Definitely leaves a mark.

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95lb doe at 90yds. It was raining, so tried to limit the tracking, but the ole girl still made it 60yd and died along side a deep creek. Glad she didn't make it to the water.

If she made it 60 yards you clearly didn't use enough gun. Respect the game next time.

Sincerely,
Savage_99

LOL

Nothing to be proud of there.

It's hard to tell from the pics, but most of the meat looks fine to me. Covered in blood that needs to be cleaned off, but not much bloodshot or destroyed meat.

Who said anything about "proud?"

Simple display of how well the lightweight pill holds up at fast velocity on bone. I'd guess from the size of the exit that petals held. These hold up very well for their size even in much larger deer.

Caliber?

Not too much was lost Jordan. I lost a bit of the onside shoulder to bone frags.

300 Win Mag
R+P Case
215GM
77g R17(work up of course)
10 shot avg 3560, ES 10(24"bbl)

Had a similar experience, .240 with 80 gr. TTSX at 3,600 fps. Doe hit at 80 yds., ran a hundred yards. Had to find her after dark in the woods. Lots of blast and blood clot. Bullet passed thru the chest with only mod damage.

If all that destruction had been inside the chest, she may have died a lot quicker.

DF

DF,

Had a similar occurrence with a 100TTSX at 3700 from a 257Wby on a rib impact. Tiny hole in and out with a hole the size of your index finger through both lungs. 100lb WT doe that traveled 150yds after impact with a sparse trail. I don't think it opened, but it's the only TTSX I don't feel opened for me.

DR & 7RM... do you guys thing that at those speeds the petals seared off and it was only the base that traveled through the animal? Clearly asking about your experience with the lighter bullets being pushed that hard. Obviously the 30s work well

In the .257 example I mentioned, I don't think so. There was no surface damage, just a small hole through and through. DF's looks like he had some surface damage? That could've been the case for him.

Longshot,

It seems the more I learn, the less I know about this stuff. Ever get that feeling?

I don't know if the initial impact was petals flying off, or just tissue damage from the shock effect. All I know, the deer traveled way too far to suit me.

I wouldn't think velocity could overpower a monometal projectile, but I don't know. I'm shooting 100 gr TTSX at 3,250 in my .257R, but haven't killed a deer yet, just a coyote and it definitely ruined his day.

My 26 Nosler loves 120 TAC-XT's at 3,450 fps. That combo kills stuff pretty well with a good bit of tissue damage. I can't tell terminal performance difference between that load and 140 NAB/NPT's at 3,200 fps.

Chest shooting WT's, it seems to me VLD's and Scenars at 2,900-3,000 fps do a good job messing up the chest cavity, with DRTs or short runs and that at 6.5-284 speeds with 140's.

Seems balance is an important ballistic factor and I'm always looking for the right combos. Very high velocity seems more of an issue with LR shooting and wind bucking, not necessarily how quickly a critter dies.

Interesting Loony stuff with lots of variables.

DF

95 lb. and a shoulder shot?

I shot those out of one of my rifles for the last 3 years or so,
though not quite that fast - 72 grains of R17 in a 300 H&H.
Thought they were "ok", I wouldn't panic if I HAD to shoot monos,
but had several run a bit further than I thought they should've, given where they were hit. Drug one back about 150 yards through solid saw-briars, looked like I'd lost a fight with a wildcat when I got back to the lane. Not using them anymore until (if)
I have to...

LOL

Actually, that's a large doe for that place. They are typically 80-90lb with my largest there being 115(scales, not guesstimates).

Pouring rain, monometal, and deer standing 20yds from a deep swift creek......shoulders all day long

In Louisiana, upland, piney woods deer are generally smaller than hardwood bottom, Delta deer. In the Delta, I've seen 150# does, even a 160. They usually run 120-140#.

Those big, mature does can be the most wary animal in the woods, often more spooky than a buck. Those can be a challenge. The younger ones are easier to harvest, but won't be quite as heavy.

DF

I've posted this South Carolina deer kill study before. It contrasts bullet types with DRT and how far the deer traveled after being hit.

Premium bullets didn't perform as well as softer C&C.

http://www.dnr.sc.gov/wildlife/deer/articlegad.html

DF

Very true. Our place in the MS Delta farmland produces does as large as or larger than our 3.5-4.5yo bucks just East of there in the iron ore piney hills. Bucks go 80-120lb heavier as well. Amazing what soil quality and groceries can do.

We like to chest shoot our deer to save meat.

I've about decided to use basic C&C bullets based on the South Carolina study, link posted above.

I just got some 117 gr. MidwayUSA blems that are probably Hornady and some Sierra 117 gr. Pro-Hunters to try in my .257R.

It shoots 100 gr. TTSX into half inch groups at 3,250 fps, whereas the 117's will crank along at 2,800 or so. I have some 115 NBT's loaded at 2,900 and they also shoot half inch.

Will try these on WT's and hogs, and report.

DF

I have scaled 2 does over 180 lbs out of north Louisiana. Both were old ninnies. Two of the oldest deer I have killed by teeth wear guessing both deer were out of Bienville parish. But on different hunting properties. Real big bucks run 200-220 in weight. M8x57