Little displeased with the performace of the .44 load I used

[.45 Kimber]

Help guys

I took my 1st handgun killed deer this year with my new .44 SRH

The deer was a 120lb  doe
the gun .44 mag Ruger Super Redhawk  7 3/4 " barrel  with a 1.5-4x scope
The ammo  250 grain Winchester Partion Gold hollow points ( copper goes all the way to the tip no lead is exposed)
The shot  52 yards quartering to

The bullet hit exactly where i put the cross hairs (right side,the notch  behind the shoulder where the bones  aren't)  ideal spot to put an arrow  (thats the bow-hunter in me)  it exited left side just hitting the last rib.

The deer hunched up and kicked her hind legs  like heart shooting a deer with an arrow.  She sprinted for about 20 yards and slowed to a walk ans stopped.  So I shot again (about 60-70 yards) she showd no reaction of a hit and sprinted 15 or so yards and stopped, then just flopped over  like she was hit by a bus.

The original spot where I hit her there was NO blood  just a few hairs, and a heck of a scuff mark from whre she took off from.  We had about 3/4" of snow out in the open field I look out over.

there was NO blood trail except a few small drops whre she stopped the 1st time,  and very little where she fell ( all this was in an open cut bean field)


The entry hole was a perfect .44 hole and the exit was just a little bigger maybe .60,  but was not noticable until feild dressing

The lungs were toasted and the last rip was shattered.  

Help  what did I do wrong??
It appears the bullet  never opened up (based on the holes)
and she did not show the typical reaction I have seen when shooting deer with a gun  but normally I use a 12 ga.  with 1 oz  slugs  so thats like hitting a deer with a cannon ( I have never had a deer not fall ass over apple cart when hitting them with a slug, and normally get up just to fall over with in a few yards)

All help is appreciated and needed

Im thinking the bullet choice  was too heavy and too fast to properly expand


Jamie :?

[Plainsman]

Not really, but from your description, you hit the rear THIRD of the lungs with your shot.  I'd say the first shot KILLED it, but IT didn't realize it before you fired the second shot.  It just needed some more time to bleed out, like being hit with an arrow.  BTW, GOOD JOB!  I like hearing more guys using their bowhunting skills with a firearm, it makes it more fun and challenging.

It sounds like the bullet expanded, but possibly not to the full potential of a LEAD NOSED HP.  The copper all the way to the nose MAY cause it to deform less on a 'soft' target such as a whitetail's ribcage.  I'd say it would work WELL on bigger game with heavier ribs with the EXACT same shot.

I would guesstimate that if you had shot point on  the SHOULDER, that it would have opened up more and torn the lungs to pieces on the spot.  But obviously the bowhunter in you said to AVOID THE SHOULDER.  I do the same thing!  I'd be curious to see what a lead exposed HP would have done in the same instance.  Chances are it would have been very similar, only possibly a little quicker...It's anyone's guess, but I'd say you didn't have a 'failure.'

[KING]

fROM MY EXPERIANCE I WOULD SAY THAT THE DEER BLED INTERNALLY,CAUSE THE HEART/LUNG AREA WAS DESTROYED..GOOD SHOT PLACEMENT...WHEN THEY DO THIS THERE IS VERY LITTLE BLOOD PUMPING OUT OF THE ANIMAL,IF ANY.....I USE XTP 180 gr. in all my .44 for hunting..i found that they have much better expansion and i get very good penatration on them...the last deer i got with one of these was facing toward be at 64 yards..slug hit just above the brisket..i got 22-25 inches of penatration and the heart/lung area was scrambled..slug came out on the offside,just at the junction of the right hind leg,unde the skin...it did not loose any weight and was a perfect mushroom..at the same time i shot a 4 point about 4 seconds after this one was shot..it was broadside,and the hit was just behind the front leg..slug went through,and scrambled the insides...deer ran in a circle three times,in a 30 yard area...no external bleeding was evident at the scene...deer died inside of 6 to 8 seconds where he started at...i dont use the heavy slugs for the reason that they are not needed on a deer.... and i have shot probably hundreds with a handgun(car deer type accidents)and a few hunting with a handgun from .357 to 454 casul..i like the lighter slugs and get beter expansion from them...keep it up..that was a good hit and a humane kill.....king :toast:

[Gregory]

I prefer the lighter bullets in the 44 for deer as others have already posted.   I've used the 180 Sierra JHC to take a small spike, but felt it was too fragile.  I took my biggest deer to date with the Nosler 200 gr JHP out of a 10" TC Contender.  I used the same bullet, successfully out of a muzzleloader last season but it showed signs of being driven too fast.  

I think you would have had a better reaction if you had put the partition right on the shoulder, but your bullet didn't fail.  

Congrats on the deer.
Greg

[.45 Kimber]

I thank all for the replies

And I will have to do some experminting with different bullets.

