. No bone. Ran 20 yards and got caught in fence. (168gr Barnes TTSX)



Total= 11

WOW! Great info! I need to start keeping data like this. The 243 95gr Btip info mirrors my experience with them. Small sample number but 6 of the 7 animals I shot with them this past season fell where they were standing. The one that ran only went 10 yards.

Well, make mine a 243!

The 95gr NBT is a monster of a bullet. Put it into the lungs and they just drop. The 85gr TSX is a good bullet also, but it doesn't penetrate enough deeper then the NBT to make it worth it for deer IMO, and it does not damage as much tissue. The NBT's kill quicker. Besides, in two days we shot 5 with them and caught two. We've recovered on NBT and that was on the 427 yard shoulder shot.

Really good stuff. Wish I had done a better job of keeping similar data when I was culling.

What !!! The .243 kills as well or better than the .300 Magnum(s) !?!?!!
Go stand in the corner and pray for forgiveness......
E

Thanks for sharing! Bullet in vitals = dead deer.

FWIW, all but two of the deer I've killed were done with different bullets.

I find it hard to recover a bullet, then reload it into a case and still get any ballistic performance...

Another observation- more of the non-ideal shots, referring to shot placement, happened when shooting at less than 250 yards than over. Just a little jab at the guys who sternly criticize taking long-range shots because of the probability of a miss or bad shot.

Man, that's almost as many deer as BlackHeart killed last week......

That is interesting stuff. Moral to the story........deer are easy to kill with a variety of calibers and bullets if you know how to shoot. That's been my belief for 40 years.

It's been a fact for a lot longer than that too..

Deer assassin is gonna be jealous......

That is correct. Given a competent shooter 3-400 yard shots have less of a "oops" factor then under 200 yard shots IME. They are less rushed, the animals are calmer in general and it's just far enough to make the shooter think about what he's doing.





JG, pretty much. Killing deer is easy. Though there is zero doubt between hunting and culling that with the right type of bullet put into the lungs you can all but guarantee that they simply collapse in their tracks. You will lose some meat with those bullets if you hit bone though....

Good stuff. Thanks for takin' the time.

Great data. Thanks.

Very interesting information. Thanks for posting it.

Thanks for real life in the field facts/information.

Just curious, but why no head shots on the close up yardages?

MO