311440

[MT Gianni]

I took the day off and wandered through my deer area with an antlerless tag and a buck tag. I saw a small 2x3 buck at 35 yards giving me the eye and 2 does with him. It is about 100yards downhill drag to a road I can drive on so I shot him right of the briskit and he went downfast, got back up and wandered in a 15 foot circle before dropping for good. The others moved off slowly and I shot a doe at 75 or 80 yards through the chest and she continued on into the thick stuff. She dropped in the middle of the trail about 20 yards from the shot. A good blood trail was left and the lungs were hit center without colapsing them, she just bled out inside. The buck had the bullet exit neat the opposite flank, eviscerating him, with a volleyball size pile of small intestines being left at the spot he first went down. Yuck. Follow up shots were not needed.
The 311440 was out of a blr 308 at about 2350 fps. It will get used again!
Back home and had them hanging by noon. Gianni.

[Bodydoc447]

Was this one from our recent group buy? And what are the load particulars? I have just cast up a few of these and am going to start load development. You obviously have had good results! Congrats!

Doc

[MT Gianni]

Yes group buy. Air cooled ww, FWFL lube, 34.5 gr rl7, Win cases, rem primer.

[waksupi]

Gianni, I'm curious. You say the buck left innards where you had first hit him. Do you suppose the velocity was so high, the bullet was starting to break up? I've not seen that sort of wounding with any of my cast kills, and wonder what you make of it. What size was the exit wound? I ask, since the top velocity for a hunting bullet is recommended at 2200fps, and I'm sure your bullet was still whizing along faster than that at impact, in both instances. You're the first guy I have been able to ask about thier actual observations on deer size game.

[Abert Rim]

Gianni, good work. Now you've got venison for the winter. I'm with Waksupi: curious about what that bullet did while inside the buck.

[Wayne Dobbs]

Sounds like the bullet was yawing pretty significantly just before and at the point of exit...

[MT Gianni]

The skinning autopsy showed the bullet exited along the last two ribs breaking them and driving bone causing an odd exit wound almost like a tear 1/2" by about 4". I wondered at first if he had been hit before but ruled that out as all 3 deer were moving toward me at an even pace, the gut pile was steaming and there was no dried blood. The blood was "normal' in color not too dark or foamy. I suspect that the exit wound and the way he hit the ground like a sack of spuds caused the guts to bounce and be jarred out. Striking velocity was certainly more than I planned for but the rib entry was not blood shot as a jacket bullet leaves. Gianni.