.223, 6mm, and 6.5 failures on big game

FredH

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Dec 2, 2021
Messages
70
Ever shoot in the wind, Fred? Or range the bush 20 yards beyond your actual target by mistake? There’s a huge difference between executing a good shot and the bullet hitting where you want,

when shooting stuff at longer distance, it really, really helps to see exactly where you hit…have you done but western or long range shooting?
Yes I have shot in the wind. If the wind is strong enough to push my bullet more than 1 inch per MPH I don't shoot. When shooting "stuff" at longer distances, especially if there is any wind seeing a small caliber bullets impact is pretty tough. the smaller the bullet the tougher it is. I lived in Wyoming and hunted there for 19 years. I learned then that counting on seeing a bullet impact to adjust my aim is a damn fool thing to do. I have also seen bullet impacts from 270 and 30-06 impacts. That said if you are taking a shot and counting on seeing a bullets impact to adjust your aim for the second shot you are guilty of poor sportsmanship. It's okay when shooting paper but not game animals.
 

barehandlineman

FNG
Classified Approved
Joined
Apr 15, 2023
Messages
98
Anatomically speaking, which specific part of the "high shoulder" appeared impenetrable when you assessed bullet performance? What did the wound look like? Splash? Explosion? Pin hole?
Explosive but not enough. High enough on shoulder a 180 eldm would have broken his scapula
 

TaperPin

WKR
Joined
Jul 12, 2023
Messages
3,274
All the small caliber soft bullet Prius shooters sure spend a lot of time and effort convincing each other their combination works, and poo pooing anything that doesn’t agree with them. The focus is all on when things go right, not what about when things aren’t ideal - optimism is a virtue, and all you shot spotter, pass up less than perfect angle guys have lots of it! :)

Us Accubond and Partition shooters feel for you. We don’t want you to change though, it’s kind of fun watching you struggle, like a cocky high school kid with a new Tasco scope that’s going to put our shooting to shame. *chuckle*
 

hunterjmj

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Joined
Feb 3, 2019
Messages
1,359
Location
Montana
All the small caliber soft bullet Prius shooters sure spend a lot of time and effort convincing each other their combination works, and poo pooing anything that doesn’t agree with them. The focus is all on when things go right, not what about when things aren’t ideal - optimism is a virtue, and all you shot spotter, pass up less than perfect angle guys have lots of it! :)

Us Accubond and Partition shooters feel for you. We don’t want you to change though, it’s kind of fun watching you struggle, like a cocky high school kid with a new Tasco scope that’s going to put our shooting to shame. *chuckle*
Shot a lot of animals in my life and never struggled. Also, I've never used a nosler bullet in my life. When I was a kid it was core lokt then when I moved out and was on my own I just bought what was cheap and never paid much attention to bullet. Started shooting bergers around 15', shot some eldx's, eldm's but never a nosler. Never struggled to kill anything with any of those bullets. To each his own. I'll keep killing animals with soft bullet and you keep shooting the noslers. Don't really care what you shoot.
 

huntnful

WKR
Joined
Oct 10, 2020
Messages
2,174
So you're saying that the scapula stopped penetration?
lol I love the leading questions hoping for the answer you want so you can then dismiss the entire persons credibility.

I see that shit all the time on here now. It’s not a genuine question out of curiosity.

Why is it so hard for someone to come here and say “ I shot an elk with a 22 creed. I wasn’t impressed.” Is that such an outlandish statement to make now?

No, we need necropsy photos, a video analysis, everyone to know every detail, so they can downplay your personal experience at any slip up of wording… god forbid you slip up presenting the information on the reasons why you weren’t impressed by .224 bullet on an elk around here.
 

mt100gr.

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Jan 29, 2014
Messages
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NW MT
lol I love the leading questions hoping for the answer you want so you can then dismiss the entire persons credibility.

I see that shit all the time on here now. It’s not a genuine question out of curiosity.

Why is it so hard for someone to come here and say “ I shot an elk with a 22 creed. I wasn’t impressed.” Is that such an outlandish statement to make now?

No, we need necropsy photos, a video analysis, everyone to know every detail, so they can downplay your personal experience at any slip up of wording… god forbid you slip up presenting the information on the reasons why you weren’t impressed by .224 bullet on an elk around here.
You're funny. And quite the junior detective!!!

Actually, i was "genuinely" asking for his wound analysis, in his own words. I would have liked to hear a description of the wound. It's all interesting data to me....But neat theory.

