I Made Meat With a 357 Mag!

[Orchard6]

I tipped a doe over awhile back with my Heritage Big Bore in 357. I was using a cast 150 grain hollow point based on the Lee 358-158 RNFP cast of 1/3 soft lead to 2/3 COWW and powder coated at 1425 fps. The shot was only 15 yards and she never knew what hit her! She trotted off at the shot but stopped at 40 yards to look around and see what the noise was. I could see the blood was pouring out at a good rate as she stood there and within a few seconds she started to wobble and tipped over.

The pic with my hand in it is the entrance wound, the exit looked to be the same only less bloodshot. The hole through the lungs was 3/4” or so. I’m thinking that she took off rather nonchalantly due to the fact that the bullet slipped between the ribs going in and out. I’ve had deer react that way when an arrow slips through without hitting bone too. Either way we’ve got meat in the freezer now!

[Anschutz]

Can't argue with that kind of performance.

Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk

[DougGuy]

My choice of strike zone is a full 6" below your point of impact. Congratulations on some GOOD eatin' for a while!

[CastingFool]

Congrats!

[Orchard6]

My choice of strike zone is a full 6" below your point of impact. Congratulations on some GOOD eatin' for a while!

I’ve always been a high shoulder shot guy, I knew I wanted to stay off the shoulder itself but just couldn’t bring myself to aim lower!

[Winger Ed.]

Very good.

With open sights, I always went for a lower spot too.
A deer's heart is quite a bit lower down in its chest cavity than most people think it is.

[DougGuy]

I’ve always been a high shoulder shot guy, I knew I wanted to stay off the shoulder itself but just couldn’t bring myself to aim lower!

6" below your strike is the heart. I go for the heart first. Most drop without taking a step, they drop so hard they appear to bounce when they hit the ground. They might stick their head up trying to figure out what the noise was, within a few seconds it's lights out. A few run less than 10yds.

Think of it this way. The fastest way to kill any living warm blooded thing is to shut off the oxygen to the brain. The brain will function with 90% of the body missing until it uses up all the oxygen already there. A heart shot immediately drops the blood pressure to zero, so no more oxygen carrying blood will be pumped to the brain. A lung shot or high shoulder shot will do the job but it leaves the heart intact to continue pumping blood until there is enough blood loss that the heart can no longer make blood pressure. The whole time this is happening, it's still feeding the brain and the muscles so the animal can go until the brain doesn't get any more oxygen delivered and it goes unconscious when that oxygen still in the brain is used up.

[Winger Ed.]

The whole time this is happening, it's still feeding the brain and the muscles so the animal can go until the brain doesn't get any more oxygen delivered

Combine that with the big adrenaline blast they do, and a deer that was dead, but didn't know it yet--
will take off so fast it almost breaks the sound barrier for a ways.....

Usually when its getting too dark to track it, or it goes into the thickest bunch of thorns within 20 miles.

[BunkTheory]

ive had deer run 300 yards through heavy brush after taking a 150 grain hollow point in .308 winchester thorugh the heart.

[Jhon]

6" below your strike is the heart. I go for the heart first. Most drop without taking a step, they drop so hard they appear to bounce when they hit the ground. They might stick their head up trying to figure out what the noise was, within a few seconds it's lights out. A few run less than 10yds.

Think of it this way. The fastest way to kill any living warm blooded thing is to shut off the oxygen to the brain. The brain will function with 90% of the body missing until it uses up all the oxygen already there. A heart shot immediately drops the blood pressure to zero, so no more oxygen carrying blood will be pumped to the brain. A lung shot or high shoulder shot will do the job but it leaves the heart intact to continue pumping blood until there is enough blood loss that the heart can no longer make blood pressure. The whole time this is happening, it's still feeding the brain and the muscles so the animal can go until the brain doesn't get any more oxygen delivered and it goes unconscious when that oxygen still in the brain is used up.

