First deer with the Max

[giddens1972]

I shot this doe yesterday afternoon with the 10" 357Max.  180 XTP's 1600+fps.  The shot was about 20 yards.  I shot her high in the right shoulder while she was facing me and angling to her left.  I knew I had a good shot after I pulled the trigger because she ran off with that leg pulled up.  I looked for nearly an hour and never found any blood.  I resorted to circling the area...in the past, deer always seem to go in a circle back toward where they were shot.  Sure enough I found her about 100yds from where I shot her.  she was headed back to the firebreak where she was walking when I shot her.  There was a little blood right there where she fell.  I could tell that she probably stumbled and circled right there....I wanted to backtrack her to see what path she took, but there wasn't anymore blood.  Bullet went in, but didn't exit.  Performed excellent...I found fragments all over the chest cavity, but it just didn't go all the way through.  My fault though...I'll never shoot another one in the shoulder...had the same thing happen to me last year with a buck, and I shot him with a 270WM.  It all turned out good though...and I got to shoot one with the Max.  Now I will see if I can get one with the handi.

[ted]

Way to go! I shot my first deer two years ago using a 357 B&D. 158 hornady fp/xtp travelling about 2100 fps. Shot deer as it was facing me quartering slightly to the right. Bullet went in shoulder and stayed in middle of deer. No exit wound. Deer went about 40 yards. Only a few drops of blood by were deer layed down. Took about 40 minutes to find as had very thick woods and several trails to try to find her.  I learned too that I will always try for a side/lung shot and try to get a pass through to help with the tracking.

[billjoe]

I shot a nice buck a few years back with a 10" Max at 60 yrds, same load.  It was a perfect heart lung shot and the deer dropped in its tracks.  I found the bullet just under the skin on the other side.   I shot another buck years back in the shoulder with a 30-06 rifle and knocked it flat but didn't kill it.  It kept trying to get up until I shot it one more time.  The bottom line is: shot placement is crucial.  I learned to not shoot in the shoulder too. 
 
I've neck shot deer at 20 yds with the 7-30 and never killed them.  I don't do that shot anymore either.  It's pretty hard to beat the lung or heart shot.
 
bj

[johnnyb]

Brother , I was told a long time ago to always take your best shot, but if the deer ends up in the truck then it was a GOOD shot.
Congrats on your deer

[cwlongshot]

CONGRATS on the venison!!!
 
I have one deer and a couple pigs with this exact bullet, caliber and barrel length too! I like the high shoulder shot and was rewarded with a quick kill and no need to track. The hogs where a bit different, but both times thru and thru penetration. That 158FP is a good one too, but at 2100 its approaching top speed in my experience. I love it in my 357 mag Marlin!!
At 1600fps, I am surprised you didn't get a thru and thru. Was the angle that steep? You mentioned bullet fragments in the chest cavity. I have shot a couple deer with the maxi carbine at 2100fps and not gotten complete penetration, but adequate penetration. The last 4 deer shot with the maxi have been DRT. My preference has been the 180 SSP bullet. But for a tougher bullet choose the 180 Speer FP.
 
Good luck with the rest of the season,
 CW

[giddens1972]

The angle was pretty steep...looked like the bullet would have probably exited midbody and through the bottom of her torso.  The bullet did it's job, I just don't think it's a strong enough bullet to shoot through shoulders.  I'll lungshoot the next one!