500 S&W on an Illinois Whitetail

[Paints-n-cows]

This is a deer that fell to my 500 S&W Performance Center 10 1/2" on the first weekend of our season here in central Illinois.

I know that the trophy hunters may stick their nose in the air at him but he is a relatively old and big bodied forkhorn.

The load was a 325 gr Barnes over 43 grs of W296 in a Hornady case.

The shot was only about 28 yards but it was an absolute perfect heart shot.



The first picture gives you an idea of how wide his rack is...the barrel on the weapon is a 10 1/2".



The second picture shows his mass...he was 230 lbs field-dressed.



The third picture is just one that I shot that morning...to me, it tells you what hunting is all about...just being part of nature in all of its beauty.

[Mikey]

Paints-n-cows:  That is a very nice buck, very nice indeed.  Nice big body on that boy and the rack is nothing to poo-poo about, forker or otherwise.  I don't know any trophy hunters but nobody I know would say anything except - nice buck man, really nice. 

And thank you for that last picture.  It has been years since I have hunted the Illinois cornfields and I am so glad your last photo shows nothing of chicago........

[S.B.]

Great job, the horn don't taste that good anyhow.
Steve

[Warhawk]

Any deer taken with a handgun is a trophy!

Congratulations.

[preventec47]

Its a wonder to me that you got such a perfect shot being
that close.  I mean at 25 yards you cant get any focus in
your scope can you ?   Well you probably just shot it
from the hip like a showdown in the wild west :-)

Did you get a pass through with the bullet or did you recover it ?

[GatCat]

I think all that grey on his muzzle says something about you...like you said, surely an old buck, who must have learned alot about being hunted in the past, yet you nailed him...like I said, says something about your ability..congrats!
Mark

[Paints-n-cows]

Did you get a pass through with the bullet or did you recover it ?

Yep, a complete pass through with an exit hole that was about the same size as the entrance.  On the doe that I got at 68 yards with the same weapon, there was a complete pass through as well.  There was plenty of energy transfer but I'm not sure that there was much expansion at such velocity and on deer-size bodies.

[Old Fart]

Dang nice deer. Good job on the pistol hunt.
Sounds like that round will shoot out a bit farther.

[DanChamberlain]

A fork gets that big, and he's never going to be a 10 pointer!  So what!  That's a good animal in anyone's book. 

Dan

[roger460xvr]

Good looking deer there any deer shot with a handgun is a trophy..