Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles What caliber, bullet cause the least amount of bloodshot and meat damage?

What round, bullet combo do you use on Big Game to minimize the meat damage and bloodshot meat?

So many variables - impossible to answer. Can you at least narrow down your question to a particular game animal or particular range?

.54 caliber round ball through the ribs will result in less damage for me but it also results in tracking which I am not real fond of so I continue to shoot high and forward striking the CNS.

I like 7mags,308 Wins,30-06's,300 Win Mags.As for bullets,Nosler Ballistic Tips and Accubonds.

Where you shoot 'em can matter as much as what ya shoot 'em with.

Double lung with my 45/70 doesn't suck though.

I've seen guys hit big game with .300 win mags with 150gr and 180gr sp bullets and wind up leaving a lot of damaged meat in the field. Ranges will very quite a bit for Deer, Elk, Moose, Black Bear.

.30-30 Winchester with about any 170 grain bullet.

A bullet that retains its weight (Barnes is a good example) put behind the shoulder will produce little meat damage. If you’re a sniper a head shot works.

400 Whelen, 400 grain Woodleigh, 2150 fps. Any further questions?

Not so much a matter of the cartridge, but the bullet and impact velocity.

I hunted one year recently almost exclusively with my 300 Win Mag and a 165 SST. Killed several deer. Mostly lung shots. Never again. That bullet was fragmenting and leaving bullet fragments in meat that we only found while eating.

Same cartridge with a 180 GameKing and no more fragmenting on deer.

For conventional bullets I just try to keep velocity around 28-2900 fps, tops. I also try to avoid bone and major muscle groups. Broadside lung shots are ideal, IMO.

Shot a Blacktail with a 405 Win and 300 Hornady SP . Big bullet low velocity only bones busted were rib. "You could eat up to the hole"

For whitetail an 80gr TTSX .243 behind the shoulder is an eat to the hole affair. I’m also a fan of shooting does in the neck with whatever is handy.

45-70 Remington 405 jsp at under 1500 fps through the boiler room. Nice big hole and easy blood trail. Eat right up to the hole.

About the best you can do is shoot heavy for caliber bullets at relatively sedate speeds and try to not hit bones .... which is a pretty tall order, especially if you are shooting relatively long range...

My "long range" deer was all of 35 yards this year. 😉

I would have to say the .303 174gn Hornady RN at 2450fps.

The 35 Whelen with 225 partitions started at 2550fps is pretty decent on low meat loss also....mb

Just curious what your ROT is Bob? Was talking to someone with a Whelen that favored 180/200, which seemed sort of besides the point of moving up from 06.

My 35 Whelen is a std M77RS what were they? 1 in 14 or 1 in 16? I shot a deer with the 200 gr corelokt and it worked ok but 225 's in npt do less damage to the eating . I've used them on a 5x5 bull and a cow , 2 whitetails....mb

Big, slow & heavy is what you are looking for.