Hi Guys,

Lets here it....What do you consider to be the general minimum energy level for planning to take whitetails assuming the use of suitable bullets?
Also would that number change if you were specifically discussing a rifled slug gun?
Finally, generally speaking, what is the minimum levels you would want to retain for taking whitetails in the 100-125 range with a 20ga sabot slug gun.

Thanks in advance,
JC

Well, I don't know much about energies, but I do know that any 20 gauge sabot slug I've ever seen will drop a deer out to 125 yards or further (if the shot placement is good). My best friend has killed several deer with his 20 gauge at 120+ yards - no tracking required for any of them. I'd say that the trajectory & shot placement are the most important thing- if you put the bullet where it needs to be, the deer is going down.

I personally don't find bullet energy discussions useful for shotgun slugs and muzzleloaders because they generally kill by direct tissue damage, as opposed to centerfire rifles which tend to kill more by shock. A heavy, slow, shotgun slug or muzzleloader bullet will usually kill a deer quickly if it is placed properly, regardless of what the "paper" energy level is. At least that's been my experience. My hunting buddy's daughter has taken several deer with .410 slugs - which are (IMO) very underpowered for deer, but the range was short and the placement was good, so the deer went down.

The general rule I've always heard has been 1000ft-lbs of energy for deer hunting.

Though I'm guessing the TKO of a 20ga slug at 150yds is way more than say the TKO of a .243 at 150yds...

but ya a 20ga slug I think out to 200yds can do the job no sweat.

X2

That's what I have always heard was 1000#

1000 ft/lbs is also what I've heard as the recommended minimum - I think a 20 gauge slug will have plenty of energy for anything in North America at 100-125 yards, except for maybe the biggest of the big grizzlies

This minumum energy BS is just that. Bullet performance is more important, and shot placement is everything. My 54 caliber Hawken will not produce the minumum energy usually specified, but the big ball will take deer cleanely if I put the ball in the right spot.

I've dropped a doe in her tracks at 338 yds with a 200gr .40cal ML bullet leaving the muzzle at 2050fps....arriving with around 500-600 ft-lbs of energy. Complete pass-thru, DRT.

Bullet placement is 1st. Bullet performance is 2rd. Energy is somewhere on the periphery for larger-caliber projectiles.

The people who tought 1000 ft-lbs as a "minimum" are probably the same jokers I saw on a hunting show stating that a 300 Winchester Magnum was the minimum cartridge acceptable for whitetails. You don't have to gut a deer with the shot to kill it.

kinetic energy never killed a thing.
Total BS.
The hole you put through a deer is what kills and nothing else.

Um... Kinetic energy is absolutely what does the killing when dealing with ANY object in motion, be it a bullet or a tractor-trailer. When a Peterbilt hits a deer at 70 mph, I can assure you that it's the kinetic energy that the truck has by virtue of being a mass in motion that splatters that deer all over the concrete.

Without kinetic energy the bullet would be useless. It's the kinetic energy that provides the force to to the work of punching the aforementioned hole in the deer, which is ultimately what kills it. No KE, no hole, no dead deer.

Mike

a 1 lb gel-filled bag launched at 60 fps, and a 490 gr broadhead arrow travelling at 225 fps. Both have a kinetic energy of 55 ft-lbs. Which would you rather be hit by? The kinetic energy of the gel-filled bag would be completely absorbed on impact, and would be painful but it wouldn't kill you.
If energy killed you could shoot a man in the foot with a 30-06 and he would die.