Outdoor

We were all "round the table" the other night and the discussion of how much do you lead a deer that is running 15 mph shooting a 30-06 based on 2900 fps...the distance being 100 yards and for reasons of making this less complicated there is no wind.
Tells us what distance first comes into your mind>>>>and then do the math!
Please show how you reached your answer...

I give this a while to get some answers and then I will tell you what my reloading brain came up with.

We did have one hunter who was quick to answer however he seem to stumble when I asked him how he judges that distance when:
A) This all happens instantly and you don't have time to do the math
B) Most important >>>There are no "lines" in his scope going left and right that show that amount...in other words how do you know 2 feet (his guess) at 100 yards when your looking through your scope? this would also change with different distances.

iSnipe

Personally I don't think I'd take the shot. I wouldn't look down on someone else for doing it, but for me, it's a lower percentage shot for effective one-shot-one-kill outcome I'm looking for.

How do you practice for something like that? I know, roll a tire or something, but still, tires can tolerate being grazed or hit on the edge, etc, but a deer would collect a nice wound and move on.

I have no math do explain the basis on which I would lead the shot, but trying to pretend the shot is developing right in front of me, I'd aim 1 foot in front of him. I would like to aim right at the edge-front of his chest, but there will be about a 2/3's of a second delay in trigger time.

How'd I do? Where did I hit? LOL!

iSnipe

Champlain Islander

I have never seen one that is faster than a bullet. I don't lead I aim right at the target while swinging with it. I can't say I ever shot at a deer that was as described though. Most of the time if they are running that fast they are gone here in New England. Longest distance I ever shot any big game including elk, deer and caribou is 210 yds. I have shot a ton of deer and they average about 75 yds and aren't usually running. Interesting question though and I will look forward to seeing how the guys that take those type of shots deal with it.

FLBandit

If I was to take that shot, I think I'd wait till he was past my position, then hold dead on as he was moving away. 2900fps vs 15mph is no contest, plus you get a quartering away shot. Of course, I could be full of Deer Berries!

Buckmeister24

well seeing as 15mph is equal to 22 feet per second, I'd have to say with a load shooting 2900fps, reguardless of what caliber, I'd hold the crosshairs right behind front shoulder while panning with the deer and squeeze on off...at absolute worst case you would most probably hit back of lung/liver area and would still have a dead dear.

Centaur 1

Personally I don't like taking running shots, I've seen more deer missed or wounded than killed. But the most important reason is that a hunter that's shooting at a running deer can't be 100% sure that he's being safe. It's our responsibility as hunters to be sure of our target and BEYOND. If your eyes and your mind are focused on the deer, you can't be aware of what's behind the deer the instant that you pull the trigger.
My best friend was shot and almost killed by a hunter in our group who was shooting at a running deer. He was shot by the same guy who just dropped him off at the spot that he was sitting. For gods sake please don't ever lose focus of what could happen when you pull the trigger. Take it from me, things get real serious when a person gets hit with a deer round. For those that are curious, Vinny had to have his penis surgically reattached; it's now an inch shorter and there's very little feeling left, if you know what I mean. He also had his right testicle shattered before the 12 slug entered his groin and exited his buttocks, just barely missing his femoral artery.

bigbulls

isnipe would kill the deer. The rest of you would have gut shot it.

If you squeeze off a shot right behind the shoulder while a deer is running 15mph then you are going to hit that deer right through the intestines or the hind legs.




Aim about a foot in front of the deer and you will hit it square through both lungs.

A 30 caliber bullet leaving the muzzle at 2900 fps is in flight for approximately .108 seconds when it reaches 100 yards.

In .108 seconds a deer running at 15 miles per hour will cover 2.376 feet.

uncle matt

If the deer was running 40 mph he would be traveling at 58 feet per second (60 for simplify the math).

If the bullet were traveling 2,900 feet per second (3,000 to simplify) it would have a velocity 50 times greater than the deer.

So the deer would travel only 1.2 feet in the time that it would take for the bullet to reach it. (60 divided by 50 = 1.2)

So I would say putting the POI at the front of it's chest oughta work just fine.

bigbulls

That math doesn't work Matt. You do not take into account the bullets time of flight and reduced velocity.

If a deer is traveling 40 mph perpendicular to the shooter he is indeed going 58.6 fps.
The bullet is traveling at 2900 fps at the muzzle and about 2700 fps at 100 yards and its time in flight to 100 yards would be about .108 seconds.

Miltiply the deer's speed by the bullets time in flight and you get your answer.
58.6 fps X .108 seconds = 6.3288 feet.

Canuck_2

I know you've already given the answer, but I thought it an interesting question and took a whack at it anyway.

Seems like a fairly simple ratio. The desired point of impact on the deer and the bullet, of course, need to arrive at the same spot simultaneously.

deer : 22 fps, travel distance unknown (x)
bullet : 2900 fps, travel distance 100 yd.

22/2900 = x/100

x = .7586 yd or about 27 inches.

Therefore, aim point needs to be 27" ahead of target; eg, lungs.

And no, I didn't allow for the diminishing velocity of the bullet. But how did we get the deer changing from 15 mph to 40 mph?