Whats your best deer bullet?

[stansrifles]

Donovan.
The was a right to left wind did not have enough dialed miss first shot a foot an half left made adjustments next shot high on deer midway angled left an up recovered bullet in backbone it did not move.
Thanks stan

 

[wzee]

Im talkin killing ability and good blood trails. Been using barnes triple shocks and while the deer is dead those that run off never leave a spot of blood. Happened 3 times this week- found the deer 50-100yds away with no trace of blood. Entry and exit good and insides pulverized.

The one that's hits him

 

[284winner]

Seems as though there are two groups of bullets to me in my world. Both are awesome game killers but only one group was designed specifically for putting game down. Ive used lots of factory game bullets but prefer Core lokt, Fusion and Nosler Partition for game that is out to 400 yds. They all hit the deer with a bunch of energy and usually if not always stay together and give a text book wound channels and recovered bullets. The second group of bullets are the Match type bullets that again kill quickly and effectively but give much better BEYOND 400yd accuracy. Only problem for most ( Match Bullet Hater )
guys is that this bullet many times fragments at certain impact velocities ( not range necessarily ). Depending on the cartridge range can be 600 yards with a 7mm ultra mag with 168 vlds and this will explode inside the animal. On the other hand it be a great round at 200 yds in a 7mm 08 but moving much slower upon impact. Lots of variables. There always going to be opinions to what bullets are best as game bullets. Its the theory of Relativity . In my semi autos or in tight woods scenarios, i prefer the 3 groups of bullets i mentioned first. In areas where i can shoot deer at a variety of distances up to 600+ yards possibly in unpredictable wind, i always choose the Match type bullet. The end result is going to be the same, a dead deer. I know this isnt a simple answer but it wasnt a simple question in todays shooting world. Speed on impact, Range and what end result your looking for should steer you in the right direction. With a well placed bullet, blood trails are over rated for gun hunters. The deer will be short yards from impact location. Archery is a whole other situation.

 

[KAIFS]

I can claim experience with Wisconsin deer hunting in 6.5x55.
50-400m my choice was 129gr SST until last year when I tried 140gr Lapua Naturalis. With SST bullet I claim ample practice and shot placements - most of these I would place right below spinal column towards the head - they dropped where they stood. With Lapua Naturalis - you have some breathing room as far as shot placement - for example both lungs = 7more heart beats (shock is quite severe). Main reason for Lapua bullet for going forward bases= bullet retention, it just does not come apart/shed layers at all.
Naturally, different loads for different rifles, but 215M primers, Norma Brass, RL19 seems to be a popular, for me, combination for hunting loads.

 

[PAshooter20BR]

257 weatherby with 80 grain TTSX at 3900 fps and they don't stand a chance- like a lightning bolt. Great expansion, huge entrance and exit but no bullet failure at close range <100 yards. Have also used 7mm A-Max 162 grain with many DRTs and some tracking jobs. The A-max has always provided an exit, along with major shrapnel through meat. From my experience the jacket seperates from core, core continues to penetrate and that jacket goes everywhere. I have seen many Sierra 85 grain varminters from a 243 provide DRT with no exits. Most double lung hits regardless of bullet seems to provide DRT performance. It seems to me that the ones I thought were a sure double lung and did some running ended up having Sharper angles than I thought resulting in a single lung with shoulder or liver pending deer position. You need a couple things for a good blood trail, a good size drain hole that has not been plugged by internal matter(intestine, stomach, liver, lung etc) massive vascular damage for blood to be lost, and a heartbeat to pump the blood into the open cavity and out drain hole.

 

[Dans40X]

Best bullet for white tails & black bears is a 100+gr projectile pushed at least 2900fps from a 243Win or 6mmRem, placed 1/2" below either ear opening.

Gravity will take over a millisecond after you break the shot....Guaranteed!

 

[Kenneth66]

I think the best post I read stated there is no magic bullet that works DRT every time for every situation . Same goes for caliber in a 243 and up . Learning bullet path for different angles of shooting from various quarters , from up down positions of shooter makes all the difference in getting the bullet where it needs to be . If you shoot enough deer , you will eventually have the moment of doubt creep in on you , it happens . I have found that when I am not finding blood and KNOW there is no way I missed that shot , I usually didn't miss unless I find that sneaky little sapling that jumped in front of my bullet .
Had a 140-150 lb. Buck run up on me this year about fifty yds away . Startled him and myself as I was only about twenty yds into the woods , he was quartered almost head on so a front shoulder shot was what I had , 30-06 175 VLD Hunting bullet across a shooting stick . Done deal with shot placement , gun cracked , dear ducked and turned running like its butt was on fire . I got a visual fix on where he was hit , marked it by scraping leaves back and started looking for blood . Nothing , looked and looked working in direction it ran as it ran over a slight hill out of sight from which it popped up on me . Finally I double back look and look and am now about a hundred yds out from where I shot . Started to get that WTH feeling when I looked up and spotted it about ten yds from me . Worked from deer back to shot , nothing , only blood was right where he laid , froth from the mouth and nose , leg broke from shoulder down .
Split him open , guts and diaphram had no damage , not even a sign of shrapnel
Opened diaphram and lungs where totally mushed and no exit hole . When I skinned it I became convinced a sneaky sapling of tree got me at a moment of adrenalin shot . Entry wound was massive with no exit , hunted the same area again a few days later and looked hard at the place of kill , no sapling or tree damage , just a bone shattering shot that resulted in a kill that required a little effort to retrieve .
We all get caught up in that magic shot of magic bullet thing and get distraught if things don't go according to the fairy tale . Being an avid target shooter from field positions at various ranges and persistence in search is the best game getter we have . Would also like to add I feel a shooting stick is often a overlooked tool that is a great accessory , Just my two cents , Kenneth

 

[JRS]

125 GR STOS or ACE projectiles

 

[Hollerpoint]

I've tried many combinations off firepower. I have a whitetail depredation permit allowing harvest of around 300 whitetail annually. My most effective combos are 260 Rem with 120 g Sierra GK and 220 swift/22-250 with 40 g Blitzkings for cranial surgery. Before taking head shots on deer you should note to refrain from taking a facing shot on the head, many will yield a blown off jaw and lingering death. My personal favorite shot is deer facing away and slip a blitzking in on the brain stem.

 

[IdahoCTD]

I would worry less about a blood trail and more about dropping them in their tracks so you don't need a blood trail. Amax's and Berger's are going to be your friends for that. The old Noslet Ballistic tips were pretty mean too but they toughened them up 10-15 year ago. I prefer tipped bullets personally as I think they expand more reliably. I've killed 5 elk, a deer (about a 250lb buck. Over 100lbs of boned meat), and 2 antelope with 6.5mm and 7mm Amax's in the last 4 years out of my 6.5-300wm and 7-300wm. None of them went more than a few feet. I do know the 6.5mm 140's penetrate better than the 7mm 162's out of my guns @ 3230fps for the 6.5-300wm and 3265fps out of the 7-300wm.

 

[jobie]

I found out if you use A-Maxs and have good shot placement they wont go anywhere.

 

[gldprimr]

Im talkin killing ability and good blood trails. Been using barnes triple shocks and while the deer is dead those that run off never leave a spot of blood. Happened 3 times this week- found the deer 50-100yds away with no trace of blood. Entry and exit good and insides pulverized.

I've been using 120 gr Nosler Ballistic Tips in my 7mm-08 with excellent results for some years now. Prior to that, used 140 gr weight with equal success but find l prefer the 120 gr for my purposes.