First deer(s) with cast boolits! Used my devastators!!!

[Tripplebeards]

we have what's called a holiday hunt here in WI that got started a few years back. It allows hunters to harvest anterless deer from Dec. 24 th through Jan 1st. You can buy about as many tags as you want for this. I have never partook in it just because I'm a rack hunter and only take one buck bow and rifle seasons and leave the doe alone. Well, I figured it would be a good opportunity to try out my cast devastator boolits I made of 80/20 ACCOWW mixed with lead flooring and 12% pewter with a 15.4 BH I casted and loaded this year that I was getting under MOA with and some great looking mushrooms in water jugs.

I had four tags bought as my relatives have been begging me for venison. I've been seeing 4 to 8 doe and fawn on average each sit during both gun and bow season on my property so I knew there were plenty of deer in the area. I climbed up into my tree stand about 3:15pm and about 10 to 15 min before closing I had a group of four smaller deer come trotting down to me. I waited till they were 20 yards in a single file line passing me and I took aim on the first deer. I put my crosshairs behind the shoulder while it was on a trot. I pulled the trigger and that deer took off on a sprint and bounds acting like I completely missed! The other three just stood there broadside looking at me. I cycled my bolt and put the crosshairs on the next one in line on its shoulder and pulled the trigger. The deer just stood there for a split second...and I could see the boolit hole in its shoulder!...and then it ran off in big leaps just like the first...acting as if it wasn't ever shot! After that the other two ran with it. A second or two later I hear another deer above them running down the hill looking for the group. I knew I had two more tags to fill but told myself to pass it since I just shot two...if I actually connected with the first one...would be a project to drag out. Well, that deer that was running down the hill stopped 4' from the base of my stand and wouldn't leave. It was on my far right. I decided I had tags so why not. I couldn't swing to my right so I took the rifle in my right hand like a pistol and pointed directly down trying to look through my 3.5 power. All I saw was brown because the deer was literally 10' straight down from me. I pulled the trigger and the nubbin buck dropped at the shot. It ended up kicking around and wiggled a good 10 yards away from my stand till it expired. I got out of my stand and looked for blood from the first two I shot at. I looked for 15/20 min and it was good and dark by now so I figured I'd come back in the morning to find them since I didn't see any blood. I did hear one rolling and kicking In back of me a few seconds after I shot the last one directly under my stand so I was guessing it was the one I saw the hole in its shoulder.
I headed back and grabbed the one by my stand and jumped what I thought I thought was another deer, too dark to tell. I then heard three coyotes howling about 200 yards or less away. I pulled my first cast boolit deer down the hill, gutted, loaded, and headed home.

I couldn't sleep thinking about the two deer I shot at and couldn't find all night and the rotten coyotes that might steel them.

I went back up in the woods this morning while it was just getting light. I found the first deer..the second one I shot in the shoulder...just behind it actually, right on my walking trail about a 100 yards from where I shot it I. plain sight. The boolit took out both lungs and exited. I figured I must have spooked the yotes off of it when I walked in. They just started ripping a hole in its rear and there were a few bite marks and small chunks missing in the rear quarters. I filleted the bite marks off it. I walked back to the original spot I shot both the runners and did find blood trails. Not impressive at all but enough to follow. A dime size or smaller spot ever 3' or so untill the last 20/40 yards got better. I flowed the trail and didn't know if it was the same blood trail of the one I just found or the other since they both ran I the same direction. I kept following it and the trail started to cut to the left 20 yards on down the hill in front of the one i just found minutes before. I could see the deer 40 yards down the hill. It was completely destroyed by coyotes.

There was no salvaging it. After cussing I ended up putting my trail cam in front of the carcass to see how many of the rotten predators are out there.

Well, this was my first harvest with cast boolits...and last with the devastors. I wasn't impressed with 2 deer that went a 100 and 120 plus yards. One with a double lung shot and the other that went farther I hit about the 4th/5th rib back so I definitely took out the liver and probably/maybe clipped a lung if I had to guess. Couldn't check it since it was destroyed by the coyotes. All three deer had complete pass throughs with a boolit sized exit. The extremely torn up deer had a bigger exit but there was long chunk of meat hanging out it so I believe the yotes yanked the hole bigger. I would have thought that the deer would have least buckled or humped up when being hit.

