Subsonic deer hunting question

[One Shot]

We have a local LEO who uses a 300 Whisper for in town deer control. He said you have to shoot the deer in the forehead when their head is down. Otherwise it will ricochet off. Anyone else had experience with this ? How about a side head shot ? This is aside from a body shot, which I know will go through.
Thanks

[Titleiiredneck]

heh never , tell him to stop using rubber bullets. A whisper will more than easily penetrate a deer.

180gr is more than enough I personally use them all the time in 308 and 300 whisper sub loads. My neighbor uses his 308 with 200 gr smk's in a sub load on them all the time as well..

[One Shot]

He told me if he shoots them in the body, they just bleed like shooting them with a arrow. I believe him on the ricochet. Everytime I shoot at a target on the ground, close or far, I get a ricochet. I'm using 220 gr sierrra boatail at about 950fps.

[320pf]

Originally Posted by One Shot

We have a local LEO who uses a 300 Whisper for in town deer control. He said you have to shoot the dear in the forehead when their head is down. Othersise it will ricochet off. Anyone else had experience with this ? How about a side head shot ?
Thanks

Pull up your pants.... It's too late to save the shoes!!!

Originally Posted by One Shot

He told me if he shoots them in the body, they just bleed like shooting them with a arrow. I believe him on the ricochet. Everytime I shoot at a target on the ground, close or far, I get a ricochet. I'm using 220 gr sierrra boatail at about 950fps.

The statement about body shots is true. However, if he hit the CNS (like a head shot) they will go right down. I would crank up the velocity on the load to ~1050-1080fps.

Is the LEO using a can/suppressor? If not why is he shooting sub-sonic loads? I would suggest that he use a light jacketed bullet like a Speer 125 TNT at about 2250 fps and take the body shots. Another option would be a frangible bullet like the Barnes MPG (Mult-Purpose Green):

http://www.barnesbullets.com/products/rifle/mpg/

You should be able to push the Barnes 147gr MPG to about 2100fps. You would not have to worry about ricochets and body shots would be pretty effective.

A good hit up in the shoulder/lungs near the spine will drop them pretty much where they stand. With a suppressor, this load would be pretty quite except the the super sonic crack witch is not that loud. Even without a suppressor, this load has no more report than a pistol.

320pf

[One Shot]

He is using a can, shooting in town at night.

[JFettig]

Regarding MPG, I wouldn't eat an animal thats been shot with these, Its powdered metal, its not lead but its other stuff, copper, tin, and who knows what else.

I realize he probably isn't shooting them for meat, just something I thought I'd bring up.

I think if twas me, I'd shoot them in the back of the head, or spinal area back there, that aught to take them down quick?

Jon

[Titleiiredneck]

An idea my buddy and I have is to take some 200 gr rn and make them hollow point in my mill. If we can make them the same weight from pill to pill then this may create awesome expansion we just have to keep then between 185-190 gr with a cone shaped hole

[LouBoyd]

Has your friendly Leo actually chronographed his loads? That sounds more like the perfomance you'd get at under 500 fps. If he's using a long barrel rifle and just calculated the muzzle velocity or used a manufacturers "specs" without accounting for bore friction that may be what he's getting.

[jackdm]

Is he using match bullets? Both your ricochets and his (over) penetration with little bleeding are classic results of match bullets. Try using a heavy hunting style bullet that will expand at lower velocities.

[300mag-hunter]

The whisper should be plenty effective on deer. I have a 22lr rifle with a 17" barrel and a suppressor. I usually bring it along deer hunting in case I see a varmint run by. I use subsonic 30gr hollow points in it. This past season I had a very large doe that my dad wounded run in front of me and stop about 45 yards away. I could tell it was hit, but looked like a liver/stomach shot, a little too far back. Rather than have it suffer and die slowly, I grabbed the 22and shot it right in the side of the head, instant kill. Rolled over and feet up in the air. Subsonics do have a tendency to ricochet. But it sounds more like a bullet placement problem. If they are facing him just shoot right below the head, in the neck. Or in the eye socket. The front and top skull, on animals is pretty tuff. I've know officers that get called to a car cow accident and they have shot a cow 5+ times in the head at less than 10 feet away with a 40 S&W and the bullet would ricochet every time. Back up showed up and finished it off with a 12 guage slug. All that needed to be done was shoot it in the lower part of the back of the head rather than the front. Might also consider super sonic loads, my 300 wisper with the can on is quieter with super sonic loads than a 17hmr without a can. Just some ideas to try.