Whitetail shot with not much trauma and bloodshot but died quickly

[270hunter]

Hello all. I shot a decent whitetail buck at 150 yards yesterday with hornady American whitetail 130 grain 270 caliber. I hit both shoulders and lungs to. He whirled around and started to run but descended right into the ground. He was dead when he hit the ground and total time alive after shot was probably 5 seconds. When I skinned it on the chain hoist it appeared there was almost no trauma. Compared to my dads 7mm rem mag whitetail kill which had tons of trauma but also quick death. There was a bullet hole neatly going into the hide and hit both shoulders and out the other side. Good penetration but I’m wondering if this minimal trauma thing is bad if I shoot a really tough deer or elk or moose. There is a little bit of bloody meat around each entry and exit but not much at all.
However it is awesome to get a quick with out waste more than a few pounds.
What’s your guys opinion

[Smoky buck]

It’s the internal organ damage I look at and less concerned with muscle shock

My wife took her deer with her 7mm-08 with 140gr federal fusions at under 30yards through both shoulders and was over basically instantly. Minimal meat damage do to shock but the Lungs were jello and the top of the heat gone

The amount of damage done to the internal origin’s it would not of mattered if it was a moose it would have been over

If you experienced major origin damage that is what matters

[huntwat]

You need to use Hornady American elk cartridges for elk😎
If blood to the brain is disrupted or the nervous syst m is disrupted, animals die quickly. If you do let lung an elk, he will die. But. They are tough. It seems if a deer can run 20 yards before dying, an elk can run 200.

[270hunter]

Thanks for confirming my assumption. I’m glad this is tolerable because I am always glad when the deer die with in seconds so it’s good to know a shoulder shot isn’t going to harm much meat. He couldn’t run well and he was out of oxygen when he hit the ground. Seems like a favourable shot.

[buckman]

Originally Posted by huntwat

You need to use Hornady American elk cartridges for elk😎
If blood to the brain is disrupted or the nervous syst m is disrupted, animals die quickly. If you do let lung an elk, he will die. But. They are tough. It seems if a deer can run 20 yards before dying, an elk can run 200.

Not my experience,the elk I have shot through the lungs with a good bullet NP die within a few seconds and don't go far. I have seen elk shot poorly run and even escape.This apply s to any animal though. You need to hit both lungs and they are dead fast.

[270hunter]

Originally Posted by huntwat

You need to use Hornady American elk cartridges for elk😎
If blood to the brain is disrupted or the nervous syst m is disrupted, animals die quickly. If you do let lung an elk, he will die. But. They are tough. It seems if a deer can run 20 yards before dying, an elk can run 200.

I forgot to mention but I just killed a big cow elk two days ago with American whitetails. Double lung shot and she tipped over. Same result from my dads cow elk too but with a 7mm rem mag. Being that is was a 270 not a 300 win mag we we opted to get close and that’s what we did. 100 yard shot, I figure as long as I limit my ranges for appropriate caliber the animals will hit the ground. I was more asking to make sure this wasn’t a fluke and that I could get consistent results with larger game.

[wildwoods]

Originally Posted by 270hunter

Hello all. I shot a decent whitetail buck at 150 yards yesterday with hornady American whitetail 130 grain 270 caliber. I hit both shoulders and lungs to. He whirled around and started to run but descended right into the ground. He was dead when he hit the ground and total time alive after shot was probably 5 seconds. When I skinned it on the chain hoist it appeared there was almost no trauma. Compared to my dads 7mm rem mag whitetail kill which had tons of trauma but also quick death. There was a bullet hole neatly going into the hide and hit both shoulders and out the other side. Good penetration but I’m wondering if this minimal trauma thing is bad if I shoot a really tough deer or elk or moose. There is a little bit of bloody meat around each entry and exit but not much at all.
However it is awesome to get a quick with out waste more than a few pounds.
What’s your guys opinion

I use that exact ammo. 5 bull elk in the last 5 years for me, most between 350-400 yards. I’ve never searched for one

[270hunter]

Originally Posted by wildwoods

I use that exact ammo. 5 bull elk in the last 5 years for me, most between 350-400 yards. I’ve never searched for one

Wow this is awesome to hear. This is my first year using it but it seems like great bullets and cartridge quality for the price.

[Smoky buck]

Oh a shoulder shot can cost you meat and I would expect it. Sometimes it’s a change in angle, distance, or different section of the shoulder and damage can increase. I don’t know why I have just seen it over the years

That was the first deer/animal with my wife’s new set up so I am waiting to see if it repeats minimal meat damage

Your 270 can tip over big animals no problem. As a kid growing up in BC a 270 was my moose killer for my first 5 years hunting and it worked great

[270hunter]

Thanks smoky. I am going to try to get repeatable minimum meat damage too.

[wildwoods]

Originally Posted by 270hunter

Wow this is awesome to hear. This is my first year using it but it seems like great bullets and cartridge quality for the price.

Yes very reasonable price and (in my gun at least) I am shooting sub MOA with them. They are great bullets and don’t hurt the wallet too bad

[270hunter]

Originally Posted by wildwoods

Yes very reasonable price and (in my gun at least) I am shooting sub MOA with them. They are great bullets and don’t hurt the wallet too bad

Totally agree

[Tronneroi]

Those are loaded with the Hornady Interlock's. Very good cup and core bullets in my experience.

[270hunter]

Originally Posted by Tronneroi

Those are loaded with the Hornady Interlock's. Very good cup and core bullets in my experience.

Yeah I’m surprised they are not talked about more. At Canadian tire the core lokts almost cost as much. Core lokts are reliable and have decent accuracy but not as good as the American whitetail.

