What rifle cartridge destroys the most meet on deer?

[ths78]

I think the 30-06 destroys the most meet on deer. What do you think?

[Handles]

??? Why would you think that?

Most meat destruction depends on the bullet and bullet placement as well as velosity. Hit a buck in the butt with a .243 and balistic tips at 80 yards and it will ruin some meat.

[James B]

Very true. It is the bullet that does the Damage. A fragil bullet at high velocity can cause a lot of damage from any caliber. Hitting a major bone can cause over expansion and blow bone chips through the meat. A shot through the vitals without hitting a big bone does not, as a rule ,destroy to much meat. If you can hit the head or neck, you won't loose much meat.

I have shot deer with a 300RUM with nosler partition and didn't see any more damage than if I shot it with a 270win. Of course I aim for the double lung shot. I don't eat the ribs and grind up most shoulder meat. Where are you guys hitting deer to see all this meat damage?

[Doe Dumper]

If you hit anywhere near meat with a 130 grain from a .270 you tend to lose the whole area.

[RonK]

I've had the .30/06 ruin very little meat and I've also had it ruin about 1/3 of the meat of a deer. I think its a case of where and what you hit on the game.

[charlie brown]

I have shot (and seen many other people shoot) deer with a .30-06. As long as the shots are in the vitals (ribcage) there is virtually no meat damage. It all depends on where the shot is placed. Even if a bad shot is made, it doesn't mean it will ruin a lot of meat. One year, I shot a 180 lb or so mule deer in the back of the rib cage, hitting the liver and back of the lungs. It hunched up and looked like I gut shot it, so I shot again. He was running after I shot him the first time, and I failed to lead him properly for the second shot. The second shot went right across the top of the hams, breaking the backbone. The deer went straight down with that shot. I ruined only maybe 2 or 3 lbs of meat total, most on the far side of the backbone, and the bullet exited. Really not too much damage. I was shooting 165 gr. Sierra Gameking handloads that day. I think when you get into much higher velocity rounds such as the 7 STW (which I saw the result of my boss taking a 75 yd shot at a small mulie, near the top of the ribcage, just clipping the shoulder blade, and the whole off side shoulder was bloodshot and had tons of tiny bone fragments in it, not sure what bullet), and very fragile bullets, then meat damage can become a problem if a bad shot is made.

[skeeter 7MM]

I have yet to see a rifle cartridge ruin meat, the same can not be said about the guys holding that rifle cartridge! Bullets do and can effect meat loss though especially if pushed to extremes.

[swampcruiser]

Meet? what country are you joining the forum from?

[JagMagMan]

Double lung shots = vertually zero meat damage with just about any caliber, as long as the bullets are stong enough not to fragment!