[varmit_master]

I was hunting a hay field 2 yrs ago and 3 doe's and 2 little deer came out i was using my 300 wby with a 125gr BT with IMR 4350 86gr loaded up and there was a doe out in front and a doe right behinde her i had a Le. 3x9x50 scope when i started to shoot the other doe ran right up beside the doe in the front and a one shot kill the bullet went with the first deer and into the other one and was hanging in her far side of her hide at 348 yds with laser rangefinder it was luck to kill 2 in one shot but i had better be lucky as good any day :grin: :grin:

 

[Zachary]

Actually, I think that it was an UNLUCKY[/color] shot.

A hunter must ALWAYS[/color] be mindful of not only the target he is shooting, but more importantly the surrounding area[/color] of the target. I NEVER shoot at an animal if there is even a POSSIBILITY that the bullet will pass through and strike another animal. What would happen if your bullet INJURED the other deer - only to run off, suffer, and never to be found? Take it a step further - what if a PERSON was in the area and your didn't realize it? Could you imagine the consequences?!?!? (Granted, the property you were hunting may have been private property where only you hunt, but you get my point.)

I have never judged people, and I'm not starting now. But I will advocate that you never attempt to take a shot under similar circumstances like that again in the future. It's just not worth it.

I sincerely hope that you understand my point.

Zachary

 

[264 WIN MAG]

I have killed 2 deer with 2 shots before. I laid the rifle down was looking at these does. One of them ran off into the woods and the other came out onto the food plot. When I laid the rifle down and took the 150 yard shot I immediately picked up my rifle and reloaded like always just incase I had wounded the animal and had to shoot again. When I put the scope back down there she was in the same place just looking at me so I shot her again. To make a long story short when I went out there it turned out that when I shot the first time the doe dropped and I could not see her because of the brush and for some odd reason the second one ran back out of the woods and stood about 5ft. farther back from where she was standing. It was very odd but I don't consider it being my fault because in that split second I lost contact the first deer went down and the second took her place. When I weighed them in they were both 95lbs. so there was really no way to tell and I don't know anyone that would have put the rifle back down and took the second shot in that situation.

 

[264 WIN MAG]

I meant to say that I don't know anyone that would not have put the rifle back and took the second shot. At first I thought I had completely missed the deer.........hey, it happens.

 

[Siskiyou]

Zarhary:

You are "Right-on". We had a hunter (A) in camp who intentionally took two deer in one shot. Another hunter had to use his tag on the second deer. :x Hunter (A) was not invited back.

I passed up a shot at a great antelope with 18 inche class horns because he was surrounded by does. It was a hundred yard shot, and the does just escorted him out of sight. I late settled for a 15 3/4 antelope. It would have been a bad day for me if I had shot the 18 incher and killed or wounded another antelope in the process.

Siskiyou

 

[Zachary]

Siskiyou,

You made a tough, but right decision. :wink:

Zachary

 

[Shane in WI]

Last fall, my younger brother made a similar shot on 2 doe, on purpose. Both of us were hunting not to far apart on the last day of deer season, both shooting 30-06 with my reloads, 165 Grain BTSP Hornady. 3 doe came through the woods near him and 2 lined up behind each other. 35 yard broadside clear shot through the chest cavity. Went through both deer and neither made it out of site. The third deer walked off toward me which I ended up shooting as well.
I told this story on other boards at the time, and got alot of angry advice on how not to do this. It was a good well thought out shot, on purpose which resulted in 2 legally tagged deer. (Each had multiple tags) One big problem was that you can never tell where the bullet will go after the first deer. I understand that, but 30 caliber is not a minimal caliber for whitetail and there isn't much in the lung cavity to stop or deflect a well built bullet. I thought he made a great shot. Good story anyway. If your shooting without knowing what's behind your target, that could be a different story.

 

[Zachary]

Not necessarily. Simply put, hunters should NOT attempt to take 2 deer with one shot.

First of all, what is the purpose of doing this?[/color] Is it to save the money from one round of ammo? Is it to try and sound cool? Is it just for some kind of "fun?" Don't get me wrong, I love hunting and am no where near the antis' line of thinking, but there is no ethical reason to attempt to shoot two game animals with one shot.

Second, despite whatever purpose someone uses as a justification to make such a shot, you never know where the second bullet will hit, how it expanded, etc.[/color] Even you yourself stated as such. Granted, your particular shot killed two deer "efficiently," but this is not to say that it is a "tried and true" method.

In my opinion, hunters should refrain from attempting from taking two game animals such as deer with one shot.

Zachary

 

[Shane in WI]

I understand your point and agree with you mostly, but I have a question. Although I rarely do it, it is considered a standard practice to shoot at running deer at least around here. How is this different? I would think it easier to accurately predict the out come of 2 deer with one shot than it would be to shoot at a deer running across a open field full tilt, or worse yet in the woods? Alot of hunters shoot through brush without giving it a thought as well. I am not trying to say this is the best shot to take, but given the circumstances in my brothers exact situation, I can't fault him for making the shot. A friend of mine had overheard some guys talking on a plane that year who were purposely shooting doubles with a bow. Even going for a combo shot (doe & buck) That might of just been stories, I have no idea.

