Hunting & Fishing How much is too much?

[benchmstr]

I have an interesting question here.

Since I am not doing much shooting right now and will likely miss the hunting season, my dad is wanting to borrow my 300 prc for our small ass Texas whitetail.

I hunt Texas whitetail with it pretty regularly, but I have never taken an animal with it less than 600 yards. My dad will never shoot over 100 yards.

How terrible would this scene unfold in yalls opinion?

bench

 

[niteshooter]

It matters naught when the venison is frying in the pan.

 

[TanktheFrank]

I see no reason against it. I've had to use 300 win mag and a 270 wsm on some deer around Austin when I had nothing else available. Granted, I stuck with neck shots, but I didn't waste any serious meat, or lose one.

 

[benchmstr]

I see no reason against it. I've had to use 300 win mag and a 270 wsm on some deer around Austin when I had nothing else available. Granted, I stuck with neck shots, but I didn't waste any serious meat, or lose one.

Yeah, I am not worried about losing one at all....but taking a upper neck shot might be a viable option.

bench

 

[lancetkenyon]

I shot a muley @ about 80 yards with my .300RUM a "few" years ago. He actually ran about 50 yards after putting a 180 NP in the crease at a severe uphill shot. Blood trail sure was easy to follow though
Dead is dead.

 

[Hobo Hilton]

Hand Dad the rifle, give him a big smile, wish him the best of luck and to have a good time...... What ever is concerning you, let it go.

Hobo

 

[benchmstr]

Hand Dad the rifle, give him a big smile, wish him the best of luck and to have a good time...... What ever is concerning you, let it go.

Hobo

oh, dont get me wrong...he can take that damn rifle as long as he wants and hunt whatever he wants with it! I was Just thinking about the realities of meat preservation

 

[1moaoff]

Think of it this way.
If you were on a hunt planning for longer shots but the animal suddenly appeared 75 yds away would you still shoot it?

 

[Jjviperzar1]

I’ve used a 300 rum in a blind on a whitetail meat hunt in a cut corn field. Ended up with a thirty yard shot. I had the same experience as lancetkenyon. Easy tracking she ran 25 yards back in the tree line. The bullet went threw and threw obviously but no meat lost. I would just suggest a double lung shot and avoid the shoulder bones.

 

[Superx]

That 300 will blow right thru a deer with the right bullet. No Vmax unless you want damaged meat.

Shoot the heaviest NP you can load. Use the slowest load in the book.

 

[coldboremiracle]

I think it always depends on the hundreds or even thousands of tiny intricacies of each shot. Ive seen big bullets punch through with little damage and tiny bullets that destroy everything. I think it depends on where and what it hits, how the bullet opens/fragments and so on. There's not really any guarantees, and even the exact same bullet and placement can produce some very different results, so the best you can do is center the shot, and hope for the best.

 

[eca7891]

If the shot only passed through the chest cavity then it is really irrelevant. Otherwise the more bone and the softer the bullet the more damage. Unless he shoots it in the hindquarters I would not worry.

As to your question of how much is too much?

I would ask you how dead is too dead?

 

[MtnCreek]

A NBT or corelok in 7rm or 300 wm in the shoulder will bloodshot both shoulders and even some of the loin. I'd try to stay away from the shoulder. I wouldn't do a neck shot either unless I knew for fact that I owned that shot.

 

[jbuck88]

Stay away from the shoulders and hind quarters. We have smaller blacktail in the PNW that might average 110-120lbs for "meat" deer. I stick to the head/neck shots to save as much meat as possible.

 

[Lawnboi]

Could always shoot a bonded or solid copper bullet to limit meat damage.

 

[ggmanning]

Some of you think way too much. I was waiting on whether to use ball or extruded powder Let him shoot the dang deer, shoot it wherever he usually does using whatever bullet he usually uses.

 

[45.308]

Don't over think, it will put meat in the freeze?

 

[XLR308]

I have hunted the small Texas hill country whitetail with a 300WM and 180 ballistic tips and had the same concerne.
I limited my shots to head and neck only but was in no way pressured to take a shot I wasn't comfortable with.
A double lung would have been fine I'm sure just didn't want to take a chance and waste any meat.

 

[hlee]

My uncle shot a 300 weatherby magnum with 130 grain bullets for Texas whitetails. I don't know how fast he was pushing them, but he was a speed super-freak. he never complained about wasted meat.

 

[wade2big]

Makes no difference which cartridge he uses to shoot deer. No special place to shoot the deer either. Behind the shoulder or just in front of the shoulder would work. I bet you could shoot a deer with a .308, .270 win, and your 300 pic and not be able to tell which was shot with what.

 

[stello1001]

How much damaged the meat will be is more dependant on the bullet itself rather than the cartridge. If you load a soft varmint bullet, you'll probably end up with shrapnel all over the meat. If you load a copper solid, you may end up getting lucky by having the bullet stay mostly intact. Of course, there will still be some minimal bloodshot jelly areas right where the bullet goes through regardless of cartridge, bullet, energy on target, etc.

 

[BCX]

Barnes TSX or TTSX and go hunting.