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Forum Index > Medium and large game hunting > Relative Toughness of Species

Relative Toughness of Species

27 Sep 2020
@ 07:31 am (GMT)

Lane Salvato

So in terms of toughness to bring down with proper bullets, what's the ranking between Sambar, Rusa, Red Deer, Elk? I think it's probably Sambar, Elk, Rusa, and Red Deer but I've never hunted Sambar or Rusa.

Replies

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11 Nov 2020
@ 08:46 pm (GMT)

Vince

Re: Relative Toughness of Species
Hi Lane,

I've hunted all 4 and would say Sambar, Rusa, Elk then Red Deer but this is based on NZ hunting conditions and the environment in NZ that Sambar and particularly Rusa tend to be found can be fairly unforgiving. Rusa are similar to Tahr in that if you don't drop them in their tracks they can be can be very difficult to find, they live in very thick bush with steep to precipitous faces so even a 25-50 yard dead run can make them bloody hard to find. Front shoulder shots will sort all 4 of these species out if using the correct bullets/speed etc but Rusa tend to be longer shots so if you drift back look out!

Sambar have an almost mythical status here, many hunters talk about .300 and 200 grain minimums but again a lot of this comes down to time and shot placement, a lot of modern hunters seem to shoot behind the shoulder.

I've been in on a couple of Elk (Wapiti) kills, not a huge sample but we had much more difficulty with the terrain in Fiordland then with actually killing the Elk (2 animals) approx 300 yards with a .308 and a 7mmRM.

Experience with Red deer ranges from 17hmr and .22 up to .308 from 10 yards out to 350, find they are reasonably easy to put down with solid bullet placement

Cheers
Vince
11 Nov 2020
@ 08:51 pm (GMT)

Vince

Re: Relative Toughness of Species
Just to qualify, I don't recommend using rimfires on red deer, but shooting at the axis joint at close range they are adequate
Cheers
Vince
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