Mmm I'm sorry to disagree, respectfully. A heart shot deer is easily capable of running 100 yards or more. Why? Because even tho the pump has been stopped, the muscles still carry a lot of oxygenated blood enabling them to keep functioning. What does guarantee a bang/flop is a brutal electrical impulse to the brain by hitting the CNS area (Central Nervous System) aiming broadside at a point slightly low of center of chest on a vertical line made by the front edge of a straight foreleg. A high velocity or heavy shot close to the spinal cord in the neck area is a harder shot to make but will have the same effect, or of course high on the spine immediately at or behind the shoulder. Not that many would aim to make that shot. Of course the CNS can also be reached other than broadside on but you need to have a clear idea of where to strike it from an angle or raking shot, and of course the means to reach it from your point of impact.

For a behind the shoulder shot the OPs placement is about perfect for a quick kill where the animal does not go far, with fast bleedout. Its a very common placement here in New Zealand hunting especially if you are not a frequent or experienced or confident shooter. It is a highly recommended placement for meat saving, and for that reason the only shot placement some will practise.

A dead deer running may not be much of a problem in open woods or plains or if you have a dog to sniff it out. Here in New Zealand bush a deer running even 50 yards can mean a lost deer, especially if light is failing and the hunter does not have a dog. Most of us will avoid heart shots for that reason and behind the shoulder will shoot a bit higher for the lungs or if we know our stuff and are confident of shot placement will go for neck or CNS shots. For trophy or where meat is not the primary purpose, a bone breaking shoulder shot would likely be the preference. The last thing you want for the trophy of your lifetime is to see it run up to 300 yards into dense bush in steep and broken country.

Probably rank heresy in the US but a lot of professional deer hunting in NZ, both by cullers and meat-for-money hunters, has in the past been done with .222 (1980s) and today a lot of hunting is done with .223 calibre. Neck & CNS shots are the standard fare and for some professional level hunters, precision head-shots through the ear. Note that the range would usually be well under 200 yards.

We are unable by law to hunt with pistols but do appreciate hearing and seeing a report with success like the OP has had here. Nice animal, excellent result, great eating. Congrats!

[barnabus]

ive had deer run 300 yards through heavy brush after taking a 150 grain hollow point in .308 winchester thorugh the heart.

yea same here.I dont know how many deer Dougguy has actually killed with a heart shot cuz they dont drop but run like a scalded ape.Most say "I shot the heart on purpose" is hogwash.lol

[Thumbcocker]

Nice boolit deer. In my experience heart shot deer run further than double lung shot deer.

[Friends call me Pac]

Looks to me like your shot placement killed the deer. I'd call that a 100% success and with a handgun too. Way to go. I have found the deer I heart shoot run like crazy for about 100 yards or more before dying. They may be dead on their feet and only run for 10 seconds but they can cover a lot of ground in that time. I always go for my standard bread and butter lungs shot. Most of the time they go right down but if they do take off there is usually a good blood trail that last less than 100 yards.

[ABJ]

Congrats!!! and double for using a six-shooter and and triple for using iron sights. Good Job.

In response to post about shot placement, I'm not going to wade into that except to suggest some reading material online for anyone interested in wound ballistics. Hopefully I'm not breaking the forum rules. This site is one of "Jhon's" countrymen in New Zealand. "ballisticstudies.com". I am not promoting any products but his knowledge base of articles it the most complete I have ever seen. Please read the about us page first, then read the article "Effective Game Killing". Some things we already know but their is a lot I didn't know and it changed my aim points in some situations. Pay close attention to the "Autonomic Plexus" area.
Again I am only promoting the free articles as we can all learn something new.
Tony

[DougGuy]

yea same here.I dont know how many deer Dougguy has actually killed with a heart shot cuz they dont drop but run like a scalded ape.Most say "I shot the heart on purpose" is hogwash.lol

More than just a few. First 9pt. I ever harvested took a walmart slug across the top of the heart disconnecting all the plumbing. He went down where he stood, stuck his head up to see what the noise was. Recovered the slug it looked like a coca cola bottle top with a hole in the middle. Took 3 or 4 does with 44mag through the heart from various angles from a tree stand, so some went through lung then heart angling downward, none ran like a scalded ape and no lost game.

