Sling

Thought I would give everyone some follow up on what happened this season. I was using a .30-06 for the first time and had already commited to using 180 grain soft point (round-nose) bullets based on the advice of a couple of friends. While I did have some success, I think I could have made better choice.

I was lucky enough to get a shot at deer opening day (about 75 yards broadside). The deer looked a little hunched up, but it sprinted about 50 yards angling away from me after I shot and stopped in the brush(offering a sharp quatering away shot). In hindsight, the deer was most likely dead on its feet, but I was having doubts based on the way it took off. After pausing for a few seconds, I shot again at about 100 yards and the deer took off again!

I was a little nervous at this point (new gun and all), but I ended up finding him about 30 yards futher in the brush.

The first shot was maybe an inch back, but was a solid lung shot (exit hole about the size of a nickle). The second shot entered at the back of the rib cage and stuck in the opposite shoulder (I could not find an exit hole). The deer dressed out at 175, which is not real big for this area, but I guess it was not small either.

I basically had a lot of tissue damage, but I am not sure how much energy actually transfered to the deer. When I went to look for blood where I took the first shot, instead of finding some drops on the ground, I found an old oak tree spattered from about knee hight to chest high. The blood trail looked like someone took a spray paint and sprayed all the way to the deer.

Maybe I should not complain, but it does bother me that the deer was that mobile after that shot. I am thinking about switching to ballistic tips or SST's next year based on some other posts, but I have some reservations due to some of the reports that they over expand on shoulder hits.

I guess my new question is do the 165 grain SST/Ballistic Tip bullets handle a shoulder hit better than the 150's, or if they are about the same?