Two for One

[Ratel]

Fallow again. I stalked into a group of does in open woodland. One doe was 15 yards to the left of the group. Steady rest on a tree .308 150gr bullet at 70 yards, took a neck shot. The doe collapsed and another doe in the middle of the group went down 15 yards away. The bullet had broken the neck of the first doe, exited and hit the spine of the second animal just level with the tail.
It travelled at right angles to do this, needless to say the second animal was humanely despatched immediately. The last shot I ever took with the .308 estate rifle. I never liked them when we were issued with them as 7.62 and would never use one again.

 

[Jon P]

Not sure if its a slip of the pen but you have only drawn a little belly

I did say the pic was not drawn to scale

 

[Hook'N'Bullet]

Define?! Virtually impossible to say (except on an internet forum for a shot you weren't present for ). If you ruled out all possible "potentials" then you'd not shoot many deer, especially fallow or reds when they're in big groups.

Bullets do strange things sometimes and if you shoot enough deer then you'll have anomalies. Just look on here at all the examples folk cite of neck shot broadside munties etc where the bullet exits through the haunch.

I shot 2 roe with 1 bullet once. I could see both deer clearly in open woodland, good 10 feet clear between them, sound backstop and a range of about 60 yards. Traditional cup and core lead. No thermal involved. A shot I'd take again tomorrow without question.

Well if you take a shot at an animal, with another animal in the potential vicinity of a deflected bullet you're pretty much saying, you're okay with taking a ropey shot that could end up wounding another animal.

Just my opinion, you might be different but I'd prefer to wait for a shot that I'd know wont have any collateral damage or not take the shot at all.

 

[baguio]

It will happen from time to time for sure. I suspect that several people have done it and don't even know. The chances are greater when using Non-toxic too as the % of bullet exiting the animal is far greater so it follows that it will still have enough energy to travel on and kill another unseen animal.

 

[75]

Well if you take a shot at an animal, with another animal in the potential vicinity of a deflected bullet you're pretty much saying, you're okay with taking a ropey shot that could end up wounding another animal.

Just my opinion, you might be different but I'd prefer to wait for a shot that I'd know wont have any collateral damage or not take the shot at all.

Define "potential vicinity of deflected bullet"?

Assume these 2 are stood still rather than fighting and assume there is a very solid backstop. You're 60 yards and unseen on the quad sticks. Would you walk away due to the risk of a deflection?

 

[Hook'N'Bullet]

Define "potential vicinity of deflected bullet"?

Assume these 2 are stood still rather than fighting and assume there is a very solid backstop. You're 60 yards and unseen on the quad sticks. Would you walk away due to the risk of a deflection?

No I wouldn't pass that shot. I'd consider the possibility of wounding the other animal negligible. You're taking my post too literally for the sake on an argument.

Common sense would prevail when deciding if there is a reasonable chance that a bullet might strike a nearby animal. But threading the needle on a shot like this would be something I'd happily pass on

 

[75]

No I wouldn't pass that shot. I'd consider the possibility of wounding the other animal negligible.

So did I.

However, I had two roe with one shot who were stood in a very similar manner to those two fallow. Chest shot the one on the left and the one on the right dropped with a hole in it's neck.

Common sense would prevail when deciding if there is a reasonable chance that a bullet might strike a nearby animal.

Absolutely agree and that was my original point - common sense and reasonable being the key bits but there are no absolutes. Doesn't mean anyone took a "ropey shot with the intent of injuring another animal".

 

[Brownie243]

I have done it 4 times now, all unintentionally! Once with Roe, three times with Fallow. All the secondary deer were 10 yards or so to the side of the first ones. If I were presented with the same scenario again I'd take it.

 

[scotch_egg]

Done it once with a head shot fallow doe. The second 10 yards to the left and 5 yards behind.

 

[Dan Newcombe]

No I wouldn't pass that shot. I'd consider the possibility of wounding the other animal negligible. You're taking my post too literally for the sake on an argument.

