I haven’t killed the numbers y’all talk about with a 243 But in the eight or so I have killed with one they were all dead within seeing distance On the other hand , I’ve shot perfect heart and lung shots with 30-06 , 308 , 30-30 , 300win , 20 gauge accutip , 444 , and various ML bullets And have seen plenty run out of sight Some bled like stuck hogs , some I simply found by zig zagging and spotting it Meaning no blood trail There has been no magic bullet for me or caliber Some times a deers heart and lungs can be mush and when you gut it you wonder how the hell did he run like that One comes to mind in NOVA was an eight that walked up over a ridge with in 15yds of me and froze I was able to shoulder the rifle and pop him in the shoulder quartered to me , big timber , no obstructions He took a ducking hard right turn and bolted like a bat out of hell With out even a kick I thought WTH ? Walked over there and looked and not a drop of blood 30-06 175gr VLD setting on 59 gr H 4350 if I remember right Not absolutely sure about powder weight Any way looked and looked , no blood I knew it could be no way I missed Started zig zagging in the direction I saw him run in About 150ydz out I was about to go into a cedar thicket Pulled my cell to call step son to come up and help me as it started ringing I raised my head and saw the outline of the tail about another 50 yds in front of me . Walked over with rifle shouldered , got next to him looking all around still not a drop , Only thing was a trickle from the nose Then I noticed a dark spot under the hide , a one little blood drop in it Kneeled down and poked a finger in it and you could hear bone crunch and was mushed Skinned him out at home and was a massive entry wound You could stick your fist in Heart and lungs were complete jelly no exit wound whatsoever Thought the bullet had to have hit something Checked shooting area next day , nope Only reason I can figure it didn’t bleed from entry is something clogged it Have had tremendous damage from all the other calibers mentioned and have had many that went in excess of 150 yds Depending on animal Depending fact that bullets do not always preform the same tells me there is no magic caliber Kenneth
