jhamilt

for me, the shortest trails ive had have been from a .50 blackpowder rifle. never had anything go over 80 yards and most have been dead within 30 yards. my 270 has done ok but i have had trail a few 150+ yards. I shoot deer and hogs and i will take a 50 if hunting heavy cover or my 270 if shots out to 150 are possible

unbridled

I've had great results with my .243 w/ 100 Grain Sierra GameKing Soft Point Boat Tails goin as fast as you can get them to go accuratly out of your rifle without them tumbling.

okieshooter

I read about a study that was performed on heart shot animals. The ones that fell on the spot has hemmoraging in the brain and the ones that ran did not. The conclusion was that it depends a lot on the cycle the heart is in at that instant, whether it is pumping blood in or out when the bullet strikes. It made sense to me.

cheeseball

.460 Weatherby would do the trick.

Centaur 1

I believe the best bet is to use an honest deer caliber with bullets on the light end. Before anyone lambastes me hear me out. Deer are easy to kill, period. What other big game animal can be killed just as easily with a .223 or a 45/70. For a high bang/flop percentage I believe that a caliber between .270 and .30 would be best. In less you have the ability to shoot over 400 yards, the magnum calibers aren't needed. Even if you can consistently hit a deer at 1,000 yards, the bullets that are loaded in magnums are built to stay in one piece at magnum velocities. That is the reason that guys will feel disapointed when their new .270wsm doesn't kill as fast as their old .270.

My opinion, so it must be true:

Calibers smaller than .270 need bullets that are at the top end of the weight range, and bullets that are heavy for caliber don't expand as easily as lighter bullets. They work great, just don't expand as quickly as a lighter bullet would.

Most calibers over .30 are also built for critters larger than deer. If a .338 was loaded with a bullet that expanded violently on a deer, then it would probably cripple an elk. Exceptions of course are true deer calibers like the .35 Remington, but it's not a bang/flop round.

If you want the highest probability of a DRT kill with a lung shot, then look at either a .270 with a 130 grain or a 30-06/.308 with a 150 grain bullet. And don't worry about premium bullets, a plain old core-lokt will work best.

ipscshooter

I use broadside lung shots almost exclusively, and have taken deer with .243, 7mm-08, 7mm Rem Mag, and .30-06. Frankly, I haven't seen an iotas worth of difference between the four. I've had bang flops with all of them. I've had deer run 20-40 yards with all of them.

skiking

I have had best luck with my .243 Win and 6mm Rem with 100 gr Hornady BTSP.

Hunting the North

30-06 with Federal Power Shock 150gr. Shot two bucks within the last few years that were in the 300 pound range. Both dropped with a shot to the lungs. Pretty much all the vital organs were disintigrated.

Dalebow

I have to disagree with some here, my 300wsm with 150bst has taken over 30 deer and NONE have taken one step no matter where hit, over 3000 fps and 150gr 30 cal fast expanding round has anchored all of them.

OldBuckstalker1187

In short, there is no ONE caliber or round that does that (everytime) by hitting the deer " ONLY IN THE LUNGS." I have dropped deer in their tracks with numerous rifles and then brought out that same rifle the season after that to watch deer run anywhere from 6 - 70 yards and then the season after that it will drop another one in their tracks again. The only true way to guarantee a "dead in their tracks" shot is to hit them somewhere that effects their central nervous system. Other than that, if a deer happens to drop in its tracks after being hit in the lungs, it has more to do with chance than it did with the rifle or shotgun being used.