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Nathan Foster

Shot placement is certainly a key factor as is bullet design. And as you said Mike, there is no need for more than a .308 inside 200 yards on these body weights but sometimes a guy just wants to experiment and this thread was based on boredom versus curiosity which I quite understand.

Generally speaking Ryan, I teach readers to aim for the forwards section of the shoulder which gives room for error in both directions. You will see my comments on shot placement versus the customs of various countries in the Cartridges book. The rib shot placement is problematic as Mike has said, especially if the angles are wrong. It is for these reasons that we see bullets like the Winchester Deer season. In a modern mass produced rifle that groups somewhere between 1.5 and 2.5 MOA over sandbags and perhaps 3 to 4 MOA with modern technique, plus the rib shot placement, a bullet has a heck of a job to do in order to secure game. To this end, the design focus of the Deer Season bullet is towards maximum wounding (echoing Mike's meat damage comment) but with a sacrifice in penetration.

Below: 243 95gr Deer Season XP. The main photo shows the entry wound while the inserts show wounding along with the exit wound. Using a somewhat stouter bullet or one that is heavier in weight, we would normally see the reverse of this, a smaller entry, larger exit.



The Whelen is a good cartridge Ryan but do not expect miracles. I really enjoy the ability of this cartridge to handle the awkward snap shots and resulting poor shot placement but it will not always give on the spot kills so you have to be realistic about this. Often, game will jump, then act drunken, then fall, depending on the bullet used, angles and impact velocities. It will certainly give you something a bit different to experiment with and the low trajectory is good if you have neighboring farm houses not too far away. Again, focus on the Hawk 225gr if you can obtain it.

The Woodchuck stock looks fine Ryan, should do the trick.