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I beg to differ
Posted by bushrat on Mar 17 2006
Jeff,
I don't usually chime in on these types of discussions, but in just talking about moose and caribou, if my bullet goes through and through, then it just hasn't done the job I want it to do. I invariably find my bullet on the far side of the animal, just under the skin. Have always used nosler partitions and have always reloaded from day one. Have never had a moose go farther than fifty yards after being shot in the lungs. Never. And have shot them with everything from .243 to .338. (this was in the time I was searching for the perfect all-around caliber/rifle for the bush---there isn't one <grin>). Ranges I shoot at are typically 100-150 yds, sometimes out to 200, and sometimes inside 100.
For animals like moose and caribou, there are several reasons why you don't want through-and-through shots. Think on it logically; if you shoot a moose in the lungs and the bullet goes through and through, you may have a better blood trail to follow, but the damage to the lungs won't be nearly as significant than if the bullet had expanded properly and used all its energy inside the animal.
Just my take...but personal experience over a long time has taught me that a lung-shot moose or caribou is dead when shot with the right bullet at the right range. And they don't go far. I've never had a partition bullet go through and through. And that's the way I like it. (another aspect of this is long shots in which the bullet is traveling slowly upon impact and doesn't expand as it normally does, or extremely close shots in which the bullet blows up on hitting a bone---you need to use the right bullet for the right range.) One other thing; I only hunt for meat and don't like shooting the shoulder and wasting meat, so the way I hunt may differ from the way other hunters do it. I bring everything back home, including the blood from the lung cavity (for the dogs). Often get three to five gallons of blood from a lung-shot moose, from just one bullet. The faster the animal "drowns" this way, the better...which means the right bullet that will expand inside the body cavity and do the most damage.
One last thing taught to me by an old-timer; it is best if you've wounded game not to immediately tromp off after it. Eat some lunch, wait, be patient. If it's coming on dark, then you need to decide if you've made a killing shot and the animal is lying dead in the bushes not far off, or if you've not mortally wounded the animal and should wait until daybreak. Give the animal a chance to bed down---it is wounded, feeling sick, and will invariably stop if it is not harrassed by you immediately following it. Many animals are lost because the hunter is too quick to follow after wounding, further pushing the animal away instead of letting it bed down and stiffen up. The heat of the moment often gets to us. These are just my opinions...I'm sure others will disagree. I've never lost a moose or caribou. And the main part of that is knowing when to shoot and when not to shoot. Nothing will replace only taking ethical shots and passing up on ones that you know aren't so. And there have been times when we've been truly hungry and needed meat badly and I've passed on shots. We all have different skill-levels with our rifles and bows...just need to recognize what those are and stay within our own personal comfort range of surety. If you say in your head, "I'm really not sure..." then that means don't. Too many hunters do. Just as too many hunters rely on "bigger gun" to subconciously substitute for good marksmanship.
Best, Mark
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