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Deer calibre


kyska
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Get the right bullet and you won't have any meat damage

Right bullet for the right impact speed in you have cracked it. Its a balancing act though as without some meat damage you will suffer poor kills the speed is critical in fact the most badly damaged roe I ever saw was hit by a very slow 100 grain Nosler part. (normaly a great bullet in the 6mm ) However it was going so slow it tumbled and basically wrote off the front end. Was a new new shooter trying reloading

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Kent, how is 243 any better to shoot off hand or from improvised positions?

I did not realise it was a design feature of 243!

The only reason to go for a .243 is if you shoot a lot of foxes and a few deer. If you want a deer caliber for the sole use you might as well get something bigger will you ever need something bigger now that's another question altogether

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Right bullet for the right impact speed in you have cracked it. Its a balancing act though as without some meat damage you will suffer poor kills the speed is critical in fact the most badly damaged roe I ever saw was hit by a very slow 100 grain Nosler part. (normaly a great bullet in the 6mm ) However it was going so slow it tumbled and basically wrote off the front end. Was a new new shooter trying reloading

 

I only had one runner out of 17 deer this year so far, and exit holes never bigger than couple of inches in diameter, all the other one were dead on the spot, that's with my .270...

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I only had one runner out of 17 deer this year so far, and exit holes never bigger than couple of inches in diameter, all the other one were dead on the spot, that's with my .270...

I have had extensive use of the mighty .270 and the venerable .308 over many years . Both these calibres ,in my opinion are the ultimate gun for all big game in the UK and Europe .either of these calibres are suitable for the one gun stalker . I also used both for foxes and probably shot more foxes than deer with them as my brief was a fox before a deer .

Harnser

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he he heh.....25-06, load your own and rejoice!

 

but as others have said above any deer legal calibre will be fine - it's what you do with it that counts. Whatever you choose you are unlikely to make a mistake. Buying the wrong model of rifle will cause you more stress than the calibre.....all the little 'features'.....but that's another whole thread.

 

If you fancy something different then go for it.

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I only had one runner out of 17 deer this year so far, and exit holes never bigger than couple of inches in diameter, all the other one were dead on the spot, that's with my .270...

If by runner you mean wounded deer that's quite bad or just unlucky but it does happen to us all sooner or later as the deer takes a step at the wrong millisecond etc, if you mean out of 17 all but one fell on the spot to the shot that's luck and shooting at very relaxed deer. Breaking the spinal cord with 16 of those shots preventing the run message ever reaching the legs will also do this. Deer running cant be solved by bullet size when you heart lung shoot and the damage I have seen inflicted on deer that run has at times made me think how on earth could it ( I wont go into gory detail on the damage but even 180 grain from a win mag on a roe is included) up to 150 or so yards is the most I have seen personally but under the right circumstances I believe more is possible from "dead deer". Ok so they are not officially dead till the brain dies through lack of a blood supply. But after using 30-06, 308, 7-08 extensively on deer I can resolutely say they don't run no less than if hit with a 100 grain .243. that is now my only deer rifle There is I grant more of a cavitation effect with bigger bullets at higher energy but still it serves no great purpose in shortening the run.

 

Andrew Yewl during the last deer calibre debate of the BDS published results of a large amount of deer shot with a wide range of calibres and distance run had no definite correlation to calibre.

 

The best advice ever given to me about bigger deer calibres was "they are of some but limited use if you on the outside of the right area", "then again", " shooting better is a far better solution to the problem".

 

Might I just add slightly off topic but very connected.

Most new stalkers out on their own early days supposedly miss deer, this is very, very hard to do and the chances are they hit it its a darn big area! A deer that runs immediately to the shot is almost certainly hit and one should totally expect this reaction and follow it up correctly and look long enough (or get a dog). A deer that pauses looks about a bit then runs is hit very lightly or in freaky circumstances which I cant remember ever seeing hit good.

 

Anyone who has shot a lot of deer will tell tales of deer running directly into trees and fences on their death rush as the oxygen supply to the brain fails through destruction of the heart and or the lungs, piercing eye injury in woodland proves the deer has no conscious thought of what is occurring just running on its last supply from the brain and adrenalin . Some I have seen take calculated well measured leaps over fences on the run and look fine and be stone dead only a few yards further on than the fence with no heart others on open ground you can watch go bandy then fall after a fair distance. Never take a shot to be a clean miss until you have followed up correctly, some wounds even big ones to the heart lung area don't leave paint (thinking of deer that run uphill especially here).

