Anyone that says bullet size doesn't matter doesn't understand physics. Of course it does. Which will transfer more energy, a 55gr bullet at 3100 fps, or a 168gr bullet at 2850?
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Best deer caliber?????
- Thread starter compressor man
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I don't understand a lot of things, kinda simple minded and maybe a little slow, but from experience I know that a 55 and 165 grain bullet at the same distance and shot placement create roughly the same damage and exit wounds, on little bitty north Georgia whitetails, other than that I really don't know ****.
Well, that's the thing. If you're getting exit wounds, your projectile isn't dumping all of its energy into the deer.
While you're not comparing like with like, there are a couple of good reasons to prefer the heavier bullet, which usually means a bigger caliber:
- Heavier bullet with more energy means it's less subject to deflection if you hit a branch
- Heavier bullet less subject to crosswinds (although you're not taking 300 yard shots, so this might not be anything you need to care about)
- Fatter bullets (when compared with similar bullet technology in slimmer bullets) create greater and larger internal wound channels
That is exactly what I don't understand, I have killed deer with 45 grain all the way up to 185 across many calibers, bullet construction. From 30 yards to 150 yards, and 90% of the time its pop and flop. the other 10% 10 to 30 yards to track, all have had entry and exit wounds.
Every other kid I knew between 3 or 4 counties got a Marlin 30-30 lever action (just under $300 at WallyWorld in ‘83) for Christmas that BIG year we patiently waited for. A couple got 30-06. Georgia Rulz when I was a kid 1) 30-30 in the brush 2) 30-06 for open fields and either after hours lol.
Admission - I'm not a hunter - but you're clearly firing rounds where the energy of the bullet is always more than enough to go all the way thru' the deer. And obviously, they're all 'good enough' to kill the deer reasonably humanely with the placement you're achieving.
The question was "Best deer "caliber" (although cartridge is a better term). In this case, the 168 is clearly better.
Hornady American Deer Hunter ammo is incredible. I remember when everyone around here started using ballistic tipped ammo around 2001-2003 . I’ve done got old.
168 is bullet weight, what caliber/cartridge do you prefer?
One important variable is over-pressurizing the circulatory system. When the system is pressurized, after the heart beats and pumps blood into the arteries, it's easier to achieve this, and it increases the chances of an instant lights out event. Larger caliber bullets going faster have a better chance of making this happen if conditions aren't optimal. There are also a host of other factors, like penetrating through bone, or any other number of variables where the effect of a less than perfect shot can be mitigated by more mass moving faster. It's simple physics, but too many people can't get over grandpappy's favorite saying about, "It's where ya choot em' that matters", or "the best cartridge is the one you have", type of nonsense.
