What type of 30-06 round for Sika particularly? Apologies if this is a well done subject!

[Antonyweeks]

I've been through lots of historic threads on this topic but I thought I'd see if any new folks could have an input! The ground I've recently been able to stalk is predominantly home to Sika (occasional munty / roe). I use factory ammo as I haven't got time currently to get into home loads (and know I'd want to get uber nerdy about this vast topic!). Currently I use RWS HIT bullets - the copper ones. I went for these on the basis that maybe legislation etc etc would change so might as well get used to the non lead. Superbs for everything I've shot so far with minimal meat damage. However I hit a Sika stag at the w/e and the bullet entry point was perfect h/l yet he ran for 75m or so doubling back on himself before falling into a ditch. The exit was out through the middle of the opposite side, having travelled through his heart lung and then gut. Having then looked up the toughness of Sika it seems they often run for H/L shots? However, many folk talk about using Nosler partitions. The RWS equivalent is the H Mantel 180gn copper tipped round (my rifle seems to like RWS more than others). I have neck shot Sika (when they have been couched) and they went down instantly with the set up I have. Just wondered what folks' opinions on this subject were? I've never used a balistic tip but have had various old blokes tell me these are horrid things that mess up disproportionate amounts of venison? Hope not too many of you are rolling your eyes at the thread!
PS Attached photo of the HIT rounds I dug out of some sand: distance was 100m.

 

[Border]

I haven't shot Sika but I would carry on with your current round, 165 grain? Any bullet can do strange things and if you're going to chop and change every time a bullet doesn't perform as you think it will then you are on a hiding to nowhere.

 

[Yorric]

It ain't bust so don't mend it. You have excellent bullet expansion.so don't change it.
My best suggestion is to learn and apply the hilar shot placement. That is more likely to reduce runners.
Ian
PS Sika are notoriously tough, especially when they are aware of you

 

[Woodsmoke]

I was once advised that V-Max were suitable for roe in .223. Not knowing any better I tried them. Once. I won't now entertain the use of a BT on anything I intend to eat.

As Border says though, any bullet is capable of doing some very odd things at times. If they've been working for you up until now I'd put that particular shot down to an aberration and carry on regardless.

 

[takbok]

I think that's a fairly normal reaction for that kind of shot, regardless of bullet used. Try to aim further forward if you want less of a run.

 

[stubear]

Looks like good expansion to me, I'd stick with them.

You're always going to get the odd runner, it happens. Main thing is he was down and you recovered him.

I've shot roe with 300wm and had them drop on the spot, and I've had one leave puddles of blood all over the field and run off never to be found.

Agree with takbok - aim a bit further forward and break the shoulder with the bullet - that tends to pin them.

I definitely wouldnt use a ballistic tip (Nosler BT, SST VMAX etc) on anything I wanted to eat - they expand really quickly and tend to get a bit explodey. Stick to bonded, monos or classic cup and core.

 

[Claret_Dabbler]

No doubt in my mind 150gr Nosler BT’s. Puts them down like lightning.

I’ve shot a lot with 120gr 6.5’s also.

Solid copper is not a great idea for Sika.

 

[Selous]

Bring your point of aim further forward to the so called hilar shot. you probably don’t need to do anything else

 

[Edinburgh Rifles]

Anything will expand in sand.....

High shoulder if you don’t like tracking
Shoot a few more with HIT before committing to bulk buying

 

[Sika98k]

Sika are a notoriously strong willed animal. When shot through the heart/lungs, shoulders they simply take off. Dead on their feet but refuse to admit it. Some years ago I used Norma 120gr ballistic tips in a Swede. Couldn’t wait to finish them. The bloodshot meat and the tendency for the bullet to fragment and rocket all around inside the body cavity was annoying.
Enter the Norma Oryx bullet at 156 grains, far more authority.
Now I use a 7x57 with 175gr Partitions trundling along at a very moderate speed. Big for caliber bullets does it for me anyway.

 

[Bowland blades]

The beast was shot through the hart and it ran 75 yards ! Well its nothing wrong with the shot or the bullet , its down to the animal not being relaxed when the shot was taken

 

[John Gryphon]

You have excellent bullet expansion.so don't change it.

Sika are NOT sand,there is a huge difference and I doubt that those bullets would do the same on live deer.

Anything will expand in sand.....

100 correct Ed.

 

[jubnut]

All deer can run with a H/L shot. Sika are no tougher than anything else.

The HIT ammo is perfectly adequate for Sika.

 

[Siggy]

get a dog! In my opinion, there is very little rhyme or reason as to whether deer run or drop, and some deer are alway going to run, so you either get good at tracking or get a dog!

 

[1894]

One swallow doth not a summer make. I wouldn’t reject a bullet based on one experience. 75m is long but might be a one off.
3-4 long runs in succession with new bullets and with good placement and I get nervous

 

[A Guy Out West]

It ain't bust so don't mend it. You have excellent bullet expansion.so don't change it.
My best suggestion is to learn and apply the hilar shot placement. That is more likely to reduce runners.
Ian
PS Sika are notoriously tough, especially when they are aware of you

I've been through lots of historic threads on this topic but I thought I'd see if any new folks could have an input! The ground I've recently been able to stalk is predominantly home to Sika (occasional munty / roe). I use factory ammo as I haven't got time currently to get into home loads (and know I'd want to get uber nerdy about this vast topic!). Currently I use RWS HIT bullets - the copper ones. I went for these on the basis that maybe legislation etc etc would change so might as well get used to the non lead. Superbs for everything I've shot so far with minimal meat damage. However I hit a Sika stag at the w/e and the bullet entry point was perfect h/l yet he ran for 75m or so doubling back on himself before falling into a ditch. The exit was out through the middle of the opposite side, having travelled through his heart lung and then gut. Having then looked up the toughness of Sika it seems they often run for H/L shots? However, many folk talk about using Nosler partitions. The RWS equivalent is the H Mantel 180gn copper tipped round (my rifle seems to like RWS more than others). I have neck shot Sika (when they have been couched) and they went down instantly with the set up I have. Just wondered what folks' opinions on this subject were? I've never used a balistic tip but have had various old blokes tell me these are horrid things that mess up disproportionate amounts of venison? Hope not too many of you are rolling your eyes at the thread!
PS Attached photo of the HIT rounds I dug out of some sand: distance was View attachment 189307100m.

I have heard those deer are very tough, that said, it sounds like you had perfect bullet performance and really can’t ask for more. The real question is why do some deer go out like a light switch has just been flicked off and others run for quite a distance when shot straight through the heart? One possible explanation is that when you shot your deer, it’s heart was in contraction phase. In This state the beasts blood pressure would not have spiked as much had the heart been in its beating phase (sorry for terminology). I read an article a long time ago that explained this phenomenon in detail. The author wrote that he had performed autopsy’s on all game shot in a study group and that all the animals that died as if hit by the hammer of Thor, had busted blood vessels in their brains. The author surmised that the broken brain blood vessels were due to a drastic increase in blood pressure caused when the bullet hit a beating heart. It makes sense to me. If anyone has the ability to check the brain of an instant kill, it would be very interesting to see if there is any bleeding. Cheers

 

[Yorric]

From what the O. P. described at the start of the thread about the bullet path inside the stag, I suspect the shot may have been a bit "quartering" from the front. This may explain the long run.

75 yards isn't too unusual for heart stags to run. My biggest Sika stag trophy is one I heart shot at 100 yds, square on with a
243 win and a 105 grain RN bullet. He was aware I was there and he ran 100 yds down hill through the forest towards the river and only stopped there when he crashed into a huge fallen tree that blocked his path.
Ian