RE: what the hell is going on
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While I agree with everything you said about being patient when following a hit deer, your statement about the 75 yards is not always true. The last buck I shot with my 30-30 was a through-through double lung shot (missed the heard, but the lungs were solidly hit). 40 yard shot. The deer, unpushed, went 130 yards before it crashed and burned. He died right at that point, well before I got out of my stand.
I will have to say that this deer was surprising in this regard. I've never had a deer or moose that went more than 75 yards with two holed lungs.
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Zeke,
I can believe that. Adrenaline can work wonders. I have found that a
30-30hit anywhere in the chest cavity in front of the diaphram produces a quick kill. A 130 yard run would still classify as a quick kill in my book. I would say that a shoulder hit deer where the bullet exits from the other shoulder is a very rare creature who goes muchbeyond these distances.
C. Davis