the blur

Reading the various hunting forums, I see alot of hunters have problems with sabots or slugs taking down game. Or failure to expand, and then they have a serious tracking job, and report losing an animal.

I don't understand it, as I think a massive heavy slug would knock down a whitetail for good. and the size (even if not expanded) is larger than any .30 caliber bullet.

Maybe it's the lack of energy behind it ?
I have no idea, just doesn't make sense.

DeerandbearhoG

Winchester platinum tip sabots are 400 grs I believe. They are a .50 black talon bullet which I believe is a jacketed lead bullet. The partition gold are also 385grn.

Dixie slugs makes a 870 grn lead slug....ouch!

DeerandbearhoG

I tinkered w/ the lee key drive mold that are designed to be star crimped in a std shot wad. I couldnt seem to get the seating depth right but I shot a few into wet news paper and they flattened like a pancake but didnt fragment much, I wouldve like to see what theyd do to a deer.

I think lightfied sells the old commander slug(unloaded), or they were at least, for a buck each.

falcon

It makes a lot of sense to me: They shoot them in the guts.

Deer that get hit in the heart/lung area with a 12 gauge rifled slug are going to die within 300 yards or so-usually much quicker. It does not matter whether the slug expands or not.

Each year i track a lot of wounded deer and elk for hunters. Most of the hunters who are aware that they shot an animal too far back tell me so. About 15 percent will swear that the bullet was no good because they double lunged the animal. Had one guy tell me that the 150 class buck that i located for him could not possibly be his deer because his deer was a lung shot and the one we were looking at was hit in the paunch.

SwampCollie

I shot two last week with these... holy cow is all I can say... for the 300+ deer I have killed in my life... these were the first I have ever killed with a slug gun... just used an 1100 with some F.O. sights attached to the rib with an IC choke. That gun will hit a hockey puck at 75 yards with Rem Sluggers or regular Brennekke KOs... and the best part is the recoil is more like a dove gun than a slug gun! According to some serious slug gunners I spoke to... it shoots as good or better than some of their fully rifled guns... the thing will shoot under 2" groups at 100 yards with fiber optic open sights!!!!... which is a testament to the good eyesight God blessed me with.

Amazingly, neither deer died on the spot... but ran about 40 yards and gave up the ghost... according to a friend hunting about 200 yards on the other side of the cutover, the sound of the slug hitting the deer was almost as loud as the shot itself! The blood trails were ghastly... looked like a B grade murder movie... right up there with a good expandable broadhead. Needless to say, a shoulder hit with one of these things is toast... I'd recommend them strongly to anyone who doesn't or can't spring for a high end slug gun but wants to get some good performance out to 100 yards or so still hunting.