most meat lost of shoot

[varmithunter06]

i was wondering whats yalls worst deer killed and torn it up and what caliber where yall using, i killed a doe this year with a .280 rem with winchester ballistic silver tips and it destroyed her front sholder.

[Snowshoe]

I used to cut meat for a living, so a lot of friends had me cut up their deer. The most meat was destroyed by rem/chester 130g bullets fired from a .270, or light bullets from a 7mm mag. The average shot around here is well under 100 yards. The fellows that use the 150's in a .270, tend to have far less meat damage than the 130g bullets. I like using the old .30-30 for this type of hunting, it is better suited to the short range shot.

[hardertr]

When I first started hunting deer (about 7 yrs old), my grandfather always told me to shoot them "through the shoulder".  The problem was...I was doing it with a 170 grain 32 Win Special and usually under 50 yards.  I was a pretty good shot with that old 32 and would almost ALWAYS hit them dead-center in the soulder.  The loss was usually a complete oposite shoulder and about half of the entry side.

Then he started having me do neck-shots on does.  I never missied one (until for some strange reason I "upgraded" to my first high-power rifle with a scope).  Meat loss was usually under a pound.

My cleanest shot was the imfamous "shot behind the ear".  didn't lose an ounce of meat..but had to wire the little fork horn's rack back together so I could mount it.

[Danegeld]

I always try to go for a neck shot.  My first deer I killed by myself at 10 years old.  Got off the schoolbus outside of town (Centerville, Tx) walked down the driveway and grabbed my rifle (30-30) from the front seat of dads truck.  I walked into the woods (1/4 mile) behind the house and sat on a stump.  We lived in the sticks, LOL.  About dusk a spike buck stepped into the opening about 50 yds away and inspite of 'Buck-Fever' managed to hit him.

I got him just behind the front shoulder and didn't mess up too much meat;  lungshot.  The buck ran about 40 yards into a yeaupon (sp) thicket.  Later that night dad and I trailed blood and found him.

I felt like SuperMan

Ben

[Don Fischer]

Well I tried a 225gr Hornady out of a 338 Win Mag on deer once. The bullet hit it at under 100 yds, not real sure of the range as I did not and do not own a range finder. Anyway, the bullet just caught the back of the shoulder, I think (?), and didn't need to exit. The off side of the deer just seemed to have disappered! Hell of a lot of blood tho.

Once I got used to shooting the thing, I enjoyed it. But I never shot another game animal with it.

[marylandeer]

This would be my first deer. He was a spike buck and the shot was about 10 yards with a 12 gauge Remington Slugger. He was running directly towadrs me, I thought he was going to run me over. I hit him low in the chest and it wasn't pretty. Let say the gut job was non existant.

[DavOh]

I've never used a heavy caliber. Largest I've hunted with is a .308win.

30-06's and 30-30s are the heaviest I've seen and they do destroy alot of meat. I cant imagine what one of the big boys would do.

I do remember my first head shot though. .243 on a doe at about 120 yds.  The 243 was zero'd for 200 yds, so I adjusted low for the shot. Went in the left ear and out the jaw bone on the other side. I still remember  watching the impact in my scope. No meat damage, instantaneous death. My dad did basically the same on a spike in '04 with the same rifle.

[Mac11700]

A Litefield 1-1/4oz hybrid slug from a NEF 12ga Ultra Slug Hunter..the shot was at 83yards..down and angling away..went in about 4" behind the left shoulder..and out next to the offside shoulder..it bloodied the near shoulder and ruined the off shoulder..it left a hole in the offside big enough you could put a football(American football) thru..

Mac

[WylieKy]

The worst I have ever seen was almost a totoal loss.  One of my Grandpa's buddies hunted my stand (without my permission :evil: ) and shot a button buck with a 3inch mag 1 1/4oz. 12ga rifled slug.  It was facing him and he took the shot, tore up the neck, all of the loin and one of the rear hams.  The actual slug never touched the loin, but there were bits of acorn imbedded for the length of the thing.  Most disgusting gut job I have ever witnessed.  He could have poured them out.

[Siskiyou]

Back in the late 1950's my brothers and I were out hunting with dad.  We heard the loud booms of two shots not to far from out location. Another hunters' first shot had been across the rear hams, the second shot broke both shoulders.  Without a doubt we were impressed with the big boomer, and the massive damage in did to the deer.  

Dad told us boys it was time to leave because the hunter was talking about not tagging the deer he had destroyed.  It was a rag attached to head and horns.  I do not know the out come, we were rather discussed, but after that I wanted a .300 H&H.

