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First deer with the LR-308 gas gun.
Friend needed another doe culled to give to ranch hands. So, I showed up early to zero the rifle since I had replaced the brake with a Surefire, the gas block with a Sekins Adjustable, and the scope with a Trijicon TA-55.
Got the gas block adjusted to just cycle my handloads. This reduced felt recoil considerably though I can also feel a slowed cyclic rate. Maybe the gun won’t beat itself to death now. A common problem with some .308 gas guns and higher than occasional shooting.
Zeroed the gun with the ammo I pulled the 165gr bonded bullet from and reseated the 165gr Sierra HPBT-GK. Final shot hit dead center of the paster. Installed the suppressor and fired a shot which struck the previous impact. That’ll do.
We loaded up and went out to pour corn along one of the roads, parked the Mule behind some brush and waited.
Soon, some yearlings came out to feed. Then, some does began to be seen in the brush, being chased by several bucks. About 150 yards away, a herd of deer came through the fence corner and began to feed. But, there were too many and they were too bunched together to get a shot without collateral damage.
A few minutes later, a doe crossed the fence in front of us and began walking down the fence towards the others. Aiming high to avoid the heart and slightly back to avoid the shoulder (waste meat), I sent the 165gr Sierra across the 77 yard distance and into her ribs.
She jumped high high into the air and took off across the pasture. I felt good about the shot and watched her stumbling as she ran. Getting lower and lower to the ground, she tumbled over after a little over 100 yards. Thinking she was done, but almost instantly, she popped back up and continued stumbling, and running across the pasture. Crap!!
I jumped out of the Mule and ran to a tree. Bracing against it, I aimed high on her ribes as she quarter away and sent another round into her as she ran (later ranged at 201 yards) into the brush. Hearing the impact, I knew she was hit again.
Walked across the pasture and found her lying just inside the brush. Total distance of her run was 240 yards!!! She ran 210 yards before I hit her the second time and 30 more yards after the second hit. Wow!
Now for the baffling part. There is only ONE entrance hole in that deer!!! Middle of the ribs.
And two exit holes!!!
The one in the middle of the ribs was the first exit. The one through the shoulder was the second exit as she ran quartering away.
Entrance on the right of the pic. First exit low on the left and second exit high on the left.
First round entrance to the lungs above.
On the left of the picture, you will see the first rounds exit through the back of the lungs and to the right, the second round’s exit through the middle of the lungs and above the heart. It passed between the rear lobes of the lungs and through the center of the vascular system.
So, the two things that are boggling to me.
1. How she ran so far with a hole through both of her lungs from the first shot.
2. How the HELL I hit her in the EXACT same entrance hole with BOTH shots!!! I was NOT trying to do that.
I know the first shot was a little back in the chest as I was trying to save the heart for me and the meat for the ranch hand. But, I didn’t think it was bad shot placement. She bled the entire way! A shot closer to the shoulder would have caused more damage to the vascular and circulatory system, no doubt. I won’t place that shot again. Still............Just one tough deer?
Got the gas block adjusted to just cycle my handloads. This reduced felt recoil considerably though I can also feel a slowed cyclic rate. Maybe the gun won’t beat itself to death now. A common problem with some .308 gas guns and higher than occasional shooting.
Zeroed the gun with the ammo I pulled the 165gr bonded bullet from and reseated the 165gr Sierra HPBT-GK. Final shot hit dead center of the paster. Installed the suppressor and fired a shot which struck the previous impact. That’ll do.
We loaded up and went out to pour corn along one of the roads, parked the Mule behind some brush and waited.
Soon, some yearlings came out to feed. Then, some does began to be seen in the brush, being chased by several bucks. About 150 yards away, a herd of deer came through the fence corner and began to feed. But, there were too many and they were too bunched together to get a shot without collateral damage.
A few minutes later, a doe crossed the fence in front of us and began walking down the fence towards the others. Aiming high to avoid the heart and slightly back to avoid the shoulder (waste meat), I sent the 165gr Sierra across the 77 yard distance and into her ribs.
