How much meat damage?
 

Well it's that time again. Season's over and time to start looking at new guns for next year. My question is much more specific than which gun to buy but will probably stir controversy equally well. What caliber will be LEAST destructive to meat in deer? .270 or 30-06? I have heard horror stories about how much meat the .270 will destroy on a deer and my deer are not big to start with. I don't want to lose the whole shoulder because a .270 blew it to parts unkown on exit. It is however one of the most popular deer calibers out there. I already have a 30-30 and slug gun so I'm covered out to 150 yards or so. I want to extend that now. I don't have a lot of long shots but they do present themselves from time to time and I would like to be able to take them. Thanks in advance.

RE: How much meat damage?
 

i have a 30-06 it blew a big ol hole in the doe i shot.270 and 30-06 are almost in the same ball park.i like the 30-06 shoots preety far to. longest shot was 450 yards.

RE: How much meat damage?
 

I have a .270 and I don't think that It does any more meat damage than the .06. It all depends on the bullet, powder charge, and shot placement. ;)

RE: How much meat damage?
 

Federal premium nosler partition seems to do very well on controlled expansion and stopping power. If you use something like the ballistic tip, you will destroy a lot more meat.;)

RE: How much meat damage?
 

i shot a deer friday with my 30-06 first one ive shot with that gun and im shooting balistic tips winchester 168gr to be spicific and i was under the impression it would blow the deer in 2 from the way everyone talked but the hole wasent no bigger then a quarter to be honest i was disapointed it was a double lung through the ribs but i was exoecting to have a hole the size of my fist so personally i think you`d be alrite with a 30-06 as far as damage goes but now im in the market for a new round to fire i dont like trailing deer i perfer they drop like a brick and i shoot where theres not much meat(ribs) so im now looking for something that pack a little more whallop

sean

RE: How much meat damage?
 

You need a 338 mag to drop deer;)

RE: How much meat damage?
 

What is the best shot placement? your opinion, if the deer will turn any way you wish, which is the best to save meat?

RE: How much meat damage?
 

ribs
hey can you make deer ribs like you would pork or beef?

RE: How much meat damage?
 

i have a few friends who cook deer ribs just like pork or beef but i dont know about up north but down here our deer are skinny and theres not much meat on the ribs but like i said i have friends who eat them and as far as shot placement i shoot for the ribs just behind the shoulder less bones to hit and thinner bones and the lungs are right there and theres not much meat in the ribs just gotta make sure the shots not to far back or you`ll hit the stomach and everyonce in a while a good ol neck shot will do the trick but its a small target

sean

RE: How much meat damage?
 

You know, I see all these posts from time to time worried about meat damage. For me personally, getting the deer is my first priority, meat damage is secondary. If you want to drop deer consistantly with little meat damage, shoot a premium controlled expansion bullet like a trophy-bonded bearclaw ( wich is what I shoot ) or others like the a-frame or scirrocco, or barnes x, Hornady came out with a new one this year for 2003, but they didn't get 'em in production for the stores in my area to have them. Anyway, let me explain my way of thinking, ya'll can agree or disagree, but here in Louisiana with our liberal bag limit I have plenty of experience. The area where I hunt, I don't want to have to blood trail a deer if I can help it, these cut-overs are so thick, one hop and it is so thick you have to crawl through it. So 90% of the time I'm aiming for a slightly high shoulder shot, if they don't drop then I pulled off a little, but the good thing is, if I do pull I'm still in the vitals. I shoot the bearclaws, because on the off chance that I do have to blood trail I KNOW I'll have an exit hole, and with the bullet retaining most of it's weight meat damage is minimal, even with the .300 mag. Besides that, there ain't nothing in the shoulder anyway except hamburger or roasts. I shoot 150 grn bullets in the .300, 165grn in my '06, and 140 grners in my 7 mag. I used to shoot the barnes x, but went to the bear claws because they have just enough lead in them to make a bigger exit hole than the solid copper barnes x, had an experience with a double lung shot several years ago and although I had no trouble finding the deer, I wasn't satisfied with the blood trail, those barnes x's made small exit holes in my experience, the few that I have had to trail with the bearclaws on the other hand, I was extremely pleased. My 2 cents for what it's worth, good luck in 2004!

