Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Quickest Killing Cartridges on Big Game

223AI

If deer are the "big game", then my pick would be my .22 CHeetah - shooting 53 grain Barnes X's @ 4285 fps.

I've had fast kills with about everything I've used.The faster cartridges,when coupled with Bitterroot bullets have demonstrated more dramatic effect than anything else.That goes for the 375 as well as other cartridges.

But in the end,placement and proper bullets are more important than caliber and cartridge in producing quick kills.

It does seem to me that (assuming proper placement) the heavier the bullet, the more certain the animal's demise.

But, having said that, I'd opine, the faster the bullet - the more dramatic the animal's demise.

.358 does a bang-up job for me... I like how it kills fast, but with minimal bloodshot.

Sample size of 6 is all though. Weight the info appropriatly.

#1 for me is the 6.5 Rem Mag shooting 120 gr. Ballistic Tips.

#2 is the .250 Savage with 100 gr. Partitions.

Oddly enough the farthest I've had deer run after good hits where with the .358 Winchester and the .350 Rem Mag.

I'm a heart / lung shooting type guy so the big slower bullets may not open as fast on these small southern deer....

My 30/378 with a 165 grain Barnes TSX did a bang up job on a mulie spike at 200 yds on the nose.
I hit the thing low in the chest and literally gutted the lungs and heart as they were laying on the outside of the deer when I got to it.

7-08 140 partitions. Best killing performer I've owned yet.

IME ... NBT's on most deer = DED deer

25-06 120 Hornady Hollowpoint

270 Win 130 Speer Hotcor flatbase

7 Rem Mag 139 Hornady S.P. flatbase
7 Rem Mag 160 Speer Hotcor flatbase

300 WSM 165 TSX

The .257 Roy, is a friggin' lightning bolt on deer.

I've killed a bunch, and been 'round a bunch killed, but I don't think there's anything out there that just ZAPs deer, like the .257Roy.

Agreed, but I am hoping to see how a deer reacts to a Barnes original .348 220 gr bullet at 2600-2700 out of my newly aquired model 71 so chambered. Should put 'em down pretty quick like if the range is not too far.

I've only shot 2 deer with my Savage Muzzle loader, but they've both gone straight down with double lung shots. I run a 250 grain XTP (.451" dia) at 2300 fps (Savage's #'s not mine as I've never chronied it.)

Just a guess, but maybe it is because that rifle is the one in your hand most often. Practice makes perfect.

On large "deer" - moose, I've had three bam-flops which relates to about 10%. They have come with cup-n-cores (2) and a double shoulder socket (X). Otherwise, the rest have all died rather quickly with anything from 7mm-08 and up (through 340 and 45-70).

On caribou, I once looked all day for an approachable band of animals. Then, close to dusk, I got right into the middle of a cooperative band. A 7mm-08 and 139 SP Hornadys put four animals down without an struggle at all in under a minute.

All that said, if you poke a long enough hole in the right enough place, things are going to get dead pretty quick. The cartridge is barely relevant to the discussion.

Bullets, on the other hand...

270 win. 130 nosler partition

quickest kills I've had were.

8x57 and 30-06

338 ultra mag pushing 225 gr accubonds at 3210 fps

30-06 green Remm 150 grain I have never had to track a deer with this combo. Bang down.... All of the deer where hit in the vitals and I have lost count of the deer some where near 30 deer both mulies and black tails. The only deer I ever had to track was a mulie 4x3 shot in the heart with 243 he ran about 60 yards right to me and died about 20 feet away oh that was a 100 grain green remmy..grin!