The one I dropped under my stand I took out both lungs and the heart...and it stilled kicked around for good 10 yards. I'm wondering if my alloy was too hard not providing enough expansion and fragments giving more of an instant shock value and quick death?

All in all, it was a good learning experience to see what my boolits I made do.


This is the deer that dropped at the shot with its heart...







The 2nd deer that made it a 100 yards with a double lung shot. I was 15' feet in my stand so the boolit angled and exited just above the heart. Pics of when I found it and the damage coyotes started ripping into it...










And the last little guy I found at about 120 yards destroyed...






So, besides getting out and ridding my coyotes would casting an extremely soft alloy in my devastators help with instant knock down or should I change to another boolit? I had no issues with penatration what so ever. Complete pass throughs on all with boolit diameter size entrance and exit holes. I could feel huge chunks of ribs broken out and loose in the chest cavity when field dressing the one that dropped at the shot. I'm sure that aided in a quick kill...but two out of three both went too far after being shot so I need to change something.


P.S. Thanks for everyone's help teaching me how to cast boolits the past year, the reward paid off even though I still have an ulcer from the chewed up deer.

[bikerbeans]

What caliber devastator? I use 44 cal lyman devastors in a 50/44 sabot out of a 50 cal huntsman MZ. These bullets are air cooled lyman #2 alloy and work fine on a boiler room shot. Never tried a shoulder shot.

BB

[Tripplebeards]

Ruger 77/44, 44 mag rifle. 21.1 or 21.2 gr of lil gun. Chronied at 1750 fps. 15.4 BH 80/20 w/12% pewter, PC and GC. Casted from my Lyman devastator mold dropping around 263gr. Probably pretty close to the same BC as your number two. If you check on my home page you can check out the expansion tests I did. The alloy stays together and expands nicely. The shoulder shot was a boiler room shot. It actually went just behind the shoulder and took out both lungs. Couldn't have asked for a much better shot placement. These were all smaller first year deer as well so I figured they would been a little more fragile than a good size buck or doe. I would like to find a boolit or alloy that acts like my jacketed 180gr core loct bullet that had dropped 99.9% of the deer I've shot where they stand. Gotta feeling I need a lot softer alloy to achieve what I my boolit to do...or maybe it's the slower velocity caliber? The average deer shot with my Muzzel loader with 300gr bullets with a mv around or just under 2000 fps travel on average 40/60 yards whether I shoot them in th shoulder or just behind it like an archery shot taking out the lungs. Seems like the calibers I use that are 2700 fps and above drop deer on the spot 99.9% of the time and 2000 fps or slower in trailing unless I head shoot or backbone them.

[GARD72977]

That second deer looks like a great shot. I would have thought the big meplet would do pretty good without much expansion.

[Tripplebeards]

That second deer looks like a great shot. I would have thought the big meplet would do pretty good without much expansion.

It was, the boolit exited in the same place about 4" lower on the other side and left a huge mess inside with no lungs left. They were completely jellowed with just blood in the cavity where they normally would be. Still scratching my head why it didn't drop where it stood or even acting like it was shot for that matter. After having two in a row both run like they weren't hit and travel a football field length I need to change something whether its the alloy, boolit, or caliber. I figured a 44 mag would have some good knock down. I'm sure it dose I just need to try some of my 7.5 BH boolits I tested last year. I would assume they'll fragment all over the place, ruin a little meat, and provide a lot of shock to put the deer down quicker.

The more look at the one all chewed up I believe what I thought was an exit hole is just where a coyote chewed into it and pulled some stringy meat out.

[Messy bear]

Try the soft ones and see, if you still have time and tags.

[BK7saum]

I think that a 100 yard run is going to be pretty standard with a double lung shot with any boolit running in the 1700 fps range. If you want more shock with that slow of a boolit , break the shoulder(s) down.

