Wolfhound76

I know what you mean. I live in a sluggun state too and I've seen deer hit with big slugs run forever. IMO big heavy slugs are the third worst projectile for hunting after roundballs and arrows.

I'll take amuzzleloader over any sluggun anytime. I no longer hunt with a sluggun and in fact sold my slug barrel a few years ago. I haven't hunted with one since 2000.

Flatland Hunter

Patrick them is fightin words to most White enthusiasts!

In a strictly BP/sub sabot gun I prefer a 250gn... in my Savage I like the 300gn better... in my Whites no less than 460gn. I have deer run farther, on average when they run, with my 250gn shots...

In answer to the question I have tried the 300gn .44 cal and could never get them to shoot as accurate as a .45 cal bullet.

sabotloader

yeoman

"In a heart beat...." with or without a rest -> that would be a challenge, and if I missed - I would sit there another hour waiting for him to come back up cause warm lead is a comin' again

yeoman

SL - from a philosophical perspective, why do we let one fly at the squirrel and not the deer out thar? Do we think they'd have let one fly at the deer 100 years ago? I think so. I've read many accounts by Howard Hill of arrows loosed at >100 yds at running deer, 50 years ago. Whatchathink?

sabotloader

yeoman

For me and only me, i would take the 200 yard shot at a peeper:
1. because the chances of me actually hitting the peeper are zip point nothing to nothing... but i think I could get very close.
2. if I did hit it I hanestly do not think I would have to worry about wounding it - it would be dead with that size bullet in that body.

Not the " deer out thar" - The real thing comes down to the reason #1 - I think I would get real close - not good enough for me when shooting big game...

100 yearsago (maybe even 25 years ago - I might still have the physical abilities to take that shot with out a problem - especially if I were doing it on a regular basis), but then again 100 years ago you probably would not have to take that shot - there was a lot more game available and most often you were not trophy hunting you were hunting for the freezer - 200 years ago it would have been for food when needed at the ranges you that were driven by hunger.

Just thinking

yeoman

I think we take the peeper shot because we, or, more properly, society, places less value on a squirrel than a deer. It's part size, part eyes, part perceived intelligence, and mostly, conditioning. A wounded ground squirrel dragging itself through a backyard garners less attention than a deer. It helps if we can put a critter in the "pest" category too.

100 years ago there were fewer deer where I live. Either way,taking the long shot for food would have been societally acceptable.

Wolfhound76

I don't mean to offend anyone, butthat is what I think. I don't like too heavy or too light bullets. 250 is about optimum. The longest I've ever had a deer run is 50 yards throwing blood everywhere. Most I've shot just drop.

Flatland Hunter

Not offended Patrick, just playing around with you. I have never had a deer just drop except when hit with my .243 or .270. Every one, except one, has gone at least 30 yds... no matter what I used in my ML and without exception they are all boier room hits.

sabotloader

I guess I would like to add my personal biases also... while agreeing with Patrick, (wolfhound) -I really do think the 240/250/260 grain bullet is the right choice for deer, even black bear, and Idaho with what ever species of Moose we have it would work well there also. Heck I would even say it would work on elk - i am talking Nosler 260 grain Partition, but I do prefer the 300 grainon that occaission - much thicker skin

As I have said before it all comes down to location - location - location & then bullet perfromance

cayugad

Well I grew up in a part of Wisconsin that was shotgun only for deer. I hunted for years with a 12 gauge and shot and killed a lot of deer. I never had a deer make more then thirty yards after being hit. My Dad once, had a nice deer run past him. He fired three times with his 12 gauge and it finally dropped. All three hits were perfect placed, even grouped you could say. To this day we could not figure out how that deer ran getting blasted through the heart and lungs like that. Deer are amazing creatures.

With muzzleloaders, I hunted for many years with large conicals and a simple roundball. I'd hate to guess how many deer I have taken with a muzzleloader. Again, very few were ever shot and made it out of sight. Most were what I call a double leap and fold type drop. Only one I can think of ran off from me, and that was all my fault. Poor shot placement and nothing more.

Now that I am hunting with sabots and large conicals, and every time I am loaded with them... see nothing. Grab an old traditional rifle with a roundball and I seem to make venison that day. I guess I should have stuck with what always worked.

I should point out, I shot a lot of deer with modern center fire rifles also. While most dropped where they stood, some managed to run off a short ways, but I always had a blood trail for the most part. That is my big fear with sabots. After reading posts of how XTP's some times do not pass through, and other times they do. Maybe that is why I like big lead too.... it always worked for me.