Even within the same region, deer of course will vary greatly....from a first year fawn to a 4-5 year old fall fattened buck. Body mass/ potential bone structure has everything to do with how much penetration you will get. And even the best picked shots can be off a bit. For practical and real world hunting, bigger bore means more delivered energy. We all know a .22 rimfire delivered to the exact right spot kills, but none of us would choose it for our primary deer hunting weapon. More important....keep it close, shoot small and pick your shots.Irrelevant.
A roundball from a .45 through the lungs will kill a 300 pound deer just as dead as a 100 pound deer.
Range and velocity/energy loss at distance might be more of a factor than the size of the deer. Especially given so many people's obsessed with how far they can shoot and animal.
No worries with patched round ball in an accurate load.If legal in your state, do you consider the .45 caliber round ball suitable for taking a deer?
Thanks,
-Smokey
So right you are. I know more folks claim such and such ammo being the most accurate and best hitting for them....after putting seven rounds into an animal. For some reason it is popular to brag of being able to kill an animal with as little a round as possible, or at stupid long ranges...I know, there are a few...relatively very few, who practice at long ranges, and the environment dictates long shots. But it kills me when folks talk about thier patch and ball round shooting "flat" out to a hundred yards. The guy who shoots once, and has one animal to show for it every time....now we will start listening.I don’t see how anyone can make a judgement as to the killing efficiency of any caliber based on an animal getting away wounded after being shot with that caliber. If the deer wasn’t recovered you can not know with any amount of certainty why the animal got away. I know several guys that seem to consistently lose deer after making “perfect” shots. More people should be honest about their shooting ability and stop taking marginal shots.
300 pound whitetail bucks? Really? I’m right next door in Pennsylvania and we don’t see 300 pound bucks..45 isn't enough round ball for a large bodied ohio deer. We are talking 300 pounds with huge thick bones and a .45 won't penetrate.. A small yearling would be fine . a .45 here in my state..
Ohio Rusty ><>
I wonder how much of this has to do with so many people's "standard" accuracy wise leaves no margin for error. "Oh, a pie plate is about the size of the vitals, so, thats the best I need to do (or the most accurate the load development needs to be)."I don’t see how anyone can make a judgement as to the killing efficiency of any caliber based on an animal getting away wounded after being shot with that caliber. If the deer wasn’t recovered you can not know with any amount of certainty why the animal got away. I know several guys that seem to consistently lose deer after making “perfect” shots. More people should be honest about their shooting ability and stop taking marginal shots.