With the late antlerless season coming up  I will switch to a lighter bullet and see how they perform


Thanks again

and now I just have to wait till next season to harvest a antlered one

Jamie

[myronman3]

about the deer's reastion to your shot.   i took a shot at a doe a few days back and would have swore when i shot i was to be eating backstraps the next morning..  light was fading so first thing in the morning i headed out to get my deer and didnt find any blood.   i figured i missed, although i couldnt see how.   the vegetation is really thick there.  after reading your post i am worried that i might not have missed.  i am shooting 300 xtp mags out of the casull.  i figured that if i had hit there would have been blood all over the place.  broadside shot @ 25 yards;  was aiming for the heart/lung area,  as it is the most forgiving shot.   i never would have thought that a .451 caliber hole wouldnt bleed much.  i am going to be sick if i go out and find her laying on that bog.   i thought at the shot that she looked like she had been drilled.  but again,  no hair, no blood for a good 20 yards.   from my experience,  that usually means a miss.   :shock:

[.45 Kimber]

I did the same thing a few days back

I had a nice 6 pt.  broadside  at  45 yards,  stopped and standing.

We put on a drive and i went to the least likely spot to see deer  and there he came sneaking back to the thick stuff.

I put the crosshairs on his shoulder a little farther forward then the 1st deer and touched her off.

The damn deer did the same thing ,jumped 3 feet in the air, and bolted like a son of a gun.

My cousin saw him run across a wide open field never breaking stride and looking perfectly fine.

I went to the spot of impact  and NO blood or hair,  just major scuffs in the snow and dirt.  There is a sop about 3 feet in dia.  where he was standing and a 4 foot space to his next tracks, which are not just tracks but paths in the 1 inch of snow,  through the thickest stuff  for 6 yards to the field.

I ran his tracks for probably  3/4 mile   finding 6 or so small i mean small flecks of blood  over that distance.  the 1st spot of blood was 400 yards in to the trail ( across 2 open fields)  then in the woods on a wide 2 track road.  Based on this Im assuming  i shot  real low  and just skinned him  and scared the daylights out of him.

I did finally catch a glimpse of him 3 hours later trotting through a fence row  to an open field   looking fine.  What was odd was his tracks he wouls actually turn towards us looking to see if we were following.

Based on his reaction I was 110% that he wouls have been piled up in the open field.  Im sick over this

I looked until dark that day and I shot at 1230pm  and darkness is about 6 pm

The next day I sat along the fence row I last saw him in and there were tracks every where  no  blood

Im assuming  he got a real good lesson  and next year we wont be as foolish

Jamie

[karter]

Agree with XTP on deer, have taken several. My problem was with Speer bullets, dont seem to work to well. Am trying new pistol this year, 480 Ruger...

[Billyboy]

I have killed 2 80-90lb does with my 7 1/2" Redhawk 44 and both ran only 20-30 yds. before piling up.  I shoot near max loads of H110 behind a 200gr XTP.  Both deer had massive damage to heart/lungs and bled buckets.  Both shots were 35-40 yds.  No complaints here!

[teeball]

The first deer I killed with a handgun was with a .44mag. It was a small button buck and I shot him at a distance of  about 10 FEET. He never even reacted to the shot. He just stood there. I cocked the hammer back, he twitched his ear, and I shot him again. He turned and bolted for about 10 yards and piled up. The bullets hit about two inches apart. I was about ready to give up handgun hunting if this was the way it was going to be. Since then I have taken several deer with handguns of several different calibers. It's like every other type of hunting. I have shot deer with a bow just to have them jump in the air, look back over thier shoulder, and drop over dead. On the other hand, I have also had them jump in the air and run till they litterly ran out of blood. The same thing with shotguns. So believe me, you did nothing wrong. It's the deer, it's the deer!!

[Tom W.]

Gun go BOOM deer fall dead. Hmmmm. It ain't the Hammer of Thor you have in your hand. Deer react differently to everything. I've hit them with a .270 and a .30-06 and the've dropped in their tracks, and there have been some that just looked around and walked off, only to drop like they were bedding down. If you have a dead deer, the bullet did it's job. Be leery of gun scribes.

[Lloyd Smale]

good post! the deer was shot and the deer died it didnt go any farther then alot of the deer Ive killed with rifles. I had one go a couple hundred yards after being shot in the lungs with a 300 weatherby at 40 yards. Dont go to a lighter bullet. The penetration you got is what you want. If yo want to anchor a deer shoot him in the shoulders it ruins a little meat but If you switch to a hard cast bullet the meat loss will be minimal.

Gun go BOOM deer fall dead. Hmmmm. It ain't the Hammer of Thor you have in your hand. Deer react differently to everything. I've hit them with a .270 and a .30-06 and the've dropped in their tracks, and there have been some that just looked around and walked off, only to drop like they were bedding down. If you have a dead deer, the bullet did it's job. Be leery of gun scribes.

[Toby from MO]

.45 Kimber,

Sent you an email

[volshooter]

For me it's hard cast  to the front sholders. Breaks them down and the bone fragments do the rest very quick. (they don't run well on 2 leggs)
Rick

[Tony D]

Why would you want your bullets to expand beyond .54"?  Most rifle bullets don't expand that much.  A .44" entry and a .54" exit and through the lungs will give two huge holes to leak blood and bring down any deer in short order.

:eek:

[clodbuster]

I agree with Bama Boy  Don't think it to death.  I bet I could kill a deer with just about any bullet you could load in a .44.  Put the bullet through the right spot and the damn deer will die, not perfectly predictable if it will drop or run but it will be dead.  Good luck with it. :wink:

[WildBill]

I agree if you want to drop them in there tracks blow one right threw the shoulder blade. Kinda hard to run when your front legs don't work.Best meat is in the back end anyway. Jerky whats left of the front end!