 

[selmer]

I disagree that shooting through a deer to get to another can EVER be a "well-planned" shot. I have shot several deer square in the shoulder broadside and recovered the bullet, a Nosler Partition, in the opposite hind-quarter. I destroyed the heavy shoulder bone, it deflected inside the body, ran through the lung and liver and nicked the stomach, lodging in the offside, hingquarter after breaking the femur. I have seen this with other bullets also. There is no guarantee that your bullet will go straight through an animal at any distance. I regards to shooting deer while running, I'd like to invite you on a a rabbit shoot with scoped .22's sometime, the catch is that we shoot them on the run and do it very well. There is no comparison for this for practice at shooting a whitetail or mulies on the run, it's seems like a cakewalk compared to taking rabbits on the run, and I'm not talking about using a banana clip from a 10/22 to get one rabbit, I'm talking about a bolt-action Marlin with a Weaver K4 on it. In most European countries you have to pass a test on a moving target before you are even allowed to hunt. Shooting running targets is an acquired skill, trying to shoot through two live deer is just plain STUPID!
Selmer

 

[Shane in WI]

I didn't mention a shoulder shot, this was a lung shot which is what I prefer. 2 very different outcomes. I also hunt and shoot rabbits with a 22 rifle only I let them run a short ways and stop first. I do realize that shooting running game can be an aquirred skill, but what percentage of the deer hunters do you think can accurately hit a running deer, much less a rabbit?
I just can't see, for this circumstance, with these series of events, for this one shot the problem.
Have you ever had a lung shot on a deer with a 30-06 at close range with a hunting bullet that was deflected or didn't have a complete pass through? I don't mean a quartering shot, just broadside with the only bone in the path might be a rib?

 

[selmer]

I have shot through deer in the shot you describe, but I also know that human error is a factor that we have to account for. It the deer moves, you could screw up the shot, if you pull the shot you screw up the shot, any number of different scenarios could happen that would leave you with a wounded deer, including complete bullet failure, and yes, it happens once in a while. And percentage of hunters that shoot running game that can do it very well is lower than we would like to know, although I hunt with a friend that can take a pheasant out of the air with his M760 .30-06, I have it on tape, it's amazing, same guy can take out a running deer at 250+ yards with the same gun, open sights, it's something you have to see to believe, he's 56 and got the rifle for his high school graduation present, only big game rifle he's ever owned. If you don't believe me I won't be offended, like I said it's something you have to see to believe, and yes I know he shouldn't shoot his .30-06 into the air at pheasants because of the backstop issue, but if you've been to western South Dakota, you'll know it's a low possibility for an accident.
Selmer

 

[Zachary]

Well said. :wink:

Zachary

 

[Siskiyou]

Many of use like to use bullets that we hope will penetrate a deer, ect. A friend shot a buck using 165 grain Speer in the 06. The buck was standing in a slight depression with an old stump between him and the shooter. The bullet caught the deer in the left flank and stopped in the right shoulder. Both of use were surprised when the bullet hit the stump. It penetrated about 10 inches of semi rotten wood and travelled a couple of feet before hitting the deer.

The reason he uses that bullet is penetration. Why do I normally use 165 grain bullet in the .300 SAV. Penetration. The same reason I normally use a 140 or 150 grain bullet in the .270. I take the penetration factor in when firing at a deer.

Siskiyou

 

[Daveinthebush]

2 deer with one shot.

My brother one year accidently shot 2 deer at once. The slug changed direction a bit after going through the first one and it struck another. The first one dropped, second one ran off. I heard the shot so I headed up the hill to help him.

I met a guy on the way down the hill dragging a pretty nice doe. Said some guy up the hill had hit 2 and for him to follow the other trail so that he might recover the other deer. Really nice doe!

I finally caught up with my brother and there he is with a yearling doe. I asked him why he had given the big one away? What, the other one was bigger? He hadn't even check and inadverently gave the bigger deer away! Oops!

 

[Shane in WI]

Again, I'm not trying to justify this one shot as a prefered shot, or something that should be tried often. In this one instance with these circumstances, the shot was a good one with predictable results. Most other stories I have heard about 2 animals with one shot have been surprises to the hunter as they didn't even know about the other animal and didn't have tags for them anyway.

To quote Zachary:
A hunter must ALWAYS be mindful of not only the target he is shooting, but more importantly the surrounding area of the target. I NEVER shoot if there is even a POSSIBILITY that the bullet will pass through and strike another animal. What would happen if your bullet INJURED the other deer - only to run off, suffer, and never to be found?

I hardly think shooting a flying pheasant with a high powered rifle is any type of arguement for taking a predictable lung shot on 2 deer. I also realize that shooting running game is a skill that can be accomplished by a small percentage of hunters. There are many more hunters that try these shots every year that are way more likely to wound game (and do) then shooting 2 standing deer through the lungs with one bullet.