[deerslayer15]

The most wasted meat for me was 2 years ago...I was hunting with my dads 30-06 shootin 165 psp. The shot was about 50-75 yards down hill. The deer was a little deer(which I no longer even shoot at). I missed the first shot and in a hury just barely made the second. The shot entered in the spine right above the front sholder and came out in high in the oposite shoulder. The bullet litterly cut a hunk out of the deer that started right under the hide and went down to the center of the shoulder, you could stick your arm through the hole...I never want to hit back bone with the 30-06 again.

[JD338]

I shot a doe a few years back with a 280 Rem and 140 gr BT,
quarting towards me, I hit the on shoulder. Most of the on shoulder was ruined.
The bullet was recovered under the hide at the back end of the rib cage.
Shots through the ribs have an exit hole the size of a quarter and a dead deer that droped in its tracks.

JD338

[JHoss]

i try and shoot em in the shoulder so they drop right away. I usually shoot 335 gr xtp mags out of my 50 cal blackpowder or 260 gr partition golds out of my slug gun. Usually we can't salvage much shoulder meat but between my dad and i we average 10-18 deer a year and the shoulders aren't that great nyway. The most damage I've seen was on my first buck. I got buck fever and hit far back on a quartering towards shot. It went through the guts hit the spine, rode down the spine and obliterated both hams. The only thing I could salvage was the front of the tenderloins and the shoulders.

[longwalker]

Antelope hunting, I shot a kid at about 160 yards took out both shoulders. Small animal even less for the freezer. That one was all me.

I was hunting in PA. with a group of friends we were drive hunting when a doe comes by me at near warp speed, flat out running. There had been some shooting to my right and I could see the doe moving through the wood toward and past me. Suddenly there is a barrage of fire from my left one of the old guys lets loose with his Remington 760 30-06. I see a chunk of meat fly off the top of the rump then an impact in the rear leg. Then an other right in the gut.  At this time the deer seems to have no effect. More firing and it is finally over.

The result. One front shoulder in tact. Both rear quarters are shot up. Both with through holes and the top sirloin gone. The gut shot was less intrusive then I first thought. No liver from this deer. The old timer just told us "kids" the heart is the best part anyway.

Experience is still the best treacher. No deer is better than some deer.

longwalker

[K.K]

toss-up between .450 Marlin through both shoulders, or 12 guage slug.  I puposely shot them there to break them down.  In the are of Pa that I was hunting, there were many hunters around that would have loved to tag my bucks for me.  I did lose both shoulders on both deer..

[Adkhunter]

I wrecked both shoulders of a doe one year with a .270 Win fail safe.
It was the time I ever used Dracula bullets! It was used to anchor her andthat it did but MAN! talk about total loss of both front shoulders!

[statelinerut]

That is why I switched to a .243. Since I switched, I have not ruined one stich of meat on my harvests. I also shoot in the lung area too, not the shoulder.

My worst shot was when I shot a doe with a 7mm thru the shoulders. The bullet hit a little low and forward and took both front shoulders out without hitting any vitals. I had to track this doe while she scooted across the ground until I could make a clean kill shot on her. That was the worst day in the woods of my life. I haven't done that since, and hope I never will again. I was only able to salvage the backstraps and rear quarters in that doe.

Since that day I have shot at least 500 rounds a year with my .243 between seasons to keep my shooting form good and my trigger squeeze where it needs to be. I also shoot every week with my .17hmr and my 22lr to keep my skills up.

[rebAL]

My worst wasted meat was shot with  a .50 cal. buffalo ball muzzle loader head on @ 20 yards.  The bullet just grazed the brisket but then entered the hind leg femoral artery.  The deer  ran 1/4 mile before dyeing of blood loss.  The whole hind 1/4 was foul and had to be chucked.   In general, I've had most meat lost with quartering toward me shot in neck/shoulder area.  They go down immediately but mess up the shoulder.

[MGMorden]

Worst I've seen is a 150gr .30-06.  I can't remember the load (it was either a handloaded round of unknown specs with a regular Winchester SP, or a Sellier & Bellot factory soft-point round).  Not too bad on entry, but the exit shoulder had a hole coming out the size of a canteloupe, and the whole shoulder was blood-shot.  After that I switched to 180gr  on my '06, and have gotten a few lighter rifles (.257 Rob and 6.5x55) as I've just concluded that the '06 is more than is necessary.

[Dusty Miller]

You're SO right about that MG, a 257 Roberts will kill any deer on the planet if the shot is good.  I love my '06 but if I ever get into deer hunting with a rifle it'll be with a 25 caliber gun and probably the Roberts.