Knockdown power on deer.....???

[Slidellkid]

Here are my thoughts on it. There is a theory that you need a thousand foot pounds of energy to kill a deer. I don't buy that at all. I don't think there is a buckshot load out there that creates a thousand foot pounds and I've literally seen thousands of deer killed with buckshot. A .223 also doesn't have a thousand foot pounds.

I think pretty much any rifle from .223 on up will kill deer pretty effectively; however, the difference between one caliber and another is the type of blood trail you will end up with. I killed 13 deer one year with a 25-06 and all deer died within a very short distance of 50 yards or less, but the ones that ran were very difficult to find as the blood trail was very sparse and the swamp I hunted was very thick. There is nothing more frustrating than shooting a deer and not having a blood trail if the deer runs off in the thicket. Deer can be almost impossible to find if you don't have some blood to follow. If you hunt rolling hardwoods that are not overly thick a blood trail may not be that big of a deal, but if you are hunting swamps with water or pine thickets where a small blood trail can fall down into the pine needles it can make or break you. I started shooting a .264 Win Mag and I always get an exit wound and have always had a blood trail (though most of the time they die within sight). I have friends that hunt with .243's and they kill the hell out of deer but they will also admit that blood trails can be skimpy or non-existent at times. I'm just not willing to take that chance. I know if I ever shot a huge buck and had no blood trail and couldn't find him I would be kicking myself in the rear. That being said, I shot two deer in S.C. this past weekend with my brothers 7mm-08 and really liked the performance. Both deer dropped almost in their tracks and both bullets exited the deer. The rifle was REALLY sweet to shoot with very little recoil....I think I am going to have to get me one!