Your gun and caliber for the SZ opener ..

[RETCAM]

Quote

Remington 7400 carbine with green box 150 gr my go to

 

[WWJD_Hunter]

Remington 1100 .

[wolc123]

On 11/15/2019 at 6:02 PM, wolc123 said:

 I will settle for an "under 100 yard shot only" with the old Ithaca tomorrow morning.  The spot I am going is pretty thick so a shot farther than that is highly unlikely anyhow.               

How did you all make out with your guns and caliber ?

The old Ithaca got the job done on a doe at 80 yards on Saturday, just like it has every time since I put the Weaver 1.5X scope on it back around 1984.   I think I will take it back there again this coming Saturday morning (still have a buck tag and three more 9f DMP's).   Besides always getting the job done, my favorite thing about that gun is: the 16 gauge slugs only cost me 20 cents each.  I bought all they had for $ 1 a box at a Sporting goods store "going out of business sale" up in Brewerton about 16 years ago.   

I will have to check out the meat damage, compared to the 12 gage Hornady SST's that I used last year.   That 3.5 year old buck was also hit thru the spine from about 20 yards farther away.   I could not believe how little meat was damaged by those Hornady sabots.   I am thinking that the full-diameter, 16 gauge Remington sluggers might have done considerably more.  I will find out Friday night when I process that doe.   The doe also looks to be about 3.5 years old.  Most of the rigor mortis should be gone after hide-on hanging for 6 days at 32 - 42 F in our insulated garage, so she will be ready for the freezer.   I would let her go a few more days, but I have too much going on over the weekend, and I have to clear the hook in case other(s) arrive.  

[LET EM GROW]

Normally I would have opted for the 7mm08 since I bought it for my dad shortly before he passed. But not knowing that i was going to be able make it out Saturday until the day before left me with zero time to make sure the rifle was still zeroed. So i took my windy daytime coyote gun.. Browning ab3 i won last year in 6.5bleedmoor with a 95gr vmax bullet. Topped with Vortex Viper HS 6-20x44.

I know the bullet was not ideal for whitetail, but there was no time to fine tune the night before season..  

[Pygmy]

2 hours ago, LET EM GROW said:

Normally I would have opted for the 7mm08 since I bought it for my dad shortly before he passed. But not knowing that i was going to be able make it out Saturday until the day before left me with zero time to make sure the rifle was still zeroed. So i took my windy daytime coyote gun.. Browning ab3 i won last year in 6.5bleedmoor with a 95gr vmax bullet. Topped with Vortex Viper HS 6-20x44.

I know the bullet was not ideal for whitetail, but there was no time to fine tune the night before season..  

I'd stay away from the shoulder with that bullet ( or any varmint bullet)…..Hit 'em in the slats and you'll be fine...

[LET EM GROW]

2 hours ago, Pygmy said:

I'd stay away from the shoulder with that bullet ( or any varmint bullet)…..Hit 'em in the slats and you'll be fine...

Yerp,  That is exactly what I told myself going into that hunt.. just double lung between the slots! That bullet did exactly what it was intended to doe Explode!! At 120 yards @ 3300fps it went into the hide tiny, and still made a baseball size hole in the rib cage going in.. took out heart, lungs, liver Rumen, even sent shrapnel up the neck hide and down the first front leg.. Not one sign of damage anywhere on off side if rib cage.  and he still ran 50 yards before falling.. Tough critters!

[wolc123]

I skinned the doe that I spined with the 16 gauge Remington "slugger" tonight, and the meat damage looks pretty intense.   The front quarters and hind quarters are good, but there is not much usable meat at all left on the backstraps.   The damage from that single 16 gauge foster slug on the spine from 80 yards away is at least 4X that from (2) 12 gauge Hornady SST sabots from 100 yards away on a buck the year before (one on the spine and one just below).   I only lost a chop or two on that one.  

Both deer were struck on the spine about half way between the front and back legs, and all (3) of the slugs passed thru.  They were also each shot from the same tree stand, 7 feet up.  I guess I will have to call that: "the spine stand".   

I certainly do not advocate the spine shot and these were just the result of a bad scope last season, and a bit of a far shot for the gun this season.   I am going to do my best to try for center lung shots from here on out this year, no matter where I am hunting or what weapon I am hunting with.        

Edited November 22, 2019 by wolc123

[Hock3y24]

200 yard shot, 6.5 Grendel in just in front of shoulder, hit off side leg bone and shattered it. Quarter size holes in both sides of rib cage. Recovered lead projectile and looks good. Hornaday black 123 grain ammo. Yes I know it’s a match bullet but researched it on forums and watched multiple ballistic tests and it’s almost identical if not better than ssts out of a 16” barrel.