RE: How much meat damage?
 

isn't that the reason we hunt deer is for the meat?

[Deleted]
 

[Deleted by Admins]

RE: How much meat damage?
 

Any caliber that would be suitable for deer will damage meat. The key is shot placement, if you want to minimize damage, the lung shot is your best bet.

RE: How much meat damage?
 

The caliber is not near as important as the bullet you use. As explained above, fragil bullets at high velocity will either fail and not penetrate or blow up a lot of meat. I like the middle bullet weights in the middle caliber and control meat damage with shot placement. If I am up close I will take a head or neck shot. If its important to drop the deer in its tracks, I like a high shoulder shot. I mean right at the top just over the main shoulder blade. This will miss the loin but damage the spine area enough to usually plant them right there. This will also disable the shoulder and generally tip them over right away. In a big magnum rifle I would use the heavier bullets. At least 180 grain if not 200 in the 30 calibers and something like the 160 grain in the sevens. They won't open quite as quick and do less meat damage as a rule. Back when I had magunietes I shot quite a few deer with the 300 Win Mag with 180 grain bullets. They do however NOT kill a deer any faster than my 260 or 257 Roberts. I don't like to waste any meat as the meat is top priority to me. I would never need anything bigger than the 257 Roberts or 25-06 and 260. In these I use 100 grain bullets in the 25's and 120 grain in the 260 and 280. I think the Nosler partition is the best bullet for sure kills and minimal meat damage. I would never need any Magnum rifle for deer unless I was in the positiopn where I had to shoot very lony distances. Even then on deer size game the 25-06 will do the same job.

RE: How much meat damage?
 

This may help some folks


http://home.mn.rr.com/deerfever/Anatomy.html

RE: How much meat damage?
 

what size of hole are we looking for the size of you fist or your head?

RE: How much meat damage?
 

In reply to takem, yes the meat is one of the main reasons I hunt. But I was merely talking about the fact that there is not much in the shoulder except hamburger or the occasional roast, and I always have hamburger running out my ears anyway, If there is gonna be some damage anyway I don't feel like I've lost much when I lose a little hamburger. Besides, as I stated above with the bullets that I use I gaurantee you a soft point or ballistic tip in any caliber shot behind the shoulder will do as much damage as I will, a lot of time from blood shot alone.

RE: How much meat damage?
 

Get yourself a big bore rifle that shoots solids, like a 45-70....and eat right up to the hole.

Clint

RE: How much meat damage?
 

As already mentioned, shot placement is key, I like corloks myself, little hole in, big hole out, putting it through the ribs waste very little meat and the shock blows there lungs to bits.

RE: How much meat damage?
 

It's all about the choice of lead and the shot placement. My .270 with 130 grain nosler ballistic tips has a huge exit wound avarage at about 3 to 4 inches opposed to my .30-06 with 180 grain Core Lockt Boat Tails at about 2.5. Also it depends on what you hit on the entrance. If you hit a good strong rib the exit will be bigger oopsed to maybe going between ribs on the entrance.

I had a little ole 100 grain from a .243 that hit a rib going in and the insides of the deer looked like a bloody massacre. The .243 destroyed everything tenderloins, back strap lungs heart, stomach, liver. Everything was a mess.

I think all bullets even if they are the same will perform different on every animal. There is no way to control the bullet fragments, only in a perfect utopia but this world is a far cry from it.

I use to have shot placements where the cross hair would be right behing the muscle on a front shoulder. I always ended up with a bruised shoulder on the opposite side. I decided to move my shots three inches behind the shoulder and now I have more meat to show for it. The only draw back is that I went from hitting the heart to now double lung. Mabe just a fluke that I'm know only getting lung shots and no heart as previous to lungs and heart. A lot of variables may have changed the outcome of my shots this year. I changed to the custom loaded Nosler Ballisics at three high instead of 0 at 100 yards. Which has caused higher placement shots on the deer at close ranges. Also most of my shots have been free arm opposed to having a rest. So a lot comes into play as to what the outcome of the shot will be.

I say if your gun is shooting paricularly well with a certain lead and load use it and change your shot placement to keep clear of the front shoulders.