[Static line]

Heck,stuff happens when hunting and you never know how a deer will react when shot. I shot mine at 20 yards away right behind the shoulder with my 45-70 350 gr. Ranch Dog bullet,clean pass through and no blood for 30 yards.Found that deer 50 yards away where it finally dropped. My cousin shot one with his 45-70 and 325 gr. Hornady gummy nose bullet right behind the shoulder,clean pass through with a two inch hole coming out the other side.NO BLOOD,NOT ONE DROP,until we found that deer 70 yards away and the only blood was in a puddle where it lay.Go figure.I have also shot deer and so has my cousin where they dropped in their tracks.I am on the other end of things,I don't like hollow points.Give me a nice WFN anyday.

[Thumbcocker]

Thank you for the good write up. Coyotes suck. I had a small buck get chewed this year that was recovered around 2 p.m. after being shot around 7:30 a.m. the same day.

[Blammer]

got a pic of the bullet?

[Tripplebeards]

I've had my fox pro out this year with no luck, I'll have to give it some more woods time. If we just didn't have an ice storm id be sitting over the carcass with 3" lead BB shot.

[Tripplebeards]

got a pic of the bullet?

What boolit? All complete pass throughs. One is in the ground somewhere and the other two probably stuck in trees if I had to guess. I did look by the the stand for a dirt hole but couldnt find where the boolit entered the ground after passing through the deer. Would have taken a different shape after smacking frozen ground anyways. Too hard of an alloy and to fast of a velocity...they all blew right through the deer and kept going.

[Blammer]

The NOE 311gr HP in the top left (as you're looking at it) run out of my 44 mag was absolutely massive damage and the deer dropped at the shot.

This was just Air cooled WW's out of my rifle. Not pushing them horribly fast. The large HP left a golf ball entrance and exit.

Perhaps this is what you're looking for.

[Blammer]

sorry should have been clearer. got a pic of an UNFIRED bullet?

[Tripplebeards]

Here are some exit pics....






The all the entrance holes were the same size as the exits.

[Tripplebeards]

Just a plain old bone stock Lyman devastator mold is what I casted out of. I used a 80/20 alloy mix of ACCOWW and lead flooring with 12% pewter added to the mix,Clear PC,and GC with a BH of 15.4 the last I checked them a few months ago. The last pic is a test boolit I recovered from a tote of water with a MV of 1750 fps. I wanted to test my alloy mix. This alloy held together and had better weight retention than my 7.5BH 16:1 mix and 50/50 with pewter added. I have tons of boolit pics and test pics on my home page if you would like to check them out. I'm thinking an extremely soft alloy would work better. I didn't want to try the 16:1 mix as I had a couple stop inside the first 16 oz water bottle loaded at 1700fps. Some made it to the third bottle. Extremely shallow penatration. I keep thinking what happens when using soft ballistic tips on coyotes. Huge hole and instant death. I'd rather loose some meat and drop a deer in its tracks 100% of the time.









If your having good luck with COWW alloy it would make sense. I would assume your alloy is a lot softer and brittle than mine, around 9 to 11 BH or so if I had to guess, and the pedals are probably braking off and going in different directions causing more trauma. My boolit I'm guessing stayed together, didn't expand much and blew right through it. I had absolutely no problems with penatration just knock down power with two out of three deer.

I did try a ACCOWW devastator on a rabbit at a 136 yards. It cut it completely in half.

Glad a had a few tags to burn. It allowed some great opportunities to test this alloy/boolit combo. I just need to figure out what works for a more instant harvest.

[Tripplebeards]

I think that a 100 yard run is going to be pretty standard with a double lung shot with any boolit running in the 1700 fps range. If you want more shock with that slow of a boolit , break the shoulder(s) down.

I have a feeling your 100,000% correct no matter how hard or soft my alloy is. I shot a small deer 18 years ago with a 325 gr Speer soft point out of my 50AE desert eagle I owned at the time with the same reaction.

