First experience with match type bullet on game

[MZmoose]

The deer died, tough to complain about that. If your not happy with the bullet performance maybe use a HUNTING bullet instead of one designed to punch small groups in paper at long range....

 

[19elkhunter51]

Sierra was my go to bullet for many years. I followed their recommendations on using Match Kings for paper and Game Kings for hunting. If you have hunted much at all you will have had game animals that run for extended distance with perfect shot placement (whatever that is) and when you field dress the animal you find the heart in pieces, lungs blown into mush and wonder how the game animal went anywhere much less, fill in the blank, ___ yards before stopping and expiring.
If you read any of my other posts you will know that I no longer use lead cup and core bullets for hunting because I don't want any more lead in my system than necessary.
I have had the luxury of being able to shoot a lot in my younger days and when I was doing that also had the luxury of hunting on private property, our own property and on neighboring property, where I could take head shots, always under a hundred yards, or very precise heart lung behind the shoulder shots. Not very many animals move when the brain goes away. What I always found amazing was the inconsistent behavior of game animals, mostly deer, that have been shot with the "perfect" heart lung shot. Some drop in their tracks, DRT, others run away at full speed only to drop dead fifty, sixty or two hundred yards from the shot.
Your "concerned" that the deer didn't DRT, with you sons shot. Based on your description of shot I honestly don't know what more you could expect of the bullet that you were using. In my very humble opinion, I think you had EXCELLENT performance from that bullet and should saying "My son made a killing shot on a deer with a bullet not designed for hunting and we are know putting the meat in the freezer".
Nothing wrong with the performance of that bullet in that circumstance. Next time use a Sierra Game King Pro, then complain about bullet performance.

 

[mwkelso]

It seems it has been pretty well hashed at this point, but for what this is worth-
I shot a buck at 300yds this last weekend. .270 Win with a 150gr Nosler ABLR. The deer was just slightly turned away from me. The bullet went in just behind the diaphragm then punched out a lung and center of the heart. Even with that hit the deer still managed to jump a fence and go about 20 yards before he couldn't stand any more, then laid there until he finally died.
It was a good shot, he just had the will to live is all.

 

[sodakota]

Never would I use a match king bullet on a game animal.

 

[javman]

The bullet did it's job! Now people complain about an animal running 20 yds! What is this world coming to! Have taken many a deer with the AMAX, some were DRTs and some ran a few yds! Game was taken cleanly and have never lost an animal to a match type bullet.

 

[Lee Goodwin]

The dude at the nosler pro shop tells me their custom comp bullets are designed for long distance punching holes in paper, and are thin copper jackets not designed for hunting. I suspect target bullets are similar. I would try nosler partitions or accubonds if i were to hunt game. I bet the lead in those target bullets would blow up like a grenade on impacting bone.

 

[chickm1]

My son shot a whitetail deer last weekend, and it's the first time I've used a match type bullet on a game animal. Just wondering what everyone's experience with this is and if what happened to us is typical? He was shooting a semi custom .308 that I traded for using factory federal premium ammunition. The bullet was a 175 grain Sierra match king.

The deer appeared about 300 yards away, and I was ranging him to tell him how much to dial, he started walking towards us. He ended up stopping at 110 yards, quartering hard to us. My son made a perfect shot, hitting him in the point of the right shoulder. The bullet broke the shoulder blade in half, liquefied the heart, clipped a lung, and came to rest in the paunch.

The deer actually turned and ran about 15 or 20 yards and tipped over and fell. He kicked a few times and jumped back up, stood broadside, and just as I told my son to send another one, the deer fell back down and died for good. All my hunting experience has been with some type of tipped bullet, and I've never had this happen. All well placed shots have been DRT. This bullet did it's job as the bone and vitals were destroyed, but I'm not happy that the animal was able to run off. Is this typical for an SMK bullet, or did this deer just have an extreme will to live?

 

[chickm1]

You shot a whitetail with a bullet designed for target shooting, and don't understand why it did not perform as you wanted or expected?

 

[SteveBurton]

I guess I'm the one person in this entire world that has never had a deer drop immediately after shooting it. I've used half a dozen different cartridges and dozens of different bullets during my lifetime and every deer I have shot ran between 10-200 yards. Open them up and their insides are soup. Deer are tough creatures and a lot harder to put down than people think. Unless you are shooting for the spine or neck, I would not be surprised that they run a bit.

"The bullet broke the shoulder blade in half, liquefied the heart, clipped a lung, and came to rest in the paunch."

I don't know what else you can expect a bullet to do. Instead of blaming the bullet, admire the strength and power of the deer.

 

[chickm1]

I have a suggestion for you, of you want to hunt with match bullets, try Berger VLD. Sierra MKs have too thin a jacket for hunting.

 

[Tony Formicola]

15 to 20 yards is not "running off"...lol. Even with a perfect broadside double lung shot I have seen deer run 80 yards in a last dash.

 

[Rooterpig]

I've shot a dozen deer and 50 or 60 pigs with a match king out of a 308. I think 168 grains. Never had one pencil through. Deer would stumble 20 yards or so. All the pigs hit the deck. Was always a train wreck inside .

 

[Possum Cop]

I kill hogs as part of my job, that being said my department gives 168 grain SMK as a duty round for the .308 and the 208 AMAX subsonic for the .300 Blackout. 436 hogs have been taken with these 2 rounds with no issues in the last few years. Shot placement is critical as always but when hogs start to run they scatter like roaches when the lights come on and all you can do at that point is aim for the head and squeeze....even the gut shot and back ham shot hogs die, even shooting them at hard angles. They do work and do kill.
Just my observations and opionion. If it kills it kills.

 

[Creedmoor shooter]

Sounds like the bullet did ok to me. Why is everyone getting all bent out of shape about it? So the deer made it 20 yards. BIG DEAL! The only way your going to get a bang flop every time is when you hit the CNS somewhere. These animals have an incredible will to live. I've killed many deer with both and I'll take a "match bullet" hunting anyday of the week. If you want them to flop every time start shooting for high shoulder, neck, or just go get a 50 bmg.