milkman
12-10-2020, 10:14 AM
My son (now there's a good child) presented me with a Ruger #1 in 275 Rigby (7x57 Mauser). A beautiful grey laminate with stainless receiver and barrel in 12 twist for cast shooting. (Such a good boy!) I tried a 170 g boolit with good results but the rifle really likes the 130g Lee soup can. Consistent 1.5" 100 yd. groups at over 2100 fps. This was my first year to attempt deer hunting with it and I was a little hesitant because of several cautions I had read not to attempt hunting with cast below 30 cal but I didn't see how a 130 grain chunk of lead at 2000 fps could keep from stinging pretty good so I went ahead.
The first morning I had a nice doe step out about 30 yards from my stand. She was almost facing me and had me spotted as soon as she stepped from behind some trees. I placed the shot in her chest, inside her right front shoulder angled to behind the opposite shoulder. At the shot she ran off carrying her right shoulder. There wasn't much blood for about the first 20 yd., just a small drop here and there and I had started to think maybe the caliber was indeed too small. The blood trail became more prominent and I began to find pieces and strands of lung tissue in the blood and found the deer probably about 60 yards from where I shot her. There was about an inch wide entrance wound in the hide and no exit. The only explanation I have come up with for the unusual entrance wound was that the boolit hit something before it hit the deer and had started to tumble, but it did the job.
The next day I had another doe at about 40 yd, I shot her about a third of the way up her neck from the shoulder and everything went as expected. She hit the ground and there was an excellent wound channel through the spine. DRT
The first morning I had a nice doe step out about 30 yards from my stand. She was almost facing me and had me spotted as soon as she stepped from behind some trees. I placed the shot in her chest, inside her right front shoulder angled to behind the opposite shoulder. At the shot she ran off carrying her right shoulder. There wasn't much blood for about the first 20 yd., just a small drop here and there and I had started to think maybe the caliber was indeed too small. The blood trail became more prominent and I began to find pieces and strands of lung tissue in the blood and found the deer probably about 60 yards from where I shot her. There was about an inch wide entrance wound in the hide and no exit. The only explanation I have come up with for the unusual entrance wound was that the boolit hit something before it hit the deer and had started to tumble, but it did the job.
The next day I had another doe at about 40 yd, I shot her about a third of the way up her neck from the shoulder and everything went as expected. She hit the ground and there was an excellent wound channel through the spine. DRT