reflex264
Handloader
- Jun 13, 2007
- 281
- 155
2023 deer season certainly was different. As many of you know I rotate guns. I love hunting. Aside from my pure love for hunting I treat every trip to the woods as a fact finding mission. This season I rotated 15 guns. Well off of my plan to carry 30. My plan was to kill approximately 10 deer. Without going into details I killed 3 deer. While I didn't meet my goals it certainly wasn't a failure. Did I learn anything? Of course.
Kill 1. Gun 450 Marlin Encore handgun
Load 300 grain Hornady JHP muzzle velocity of 2030fps. The deer was a buck, live weight 170 lbs. The shot was a very slight quartering angle at a distance of 160 yards. The deer was facing down a steep grade. At the very second I pulled the trigger the deer bolted. I wasn't sure if I hit him. I had the crosshairs right on his aorta. He was instantly out of sight. When I got to the deer he had ran/slid 48 yards from where he was when I shot. My original plan was to take autopsy pics. It was such a bloody mess that I didn't try to take pics. The heart was intact except the aorta was gone. The lungs were liquid. No meat was damaged with the exception of the ribs. My impression was absolutely perfect performance from the gun and load.
Kill 2. The gun is a Taurus T441T in .44 topped with a Leupold 4X scope. The load is a 240 grain WFNGC Montana Bullet Works bullet at just over 1000 fps. The deer was a large doe live weight over 150 lbs. She was actually on my hit list. She made it nearly impossible to hunt one of my favorite places. One evening she started her same hyper paranoid entry into the field just outside of the woods. She immediately locked on to the blind I was sitting in and moved from tree to tree stopping behind cover each time. She stopped behind a large tree. I ranged her at 33 yards but didn't have a shot. I waited her out and she poked her head out from behind the tree. I shot her through the neck dropping her in her tracks. No real bullet performance can be deduced because of the shot placement but it certainly worked.
Kill 3. The gun is my Encore chambered in 260. The load is a 140 grain Partition at 2420 fps. It is the most accurate sporting gun of any kind that I have ever seen. It is topped with a 2.5x8 Weaver handgun scope. The gun shoots 1/10th inch groups at 100 yards. It is sighted in -0- at 200 yards. The deer was slightly under 200 lbs live weight. The shot was 252 yards. At this distance with this load the bullet path would put POI -4" at that distance. I held to correct for distance and aimed at the aorta. At the squeeze of the trigger he dropped where he was standing. The Nosler did what it always does. The aorta was blown to bits and the lungs were absolutely mush.
Aside from the guns and loads the other things I used that performed perfectly are:
Leupold Rx 1000 rangefinder. Fits in my shirt pocket and never missed a beat.
Opti-Logic binoculars 8x50. No longer made but I wish they were. Low light performance is uncanny. Trifecta Handgun rest on a trigger stick tripod. I use it in the blinds. I killed all three deer with this set up. I can shoot sub moa off of this set up. Prior to this year I already killed several deer using it. I love it. Last but not least Little Debbie oatmeal cream pies. It's only crazy if it doesn't work.
Kill 1. Gun 450 Marlin Encore handgun
Load 300 grain Hornady JHP muzzle velocity of 2030fps. The deer was a buck, live weight 170 lbs. The shot was a very slight quartering angle at a distance of 160 yards. The deer was facing down a steep grade. At the very second I pulled the trigger the deer bolted. I wasn't sure if I hit him. I had the crosshairs right on his aorta. He was instantly out of sight. When I got to the deer he had ran/slid 48 yards from where he was when I shot. My original plan was to take autopsy pics. It was such a bloody mess that I didn't try to take pics. The heart was intact except the aorta was gone. The lungs were liquid. No meat was damaged with the exception of the ribs. My impression was absolutely perfect performance from the gun and load.
Kill 2. The gun is a Taurus T441T in .44 topped with a Leupold 4X scope. The load is a 240 grain WFNGC Montana Bullet Works bullet at just over 1000 fps. The deer was a large doe live weight over 150 lbs. She was actually on my hit list. She made it nearly impossible to hunt one of my favorite places. One evening she started her same hyper paranoid entry into the field just outside of the woods. She immediately locked on to the blind I was sitting in and moved from tree to tree stopping behind cover each time. She stopped behind a large tree. I ranged her at 33 yards but didn't have a shot. I waited her out and she poked her head out from behind the tree. I shot her through the neck dropping her in her tracks. No real bullet performance can be deduced because of the shot placement but it certainly worked.
Kill 3. The gun is my Encore chambered in 260. The load is a 140 grain Partition at 2420 fps. It is the most accurate sporting gun of any kind that I have ever seen. It is topped with a 2.5x8 Weaver handgun scope. The gun shoots 1/10th inch groups at 100 yards. It is sighted in -0- at 200 yards. The deer was slightly under 200 lbs live weight. The shot was 252 yards. At this distance with this load the bullet path would put POI -4" at that distance. I held to correct for distance and aimed at the aorta. At the squeeze of the trigger he dropped where he was standing. The Nosler did what it always does. The aorta was blown to bits and the lungs were absolutely mush.
Aside from the guns and loads the other things I used that performed perfectly are:
Leupold Rx 1000 rangefinder. Fits in my shirt pocket and never missed a beat.
Opti-Logic binoculars 8x50. No longer made but I wish they were. Low light performance is uncanny. Trifecta Handgun rest on a trigger stick tripod. I use it in the blinds. I killed all three deer with this set up. I can shoot sub moa off of this set up. Prior to this year I already killed several deer using it. I love it. Last but not least Little Debbie oatmeal cream pies. It's only crazy if it doesn't work.