Common sense would prevail when deciding if there is a reasonable chance that a bullet might strike a nearby animal. But threading the needle on a shot like this would be something I'd happily pass on

View attachment 281060

He was actually just repeating what you posted - but you can see the second buck in the picture - the OP sat and watched the initial beast in question for a while and with a thermal and didn’t see anything, sounds like he had been pretty careful. Your shot on the two fallow (that just happen to be nice bucks!!) you can see the potential collateral. And - how are the bucks different to the does in the second picture (other than not being trophies)? Start at the back and the risk of something behind being hit is minimal - I would start with the second from the right and go from there.

 

[Vissie]

It happened a stalker I knew some years back on a head shot fallow. Bullet deflected, exited through front of the skull and killed the animal in front of it. Thought it quite a freak thing and then it happened me one morning last season with two fallow prickets. Honestly didn't see the the 2nd one behind it. 145g ELD-X at about 70metres went straight through both. High shoulder of first pricket and low neck on second.

 

[foxhunter]

Got me thinking ....has anyone ever shot a fox and a deer with 1 shot ?

 

[Andy seatrout]

You've got your work cut out for you now anyway. I've seen it happen in video but never in real life. I do wonder what would happen if you shot an in season deer and inadvertently killed another that was out of season.

How would you explain that and would the ranger/police believe you?

There’s got to be intent for the most part with this sort of offence…. It wasn’t intentional and was highly unlikely to occur….

 

[rem284]

Got me thinking ....has anyone ever shot a fox and a deer with 1 shot ?

A deer and a tawny owl, never seen the owl until it started flapping about with a broken wing

 

[foxhunter]

I shot a muntjac from a highseat and on going to pick it up found a grey squirrel lying dead 10 yards behind it ...had been hit in head with a fragment of my bullet.

 

[nick.308]

interesting thread. It sounds like most of you should have gone to spec savers

 

[SaOsborne]

I have had this happen once to me shooting Reds 3 years ago.
Both hinds and stags were in season. I was carrying out a hind cull. Animals had been elusive this morning. I spotted a small herd on a woodland edge, studied for about 35 mins using binos and thermal. The ground sloped up gently into the trees behind on a clay rising valley. A hind was couched just in the edge, around 80 m away, a good clear head shot was available, her body behind and slightly offset. I watched for around 15 minutes, watching her and a few other animals mulling around in the treeline to ensure backstop was clear of animals. They cleared and she presented a good clean shot which I took. Thock, Instant drop, other deer moved back into trees and disappeared. I knew I had a hard extract over clearfell replant and ditches with tall reedgrass so went and prepped gear, giving it a few mins. I then worked in watching in the thermal, all good. I climbed through a ditch and into wood edge, she was further in than I perceived. As I climbed into the area, to my amazement 15 yards back was a young spiker stag, also very dead. I examined him carefully, he had a perfect hole in the back of his head, the .284, 175gn gameking having clean pased through the hind skull and straight through his too. At no point did I have any clue he was exactely lined up behind her. Really made me think on the energy behind that bullet and my choice to take the shot. I know the wood well, the back stop was perfect, being a rising clay slope. I thought I had taken every precaution to ensure no injury to other animals, never before or since has this happened to me.

 

[Heym SR20]

I read, well really looked at and had explained to me, an interesting article in a German hunting magazine that looked at follow through of bullets, bullet fragments and bone and blood splatter in wild boar and deer.

The did this by shooting dead, but still fully intact animals with large sheets of cardboard at various distances behind.

There is a large cone shaped area behind the target that is peppered with all sorts of fragments. Disregarding the solid lump of bullet itself, there are plenty of other fragments that can cause quite nasty, but not fatal wounds and certainly up to a range of 20 to 30 metres in a 45 degree cone in either side of direction of travel of the bullet. Depends hugely of course on type of bullet and point of impact.

The main take away for me though, if shooting animals out of a herd shoot the ones that are farthest away and you minimise the risks of causing damage to the others.

This is easier said than done, but it is much easier if you in a highseat or above the animals.

 

[potshotpat]

Don't know whether it counts, but each one a complete fluke. Clay pigeon and swallow. Clay pigeon and homing pigeon twice. But not the same homing pigeon.

 

[PaulCat]

Anyone tried a 2 for 1 on purpose? Come on, be honest!

Yes.




With rabbits. It worked too.