Thats a nice moose. I need to go shoot one before I get too old lol. Yes I hunted Tunica as well. It's very rugged for LA. Big Timber rattlers as well.I was born and raised near where you're living. The Tunica Hills seemed like mountains.…..not so much after mov'n to Wyoming.
My first moose expired on a hill so steep that I had to tie him off as not to go to the bottom. We (friend and I) had to dig out footholds so we could gut and bone out the bull! An experience not soon forgotten!
If you look closely you can see the yellow rope tying him off! memtb
Neck Shot Disappointment
- Thread starter cantfixstupid
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nralifer
Well-Known Member
This could have just as well been a bullet failure, did not penetrate. Lead core bullets do that from time to time. That bad experience will never leave you, unfortunately.
Well, I have fretted about this for a couple weeks now, well not really fretted, just thinking maybe my bullet selection may not have been a good choice other than it prints a really small group consistently, I have done all of the ballistics calculation and at 120 yards that little bullet is travelling a little over 2200 FPS. According to Nosler it expands double at speeds as low as 1500 FPS. I went to the range and shot 5 - 5 round groups at 100 yards and no group over .4 with 2 groups right at .3, so its shooting where it supposed to and no flyers. I went online and looked for ballistic jell tests for that bullet and 6.5 Grendel rifle, I found one, well actually 2 of them and they fired the bullet/s at different speeds to mimic long and short-range expansion of this bullet. Even at 1200 FPS the bullet expanded nicely and penetrated 14 inches. At 22 hundred and some change FPS it penetrated 22 inches with an approximate wound channel 3 inches in diameter and 7 inches long and expanded at least double or more.
As I have stated earlier, I have taken many animals with this little rifle and this bullet and everything prior to this incident was dead before it hit the ground, I was and am still very confident with this Nosler bullet and I am confident of the shot placement that I chose the day of DISAPOINTMENT. I have talked to the hands at the ranch, no buzzards, and they haven't seen him moving anywhere, so either he is dead and in a whole or alive and not moving during daylight. If he is alive, he\'s one lucky Axis, if he is dead then he is not so lucky but one tough Hombre to walk away from that shot.
I just have to mark this up as another case of there ya are, wouda, shoulda, coulda, it just wasn't the Axis, or my day, the day of Disappointment!!
I thank all of you for the comments, suggestions, condolences and even the light bashing
, I am off to another hunt this weekend and expect success, I wish all participants on the site success in all your endeavors no matter how small or large they may be!!!!!!!
As I have stated earlier, I have taken many animals with this little rifle and this bullet and everything prior to this incident was dead before it hit the ground, I was and am still very confident with this Nosler bullet and I am confident of the shot placement that I chose the day of DISAPOINTMENT. I have talked to the hands at the ranch, no buzzards, and they haven't seen him moving anywhere, so either he is dead and in a whole or alive and not moving during daylight. If he is alive, he\'s one lucky Axis, if he is dead then he is not so lucky but one tough Hombre to walk away from that shot.
I just have to mark this up as another case of there ya are, wouda, shoulda, coulda, it just wasn't the Axis, or my day, the day of Disappointment!!
I thank all of you for the comments, suggestions, condolences and even the light bashing
, I am off to another hunt this weekend and expect success, I wish all participants on the site success in all your endeavors no matter how small or large they may be!!!!!!!
Spitzer Ballistic Tip
Same bullet besides caliber I have witnessed stop dead in The back of the skull on a mule deer buck. Dazzed the buck but it got back up and Regained its momentum. Another different round put it down. The bullet in question did very little damage and I never Allowed them to use them for deer again. This was a shot out of a .30-06 within 100 yards FYI.
Ballistic tips min opening velo is 1800. Looks like you were above that. It's actually a pretty stout bullet
strange things happen. One result is just that. Especially with a head shot. But I understand how it goes. Had a similar thing with some game kings. Personally have killed a ton of deer with Ballistic tips with no issue. The 150 in the 06 was like a lightning bolt. Bang flop.
Some ballistic tips are great for hunting! Accubond, amax, ELDX and a few others. Regular nosler spritzers are not great for much more than blowing up prairie dogs, jacks, or chucks.
Well they have killed a bunch of animals before this one I guess those were all just lucky shots.
memtb
Well-Known Member
Neck or head shots are both great, when they work…..which is most of the time.
However, it's much like the war on terrorism. They only have to be right once …..we have to right every time. Gambling is best left in Vegas! memtb
However, it's much like the war on terrorism. They only have to be right once …..we have to right every time. Gambling is best left in Vegas! memtb
nralifer
Well-Known Member
To be fair, we will never know why the shot failed. It was small target, though. It is just that a bad experience like that will be remembered more readily than all the good shots that preceded it.
Sounds like you stunned him and he was able to recover.
I once shot off hand at a coues deer and saw it do a flip in the air. It was 4' off the ground with its feet straight up at one point. I landed in a heap, then ran behind a juniper tree. I walked confidently up the the juniper expecting a dead deer, and was so surprised when it jumped up and ran away, I didn't get a shot off. I knew I had hit it, so I looked and looked for blood. I finally found a 4" piece of its antler on the ground. That's what is known as knocked for a loop.
Ga6570
Well-Known Member
lots of " my position" comments on here.
to OP: sorry you didn't recover the game. that is incredibly frustrating. no hunter ever intends to shoot an animal and not harvest it. i know i hunt for meat to feed my family and friends. i love a nice set of antlers but i learned early from my grandfather "you can't eat the horns!"
i've seen game killed with a lot of different shot placement and bullet types. i've seen a lot wounded as well. the vast majority of those wounded require a follow up kill shot. i've aided in providing a number of follow up shots.
i've killed game with shoulder shots which ruins a fair amount of meat
i've killed game with rib shots
i've killed game with head shots
i've used neck shots to finish off many animals
nothing/no option is foolproof or without faults.
practice often! be very confident in yourself and your equipment! shoot straight! and do unto others as you would like done unto you!!
to OP: sorry you didn't recover the game. that is incredibly frustrating. no hunter ever intends to shoot an animal and not harvest it. i know i hunt for meat to feed my family and friends. i love a nice set of antlers but i learned early from my grandfather "you can't eat the horns!"
i've seen game killed with a lot of different shot placement and bullet types. i've seen a lot wounded as well. the vast majority of those wounded require a follow up kill shot. i've aided in providing a number of follow up shots.
i've killed game with shoulder shots which ruins a fair amount of meat
i've killed game with rib shots
i've killed game with head shots
i've used neck shots to finish off many animals
nothing/no option is foolproof or without faults.
practice often! be very confident in yourself and your equipment! shoot straight! and do unto others as you would like done unto you!!
