Effective game killing, shot placement and more...

[Koda]

Factory Remington green/ white box HP was plain decapitation of the shoulder.

isnt that stuff designed for target projectiles?

 

[DLS]

Shot a whitetail with a 22-250 at over 275 yards - never again. Factory Remington green/ white box HP was plain decapitation of the shoulder. The does' shoulder was ripped off and she ran another 200 yards before dying of blood loss. The gun was a heavy barrel Rem 700 and I was in a tree stand (Pennsylvania). Super accurate rifle and ammo combo but not a deer cartridge. So, speed ain't the need.

I agree. You were looking at real world impact speed of 2400fps (or less) and less than 700 ft. pounds of energy at that range.

 

[trevi]

isnt that stuff designed for target projectiles?

I do not recall what the bullet grain was. It may have been 55 gr, the same as the 222 Rem I was using the day before, which took a nice buck cleanly (great round!!). But, after dropping the rifle a few times, I did not want to risk it being un-zeroed and making bad shots. In hindsight, it may have been a varmint/ target round as i used it to take many groundhogs.

 

[Zechariah]

Full metal jacket is the green and white box I believe. In Oregon it's illigal the bone you hit probably exploded into a 1000 peices.

 

[osprey]

I had a chance to listen to that podcast today too and learned a alot.
Im still a big proponent of skinning asap but it makes sense to leave the hide on in cold weather if the game will freeze over night. Also... Freezing before rigormortis is bad....
I also never knew boning the meat in the field is bad for the flavor/toughness.... Though might not have a choice if the pack out is difficult enough.
Learned a lot in that podcast.

I have never associated boning in the field on bad flavor. I also did not get that from podcast. Maybe I missed it?

 

[Koda]

I have never associated boning in the field on bad flavor. I also did not get that from podcast. Maybe I missed it?

I might have misunderstood that as I was working while listening to the podcast. Im not certain I want to go back to review...
So at a minimum, wasnt there something negative about boning out the meat in the field?

 

[Koda]

I do not recall what the bullet grain was. It may have been 55 gr, the same as the 222 Rem I was using the day before, which took a nice buck cleanly (great round!!). But, after dropping the rifle a few times, I did not want to risk it being un-zeroed and making bad shots. In hindsight, it may have been a varmint/ target round as i used it to take many groundhogs.

its possible it was a varmint or target bullet. A quick google on my end turned up only target or varmint in green and whit box packaging, but I didn't google deep.
In my opinion its not an ideal deer round, but have read plenty of people swearing by 22cal centerfires for dropping deer but a deer projectile is always used. I have a 223 and have no doubt it will drop a deer within its limitations, but only with a deer projectile.

 

[osprey]

I might have misunderstood that as I was working while listening to the podcast. Im not certain I want to go back to review...
So at a minimum, wasnt there something negative about boning out the meat in the field?

Yes, you can make meat tough. If cut off bone prior to rigor, the muscle contracts making the cuts less tender. This can then be compounded as smaller chunks without bone can cool much quicker and potentially too fast depending on conditions which can lead to cold shortening. This will make for very tough cuts as I can attest to.

 

[Koda]

Yes, you can make meat tough. If cut off bone prior to rigor, the muscle contracts making the cuts less tender. This can then be compounded as smaller chunks without bone can cool much quicker and potentially too fast depending on conditions which can lead to cold shortening. This will make for very tough cuts as I can attest to.

Glad for the clarification.
from memory while working, the takeaway was leave bone in whenever possible. Keep the meat cool but dont freeze. I cant recall when rigormotis sets in on deer/elk but after that its good to cut/butcher?

 

[osprey]

After six hours you should be good or just hang overnight to be sure.

 

[orygun]

All of this talk is making me hungry! My wife is making fresh pasta right now and I'm going to get some venison from the freezer. Gonna be a good dinner here tonite!

FYI, fresh elbow macaroni, pan fried venison chunks and a can of Cream of Mushroom soup made for a fantastic dinner last night.
Venison stroganoff the easy way.

 

[pharmseller]

Shot a whitetail with a 22-250 at over 275 yards - never again. Factory Remington green/ white box HP was plain decapitation of the shoulder. The does' shoulder was ripped off and she ran another 200 yards before dying of blood loss. The gun was a heavy barrel Rem 700 and I was in a tree stand (Pennsylvania). Super accurate rifle and ammo combo but not a deer cartridge. So, speed ain't the need.

Plenty good for deer.

Poor bullet choice.




P

 

[pharmseller]

I agree. You were looking at real world impact speed of 2400fps (or less) and less than 700 ft. pounds of energy at that range.

2400 fps is well within the performance window for most hunting bullets.



P

 

[trevi]

Plenty good for deer.

Poor bullet choice.




P

Maybe with a heavier bullet and barrel with a better twist rate. But I was not really into that set up. Fun while it lasted.

 

[pharmseller]

Maybe with a heavier bullet and barrel with a better twist rate. But I was not really into that set up. Fun while it lasted.

What's the twist?

55 grain TTSX is a devastating deer killer.




P

 

[trevi]

What's the twist?

55 grain TTSX is a devastating deer killer.




P

Mine was a Rem 700 varmint gun with 1-14 twist. This was in a time when buying guns was more important than learning about their harmonics and twist and bullet types, I was just buying and stacking, now I am learned.

The ammo was factory and i belive the 55 gr was a PSP or HP.

 

[Koda]

The 14 twist sounds more suited for varmit hunting (correct me if Im wrong). I get the time when buying guns was more important.... many years ago I influenced my dad to buy a Rem 700 22-250. It was a gorgeous rifle, bull barrel. We never even varmint hunted and had no idea what twist rate meant back then, he just bought it cause I said a 22-250 was a tack driver. Next I knew we had one in the safe. lol.
Not so funny is he eventually sold it without telling me. ooof.

 

[DLS]

2400 fps is well within the performance window for most hunting bullets.



P

Most yes, but we are talking about a 55gr. .224 diameter bullet with sucky sectional density. This type of projectile relies on speed for terminal effect and at 2400 (most likely less]) you really don't have much oomph left.

 

[Spitpatch]

I have witnessed the 55gr Nosler Ballistic Tip from a .223 take too may Pronghorns and Muleys cleanly and reliably (even at range) to dismiss it as a viable tool for an experienced marksman.

A friend's 12yo daughter began her hunting career with it, took five goats and two deer (first goat at 275 yards), all one-shot kills.

For the last 5 years of his life, my father (a life-long hunter in Maryland, Washington, Nevada, Montana and Alaska) carried a Mini-Mauser .223, when his Mannlicher and Ruger #1 started to feel heavy. He bragged (with the game to back it up) on the little gun every chance he got.

 

[Spitpatch]

Often ignored is the characteristic of bullets normally thought of as "varmint bullets" (when they impact game at lesser velocities) to act like big game bullets.

This may be the very reason why (along with its inordinate length for weight) the 55gr Ballistic Tip does so well on deer and antelope out of the .223. They exited on all but one of the girl's critters, and the one we recovered (from a mature Muley) looked like a magazine advertisement for a Grand Slam.