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Posted By: matt406 Mule Deer and .303 - 11/21/15
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Hi guys, been a while since I've posted but I thought you might get a kick outa this deer I lucked into the other day while packin' the old 1899 B in 303. 80 yard shot at dusk with the flip up Lyman and 170 grain Speer flat point. This was a really big bodied deer, easily pushing 300 lbs. Found him in a burn area in eastern Montana.
Posted By: diamondjim Re: Mule Deer and .303 - 11/21/15
That is really cool. Someday I would to get a muley. Congrats.
Posted By: JeffG Re: Mule Deer and .303 - 11/21/15
fantastic Deer!! .. but you're missing the powder and weight of charge.

How does one manage a 300lb deer back to the truck? ... or even up into the truck?

I had enough trouble with 140lbs
Posted By: Lightfoot Re: Mule Deer and .303 - 11/21/15
That is one fine specimen! Great job and with my favorite '.303' bullet to boot!!
Posted By: Steelhead Re: Mule Deer and .303 - 11/21/15
Originally Posted by JeffG
fantastic Deer!! .. but you're missing the powder and weight of charge.

How does one manage a 300lb deer back to the truck? ... or even up into the truck?

I had enough trouble with 140lbs


You do know they breakdown pretty easy with a knife, right?


Nice deer.
Posted By: Phil99 Re: Mule Deer and .303 - 11/21/15
Beautiful buck taken with a great old rifle.
Posted By: Fireball2 Re: Mule Deer and .303 - 11/21/15
Pushing the envelope with iron sights. Wish I could. That's scope country for bad eyes.
Posted By: oldotter Re: Mule Deer and .303 - 11/22/15
Originally Posted by Steelhead
Originally Posted by JeffG
fantastic Deer!! .. but you're missing the powder and weight of charge.

How does one manage a 300lb deer back to the truck? ... or even up into the truck?

I had enough trouble with 140lbs


You do know they breakdown pretty easy with a knife, right?


Nice deer.




laugh laugh laugh
Posted By: Angus1895 Re: Mule Deer and .303 - 11/22/15
WOW! For Savage Toad of the year;you my friend; are hands down the frontrunner! Thanks for sharing. What about the antlers? How does that bruiser tape. I gotta admit with deer of that caliber around, unless it was stormy and scope fogging weather, I wouldn't have had the resolve to use iron sights. Once again very nice deer. Congrats and happy thanksgiving. P. S. with your first post showing such a toad and a nice rifle I don't know how you are gonna be able to continue posting. LOL
Posted By: WillARights Re: Mule Deer and .303 - 11/22/15
Wow 406.

Terrific!
Posted By: billy336 Re: Mule Deer and .303 - 11/22/15
Good going
Posted By: matt406 Re: Mule Deer and .303 - 11/22/15
Angus, actually I've been a member here for 3 or 4 years as mw406 but I contracted a computer virus last winter and had to change my user name to get back on the forum. Just took a while to get around to it.

I've been hunting with the peep sighted 1899s in 303, 300, .22 HP and 250-3000 for years. That's all I use for big game and most of my coyote hunting. Never really found peep sights to be all that much of a disadvantage since most of my game has always been taken at well under 200 yds. I'm a big fan of getting close and a little luck now and then doesn't hurt.
Posted By: gnoahhh Re: Mule Deer and .303 - 11/22/15
Good show, Matt!
Posted By: matt406 Re: Mule Deer and .303 - 11/22/15
Thanks Gary, thought I'd post another photo to give you guys an idea of the terrain I hunt. This photo taken at sun rise the morning I found the deer. Long shots are easily do-able, but the ground is rough enough to make getting in 303 Savage range possible. When I was a younger man I used to spot and stalk muleys with a recurve bow. My max range was about 20 yards so getting to within 50 or 100 yards with a lever gun with metallic sites has never seemed like that big a deal to me.

JeffG, away from my load data and can't remember how many grains of powder I use but I'm a big fan of IMR4320 in the 303. Consistently the most accurate powder in all 3 of my 303s, 1899s in A, B and C.

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Posted By: saddlering Re: Mule Deer and .303 - 11/22/15
What a nice big Buck!! and done with Grand old cartiage, also been hunting with my 303, but no luck yet!
Posted By: Lightfoot Re: Mule Deer and .303 - 11/22/15
How many have you taken with the 170 grain speer? Do you use it consistently in the .303?
Posted By: BradD Re: Mule Deer and .303 - 11/22/15
Very cool. I remember your old post from a few years back with the Mule deer buck and then the coyote with the 1899 .303. Great stuff!
Posted By: matt406 Re: Mule Deer and .303 - 11/22/15
Lightfoot, Ive been fortunate to get three very nice mule deer in the last 5 or so years with 170 Speers in the 303. I really like that bullet and it seems to shoot a bit better for me than some of the others. That 303 B has been my go to rifle for mule deer. I've used a .300 G quite a bit for elk, occasionally for deer, and for a nice bighorn ram a couple years back. This year I was considering using one of my .250-3000 perch bellies for deer but I just couldn't leave the old B behind.
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