Originally Posted by
sabotloader
spaniel
Why in the world would you even consider a bullet that allowed an animal to 150 yards a success. That is a lot of suffering that is not necessary. I can not stand an animal going more than 20 yards and even that ticks me off. I have hunted since a kid and i also have no idea of the number of deer I have shot, I know I am at 25 or 26 elk and yet the longest animal I have tracked that I can remember is 60 yards (other than one deer). Here you just can let an animal go far or you really could loose it in the terrain we hunt.
Remember the differences in species and terrain we hunt. When you shoot a whitetail that knows you are there and is nervous, on flat, wide open fields, the blast of the shot will spook them and they take off at full speed. How long does it take a whitetail to run 100-150 yds at top speed? Just a few seconds, no unneeded suffering required. Like I said, my buck this year ran 100 yds and change with no recognizable heart left, lungs tore up, liver hit, and the bullet continuing to his back quarter. Nothing short of an RPG would have brought him down any faster. I once shot a button buck broadside from 6 FEET with a shotgun slug, liquifying the chest, and he made it 90 yards on adrenaline alone.
Perhaps out west where deer see fewer people they don't run as fast or far. My limited experience with muleys and whitetails in MT is that they seemed a lot "tamer" than our deer here, who are probably each spooked 3-4 times a day the beginning of the season and looking for an excuse to high-tail it.
Deer shot at longer ranges, where the sound of the shot does not give them the adrenaline shot and they are less sure of what is going on, typically don't run much at all. All of my 200yd+ shots have been DRT.
The only way around here to guarantee you won't have a deer run 100 or on occasion 150 yds (although shorter is more typical) is to anchor them with a shoulder shot, which I don't like to do as the meat damage is more. Bullet type doesn't make a significant difference. Since the deer would usually need to cover 400+ yds to get out of sight, it is not a concern for me.