[500Linebaughbuck]

i use a tc encore in 444 marlin with a 24" MGM barrel. i USED to a 275gr ranch dog(2300fps) and 280gr lfn gc(2100fps) but a couple of of years ago, my shoulder didn't like them. every deer i shot with them was drt. then i started to download them(1800-2000fps) and they were still drt. my shots were 50 yards and less. this year i tried a 300gr fn gc that was downloaded to around 1650+/-fps. i shot a buck(30 yards) and two doe(37 and 64 yards). the buck(which was a 6pt) and the doe(64 yards) were drt. the 37 yard doe was a b....i mean awesome critter. she ran after the shot. i admit, she only ran 20-25 yards till she piled up. i was not surprised at all, even tho every deer was drt. i shot her behind the shoulder("elbow" joint),hit both lungs and then smashes a rib before it goes out. the exit wound was a little bigger than the entrance wound. i used a 10 coww/ 1/4 tin, that's something like 12+/-bhn. i use my ruger sbh with 250gr hp in 44 spl. the 250gr hp is 40 lead/ 1 tin(8bhn+/-). but that is for personal protection. i used to use a 280gr wfn gc(12bhn+/-) that goes 1100fps in 44 mag to go hunting with. the ruger would either drt or run about 50+/- yards(deer).

i have shot deer with the 223 all the way up to a 45-70. i have shot them behind the shoulder(low or high) and i have busted the shoulder(in or out). the deer are either drt or they run off and die. (i am not accusing you. i am merely stating my facts ) the longest i have ever tracked was 300+ yards. it was sometime in mid 1990s when the barnes x bullet came out. me being dumb, decided i HAVE TO HAVE a 85gr x bullet to go with my 243. well i go out in deer season with my "trusty" 243 and 85gr x bullet. to make a long story short, i shot a doe right behind the shoulder and she ran. it was a 70+/- yard shot. i waited about a 1/2 hour and then i tracked it. thank God for the snow because i didn't have blood trail. it was a blood drop here and i go about 30 to 40 yards to find the blood drop again. i found her about 300+/- yards away. while gutting the doe, i find the wound. behind the shoulder low, pinpricks the lungs and goes out between the ribs. it looked like fmj. well the "trusty" 243 and x bullets went bye-bye and i got another rifle.

now i'm just making a comment, take it for what you will, i would go 250-310gr lfn or fn gc and i'd go 12bhn+/-. the hp design in your 44 cal is not needed for hunting for deer, just my take. your going into the deer about .429 - .433" so if it comes out more, that's good. if it comes out to .429 - .433", then that's good too.

[fingers284]

I think that a 100 yard run is going to be pretty standard with a double lung shot with any boolit running in the 1700 fps range. If you want more shock with that slow of a boolit , break the shoulder(s) down.

That's not my experience at all. All my cast are COWW so not especially hard and nothing gets sent downrange harder than 11-1200 fps and I purposely only shoot for "in the ribs double lung shots" because I want the animal to bleed exceptionally well inside while it still has a heart beat. Of the over 1/2 dozen deer I've shot with that combination I have yet to be able to recover a slug...all complete pass thu's and the thing that disagrees with your opinion is that not one deer has gone more than 4 or 5 jumps after being shot. Most shots were in the 50-125 yard range but one on a very good mature mule buck was a 45-70 "hail mary" 245 yards...same 4 jump result.

[Tripplebeards]

The boolit was definitely destructive. Here is the deer that I dropped in its tracks that i shot right under my stand. This was the one with the heart shot picture above. The boolit exited through the bottom of the rib cage where the rib halves join together with a boolit diameter hole. Fat clogged it up so it took a little bit to find the exit hole. The back strap was good but some of the shoulder meat was blood shot.




And here is the one that ran like it wasn't hit and went a 100 yards before dropping that I thought I shoulder hit. It never hit the shoulder plate but did remove a good chunk of meat behind the leg. The boolit took out both lungs. The entry hole was about four fingers plus wide on both deer. Bone chunks and fragments everywhere in both deer as well from shattered ribs. Still can't believe it went that far after looking like it was hit with a cannon. Which the destruction it did that deer should have fell over dead. It's central nervous system just didn't shut down immediately and deer didn't know it was dead yet. Too bad the coyotes tore into the other one that went around 120 yards so could see what happened inside it as well. The bullet placement on the deer the coyote destroyed was about 4" further back than the one that made it a 100 yards. Now I know why they call the boolit the devastator! Devastating. Huge holes and bloodshot meat. Wouldn't have bothered me if the deer dropped where it stood or within a few yards...just doesn't make sense.




Coyotes must have a whitetail tail fettish. I never noticed but the one I cleaned today had its tail missing and have couple others on camera the last two years with a bald nub or just a crusty scab where the tail should be.