I was asked to post some results of a recent deer cull hunt we did in Southern Australia, so here goes. There were 2 shooters, 3 calibers and 7 bullets used, and 500 animals taken, mostly fallow does and red hinds.we were expected to differenciate between male and female hornless yearlings too. Bear in mind that a hunt conducted to help control population may be lacking in some of the comforting niceities, and there is next to nothing pretty about it. On the other hand, its a lot of shooting. we averaged about 35 a day apiece.
So anyways here's the Readers Digest condensed version.
I was using a completely stock but very accurate Weatherby Lazerguard in .257 Weatherby as a main gun. The base load that I brought with me was the 115 grain NBT loaded with IMR 7828. The air-line limit of 5 Kilograms allowed 170 rounds. Three other loads were assembled in camp on a hand press, namely the 110 Accubond, 100 grain Swift Scirroco and finally the 80 TTSX all using ADI powders which as many of you know produces the Hodgdons powders we use over here. Ranges varied from zero to 700 yards, with most somewhere around the middle.
The 115 grain NBT is a bit sturdier than people give it credit for. It was a fast killer of the little fallows which are about pronghorn sized, and entirely adequite for the red hinds which ranges from the size of small whitetail for yearlings on the low end to some that would pass for a really nice cow elk. Exits were routine and DRTs likewise routine. I believe that the 100 grain would have been the perfect match for the fallows.They are pretty small.
Next in line is the 110 Accubond. It was surprisingly close to the NBT in performance, perhaps a little slower on rib hits on the little fallows and good on the reds. Exits could be expected. Shoulders were better than ribs. This H1000 load ( A2217) didn't survive the American to Australian translation well, and I was reluctant to shoot it much past 500. It also started showing pressure signs even when I backed it off a couple. These things happen.
The Swift proved to be a pretty tough bullet. If you just got lungs on the fallows you could count on a run even if it wasn't a long one, shoulders were much better. The bullet came into its own on the reds. Getting twofers on purpose with it became a bit of a game when my driver/guide/spotter/identifier/friend asked for them. Picking the right animal out of the herd and not killing the one behind it or in front can be frustrating, but sometimes two you want will line up. He was also prone to asking for random head shots, sometimes for no particular reason. What can I say, he's an Aussie. They do that.
The wheels fell off with the TTSXs. I was at least hopeful that the 3950 fps velocity would compensate for the copper bullets but that didn't prove to be the case.If you ever have a pressing need for something to die somewhere else this is your bullet. Practically everything that wasn't spined or brained ran, and many that fell to the shot got up an ran. you can't hear them hit, and most animals didn't even look hit. When we weren't looking for cripples we were getting the dogs to look for them. finding blood was a fantasy. We went out lamping one night (just once) with a another guide and a neighbouring property owner who is in the deer business as well as we could have some witnesses. Comments there were pretty damning. My favorite was "they shouldn't be allowed to sell those foooooking things".
So there you have it. I was predicting that the results would come in in a fastest killing order as presented. Softest to hardest, which also translated to least penetrating to most penetrating. It hasn't completely escaped my notice that the order is also heaviest to lightest, and slowest to fastest but they aren't that far apart except for the 80 grain outlier.
