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by puma guy
Fri Oct 27, 2023 2:41 pm
Forum: Rifles & Shotguns
Topic: Why 1000 ft lbs of energy for a deer?
Replies: 9
Views: 8459

Re: Why 1000 ft lbs of energy for a deer?

Crash,
I think bullet placement is key. A .22 lr in the ear of a moose will drop it. Some states require use of shotguns only for deer hunting others prohibit any cartridge that is not straight walled; M1 carbine to 45/70 and .444 Marlin, etc. Plenty of power there with limited range compared to high powered necked down cartridges. I shoot for the shoulder which shatters the bone and obliterates the heart and lungs usually. I lose a little meat there, but it's effective. I never heard any complaints from the hundreds of hunters that bought a Marlin 336 .30-30 from me, but I saw a post somewhere that stated that cartridge has been proven under powered for deer. I didn't bother reading it. If it kills a deer with a well placed shot with a good designed bullet I'd say it's an acceptable cartridge. Like some one said once a knitting needle to the chest is a better killing instrument than a blunt hammer.
by puma guy
Fri Oct 27, 2023 9:36 am
Forum: Rifles & Shotguns
Topic: Why 1000 ft lbs of energy for a deer?
Replies: 9
Views: 8459

Re: Why 1000 ft lbs of energy for a deer?

The Annoyed Man wrote: Wed Oct 25, 2023 9:43 pm
Crash wrote: Tue Oct 24, 2023 7:46 am I understand that 1000 ft lbs of energy is generally accepted as the minimum to put down a deer (not an elk) reliably. If this is true, why is the .44 Magnum, with 600 ft lbs or so, considered OK? Also, I've seen some reliable reports of deer being stopped by the.357 Mag at 50 yds, with less than 500 ft lbs of energy, and even of one being dropped at 25 yds by a 9mm. Finally, back in the bygone day, lots of deer were taken with a Winchester 1873 shooting 44-40 loads with considerably less energy than either the .44 Mag or the .357 Mag.

Have the deer gotten tougher?

What say ye?

Crash
FWIW, American Eagle (Federal) brand .44 Mag with a 240 grain JSP runs about 810 ft-lbs at the muzzle from a 4" test barrel…and it’s not even close to the hottest .44 mag load.
Well, Elmer Keith killed a mule deer at 600 yards with his Model 29 Smith and Wesson. so there!
by puma guy
Tue Oct 24, 2023 10:40 am
Forum: Rifles & Shotguns
Topic: Why 1000 ft lbs of energy for a deer?
Replies: 9
Views: 8459

Re: Why 1000 ft lbs of energy for a deer?

Maybe some others will weigh in.
by puma guy
Tue Oct 24, 2023 9:18 am
Forum: Rifles & Shotguns
Topic: Why 1000 ft lbs of energy for a deer?
Replies: 9
Views: 8459

Re: Why 1000 ft lbs of energy for a deer?

A well placed shot, preferably heart and lungs, with a pistol cartridge (rifle or handgun) would put a deer down. How far they would travel is a legitimate issue. We had a hunter that shot a buck right outside his stand with a .357 Model 27 Smith and he couldn't find it. We found it 4 days later at the other end of the property while looking for another deer. The bullet entry indicated a lung shot. To be fair, I once shot a buck with my .270 at 80 yards that left a blood trail a foot wide from the spot I hit him and he ran ran 40 yards to a fence, jumped it and another 40 yards into a clump of cedars on the neighboring property. The trail looked like someone used a paint roller with red paint the entire distance. I received permission to retrieve it and when I cleaned him he had no heart. The only part of it left intact was the very bottom tip, a piece that was about a half inch in diameter. No bigger than the tip of my little finger. Running on adrenaline!
It goes without saying that hunters of yesteryear were successful with black powder weapons. I'd venture that they were expert trackers. Most of the deer I have shot dropped like a rock on the spot, the ones that ran didn't go far i.e. a matter of a few yards. I did have one hit a little far back that traveled quite some distance (couple of hundred yards) , but I found him. He bled out internally and the meat on his hind quarters looked like veal. I have never lost a deer and hopefully I will have continued success that modern high powered cartridges offer if I make a well placed shot. I don't think the deer have got any tougher. They've always been tough, amazing animals.

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