Brian Pfleuger
Moderator Emeritus
There's not a snowballs chance in hell that I'd carry a heavy, bulky, high-recoiling cannon like a 12ga if I had a 270 in the safe that I could legally use. Not a snowballs chance.
Best Cartridge for New England White Tail
- Thread starter Cascade1911
- Start date
It's a where you are at thing I suppose. I usually don't even keep the shoulders. I pick them up with the loader, skin them down to the shoulders, cut the loins out and cut them off at the hams. I don't even gut them. If it is a great big doe I may decide to use the shoulders. Depends.
Here you can kill as many as you want, usually here on the farm or close by.
If you weren't killing them to eat you would be killing them anyway for destroying your crops.
If I lived where you could only kill one deer and that one was hard to find I would probably try to save every bit of it as well.
Brian Pfleuger
Moderator Emeritus
Wow. I thought throwing away the ribs (which we do) was kind of wasteful. There must be... 15%, at least... of all the meat on the front shoulders? The front legs are A LOT of meat.
Brian Pfleuger
Moderator Emeritus
Well, it's your tags you're filling, you can do what you want with the animal but, IMO, there's a lot of difference between eating brains and throwing away almost the entire front half of the animal.
I draw the line at effort vs reward. Front shoulder, legs, neck meat is easy to get, a large percentage of the animal and great for roasts, sausage, steaks, stew, depending on the exact piece. Rib meat is minimal in amount, minimally useful and more trouble than it's worth, in my opinion.
All that other stuff, well, if it ain't muscle, I ain't eating it.
I have 3 rules:
It must be muscle. (No brains, etc)
It must not be required for short-term survival. (No hearts)
It must not be visible from the outside under normal circumstances. (No tongue)
I draw the line at effort vs reward. Front shoulder, legs, neck meat is easy to get, a large percentage of the animal and great for roasts, sausage, steaks, stew, depending on the exact piece. Rib meat is minimal in amount, minimally useful and more trouble than it's worth, in my opinion.
All that other stuff, well, if it ain't muscle, I ain't eating it.
I have 3 rules:
It must be muscle. (No brains, etc)
It must not be required for short-term survival. (No hearts)
It must not be visible from the outside under normal circumstances. (No tongue)
warbirdlover
New member
The .270 is the perfect whitetail caliber IMHO. Do what the others have suggested and go to a different bullet, like a nosler partition or one of the bonded ones that won't explode. I personally like the coreloks, silvertips etc that open up quickly as the deer drop on the spot. I've never lost meat (using a .300 Win Mag for 18 years) but had some fun times field dressing them. Worth it IMHO as no one else ever puts their tag on my deer.
I've used shotgun slugs, .44 Mag handgun, .30-06, .22-250, and .270 Win. The .30-06 is best for most folks and has the best factory ammo bullet selection of any caliber. In wooded country, heavier bullets like the 180 can get through some 6 inch diameter softwoods and kill a deer standing behind. The 180 won't damage as much meat as a 150, but it also won't open up in the lungs quite as well. The 165 grain Rem Core-Loct bullet is excellent for all-around deer hunting.
My family is using Barnes TSX and Hornady GMX bullets in our handloads for .243 Rem, .270 Win, and 30-06. They're excellent and don't spoil as much meat as lead core bullets! The best part is that they don't deposit lead dust and grit in the meat.
Considerable lead has been found in animals shot with higher-velocity cartridges. About 20-30% of the lead is lost as very small particles within meat and can even be distributed widely by the circulation system if a deer is not dispatched quickly. Higher lead levels in children have been traced to game, especially in the South, where hunting seasons are much longer. Lead from shotguns and slower-velocity rifle and handgun rounds don't create lead dust and small particles that can be ingested without knowing.
My family is using Barnes TSX and Hornady GMX bullets in our handloads for .243 Rem, .270 Win, and 30-06. They're excellent and don't spoil as much meat as lead core bullets! The best part is that they don't deposit lead dust and grit in the meat.
Considerable lead has been found in animals shot with higher-velocity cartridges. About 20-30% of the lead is lost as very small particles within meat and can even be distributed widely by the circulation system if a deer is not dispatched quickly. Higher lead levels in children have been traced to game, especially in the South, where hunting seasons are much longer. Lead from shotguns and slower-velocity rifle and handgun rounds don't create lead dust and small particles that can be ingested without knowing.
Jack O'Conner
New member
30-30 works great at typical woods distances.
Jack
Jack
I'd stick with that .270. I don't live in the northeast but the whitetail hunting in this part of Idaho is usually in pretty heavy cover and a 200 yard shot is a long one.
If I was to buy a new (to me) rifle just for whitetail hunting I'd try to find a fine old Savage 99 in .300 Sav. and stick a receiver sight on it. I don't think there is a better whitetail rig. There may be some just as good, but nothing really better.
If I was to buy a new (to me) rifle just for whitetail hunting I'd try to find a fine old Savage 99 in .300 Sav. and stick a receiver sight on it. I don't think there is a better whitetail rig. There may be some just as good, but nothing really better.
musicmatty
New member
I agree with post #17. I never have taken any shot other than a Neck shot for deer. In fact, the neck shot for any large game animal would be my 1st choice..especially if they are standing still 
Drops the animal right where they stand and Zero meat damage. Obviously a scoped rifle for this task would be prefered..however, I've seen it done at approx 170yds without a scope right between the eyes with a 356 Win Lever
Drops the animal right where they stand and Zero meat damage. Obviously a scoped rifle for this task would be prefered..however, I've seen it done at approx 170yds without a scope right between the eyes with a 356 Win Lever DeerSlayer86
New member
problem: close shots, wasting meat.
solution: take up bow hunting or head shots
solution: take up bow hunting or head shots
Brian Pfleuger
Moderator Emeritus
Solution: don't shoot meaty spots.
Putting an arrow through the front shoulder ruins meat too
Use a bullet that doesn't come apart. Don't shoot meaty places. Damage meat problems gone.
223, 50 BMG or anything in between doesn't matter. Don't shoot meaty places no meat damage.
Cascade1911
New member
Ya'll are probably right. You shoot it, something is gonna get wrecked. The main thing is the better part of the animal stays put. Whatever, was just thinking. I just hate throwing away the blood shot. I'm not like you guys in Alabama etc where you have a daily limit.......
Agreed why the heck would you ditch both front shoulders??? And this is coming from a guy who has doe management permits and can hunt night or day 24/7. For example I can use my 06 at 2am with a spot light out of the back of a pickup if I wanted! While during regular gun season its shotgun only.
Colorado Redneck
New member
Try Remington "Managed Recoil" ammo
115 grain core lokt bullet at 2700 fps and 1875 ft lbs of muzzle energy. Would probably work great to 200 yards, and inflict a bit less damage if the shot was at close range and hit something hard like the shoulder. This is about 900 ft. lbs of energy less than standard factory 130 grain loads.
115 grain core lokt bullet at 2700 fps and 1875 ft lbs of muzzle energy. Would probably work great to 200 yards, and inflict a bit less damage if the shot was at close range and hit something hard like the shoulder. This is about 900 ft. lbs of energy less than standard factory 130 grain loads.
In my state (Arizona) and some others I've hunted, they can cite you if you waste ANY edible portion of a game animal. I've seen it happen in Colorado to some fellas who'd cleaned up their deer pretty well. The warden salvaged a small ziplock baggie of meat, and cited them for it.
I can't imagine throwing away the front shoulders. I like venison too much for that, and the meat is precious little as it is.
Daryl