I do admit to taking a few with a neck shot from that same tree stand with the same 44 mag, less than 15 yards, no they didn't take not one step.

Recovered a high behind shoulder/lung shot deer the next day that ran over 150yds, 180gr pointed soft point from 308, lost a HUGE buck from a high lung shot that a buddy shot with a 7mm mag, looked like somebody dumped a 5 gallon bucket of red paint on the trail, never found the deer after the blood trail quit. The dogs found it the next spring WAAAAAY the hell on down in a mountain ravine from where the blood quit.

You hunt 'em ever how you like to hunt 'em, so far the explanation I gave in my previous post has worked for me EVERY TIME.

OP I apologize that my comment ended up steering your thread to discussion about shot placement, that was not my intention when I made that comment.

[Orchard6]

OP I apologize that my comment ended up steering your thread to discussion about shot placement, that was not my intention when I made that comment.[/QUOTE]

No apology necessary! I rather enjoy conversations like this.

In my experience after killing north of 40 deer in my life to date with anything from a 45 pound bow when I was 12 to 12 gauge slugs and lots of different calibers in between I’ve discovered that no 2 deer die the same! I’ve shot deer with a 270 Winchester and almost liquified everything in front of the diaphragm and watched them run off and make it over 100 yards, to deer like the one I posted here that died from a 3/4” hole in the middle of her lungs after she trotted about 40 yards.

In my experience I prefer to disconnect the wiring harness vs hitting the pump, they may need a follow up shot but a deer generally doesn’t go far or fast without the use of their hind end. That being said this shot was placed from a standing, unsupported position so I went for the largest target I could. Right, wrong or otherwise it worked out great for me. If where you aim puts them down in a heap for you that’s great too! I wish you much success on your next hunt!

[roverboy]

I tipped a doe over awhile back with my Heritage Big Bore in 357. I was using a cast 150 grain hollow point based on the Lee 358-158 RNFP cast of 1/3 soft lead to 2/3 COWW and powder coated at 1425 fps. The shot was only 15 yards and she never knew what hit her! She trotted off at the shot but stopped at 40 yards to look around and see what the noise was. I could see the blood was pouring out at a good rate as she stood there and within a few seconds she started to wobble and tipped over.

The pic with my hand in it is the entrance wound, the exit looked to be the same only less bloodshot. The hole through the lungs was 3/4” or so. I’m thinking that she took off rather nonchalantly due to the fact that the bullet slipped between the ribs going in and out. I’ve had deer react that way when an arrow slips through without hitting bone too. Either way we’ve got meat in the freezer now!

Nice, good hunt and good gun and load. Do they still make these Heritage Big Bore .357 Magnums?

[Orchard6]

Nice, good hunt and good gun and load. Do they still make these Heritage Big Bore .357 Magnums?

I believe so. They’re actually made by Pietta and assembled by Heritage. These do have a transfer bar system like a Ruger so they’re not a true SAA clone but it’s close enough for me.

[ChristopherO]

Glad for your success. Looks like those HP's completed their task admirably.

As an aside, I shot deer that size with the Remington Copper Solid Slugs that turned the heart into 3 separate pieces. Still she ran 60 yards. Nothing is ever a given in this game.

[Jhon]

Congrats!!! and double for using a six-shooter and and triple for using iron sights. Good Job.

In response to post about shot placement, I'm not going to wade into that except to suggest some reading material online for anyone interested in wound ballistics. Hopefully I'm not breaking the forum rules. This site is one of "Jhon's" countrymen in New Zealand. "ballisticstudies.com". I am not promoting any products but his knowledge base of articles it the most complete I have ever seen. Please read the about us page first, then read the article "Effective Game Killing". Some things we already know but their is a lot I didn't know and it changed my aim points in some situations. Pay close attention to the "Autonomic Plexus" area.
Again I am only promoting the free articles as we can all learn something new.
Tony

Where I learned much of what I know, a world renowned consultant on ballistics and flesh wounds relative to hunting and other things. Search his pages by calibre and find a wealth of info on field tested projectiles and shot placement by game type and size.