300gr Deepcurl, 110gr BH209, Harvester Short Black Sabot, CCI 209M Primer

I ended up taking a button buck that I thought was a little doeling (and since he was just poking thru, it was technically a spike so I had to use a buck tag). He came from behind and was quartering hard towards me, but at 10-15 yards away I felt I had to take the shot or risk getting winded (I could hear other deer making their way in behind him, with about 20 minutes of shooting light left). I aimed just behind the shoulder and fired, and he bolted out of there like he hadn’t been touched. Since I didn’t hear a crash, I thought I missed.

Long story short, I found him about 80 yards away, and by the big skid mark left, he definitely crashed. Blood trail was good for a full-out sprint, but it wasn’t like a bucket of red paint had been spilt. I think that primarily has to do with the path of the bullet. The bullet entered just behind the shoulder and exited through the abdomen, leaving a hole so large that about half of his intestines were hanging out. Luckily it only hit his heart, liver and stomach and didn’t get the intestines. Not the most fun to dress but it could have been worse. By the way, there was no heart left; it had literally exploded.

It never ceases to amaze me that an animal with such a wound can run just like it hadn’t even been touched. I don’t blame the Deepcurl for not dropping him on the spot. I could have aimed for the shoulder or the chest, but I really like to hit rib cage only whenever possible. It was a tough shot but the bullet went exactly where I put it. Now that this load has passed its first test in the field (in staying true to POA with devastating terminal ballistics), I wouldn’t hesitate to take a throat patch shot in the exact same scenario for an instant drop.

I am very, very pleased with such a massive entrance wound, especially at a range of only 10-15 yards. This load shoots 1 MOA, so, pending some absolute and total failure (which I cannot foresee), I see no reason whatsoever to try to come up with another hunting load.