She jumped high high into the air and took off across the pasture. I felt good about the shot and watched her stumbling as she ran. Getting lower and lower to the ground, she tumbled over after a little over 100 yards. Thinking she was done, but almost instantly, she popped back up and continued stumbling, and running across the pasture. Crap!!
I jumped out of the Mule and ran to a tree. Bracing against it, I aimed high on her ribes as she quarter away and sent another round into her as she ran (later ranged at 201 yards) into the brush. Hearing the impact, I knew she was hit again.
Walked across the pasture and found her lying just inside the brush. Total distance of her run was 240 yards!!! She ran 210 yards before I hit her the second time and 30 more yards after the second hit. Wow!
Now for the baffling part. There is only ONE entrance hole in that deer!!! Middle of the ribs.
And two exit holes!!!
The one in the middle of the ribs was the first exit. The one through the shoulder was the second exit as she ran quartering away.
Entrance on the right of the pic. First exit low on the left and second exit high on the left.
First round entrance to the lungs above.
On the left of the picture, you will see the first rounds exit through the back of the lungs and to the right, the second round’s exit through the middle of the lungs and above the heart. It passed between the rear lobes of the lungs and through the center of the vascular system.
So, the two things that are boggling to me.
1. How she ran so far with a hole through both of her lungs from the first shot.
2. How the HELL I hit her in the EXACT same entrance hole with BOTH shots!!! I was NOT trying to do that.
I know the first shot was a little back in the chest as I was trying to save the heart for me and the meat for the ranch hand. But, I didn’t think it was bad shot placement. She bled the entire way! A shot closer to the shoulder would have caused more damage to the vascular and circulatory system, no doubt. I won’t place that shot again. Still............Just one tough deer?
"To Hell with efficiency, it's performance we want!" - Elmer Keith
Replies
I don’t recall exactly but your work on the pig a couple years ago comes to mind. Mr. Piggy took a .40(?) to the heart and lasted 10(?) seconds.
You didn’t break any big bones to slow her run down, the heart was still intact to pump. You just had to wait for her brain to run out of oxygenated blood.
Dad 5-31-13
I don’t get to test bullets with head shots.
I didn’t time it, but the sequence went like this:
Shot
Run
Fall
Get up
I get out of the Mule while installing a Bipod and run to a tree as she crosses the pasture.
Kneel next to tree for support and shoot.
Hit
Run 30 more yards and fall.
So, however long that takes.
Luckiest shot I’ve ever made.
Actually, I did the same thing with my first elk.
Two shots, one entrance, two exits. But, he was only 50ish yards away.
That was my thought as well. Want to save the heart? Shoot the brain
-Mikhail Kalashnikov
Yes. . .but the pics of the eyeballs bugged out like Cookie Monster more than makes up for the lack of science.
"Nothing is safe from stupid." - Zee
Yeah. The heart is pretty tasty.
AKA: Former Founding Member
I will admit there's not going to be much information gained from hitting the head, but they can't run very far with half their brains running down their face or their spinal chord snapped in half.
Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
The down side of that is it's a much smaller target. And if it's moving it's kinda iffy at best.
I'll take whatever shot I can get, but if the animal is stationary, I'll try for head, neck or spine. But then I'm not testing bullets. I'm pretty well set in my ways on bullets.
Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
That right there is fast becoming my favorite hunting bullet.
Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
Is there any possibility that the projectile shed its jacket on initial impact which then made the second exit hole? Reason I ask is that when I first started reloading I had that happen to me. Dropped a deer with one shot then when I skinned the animal I found 2 exit holes.
Good shooting!
"The Un-Tactical"
The bullet looks to have performed perfectly. No excessive lung liquification that often signifies heavy meat damage, but it clearly expanded. The damage matches exactly what I’ve seen with the same Sierra HPBT in both 6mm and 7mm offerings.