A deer for the books

[fordy]

Gday
Here's one for the ages
My mate shot this deer but he's to camera shy to share the information but I just can't pass up the opportunity to share so we all can see & learn


So
Took 2 shots only problem the shots were 6 months apart to the day
First shot 150 gr corelox out of a 300wsm @ around 3 k impact hit shoulder smashing it & underhide on the far shoulder yep the stag was a nice broadside & pill preformed text book held together mushroomed & penertrated well for corelox under pretty high resistance
Angle of shot was uphill
Retained weight 97.1 gr
Stags weight around 550 lbs
The blood trail was omg yep very impressive & went for some considerable distance then just stopped 1.14 on video of fairly steady walking & stag was unrecovered after considerable time trying to find
Then 3rd jan rolled around & he's out again & smacked the same deer but secured him this time & although a cool part of that to me it's the incredible survival of this deer from the shot 6 months earlier
Here's the entry side

Here's the far side bulging pill under skin & pill cut out

Here's where the pill exited the chest cavity

Here's the lungs & some of the damage from both new & old wounds

Thoughts ?
So what does this great bit of information tell us & what can we do to improve moving forward

Cheers

 

[tylsmith33]

Start shooting match bullets

 

[adk hunter]

'Scrooms were cool in the 60's.
Well past time to try more lethal pills!!

 

[birddog 68]

Angle of shot was uphill

I'm guessing this may have contributed to the non lethal hit. I can't really tell what's what in the pic of the lungs but probably hit high.
I definitely wouldn't blame the cor lokt since a more fragile bullet wouldn't have made it through the shoulder.
Amazing story and their will to live never surprises me!

 

[Jon Bischof]

The first thought that came to my mind was this: If I were using a 300 WSM to hunt a 550 lb animal, I would NOT be using a 150 grain bullet! I believe that job is better done with a heavier bullet. Also, Corelokt would not be my choice for a 550 lb animal either.

The other fact that will surprise many is: This was not so much a failure of shot placement as it was bullet performance. That and this stag was just plain tougher than nails and wanted to live no matter what.

What would have worked better? 180 grain Fusion--you would have gotten an exit on the far side. You could probably say as much about Accubond and many others.

 

[scrmblr1982cj8]

What a story!

 

[powermax]

Tag

 

[BillLarson]

Awful good story..... big animal..... in my opinion corelokt bullets work very well.....
What would I do diffferent...... if animal is still moving I shoot again as quick as i can...
for timber hunting as I do in Wis. I use a BAR 30-06..... many times I,ve shot twice.... quickly....

 

[Muddyboots]

Prob a combination of things for perfect storm. The uphill slightly changed shot angle penetration which took away performance of the bullet by moving shock angle up away from vitals. The 150 Corelok prob did exactly as expected and just defeated by circumstances and the will of a large wild animal that is hard for us to understand. We see game animals survive not only encounters with hunters but predators or even nature conditions that we as humans would have no "shot" at surviving. Yeah had to use that pun.

A heavier bullet "might" have done better but we will never know due to the circumstances. Obviously, if the shot angle was lower the 150 Corelok would have done the job. A complete penetration with heavier bullet "might" have poked hole in the thoracic cavity resulting loss of diaphragm function thus suffocation death. If lungs are not damaged, thoracic cavity not "deflated" its hard to kill very large animal like the stag.

What are the "odds" of getting another shot at the same stag? Killing it?

@fordy if "downunder" has a lottery, buy a ticket Right Now!

 

[The Oregonian]

I think everything worked well outside of the fact that he barely clipped the lungs due to the the shot being too high. I agree with using a larger bullet on a 550 lb animal, but that wouldn't have made the difference here. You could argue that a frag bullet may have sent good sized pieces into the vitals but that is getting into the discussion of which type of bullet is the best.

 

[Bob Wright]

Amazing story Fordy! One thing we learned is lightning strikes twice!
I've killed a good share of animals with Corelokt ammo, but the furthest was 365 yards. The rest at, or under 100.
All of the close shots were destructive. The long shot was from back end exiting front of chest on a pronghorn traveling thru the heart. Very little damage through guts, stomach, but dead. So I think effective distance is short for corelokt ammo/bullets. My experience anyway.
I do like modern bullet choices, but don't have the hunt opportunities of most states. Australia is mind numbing testing grounds and New Zealand too. Wow!

 

[westexhunt]

Interesting story no doubt. You never know what will happen after the trigger.

 

[Huntnful]

Start shooting match bullets

Hahaha agreed! Would have blown the top 6" of the lungs to pieces instead of a little larger than caliber pin hole.

 

[Elk Fire]

No cor-loct ever made looks like that with a 3k impact velocity, including the round nose version heavy for cal style. At 3 k impact, that bullet is effectively a frangible. Especially a 150 in 30 cal. Low sectional density, cup core bullet, not buying it looked like that. No offense intended, but I am not buying all the "facts" as stated.