What caliber ammo combo anchors deer fastest for you on lung shots?
12-15-2010, 03:06 PM
#31
Fork Horn
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: WI USA
Posts: 175
Many on here have said there are no guarantees when shooting deer. I would like to clarify that there are probably no legal guarantees. I have not done it, but I am guessing that a deer shot with a Howitzer will bang-flop every time. There are probably some other military calibers smaller than a Howitzer that will also bang-flop deer.
As others have said, the only way to immediately kill a deer is by brain death. Brain death is caused by 2 possible things:
The next most rapid cause of death is by cutting hole through the heart, lungs, liver, or aorta to cause rapid blood loss.
So it would seem to me that the more tissue damage the bullet does, the more likely one of those 2 (or 3) things are to happen. But the size of the bullet does not necessary mean more tissue damage, right? A large bullet that does not expand or travels slowly may do less damage than a smaller bullet that travels quickly or expands violently (due to the splash effect).
What I am getting at is different cartridge/bullet combinations should produce different volumes of tissue damage. They all cannot be the same. While it is not fool proof, the more tissue damage there is, the more likely the game recovery should be quick.
All other factors being equal, as the caliber increases so does the splash effect and that increases the odds of a quick recovery. But it is hard to get the appropriate splash effect at the extremes in caliber. So if you choose to shoot calibers at the bottom or the top of the appropriate range for deer, it becomes harder to find a cartridge/bullet combination that produces the same amount of tissue damage as some of the mid-range calibers.
As others have said, the only way to immediately kill a deer is by brain death. Brain death is caused by 2 possible things:
- Damage directly to the central nervous system
- Damaging the heart/lungs and causing “induced cardiac fibrillation and arrest.”
The next most rapid cause of death is by cutting hole through the heart, lungs, liver, or aorta to cause rapid blood loss.
So it would seem to me that the more tissue damage the bullet does, the more likely one of those 2 (or 3) things are to happen. But the size of the bullet does not necessary mean more tissue damage, right? A large bullet that does not expand or travels slowly may do less damage than a smaller bullet that travels quickly or expands violently (due to the splash effect).
What I am getting at is different cartridge/bullet combinations should produce different volumes of tissue damage. They all cannot be the same. While it is not fool proof, the more tissue damage there is, the more likely the game recovery should be quick.
All other factors being equal, as the caliber increases so does the splash effect and that increases the odds of a quick recovery. But it is hard to get the appropriate splash effect at the extremes in caliber. So if you choose to shoot calibers at the bottom or the top of the appropriate range for deer, it becomes harder to find a cartridge/bullet combination that produces the same amount of tissue damage as some of the mid-range calibers.
12-16-2010, 05:19 AM
#32
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Idaho
Posts: 1,081
Beleive it or not, i have personally seen more deer dropped in there tracks from a 6mm Rem and 243 Win. than any other cartrige. And I am talking about deer from Idaho and Washington state, where they have big bodied deer.
12-16-2010, 10:06 AM
#33
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Virginia / West Virginia
Posts: 4,906
I've shot anywhere from 2-6 deer a year for the last 20+yrs - with all types of guns, including pistols, shotguns, m/l, and rifles (of varying cal - mostly .280). There are no guarantees with any normal hunting weapon. I almost always shoot my deer through the vitals, and they all react differently. I've had quite a few bang flops, and many that I was suprised how far they ran actually with a very lethal hit. I've shot enough to know one thing....deer are tough, always expect the unexpected. I also believe that if anyone says all their deer are bang flop in the lungs, they are probably lying or they haven't shot many deer.
I've seen my son do that to a few the last few years with his .243
Beleive it or not, i have personally seen more deer dropped in there tracks from a 6mm Rem and 243 Win. than any other cartrige. And I am talking about deer from Idaho and Washington state, where they have big bodied deer.
