Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Whitetail death ray

Been killing stuff for so long it doesn't need a rating.

Because you used inferior ammunition for deer.

Yeah, it was inferior ammunition. Damn bullets would not expand.
I even made home made hollow points, I drilled in to the end of the bullet about 1/4 inch, with a 1/8 inch bit.
Shot 3 deer that way didn't do a bit of good.

No internet, I was in a small town in Georgia and the 180 grain Core Lokt was the only ammo available. On the lung shot, thirty caliber entrance wound and 50 caliber exit, a white tail waving at me, and a 110 yard tracking job.

Just curious. How so?

No, just the wrong weight. I got tired of blood trailing with 180's too so I switched to 150's. All the sudden there was no more blood trailing after that.

How do I know that you didn’t read the original post?

My 30-06 Creedmoor is even better.

With 2nd place going to your 30-06 WSM?

My "death ray" of choice is the (older than -06) 6.5×55...…...second place is a toss up between .270,.280, 7-08,308, 30-06,7×57,6.5 cm,25-06, 250 & 300 Sav, 257Bob and 243 (not necessarily in that order, and prolly missed a couple)

Pictures or it didn't happen...

What caliber doesn’t kill whitetail well?

Really......even a Dodge caliber WILL work in a pinch.

I must be "UnAmerican"......never owned a 30-06....never will. Many .270-06 and now a 25-06. As I've aged recoil matters which I honestly admit here on the campfire.

LOL!

The last two desert mule deer bucks I killed, both fell to a single 25 grain, .17 caliber bullet from my little CZ 527 chambered in .17 mach4. Neither went more than 10 steps from where they were hit, both shot, where I shoot all game animals, in the plumbing, behind the shoulder. This shot placement, never ruins any meat, and will always kill an animal, and as an aside, offers the largest lethal target area on the animal. Ive seen lots of zhit hit smack on the shoulder, from coyotes to deer and elk, hit with substantial calibers, hobble off, never to be found. Hit them in the water works, where blood is oxygenated, and they will die, simple as that?

I consider it a large game cartridge and most Americans don't hunt anything close to large. For starters.

Which bullet?

I'd agree with that and add that the 243 is just as underrated...as is the 223 (though no personal experience with it and deer). My stupid state says 223's won't kill no deer, but every state that borders us says they will.

But a 6x45 is just fine...

I always enjoy this type of thread. I'm amazed by how many guys have shot dozens of deer with a particular caliber/cartridge, and every single one of them DRT. Certainly hasn't been my experience.

I've killed well over a hundred big game animals in North America and Africa. I've watched my kids make over three dozen of their kills, again in North America and Africa. Have made the kills with a half dozen different styles of broadheads, .243, .257 Roberts, 7-08, 7mm Rem mag, 7mm Dakota, 30-30, 300 Savage, 30-06, 300WSM, .358 Winchester, 45-70, .50 muzzle loader.

It has been my experience that the cartridge case that holds the bullet is a lot less important than the particular bullet used and where it is put. I have used Barnes, Hornady, Sierra, and Nosler bullets. Barnes always gets the nod when hunting away from home.

Probably about a dozen whitetail with the 30-06. Mostly with 150 grain cup and core. Probably a couple with 165s. Some DRT, and some ran a short distance. Pretty much the same results with every cartridge I've used.

Since I like to eat the meat that tends to surround major bone structure, I try to avoid breaking down front shoulders. For me a perfect shot enters and exits just behind the shoulders and takes out both lungs. Miss the major bone structure, take out both lungs and the animal might DRT, and it might take off running for a short distance. If I don't see them go down, the blood trail is usually pretty easy to follow. If you want EVERY deer to DRT, you had better plan on breaking down major bone structure, which ruins meat, or go for a CNS shot, which can be pretty dicey on a skittish deer. YMMV, but that has been my experience.

Will the 223 work on deer.........sure, but so will a 22LR. It doesn't take a large caliber cartridge to kill a deer. As with anything else, it's more to do with shot placement than anything else.

I do have personal experience with the 223 on deer, and IMO it would be my last choice. Yes, it will kill a deer, but a 243 will do a better job, with one hand tied behinds it's back.