Do I need more grains?

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

If it works for you man, have at it. There's a place for them for sure. I've certainly dropped deer with both types of bullets but would put my money on the larger wound channel every time for the time to death calculation.

I think it comes down to most folks put that larger wound channel into the lungs so they don't trash alot of meat which might not kill quite as fast as a bullet through the heart/arterial bundle that kills blood pressure really quick. I absolutely acknowledge a larger wound channel through the heart would result in a quick death too (and more margin of error on the shot), the meat loss associated isn't ideal though so pros/cons.

 

[SloppyJ]

I think it comes down to most folks put that larger wound channel into the lungs so they don't trash alot of meat which might not kill quite as fast as a bullet through the heart/arterial bundle that kills blood pressure really quick. I absolutely acknowledge a larger wound channel through the heart would result in a quick death too (and more margin of error on the shot), the meat loss associated isn't ideal though so pros/cons.

Refreshing that people can still have differing opinions and be civil. Props man.

It's definitely a faster expiration in my experience to take out circulatory system than lungs. I hunt in thick country so it's my preference to get them down as quickly as possible and having a solid blood trail is plan B.

I don't want this to sound bad but we get 15 deer tags for my family. If the difference in recovering a deer or not is hinging on the fact that some shoulder meat might get ruined, I'll take that every time to not lose the entire animal. I'd rather lose that than blow up half a backstrap with a high shoulder shot. I've seen too many get back up and run from a CNS disruption.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

Refreshing that people can still have differing opinions and be civil. Props man.

It's definitely a faster expiration in my experience to take out circulatory system than lungs. I hunt in thick country so it's my preference to get them down as quickly as possible and having a solid blood trail is plan B.

I don't want this to sound bad but we get 15 deer tags for my family. If the difference in recovering a deer or not is hinging on the fact that some shoulder meat might get ruined, I'll take that every time to not lose the entire animal. I'd rather lose that than blow up half a backstrap with a high shoulder shot. I've seen too many get back up and run from a CNS disruption.

Yep that all makes sense and in thick country I'd likely shoot something a bit more violent. That thought process has already been through my head when I was bear hunting in scrub oak so I decided to try out the ELDMs on a deer this year for future reference.

I have had good luck over the years with monos killing quickly and very limited running (heart/arterial bundle). But I'm also often in more open country so it wouldn't matter too much (to a degree) if they did run a bit. I butcher all my own stuff and do prefer trimming up from a mono I can say after this deer with the ELDM but its not a night/day difference of preference.

 

[Johnny_Yemon11]

I appreciate all the input, good to hear the differing perspectives. I honestly wasn’t expecting this much input.

 

[SloppyJ]

I appreciate all the input, good to hear the differing perspectives. I honestly wasn’t expecting this much input.

You might not have known this but heavy for caliber match bullets are a hot topic around here.

 

[Johnny_Yemon11]

I didn’t previously. But I’m starting to see lots of posts now…

 

[35WhelenAI]

OP, back to an earlier post. You waited 30 minutes to look for the elk and you say fairly confidently it took 10 minutes to die? That is a contradiction in the sense how do you gauge the 10 minutes when you didn't look for 30 minutes? Can you elaborate or clarify?

I choose a large caliber/heavier bullet. 35 Whelen AI 200 Barnes TTSX @2940 fps mv. Out to 450 yards is meat in the freezer. No questions asked, nor is there anything "pathetic" about the internal damage.

Research, can you expand on what pathetic means in this case since the animal died in order to have a basis for the observation/opinion.

What I have observed from decades of comparing damage in the field, Barnes will tatter and chunk the heart and lungs into full dysfunction. Frangible bullets will liquefy them into full dysfunction. Heart or lungs in either scenario have no life preserving capabilities at that point.

TTSX for me (larger caliber) expands right now on mule deer broadside through the ribs, and have never been able to catch one in any deer or elk. I have recovered 2 Original X Bullets (.358 200X and 250X) from hard quartering shots through elk.