What causes a faster, more humane kill?

[stevebeilgard]

I've shot a lot of deer and elk with my 270 and never had a problem with it at all! The furthest any one of them went was about 35 yards! Most of them went straight down!

I have also shot animals with the 308 and the 30-06 and had the same results!

just what i use, orlan, with similar results. must be an "our age" thing..

i've owned and shot big magnums, and just don't see a need for then any longer. although i still have a 7mm mag. my other guns are much smaller, and geared for what i'm hunting.

[Strut10]

....... must be an "our age" thing..

Must be.

[aksheephuntress]

...........Well....You know what they say..........size isn't everything....

....guess it's just a matter of choice- and experience...(works adequately every time)

[bowana]

I'll have to agree with Strut10 on this one. I have shot hundreds of whitetails, mulies, elk, pronghorn and bears combined. I've used several rifles. My most prized are 300 Win Mag, 300 WSM, 30-06 Ackley Improved, and a 338-378 Weatherby. This is just to name a few. I once had the "Flip" phenomena shooting a bedded 200 lb non-typical buck in Northwest Indiana Shooting a Savage Super Stryker 308 pistol with a hand loaded 165 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip. Buck did a very poor complete somersault (I gave him a 1). Shot him at around 115 yards. The same year in Montana I shot a 250 LB Mule Deer (my second biggest ever) with a Browning Short Trac in 300 WSM. The shot was only about 65 yards and I shot him with a factory Winchester Supreme 180 Grain Failsafe bullet. When I squeezed the trigger, I knew in my mind that I had made a picture perfect behind the shoulder shot.....guess what, the deer didn't show any indication of a hit. Even though the Browning is an autoloader, I was shell shocked. The buck was running full bore. It was getting dark and the buck had traveled several hundred yards through some thick timber (Lots of bears in there). I hiked back down the mountain and my guide and I returned the next day to search for him. 1 1/2 hours later we found him. Even though my shot was a tad bit low, it had ripped a hole in the bottom of the buck, took half the heart and ripped one lung apart due to bone shrapnel. The word "dead" was not in his vocabulary. The only deduction that I conclude is 1. Learn to shoot accurately. 2. Use the biggest caliber you can shoot accurately. 3. In case one and two don't work....learn to track wounded game. At some point it will happen to the best of us....even on the perfect shot!

[JJL]

I tend to refer to the great literary works when posed with such a question.

[bowana]

A guy by the name of Mr Capstick would also agree.

[WaCoyote]

I love and hate this discussion. The only way to ensure a faster more humane kill is to hit them right. I can't count how many I've double / lunged & heart hit that ran 50 yards or so with all different bullet types from my 06. The only sure way to drop them immediately is to shut down the nervous system with a head or spine shot. That said, just because they drop immediately doesn't mean they died instantly. The way to ensure the quickest kill is to hit them in the heart and/or lungs and count to 10. They'll be dead by then. Unfortunately they can cover some ground in 10 seconds.

Anyways, I would always opt for larger calibers starting at 6.5mm. Purely for penetration. I want through and through hits every time. That way if the animal runs for deep grass I've got blood to look for.

I know this though, I'm sick & tired of trying new bullets to find the one that is magic, it doesn't exist.

[Guest Zirkel]

I believe it is called 'hydrostatic shock'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrostatic_shock

Zirkel