Hearing the Hit on Big Game

[3855WIN]

There are times when there’s no doubt that you heard a hit. We hunt whitetails in muddy gumbo clay. There’s times when other hunters think a shot is a hit for sure, but turns out to be a miss. Is the should of the bullet hitting the mud what is being heard?

 

[cgasner1]

Are you guys running suppressed? It’s crazy the difference that makes I remember the first bull I shot with my can on it sounded like someone hit him with a baseball bat

 

[Flatbrimmer]

I could be totally wrong but I feel like distance plays a huge part, as well as the slug leaving the cartridge and how it expands. A solid core at <100yds probably wouldn’t leave much more than the rifle report, as opposed to a bullet that expands greatly on impact at say >175-200 yds.

Just a hypothesis, following for more thoughts…

*Edit: A bullet hitting some solid clay could leave a similar “thwack” I’d think.

 

[Mallardsx2]

I heard the bullets hit my deer in Nebraska at 400 yards.

WHUMP
WHUMP

 

[Nick87]

Are you guys running suppressed? It’s crazy the difference that makes I remember the first bull I shot with my can on it sounded like someone hit him with a baseball bat

Not allowed here.

 

[Stocker]

It’s funny but a lot of times when I’m “in the zone” I don’t hear it until I think back. I have heard it in roughly 1/2 the deer I’ve shot. The most noticeable one that sticks out is 2 ~300 yard shots on a bull elk. The hits were so loud I was looking for a tree I could’ve hit, both shots were so loud on impact it was unreal. That was out of an unsupressed 7mm mag.


The suppressor thing is a game changer, I can almost tell you where I hit a coyote by the thud.

 

[Stocker]

I heard the bullets hit my deer in Nebraska at 400 yards.

WHUMP
WHUMP

There’s no deer in Nebraska.

 

[Mallardsx2]

There’s no deer in Nebraska.

There was one less when I left. He got a free truck ride. lol

 

[cgasner1]

I thought it was odd this last year that I didn’t hear a thump thud noise from the bull in my avatar maybe the distance size of animal and I was at the edge of what that cartridge should do

 

[Flatbrimmer]

I thought it was odd this last year that I didn’t hear a thump thud noise from the bull in my avatar maybe the distance size of animal and I was at the edge of what that cartridge should do

That’s a sweet bull too, bucket list for me there! How far/close? What round?

 

[Stocker]

Not allowed here.

No balls…….

 

[cgasner1]

That’s a sweet bull too, bucket list for me there! How far/close? What round?

6.5 prc with the 156 Berger at 550 he was on the ground before I got a second round in the gun I saw him start to tip on impact but never heard the shot

 

[Nick87]

No balls…….

I'm all balls ask the wife.

 

[Dave N]

I'm all balls ask the wife.

Sorry to hear that.