GRAPHIC Why you don't hunt whitetails with a .300RUM

[thermaler]

Thanks Dave : )

[big honkin jeep]

Just another note I didn't weigh the recovered bullet ( 180gr sirocco bonded) from the buck hit in the chest but it was a heavily curled mushroom of significant weight trapped between the meat and the skin of the ham and almost exited. I would not conclude that it "exploded" It looked as if it held together quite well. I'm pretty sure the damage and trauma was not from the bullet exploding but from the shock made by a properly functioning bullet at very high velocity. Kinda like the difference between shooting a small varmint with a 40gr .22LR or .22mag and a 40gr .223 or 22-250. One will put it down while the other turns it to red mist. If you get back to the physics of doubling the speed and the impact being multiplied by 9 then you can see where "only" a couple of hundred FPS can make a huge difference.

[thermaler]

I like what the folks over at the 6.8 spc forum have done with their ammunition testing results-- "what you see is what actually happens."
http://68forums.com/forums/showthread.php?11232-6-8-Ammunition-Reports-Data-and-Archived-info-photos

[davemuzz]

I like what the folks over at the 6.8 spc forum have done with their ammunition testing results-- "what you see is what actually happens."
http://68forums.com/forums/showthread.php?11232-6-8-Ammunition-Reports-Data-and-Archived-info-photos

"what you see is what actually happens." Well, yes. In a block of gelatin in a test lab. And from what I saw they used 110gr. bullets as the heaviest. Not exactly real life conditions. Find a "test" block of gelatin that has a real bone of a game animal in it that has been shot with hunting bullets. Then you will see what actually happens. Look at one's with rib bones, small leg bones, big leg bones, etc.

Dave

[thermaler]

I was not suggesting that the bullets tested were applicable to the 300 RUM--but the bullet's behavior--opening, penetration distance, trauma shock etc are quite useful IMO as indicator's of the bullet type's behavior. Seems to me this type of test could easily be modified by introducing harder objects simulating bone density. One of the main public uses of the 6.8 spc is to hunt deer with .270 bullets adapted to the M4 carbine platform .

[davemuzz]

If you really want to know bullet performance on animals, go to hunting forums and ask.

[squirrelsniper]

I actually looked at this post a couple times before posting and finally decided to go ahead and say something. It just has the look and feel of one of those posts where someone will end up pointing fingers and yelling, but let's hope not.

First, I wouldn't blame it on the 300 RUM. I've shot deer with the RUM, no problem, basically looked like what you'd expect from any 300 mag, whether it be 300 WSM, 300 Win, 300 RUM, 300 WBY, etc.

The problem is no two shots are exactly alike. When you combine a fast round, ranges of 200yds or less, bullets made for deer or lighter game, then you strike a bone or something on entry, you're in for a mess.

I've seen basically every caliber that's capable of approximately 3,000fps do severe damage to deer under certain conditions.

The best way to avoid it and still put deer down quickly is to use a 45/70 or similar. You typically get one big hole and very little damage to the surrounding meat. However, this option isn't very practical for open areas that offer long range shots.

[Werewolf]

The problem is no two shots are exactly alike. When you combine a fast round, ranges of 200yds or less, bullets made for deer or lighter game, then you strike a bone or something on entry, you're in for a mess.

I think this was the exact point of the original post, not that it was just the 300rum, but that it was too much for the situation.

[buggybuilder]

I guess I'll stick with my .223 with a 60gr. Nosler Partition bullet. Neck shot behind the head. Bullet never exited so all bullet energy jellied the internals. I never take running shots and all shots are made at 65 yds.

[BoilerUP]

Something isn't right if a .224 60gr Partition isn't passing through a Neck shot on a whitetail.

I had a 77gr Custom Comp enter the top of the skull on a doe and exit in the neck bug enough to stick my thumb into...

[buggybuilder]

I reload for 100% accuracy first. 5 shots @100 yds with a .5 group. I want all that bullets energy to stop inside the body. 3500 fps doesn't do any good if its exiting the aft side of the deer. My bullet severed the windpipe,jugular vein and broke his neck. Nothing more is needed.

[squirrelsniper]

Something isn't right if a .224 60gr Partition isn't passing through a Neck shot on a whitetail.

Not to get off topic, but this is kind of what I meant earlier when I said no two shots are alike and there are a lot of factors that go into it. So, to tell the story that got me to post this...
A few years ago I was hunting from one of my favorite spots with one of my favorite rifles. The rifle was a 7mm Rem Mag, shooting a 140gr Sierra GameKing BTSP. A good buck steps out, but about the same time I see him and get the rifle up, he sees me and stops. He's facing me, dead still except for a little ear movement. He's good, look's like a 140-class or so, certainly not going to let him walk if I can help it. But there's a problem, the only shot I've got is the neck and up, I can't even tell where his shoulders are. I'm thinking 7mm mag, 140gr bullet, maybe 50yds (ended up being 42yds), and a neck shot on something I wanted to hang on the wall. Oh well, he's not walking. Bang, drop.

I get up to the deer a couple minutes later expecting to see a trophy animal that I'll just be doing a skull mount on. Oddly enough, I don't see anything wrong. I lift its head up and just a few trickles of blood run out a small hole centered in the front of its neck. I'm thinking... "What the heck, how did that happen?"

I pretty much perform an autopsy on a kill any time I can and I certainly try to any time something strange happens. Since I've already told a long enough story, here's the explanation, which was pretty straightforward once I discovered it. The bullet entered centered in the neck, hit vertebrae in the neck causing both the vertebrae and the bullet to essentially grenade inside the neck. Again, fast cartridge/bullet, short range, major bone, yada yada. The muscle (which was substantial) and the skin contained all this within the neck without doing any outward damage. Part of the mangled bullet jacket was found about 1/2" under the skin on the back side. Bone and lead fragments were scattered throughout the neck.

[whiteknuckle]

Doesn't seem ethical IMO. My favorite cartridge inside 100 yards: 30/30.

I don't think he suffered much:)

[davemuzz]

Something isn't right if a .224 60gr Partition isn't passing through a Neck shot on a whitetail.

I had a 77gr Custom Comp enter the top of the skull on a doe and exit in the neck bug enough to stick my thumb into...

If you look at buggybuilder's post, he stated his POA and POI was at the base of the skull and neck. If that's where his .223 bullet hit's there is nothing but bone and I would expect to find very little of a bullet (but pieces) left….if anything at all. Pieces of bone, bullet, and a deer that never felt a thing upon impact.

Dave

[BoilerUP]

I saw that.

But a Partition should not have any issues penetrating and exiting a deer's spine and skull, especially if a SMK/Custom Comp/Amax can do so.

Pretty sure 3500fps+ has something to do with that "failure", however...

[rl550]

I had trouble using my 300 wsm(wasting meat) until i went with a hornady 180 gr. inter bond bullet. Tried 150 gr ballistic tips then 165 gr. sierras , but the 180 gr. seems just right plus now I have an elk load to if I ever can afford the hunt.