What Style Bullet For Deer .300 Win Mag
Hello all. Thanks for looking. I have a question for all of you in the know regarding which factory cartridge and bullet I should use for an upcoming trip to Manitoba for whitetail. After most of a lifetime, I moved up from a .30-06 caliber to a Sauer .300 Win Mag before I went to Manitoba last year. I was told I might expect a 300 yard shot, so I selected Federal 180 grain Nosler AccuBond. They grouped sub-1/2" at 100 yards very nicely for me so I sure couldn't complain about that.
On the last day of my hunt last year I shot a very nice Canadian whitetail. The shot it turned out wasn't anywhere near 300 yards. It was 35 yards which was much more likely anywhere I hunted there. The shot placement had to be just a little high and at the back of the lung because of obstructions that were in the way. I was happy to see hair and blood at the point of impact. However, as I began tracking, there was no blood. Fortunately there was snow and what I could faintly see on the snow was something that looked like atomized spray that was so fine you wouldn't have been able to see it if there hadn't been snow. I expected a massive blood trail. The deer didn't hardly go 60 yards through the thick brush and with the snow it was easy to track his hoof prints, but the point is, no good blood trail even though he was bleeding profusely into the body cavity.
So, for those of you who actually shoot a .300 win mag in the field at deer my question is, what factory cartridge and bullet have you found tobe the best load for you and why? Thanks for you're input!