 

To get back to the relaxed thing, no awareness of danger in the area, direct high heart shot the deer will mostly go down and if you wait and cover it correctly for a few minutes from your position it wont get up again no matter on the calibre you cant scare them to death with what is engraved on the barrel. I don't know about others but not all the deer I have shot have been that relaxed and unaware.

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If by runner you mean wounded deer that's quite bad or just unlucky but it does happen to us all sooner or later as the deer takes a step at the wrong millisecond etc, if you mean out of 17 all but one fell on the spot to the shot that's luck and shooting at very relaxed deer.. I don't know about others but not all the deer I have shot have been that relaxed and unaware.

 

It wasn't wounded, i found it dead 100 meters from the strike site, with no lungs left, and the heart pricked. And yes, all but the one in question feel on the spot, but this is no luck, you get lucky once or twice not 16 times. All shots taken at unaware deer, but the runner, who was running through the woods and stopped for a few seconds in the middle of the a ride. If you want to shoot more unaware deer, be careful the way you stalk , that's the secret.

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It wasn't wounded, i found it dead 100 meters from the strike site, with no lungs left, and the heart pricked. And yes, all but the one in question feel on the spot, but this is no luck, you get lucky once or twice not 16 times. All shots taken at unaware deer, but the runner, who was running through the woods and stopped for a few seconds in the middle of the a ride. If you want to shoot more unaware deer, be careful the way you stalk , that's the secret.

Any deer found Dead within 100 yards of of the spot it was shot is a clean kill .

 

Harnser

Edited by Harnser
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Out of couriosty wot were the groupings like at 200m?

Were all shots off target but still grouped reasonbly well (poor holding off) or grouping quite poor (human error/poor shooting)?

Not grouped to speak of

Neither were mine to be fair although I had two 9's and an 8, With the fourth just outside the ring

Technically this was at 230yds as the range is slightly longer than the set 100,200

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It wasn't wounded, i found it dead 100 meters from the strike site, with no lungs left, and the heart pricked. And yes, all but the one in question feel on the spot, but this is no luck, you get lucky once or twice not 16 times. All shots taken at unaware deer, but the runner, who was running through the woods and stopped for a few seconds in the middle of the a ride. If you want to shoot more unaware deer, be careful the way you stalk , that's the secret.

Yet like you experienced not all shots can be taken that way in practice . Lungs gone, heart gone or a combination of both death comes the same way (no oxygen supply to the brain). Having relaxed deer can only ever form part of things as its not possible or practical to do this with every deer in the real world just a goal to strive for.

Any deer found Dead within 100 yards of of the spot it was shot is a clean kill .

 

Harnser

Yep

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  • 3 months later...

Well as a catch up, after much deliberation, asking more learned people than me I plumped for 25-06 rem.

 

I've *** a steyr mannlicher Classic, zeiss optics and mod.

 

It seems to be a very accurate calibre, I'm very confident with it. So I've got some fallow stalking booked, I'll still be using my .223 for the smaller beasts.

 

I need to look at reloading, at the moment only 117g superformace are readily available locally.

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. So I've got some fallow stalking booked, I'll still be using my .223 for the smaller beasts.

 

 

 

Don't know what beasts are you talking about, but the minimum caliber for deer in England is .240, unless you're talking about CWD or munties

Edited by shootgun
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Often hear the ' know the 308 is a great deer round but just fancy something different'. Facts are the 308 is a brilliant deer calibre, you can build a light weight hunting rifle with a short barrel that won't kick you to death, reliable, easy to moderate, easy to feed and if you reload it won't empty the powder canister as quickly as many other 30 calibres. I have used mine on Muntys up to pigs and its just, well dependable.

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Don't know what beasts are you talking about, but the minimum caliber for deer in England is .240, unless you're talking about CWD or munties

My quote paraphrases your post exactly. Jeez

Edited by kyska
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Smaller than fallow is roe, and you did not specified which beasts , just said ''smaller'' ...

I don't need to specify to you, I also don't need some Harry telling me the law. You think I'm stupid enough to state I'm using illegal calibres on deer.

 

I've just bought a 'new' calibre, I'm not new to the game.

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