I have just come back from 2 weeks of uninterrupted hunting (first in MT, then in AL), where I took several heads of deer (mulie and whitetail). The rifle I brought was a Sako 75 in .375 H&H and I was surprised to see what different effect this caliber had on deer depending on the bullet used and the conditions.
In the past, I have had pretty uniform results with this cartridge, but for some reason this time I had some very bizarre experiences.
On a MT mulie, a Nosler Partition that shattered the shoulder on a quartering shot (thus missing the lungs) gave me a long, testing, uphill follow-up chase where only a lucky running shot at the deer's hindquarters prevented the animal from escaping. He then spun around, facing me, sitting, and I had to give him another one behind the shoulder before he finally piled up.
On a MT whitetail, a behind-the-shoulder shot with a RN softpoint produced the effect of a wild run for the thick stuff, in the middle of which the deer just collapsed, as if suddenly recollecting the .375's ballistic charts!
On another animal, instead, a Winchester-Nosler Failsafe hollowpoint produced the most impressive kill I ever remember. At about 170 yards, the deer was strolling around a pasture when I decided to take it. As the scope came down from the recoil a split second after the shot, it refocused on a perfectly still, totally dead deer, where not even the slightest twitch betrayed any form of life.
It was virtually impossible to find an entry hole. The exit hole, about the size of a 25-cent coin, concealed effectively the real internal damage this bullet had made. The hydrostatic shock had destroyed the lungs, the heart and most of the meat inside the shoulders. Strangely enough, though, the amount of blood outside was practically nonexistant.
The lessons I derived from this experience:
1 - Shot placement is paramount. A bigger bullet is not any more forgiving than a small cartridge, if the vitals are missed even by a small amount.
2 - If I were strictly hunting for meat, the Nosler Partition is the bullet to use. Its controlled expansion translates itself into minimal meat damage and excellent penetration.
3 - In my future trophy hunts, where a lost animal is a double regret, I will definitely use that awesome (yet destructive!) Winchester-Nosler Supreme Failsafe. If the animal is taken fair and square, he won't get away!
In the past, I have had pretty uniform results with this cartridge, but for some reason this time I had some very bizarre experiences.
On a MT mulie, a Nosler Partition that shattered the shoulder on a quartering shot (thus missing the lungs) gave me a long, testing, uphill follow-up chase where only a lucky running shot at the deer's hindquarters prevented the animal from escaping. He then spun around, facing me, sitting, and I had to give him another one behind the shoulder before he finally piled up.
On a MT whitetail, a behind-the-shoulder shot with a RN softpoint produced the effect of a wild run for the thick stuff, in the middle of which the deer just collapsed, as if suddenly recollecting the .375's ballistic charts!
On another animal, instead, a Winchester-Nosler Failsafe hollowpoint produced the most impressive kill I ever remember. At about 170 yards, the deer was strolling around a pasture when I decided to take it. As the scope came down from the recoil a split second after the shot, it refocused on a perfectly still, totally dead deer, where not even the slightest twitch betrayed any form of life.
It was virtually impossible to find an entry hole. The exit hole, about the size of a 25-cent coin, concealed effectively the real internal damage this bullet had made. The hydrostatic shock had destroyed the lungs, the heart and most of the meat inside the shoulders. Strangely enough, though, the amount of blood outside was practically nonexistant.
The lessons I derived from this experience:
1 - Shot placement is paramount. A bigger bullet is not any more forgiving than a small cartridge, if the vitals are missed even by a small amount.
2 - If I were strictly hunting for meat, the Nosler Partition is the bullet to use. Its controlled expansion translates itself into minimal meat damage and excellent penetration.
3 - In my future trophy hunts, where a lost animal is a double regret, I will definitely use that awesome (yet destructive!) Winchester-Nosler Supreme Failsafe. If the animal is taken fair and square, he won't get away!
)with my 25-06. I was using Winchester factory 120 grain "PowerPoint" loads. The noses of these bullets in the .25 look like a .22 "ratshot". Like a folded up hollow point. Well the first shot was at about 20 feet, yes that close. All I could see in the scope was brown so I shot. The deer cut a complete flip and ran about 75 feet away stopped and looked at me, kinda of quartering away. I fired this time and she ran off with her tail up and "flagged" down into the creek bottom and around a curve. I stood there with my mouth open not believing that I could have missed. I walked to where she stood and behind where she was standing the entire ground, trees, and vines were covered with blood, meat, hair etc. The blood trail looked like an interstate highway. She had made about 30 feet behind the curve in the creek and was piled up there. The bullet entered on the left side the 3rd rib from the back, and exited the right front shoulder, or rather where the right front shoulder used to be. The only thingleft there was the big bone! Seriously all the meat was gone. The chest cavity was nothing but jelly. The heart, lungs, etc. were all jelly, yet this small deer (80 pounds or so) gave NO INDICATION of being hit, and covered about 75 yards, with half of the deer blown away. Go figure.