The “given” here, is that the rifle you chose is capable of an ethical deer harvest.
Next is US, you and me. The best way to explain what drops a deer fast, is largely, the accuracy of WE the shooters and shot placement.
As i began the article, of course the caliber and cartridge must be adequate. For an ethical deer harvest, a delivered energy minimum is suggested at 1000 ft-lbs in order to penetrate through vitals such as heart and lungs.
Exit wounds are helpful for tracking thus, I prefer more delivered energy. With todays rifles, it’s a given, that the rifle has some bench rest accuracy at or near MOA meaning shots will group about an inch spread at 100 yards.
My favorite deer calibers for most hunters begins with the 243 Winchester for really low recoil yet adequate for broadside shots, and all the way to a 300 Win. Mag up to .375 H&H or .375 Ruger for dangerous or very large game.
If you hand load as I do, all the better, then you can customize your load to fit the game you hunt.
The 300 Win Mag and .375 can be downloaded for deer as well. I download the .375 Ruger with a 235 grain Speer Hot Core at speeds of around 2200 fps for out to 100 yards or so. I took a 150 pound red deer at 40 yards with a 225 grain flat nose bullet traveling at 1600 fps hand loaded in my .375 Ruger. She fell dead in 10 yards with full penetration and a heart shot.
My Safari rifle, years back, was a .338 Win Mag with 250 grain Nosler Partition bullets. I used it on plains game animals such as blesbok, impala, springbok and Kudu. They all fell right there, to a single well placed shot in the heart/lung area.
There are several rifle attributes for many, including me, to shoot accurately. First, The deer rifle must fit when I shoulder the rifle with a hunting jacket on.
Too long a stock, and it will never make it quickly to your cheek on cold November day in New England.
Second, a trigger that is crisp and not too heavy. For me, three pounds is about right. If you don’t know when your trigger breaks to fire, then you are likely to have a difficult time placing the shot correctly.
Third, I must be able to handle the recoil.
Fourth, if using a scope as I do, a good cheek weld in alignment with the scope is vital. I love Leupold scopes for optical quality at a fair price. They are rugged!
Fifth, is a state-of-the-art recoil pad that reduces felt recoil by 50%. Less felt recoil translates effectively to improved accuracy. I use the Pachmayr Decelerator™.
Sixth, is a gun that is not too heavy to carry all day. My limit is around 9 pounds with scope for large calibers but prefer 7 to 8 pounds with scope here in New England.
Bullet Attributes
Best in class bullets today for hunting big game begin with bullets that tend to stay together such as core-lock types but even better are partition bullets where the forward point is soft and the rear partition is hard and continues to penetrate. Today we also have both highly effective bonded bullets, such as the Nosler AccuBond et al., where the lead is bonded to the copper and monolithic gilding copper bullets. Bullets like the Nosler E-Tip and Hornady GMX, where the bullet flares inside game with mushrooming or petals and retains nearly 100% of its original weight.
Pure copper monolithic bullets from Barnes work too and retain most weight, but I have had difficulty keeping my barrels clean of copper, so I avoid them. Some folks find them excellent in their rifle and that is fine.
Most bullets offered today for center fire rifles are pointed spitzer types often with synthetic tips that push open a hollow cavity and flare or mushroom. These are great all around bullets that are best shot in the open and at long distances. But don’t discount round nose and flat nose bullets out to 300 yards. These bullets are designed for heavy brush, shorter range and deliver great punch to drop big game. I even have a 160 grain round nose from Hornady for my 6.5 Creedmoor. However I must hand load them as there are no commercial off-the-shelf rounds widely available for deer size game.
I prefer either Nosler or Hornady bonded or monolithic for spitzer styles and core lock copper jacket styles offered by Hornady for round nose short range brush.
There is a movement perhaps toward monolithic copper, I believe because, it maintains nearly 100% of its bullet weight in game. I prefer both the Nosler gilding copper E-Tip or Hornady gilding GMX. Experimentation will determine if you like the accuracy from them in your rifle.
Shot Placement
In a perfect world the game is standing broadside. Bullets should be placed in the heart/lung area which, if broadside is just behind the front leg about a third up from the brisket. Shots that are facing are iffy if you can’t place the bullet in the center of the chest to take out the heart and damage both lungs. Best shot placement, besides broadside, often require a more powerful rifle above the 243 Winchester when the animal is quartering away or towards and capable of breaking bone and reaching vitals. Neck shots as vital vertebrae and arteries are a guessing game for me, so I resist that shot.
Bullet Speed and Energy
Bullet speed has only one terminal ballistic requirement, that delivers sufficient energy to reach and damage vital organs for a quick death. As I said earlier, many have evidenced that delivered bullet energy in the 1000 ft-lb is a minimum for deer. Talk about hydrostatic shock for a very fast bullet for an instant deer dropping kill has some proponents, but again, shot placement is key. Equally are those who shoot large diameter bullets that go much slower. Both will kill humanely. The greatest example of large and slower is the 50 caliber muzzleloader which launches a 250 to 400 grain projectile at just over 2000 fps.
Shot placement is key for a quick humane kill!
I shot a trophy Texas buck with my T/C 50 cal. muzzleloader right behind the front leg with a 295 grain bullet at 2300 fps. He fell as if pole axed with his legs in the air.
And on occasion, the hydraulic effect of driving fluids like blood from a heart shot to hydraulically damage the brain from a chest wound does happen on occasion. This effect can turn the brain off like a switch for an instant kill.
In closing, the key here is still shot placement.
Good Hunting!
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