NYBowhunter

257 Roberts

Guess you have been one of the very lucky ones..lol..i have tracked a few gut shot deer for family members, we let one go overnight and it went very far and was shot with a marlin 35. The other was shot with a 30-06 and was retrieved a few hundred yards away and only found it because we knew the genrral direction she went, very little blood. My point is i rather rely on my accuracy / marksmanship with a 30-30 then to tote the largest caliber i can handle.

Stop Jeremy, thats just plain common sense and it appears some on here overllook commonsense. I guess it just makes more sense to use the largest caliber you can handle just in case of a marginal shot. Practice till your very proficient and confident with a 30-30, come on thats way to hard.

Then you got lucky my friend, 50 yards on a gut shot, that seems to be the exception but not the norm, either you clipped a vital organ or the deer bedded down within 50 yards and took some time to die thereafter. Ive never seen just a gut shot deer (no vitals) die within 50 yards. I also own and have hunted with a 300 win mag . and know their capabilities. Not doubting you, just find it hard that a gut shot deer only going 50 yards unless vitals were hit as well.

Could not have said it better myself.

I would also think that you would agree that a gut shot deer with a 30-30 or a 338 produces the same result? A gut shot deer and a long track job. I think you would also agree that shooting a deer in the heart with a 30-30 or 338 produces the same result, right? They are both dead deer. So you see my point? A gut shot deer with a 338 is a bad shot and is a larger caliber but doesnt make recovery any easier. While shot placement in the vitals with a plethora of calibers ALWAYS produces the same results, a dead deer. The OP seems to think that the largest caliber a man can handle without flinching should be the gun we carry, i say thats bullshit. Sorry, just my opiion after have killed well over a hundred deer. Not bragging at all, its my observation from many years of experience as a hunter and i feel that does have some relevance.

Amen my friend. I dont know what part of my explanation he has a hard time grasping. Accuracy is key in the deer woods wether it be a 30-30 or a 45-70.

Sounds like a plan, im fortunate enough that my cousin is not a good hunter nor a great shot. ..lol

Hahaha, guess we are both dumb and they are the smart ones. I still have a cousin in his 40's that calls me to help gut his deer.

Funny you say that, i know a few humters that are not new at all to this sport and after the shot are clueless what to do with the deer. Pretty sad if you ask me.

You just keep going in circles, do you even know what you wrote in your OP? All my responses are geared to and have remained on point as it relates to your original post. Your the one making smartass scenarios like shooting a bear with a 9mm or a 22, sarcastic or not thats just plain dumb. Your not answersing my question, do you beleive that using a larger caliber will prevent a deer running to the next hunter? Isnt that what your OP was about? I say no, to prevent a deer from running off to the next guy irregardless of caliber (i feel i need to make myself clear here so you dont come up with another sarcastic scenario, lets say calibers are 30-30, 35, 30-06, 7mm, 45-70, 338 etc..) is to have good shot placement. You seem to think that if i use lets say a 338 vs. a 308 that the 338 will prevent that deer going to the next hunter because its a larger caliber. AGAIN, I say thats nonsense, AGAIN TO ME using a 308 , 243, 35 or 338 makes absolutely no difference TO ME, i rather rely on shot placement irregardless of any above calibers. Maybe you need the 338 lapua to put a deer down, more power to you but ill continue to use my minor calibers and save my shoulder. ,

Eggs cooked in a pocket of bacon (bird in a nest), fresh ham and homemade cornbread.

My reading comprehension is perfectly fine and yes i get that smartass comment about the 9mm and bear. I think you need to work on your reading comprehension as well because this dude is not being sarcastic however is being quite serious and actually believes and is defending what he is writting.

Nope wrong again, i think Grampy alteady pointed out to you that he has been on numerous track jobs of gut shot deer that were shot with various calibers. The results were equally the same, a gut shot deer.

Thats not what you stated in your op, but i see how you are now changing the tune, now that one member happened to mention the 243. Originally your argument was that a hunter should use the largest caliber possible without flinching and now you are comparing higher and lower end of what most people use, whatever that is.

So you dont think my comparable of a 165gr bullet fired from a 30-06 and a 405 grain fired from a 45-70 would not make enough of a difference. But you tend to agree that comparing a 243 to lets say a 30-06 is fair?

My point is in short that the biggest, baddest caliber is not always best. I like big calibers as much as the next guy but shot placement within the hands of a competent shooter will always win out.

Okay but your still suggesting that a larger caliber wiill increase your odds of a deer not running to the next hunter. Again, i call nonsense to that statement. Example, i shoot a 30-06 with a 165 grain bullet and gut shot a deer, you shoot a 45-70 with 405 grain bullet and gut shot a same size deer with all variables the same...are you saying my deer makes it to that other hunter y1 mile away more faster then your gut shot deer? Sorry im stuffed from a great meal and bored, but intrigued by your concept.

OMG, you just gave me a good laugh, literally. Thanks. Now we are onto the ER and doctors. What the hell does that have to do with tracking deer and rifle caliber size? Are you now suggesting we correlate gut shot deer with a 30-06 to a gut shot human with a 30-06. You are really digging.

Yep marginal shot was my words, but the below were yours "Less chance its going to go far that way and have someone else shoot at it and have to deal with them ." basically your words above suggest that if i shoot a larger caliber i wont have to deal with someone else shooting my deer, which is total nonsense. Again, shot replacement with any deer catridge will fix that problem.

Now i know your a joke.

Again caliber on gut shot makes no difference to me, if all varibles were the same, flip a coin.

I really dont know how the 243 found its way into this discussion , think noman started that. But in all seriousness, the op is suggesting that the larger the caliber the easier it will be to retrieve deer on marginal shots which is pure nonsense. Shot placement is key, wether it be a 30-06 or a 45-70 or a 500. I made no mention of the 243.

You think what you want, a gut shot deer with a 243 or a 30-06 is still going to be a lengthy track job with at times no promise at the end. But you keep on making marginal shots with the biggest caliber you can handle and let me know how that works out for you.

Maybe your the one drinking. Again go read your OP, its suggesting a larger caliber will make me a better shot.