Thanks.

Killed a northern New Mexico mule deer buck with the 6.5 143 ELD-X at just about exactly 100 yards a couple-three years ago. He was standing broadside on a hillside in a patch of Gambel oaks, and the most logical vital spot visible was the "high shoulder." At the shot the buck collapsed and rolled down the slope about 30 feet. The bullet had broken both scapulas and the the spine, and was recovered under the hide on the far side retaining 60% of its weight. The buck's boned meat weighed exactly 100 pounds, and the rule-of-thumb is live weight is 3 times boned, so he was somewhere around 300 pounds.

A friend of mine on the same hunt killed an even bigger-bodied buck at around 300 yards with the same bullet/load. The buck was quartering away, and at the shot did the little heart-shot jump before trotting 30-35 yards and keeling over. That bullet ended up in the far shoulder, retaining 74% of its weight. But as noted, muzzle velocity was a lot less than 3140 fps!


“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.”
John Steinbeck