40 S&W -going hunting

[castnblast]

going to try one of my 40 S&W rounds - 135 JHP behind 11.gr of Longshot powder. Velocity is 1386-1399 fps. going to try to take an axis in the 30 yd & under range next week.

Hopefully we'll have some pix to show next week.

 

[jgcoastie]

Personally I'm not placing my bets for it to turn out well...

Methinks a more suitable cartridge would be in order for such a fine animal...

 

[troy_mclure]

i got a whitetail doe with a head shot at 40yd with my beretta cx4 storm.

droped right there.

it was 165gr hydrashock.

 

[treg]

Nothing wrong with using a .40 within it's limitations. Would like to see a flatpoint style bullet used though, with the largest meplat possible.

A guy named castnblast is using a JHP?.... c'mon.

 

[bswiv]

It will work with a good shot.............sure would rather see a heavier bullet though. Might be that should that 135 hit a rib in not quite the right way.....?

But then I've taken a few with a .357 and a 158 gr HP which I think is not than much different in power shot from a handgun.

 

[freakshow10mm]

That is a **** poor bullet design for hunting medium game animals.

 

[MosinM38]

I dunno about the bullet design....

Good bullet I wouldn't worry to badly.

155 grain bullet at 1200 FPS. About equal to a .357 mag. 158 grain bullet at 1250FPS.

XTP's, I wouldn't feel undergunned. You could only take broadside, behind the shoulder shots. But really a guy should only do that anway in most instances

 

[freedom475]

you'll do fine.... Please post some pics of the hunt!!

I think you need more boolit and probly a good cast one, to be most effective with the little round. My 10MM won't expand XTP hollow points so I figure why bother and I shoot hard cast in it now.

Good to see some folks still like to hunt... That super mag, scoped rifle is more of a harvest...

 

[Old Grump]

I agree, not good bullet but will probably work if placed right, FP or SP would be better. 357 would be even better and would be the minimum I would use for any deer that can range anywhere from 150 to 200 pounds or better. I just have this thing about having to shoot an animal twice and I am to old to be tracking a wounded deer that can outrun a greyhound when its motivated. I am glad to see you posted 30 yards or under, that will help a lot.

 

[Kawabuggy]

As others above mentioned, a bigger, more powerful caliber is called for. Here's a story for you.. 2 weekends ago I went hog hunting with my .308. The place I hunt is over-run with hogs and it is rare to ever see just one hog at a feeder. So, when multiple hogs are present, I always wait to shoot until 2 are lined up. That way I kill 2 hogs with one bullet. Well, on this day, the 2nd hog was only hit by bullet fragments as I spined the first hog and the bullet fragmented. The pieces that hit the 2nd hog took out his back legs, but for all intent and purposes-he was doing his very best to get out of dodge dragging those useless hind legs. I thought here's a chance to see how well my .40 will do on actual flesh. I walked up to that hog within 5 feet, and fired a 180 grain Speer Gold Dot into the chest cavity. This pig is small at about 50 lbs... It crept crawling, but was now picking up the pace! I fired a 2nd shot into the chest cavity which was now bleeding, but not as much as you would hope. That shot really got the pigs attention and he started to corral those hind legs to work again and he was almost up on all 4 legs! I fired a 3rd shot into the chest cavity which knocked the back legs down again, but still that darned pig was crawling toward the wood line! I finally got between the pig and the wood line and placed one right between the eyes which finally (Thankfully!) put him out for good. When we cleaned that pig, we found that only 1 of the 3 rib/chest shots actually penetrated the chest cavity. Yes, he would have died (slowly) from that shot but I wanted him dead right then, not a day or so later. The other 2 hit ribs, and instead of breaking them, the bullet simply followed the rib between the skin & rib. All 3 bullets when recovered showed ZERO sign of deformation. I can put them right beside a new, unfired Gold Dot and the only way you would know which ones were fired would be to look for the rifling on the bullet body.

So, please, if you want the animal to die quickly-choose another caliber. Or, plan on firing multiple shots as quickly as you can pull the trigger (empty the gun) and hope that you hit something vital that will stop the animal before it gets away.. Those are my thoughts do with them as you wish.

 

[wyobohunter]

40 S&W for hunting, really?

C'mon man, seriously? I could see a,"Wut if'n I wuz lost un' thu only thang I had wuz a 40 S&W, wood she do fur survivan?", post. But dude, don't go out and intentionally hunt with that, use something designed for hunting.... Just sayin'

 

[DWARREN123]

Let us know how you did. It may be better to have a hunting caliber but I believe it is more the gunner than the gun.

 

[troy_mclure]

C'mon man, seriously? I could see a,"Wut if'n I wuz lost un' thu only thang I had wuz a 40 S&W, wood she do fur survivan?", post. But dude, don't go out and intentionally hunt with that, use something dsigned for hunting.... Just sayin'

many non-hunting rounds have become incredibly popular hunting rounds, like:
45/70 gov, 30-06 spring, 30-40 krag, .357 mag, 10mm, etc...

 

[wyobohunter]

many non-hunting rounds have become incredibly popular hunting rounds, like:

...

Touche'

Perhaps I should've said "use something more suitable for hunting" instead of "use something designed for hunting".

 

[freakshow10mm]

The .40 will take an animal at close range, but my issue lies with the poor bullet choice. The 135gr Nosler will not reliably penetrate on a deer size animal nor hold together at the velocity it should be shot at. I load the 135gr JHP in my .40 S&W load at 1425fps. It will not hold together. I know this for a fact as I've shot it into carcasses and it's very limited penetration with lots of fragmentation. It is not a hunting bullet. Use the 155gr XTP if you want to hunt with it. That is a hunting bullet.

 

[kyle1974]

castnblast... I think you need a more powerful round.. maybe something along the lines of a 338 Lapua in the 275 grain range. The axis deer of central texas have 3" steel plates underneath their ribcages, and no other round will penetrate this defense system. deer in general are bullet proof, so in reality, shooting one with anything less than a 300 win mag is just asking to be hoofed to death when one attacks you.

I don't understand why the standard round for much of law enforcement which is expected to drop crackheads, thieves, murderes and rapists is completley inadequate for a deer that will be under 200 lbs. I've shot a few pigs with my 40 at 15-25 yards. I would get them to post here as well, but they're all dead now.

People keep telling me that ballistic tips in my 7mm mag is a horrible bullet to shoot a deer with, but I keep shooting them, and they keep dying.


good luck dude, post up some photos when you get back...

P.S. I guess I've never seen you post over here. small world!

 

[castnblast]

Haven't posted much in a while - I've been posting more on Texas kayakfisherman lately - but anyway - I'm only planning on using this on a doe - My bow or 270 will be my primary weapon. That being said, I can shoot 10 rds into a 8" plate 100% off a 10rd clip at 30 yds, so that is my max. I'm going to be hunting in a treestand (bow blind) and anticipate shots of approx 20-25 yds for the most part. (about as far as you can see out of this stand).

About the 180 - That round is poking which expains your lousy results. It's around 400-500 fps slower, which has a very diminshed hydrostatic shock. The round expansion is what damages innards. I figure if it is my "protection" round, I'd like to see what it does without actually having to kill someone. Just kidding...sorta. Since this is a population reduction hunt, I thought I'd give it a whirl. I'll post some pix next week after the hunt, I'm leaving this comming friday, and will be back next sunday. (3 days).