I had a 215 Berger not penetrate a mule deer shoulder once. No pics, so I apologize in advance, but it was a few years before I started tracking such results. MV of 2975, shot at about 350yds, if memory serves. I stepped on it a little hard and hit him high shoulder. After a point blank finisher, I examined what literally looked like someone had taken a jagged ice cream scooper the size of a grapefruit and cored out a 3-4" deep crater. It blew my mind. But I didn't dismiss all the other data points that had/have been brought forward surrounding the 215berger. I chalked it up to a one-off, WTF, bullets do weird shit sometimes deal.

I'm not fully planted in the mouse gun camp. Nor am I telling everyone that magnums are the only way. I have seen the merits of small, medium, and large. In the right hands they all do the same thing.

Centerfire rifles with good bullets are more alike than different. And animals are literally just bones and tissue in a leather pouch. All of the mental masturbation here is getting messy.
 

huntnful

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Oct 10, 2020
Messages
2,174
You're funny. And quite the junior detective!!!

Actually, i was "genuinely" asking for his wound analysis, in his own words. I would have liked to hear a description of the wound. It's all interesting data to me....But neat theory.

I had a 215 Berger not penetrate a mule deer shoulder once. No pics, so I apologize in advance, but it was a few years before I started tracking such results. MV of 2975, shot at about 350yds, if memory serves. I stepped on it a little hard and hit him high shoulder. After a point blank finisher, I examined what literally looked like someone had taken a jagged ice cream scooper the size of a grapefruit and cored out a 3-4" deep crater. It blew my mind. But I didn't dismiss all the other data points that had/have been brought forward surrounding the 215berger. I chalked it up to a one-off, WTF, bullets do weird shit sometimes deal.

I'm not fully planted in the mouse gun camp. Nor am I telling everyone that magnums are the only way. I have seen the merits of small, medium, and large. In the right hands they all do the same thing.

Centerfire rifles with good bullets are more alike than different. And animals are literally just bones and tissue in a leather pouch. All of the mental masturbation here is getting messy.
Fair enough. My apologies if those were the true intentions. Another wrong accusation lost in translation over text. I need to get off of here honestly. Hate wrongfully misinterpreting people’s intentions.
 

mt100gr.

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Jan 29, 2014
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Fair enough. My apologies if those were the true intentions. Another wrong accusation lost in translation over text. I need to get off of here honestly. Hate wrongfully misinterpreting people’s intentions.
No worries. If anything, I really was trying to lead him into telling us WTF he thought happened. At some point, he obviously thought the .22cal was up to the task.

Interpreting text is tricky, but that's universal. All I do is try....

BTW, thank you for not killing a MT buck just to fill your tag!
 

huntnful

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Joined
Oct 10, 2020
Messages
2,174
No worries. If anything, I really was trying to lead him into telling us WTF he thought happened. At some point, he obviously thought the .22cal was up to the task.

Interpreting text is tricky, but that's universal. All I do is try....

BTW, thank you for not killing a MT buck just to fill your tag!
Haha no problem!! The quantity was there, but the quality sure wasn’t. And I think that is just a catalyst of having a general season that runs well into the rut.

I’m sure there are other reasons as well like simply just genetic potential. But I felt like of all the bucks I saw, only 2-3 had a noticeably mature build.

My buddy killed one of them and I just sent the teeth off for aging. But I really felt that buck was nice and mature when I spotted him.

IMG_7780.png
 

mxgsfmdpx

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Oct 22, 2019
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Outside
Now I’ve seen a couple lol. I’ve definitely dove deep in the threads. There is a lot of data. Reason for me having a 22CM and big 6mm. But easy to gloss over the specific photos also or make an under judgment of wound size from the photos.

The video is actually tough to tell how big the hole is until I put my actual hand in it as well though.
Over half of the kills so far have had 4 finger wide wound channels, including the moose at over 500.

IMG_8887.jpeg
 

Ucsdryder

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Joined
Jan 24, 2015
Messages
6,691
Over half of the kills so far have had 4 finger wide wound channels, including the moose at over 500.

View attachment 797589
I bought a pack of 6mm nitrile gloves off Amazon. I have 6 in my kill kit. There basically weightless and they make cleaning up my hands a breeze, especially when there’s no water available!

The 6mm don’t tear easily and when it’s cold I put them over my thin merino black Ovis gloves.
 
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