[fishnguy]

Originally Posted by Smoky buck

Oh a shoulder shot can cost you meat and I would expect it. Sometimes it’s a change in angle, distance, or different section of the shoulder and damage can increase. I don’t know why I have just seen it over the years

For sure. Same ammo the OP uses out of .308 on a mulie doe my cousin shot this year sent most of the front to waste. Same shoulder shot, heart, lungs, etc. The damage was really excessive. Both shoulders and most of the rest went to coyote feed. Was really bad, the worst I have seen. A whitetail buck he shot a few years ago from a stand had similar damage, but not to the same extent - one shoulder was a waste and about half of the other.

Trying to think now if I shot another doe a few years ago with that same rifle or it was another gun… regardless, the ammo was the same because that is what I use too. The bullet barely touched the shoulder, but the whole thing was a waste.

They killed every animal so far. All but one went down immediately or within a few moments. Like wildwoods, a number of elk, both cows and bulls. Moose as well.

Personally, I try to avoid shoulder itself, if I can help it. I heard of no or little damage and bullets going right through, just like Smoky and the OP mentioned, but have never personally experienced it (but I haven’t shot many that way). Every time the bullet touches the shoulder, even barely, the damage is substantial, not always excessive, like in my cousin’s case this year, but always substantial. Like I said, if I can help it though, lol. For this reason, I actually prefer there to be a bit of an angle to the trajectory on closer shots.

[270hunter]

Originally Posted by fishnguy

For sure. Same ammo the OP uses out of .308 on a mulie doe my cousin shot this year sent most of the front to waste. Same shoulder shot, heart, lungs, etc. The damage was really excessive. Both shoulders and most of the rest went to coyote feed. Was really bad, the worst I have seen. A whitetail buck he shot a few years ago from a stand had similar damage, but not to the same extent - one shoulder was a waste and about half of the other.

Trying to think now if I shot another doe a few years ago with that same rifle or it was another gun… regardless, the ammo was the same because that is what I use too. The bullet barely touched the shoulder, but the whole thing was a waste.

They killed every animal so far. All but one went down immediately or within a few moments. Like wildwoods, a number of elk, both cows and bulls. Moose as well.

Personally, I try to avoid shoulder itself, if I can help it. I heard of no or little damage and bullets going right through, just like Smoky and the OP mentioned, but have never personally experienced it (but I haven’t shot many that way). Every time the bullet touches the shoulder, even barely, the damage is substantial, not always excessive, like in my cousin’s case this year, but always substantial. Like I said, if I can help it though, lol. For this reason, I actually prefer there to be a bit of an angle to the trajectory on closer shots.

Thanks for the insight. Maybe the minimal damage is because of a 270 with less energy and a smaller bullet however I wouldn’t think it would do that much more damage. I would post pics but I have never figured it out. It’s quite nice not having to toss a bunch of meat or work around it to end up getting only a couple pounds off a shoulder.

[Battle Rat]

Curious as to what the lungs looked like.
A bullet through the shoulders usually sends many bone fragments through the lungs.

[270hunter]

Originally Posted by Battle Rat

Curious as to what the lungs looked like.
A bullet through the shoulders usually sends many bone fragments through the lungs.

The lungs were almost all obliterated except two small pieces that were intact but that was because I was a bit farther forward into the shoulders and not dead centred in the lungs. Still couldn’t breathe though as when he fell he was dead.

[huntwat]

Originally Posted by 270hunter

The lungs were almost all obliterated except two small pieces that were intact but that was because I was a bit farther forward into the shoulders and not dead centred in the lungs. Still couldn’t breathe though as when he fell he was dead.

I would call that plenty of trauma.

[270hunter]

Originally Posted by huntwat

I would call that plenty of trauma.

Good point. It’s good trauma to have because I don’t eat lungs😁

[marky_mark]

Any pics?

[270hunter]

I’ve never figured out how to post. Maybe I’ll find time and try. After taking off the front shoulders I’ve realized there’s still a good amount of trauma just not on the shoulders. It’s more on the chest/neck area after you take off the shoulder. Interesting.

[Drewski Canuck]

A high shoulder shot may have resulted in the kinetic energy being transferred to the spine, hence the quick fall from the loss of motor control.

All the same, congratulations on the fine animal!

Drewski

[270hunter]

Thanks for the kind words

[Pathfinder76]

If you shoot 100 animals with the same bullet you will see 100 different things when you open them up.

[Smoky buck]

Originally Posted by chuck

If you shoot 100 animals with the same bullet you will see 100 different things when you open them up.

This is my opinion too ^^

[EZM]

Originally Posted by chuck

If you shoot 100 animals with the same bullet you will see 100 different things when you open them up.

Yup - I've shot don't know how many deer with my 257bee and it could be a pencil hole straight through with no meat damage and it's a bang flop, or a pass through with the inside organs completely jelly (larger exit hole) OR had a few that looked they swallowed a grenade.

Some pass throughs bang flop and some went for a run.

Same bullet I've hunted with for many many years.

You never know.

Having said that, I do agree in MOST cases, the velocity at that range, the size of the game, vs the construction of the bullet should be selected to what is "most likely" going to match bullet placement and it makes sense to consider that stuff - but seems to me if you get them in the boiler room you are OK. If you get a good shot you will recover the animal.

[270hunter]

Wow thanks guys. It’s interesting that the result of the shot is often different. I think I will shoot this bullet for a while as it’s killed an elk and 3 deer all with quick deaths. I appreciate the wealth of information since I don’t know a ton about this stuff.

[trigger7mm]

My son in law shot a nice whitetail buck at about 200 yards this year with the exact same ammo and caliber. Results were pretty much the same as yours. Not a lot of damage, but he didn’t go very far when he got shot. Perfect result.

[270hunter]

Awesome. I’m impressed too