Wife killed her first deer!!

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CarJunkieLS1

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So today after hunting all season long my wife finally was able to get a shot on a deer. It was a small doe, but a legal deer none the less. It was ~125 yards away making a brisk walk right at the shooting house we were sitting in. My wife got her gun out the window and was following the deer in the crosshairs. I took my grunt call and made a loud grunt and the deer put the brakes on immediately 55 yards away the deer was slightly quartering toward us. A few seconds later I hear a boom and the doe bucked her back legs like a wild horse and sprinted towards the tree line.

She had her front onside leg pulled off the ground so I knew she hit her, but I feared a fleshwound. After 30 minutes we climbed down and we found ALOT of deer hair and only a few drops of blood. It didn't look good, but we followed the tracks (no blood) into the thicket and gradually saw more and more blood. Fortyish yards in we found her dead.

The bullet was a .243 Win 95gr NBT going ~2850 fps it did kill the deer, but it exploded inside the deer. It did break the onside shoulder, but I found no damage to the lungs or heart. The onside shoulder was destroyed, but all I found was the broken shoulder and pieces of copper jacket the bullet did not exit. I'm at a loss as to what killed the deer my guess is a piece of the bullet severed the aorta and it bled out internally. Next year my wife will be shooting Accubonds or Partitions.

IMG_20150124_085811_0661.jpg
 
Its a Savage 110 .243 w/ an aftermarket Boyds Laminate stock. It shoots really good and you wouldn't ever guess it if you looked in the barrel (rough)

Shoots my handloads into less than an inch.
 
Congrats. Now reward her.

I have had similar results with the Nosler BT. Went to Accubonds and never looked back and I shoot some sizzler calibers like 257 Weatherby and 300 WSM.

Now you need to make a fashion statement and get her an Official Jackie Bushman Deer Killing Bandana.:D
 
ive shot over 30 deer with the 243. my bullet of choice has always been rem 100grn core lokt factory ammo.
i reload but the factory rem ammo works so well in my gun that i dont use reloads for hunting deer.

i have shot deer from point blank out to almost 300 yrds and the core lokt bullets never failed to perform perfectly. i have never recovered a bullet from a deer with my 243. at 15 yrds a lung shot gets a quarter size exit hole. at 200 yrds a lung shot gets a quarter sized exit hole. the only thing i find is that with shoulder shots you will lose a lot of meat. however the deer will be bang flop.

oddly i have recovered bullets from deer at nominal ranges from my 30-06 a few times.

i am now shooting a 6.5x55 and it is working about as good as the 243. maybe 10 deer on its roster.
 
Congrats and good shot. I like a SP for that caliber, like a Remington core-lokt. At least you get an exit wound with those.
 
I never considered the .243 to be much of a hunting rifle, but your wife proves me dead wrong. Good job on her part.
 
I have never used a .243 on deer but dang was I impressed with the shoulder damage on this deer. Its onside shoulder was in pieces and it didn't go far. If I can get that kind of damage out of a .243 with a bullet that exploded on impact. I can't wait to see what a premium controlled expansion bullet will do. If I load 95gr Partitions and get the same accuracy with them there isn't a deer she can't drop with that rifle.
 
Congratulations to your wife.

I quit using ballistic tips 20 years ago. If you hit bone going in, the deer may get away with a shredded shoulder. If the bullet goes in the lung cavity, you'll be digging out bullet fragments as far back as the tenderloins.
The partitions are expensive but worth it.
 
She's still talking about it. And she can't wait till next year. She's wanting to go to the range to practice more. She told me to load her up some deer killers so she can practice.
 
Congrats.
My wife killed her first the year before last. I even made her go to the man cave with me and load up a few of her own rounds. :)

Hers was also with a .243 Win. 85 grain SGK BTHP behind a starting charge of H380.

That's awesome man. I love it when we get the ladies and young ones involved with hunting.
 
Congrats to your Wife. Mine hunts with me also, we are very lucky men. We have always used Winchester Power Points 80gr. since 2008. There are 4 of us, including our youngest Son and Nephew who are now both 17. We have shot a total of 28 deer where we hunt, and have recovered all of them including a 260lb'erand several around the 200lb range.
 
I think the .243 is perfect for our 150lb whitetails.I've taken more than 50 with it from 20 to 270 yards. I use 100 grain core-lokts and hand loaded 100 grain spitzers.The spitzers shoot a little flatter for the long field shots when I'm the watcher on deer drives.
 
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Congrats to the wife.... The smile says it all. My wife also got her first deer, (a big doe) last year. Only problem was she used her 2012 Dodge Journey instead of a .243; and it still didn't die until a county sheriff polished it off for her with his handgun. She was so worried about her vehicle that she let someone else take the deer. Oh well; at least somebody got some venison out of the deal and nobody got injured.
 
I think your mentioned bullet choice for next year sounds just right. Something a bit tougher for deep penetration. You won't be following her deer very far...not with her good shooting!

Congrats on her successful hunt. I'm thinking venison chili and some jerky....yum yum!

Mark
 
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