That was a lethal shot you made. And it may have had more to do with the deer's death than the other hunter. For a behind the shoulder shot aimed at theopposite shoulder, which happens to behands down my favorite shot, there is something to be said for a moderately charged all lead hollowpoint.

The expansion and the energy dissipation is going to be there. As long as the rib cage is pierced with plenty of energy left over, the will be a very large wound channel carved through the lungs/heart area. The shockwave is probably better suited for 3 pellets or 110 grains 777 than it is for 2 pyro pellets. So that is definitely will help in the quest for better expansion / energy dissipation.

If you are picky about placement, as you seem to be, and if 120 yards is plenty of range, then you also have the alternative of soft, smushy, all lead projectiles. There are alot great saboted projectiles on the market which would have expanded better, creating a larger wound channel, and dissipated more energy in your whitetail. I really like the 375 SSB for deer but I haven't yet had the opportunity to shoot anything with them yet.

I have a couple of expanded lead bullets right here. The 385 GP is expanded to a diameter of almost 1", the 270 ballet is expanded to a little over 3/4".Were you to choose the 375 SSB and charge it with 80 grains of pellets, it would deliver more energy at 100 yards than 100 grains of pellets and the 250 shockwave. It would do that for a little more recoil than the 100 grain/shockwave load and alot less recoil than the 3 pellet load. So if you picky about your placement and will wait for that behind the shoulder shot, you have more than just the 3 pellet solution.

I've shot alot of deer with 7mm Rem Mag behind the shoulder. It is not unusual for them to run 70 yards. In my experience, a muzzleloader projectile will generallyplant a deer quicker with the same bullet placement. But no more than 90 grain 3f is the mostI've ever used in combination with all lead projectile.