Hunting for Deer in the Mountains

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OntarioHunter said:
I know about "modern bullet improvements." Formerly I shot 180 gr almost exclusively for deer and elk. Once I stepped down to 165 gr CoreLok and was greatly disappointed with both lack of knock down and meat damage on three deer. At the end of my moose hunting I stepped up to 190 gr reloads with okay results. Last year before going to Africa I was advised by lodge owner to bring 165 gr in either Partition or SXT. Partition bullets were available locally so that's what I went with. The results were nothing short of spectacular. Wildebeest went over instantly as did blesbuck, springbuck, and impala. The gemsbuck took two hits but one was enough. It didn't drop instantly and because it was incoming at a gallop at fifteen yards a second insurance shot as it ran by was in order (they can be dangerous!). I saw that one being skinned at the farm and was impressed at the lack of damage considering the point blank impact.

Here's my concerns (plural noted) about shooting big mountain mule deer with 95 gr bullets. Presumably the thinking is flat trajectory for exceedingly long shots. I will not waste much time expounding on the lack of virtues of that style of "hunting" (which is essentially target shooting at live things). Moutain muleys typically are found in windy conditions and long shots with tiny bullets flying in the wind are dicey. Wild animals deserve something more than "dicey". But all shots are not long for sure. A buck steps out at forty yards and then what happens with that little zipper? Horrendous splatter factor. I prefer not being ashamed of what my animals look like after the hide comes off. Deer that are a pile of blood pudding don't set well with me. Yes, with perfect bullet placement and close range a .22 will kill a deer. But it's better to use something that yields more compensation for potential error. As to long distance, the skill of stalking an animal close enough to see eyelashes is far more rewarding (and ethical) than trying to let the technocrap do it for you in the next zipcode. Again, I think three shots in the boiler room speaks volumes here. I will continue to shoot an animal after a hit ... but not if I know it's going to go down. That's wasting meat. And certainly not if it's moving after hit in the boiler room. Deer shot through the heart invariably jump and run like hell for maybe fifty yards before piling up. A second or third shot is not needed and liable to go places where not wanted (e.g. ham). A deer shot in the lungs generally hunches up and goes a few yards before stopping and then falls over. Why shoot it again? It's dead on its feet. A deer shot in the guts ... shouldn't be shot in the guts. Bottom line: I know a deer shot in the boiler room with a 30-06 is going down. I usually don't need to be concerned about shooting it again. Shooting an animal that size with a 95 gr bullet is bound to put a big question mark in the mind of a hunter who similarly shoots a deer with the same placement and it doesn't drop (and I submit the probability of it dropping with one shot is relatively poor). I do feel some folks use too much gun (which I also don't approve), but 95 gr is way too puny. Hell, I wouldn't use 140 gr on mule deer. And god help you if a grizzly shows up unannounced and that popgun is all you have.
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so, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt since it looks like you just joined on September 11th, 2020. If there is one person on this forum that knows what cartridge is effective at taking down a mountain mule deer, it’s Snowy.....

just for shits and giggles, you should search his past posts for a tutorial on backpack mule deer hunting.Snowy’s the best high country mule deer hunter I know and I would say that a very large number of the people on this forum agree with me.

Hell, there are people refreshing their browser 20 times a day starting on September 17th each year waiting for the new story. You’ll have more luck trying to insert your into your rectum than convincing people on this forum that Snowy’s unethical or doesn’t know what grain bullet to use for mountain mule deer.
 
Outdoor Junkie said:
so, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt since it looks like you just joined on September 11th, 2020. If there is one person on this forum that knows what cartridge is effective at taking down a mountain mule deer, it’s Snowy.....

just for shits and giggles, you should search his past posts for a tutorial on backpack mule deer hunting.Snowy’s the best high country mule deer hunter I know and I would say that a very large number of the people on this forum agree with me.

Hell, there are people refreshing their browser 20 times a day starting on September 17th each year waiting for the new story. You’ll have more luck trying to insert your into your rectum than convincing people on this forum that Snowy’s unethical or doesn’t know what grain bullet to use for mountain mule deer.
Click to expand...
+1000
Have witnessed plenty of game killed with 95gr-105gr 6mm bullets.
No offense at all intended Ontario but do you even understand bullet construction or how they actually work . There is no such thing as knockdown power. Also a 140gr bullet is plenty for a mule deer or even an elk.
 
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Very nicely done!! Whole lot of awesome in this thread, well done.

Though we've not had any issues on deer with the 95gr Federal Fusion, I'm thinking of giving the Federal 95gr Berger a whirl latter this year just to see.
 
We'll just keep this rolling instead of making a whole new one...

Backpacked in for four days of elk with a friend (also happens to be a cousin in law). We saw a lot of elk, about a dozen branch bulls; one and maybe a second of which were good enough to be interested in killing. I spotted him at about 400 yds in heavy aspen and made a stalk that felt close to a sure thing but he snuck out the bottom of some meadows on me. Probably should've filled an extra cow tag with a number of encounters but held off hoping for a slim chance that the decent 6 was still in the neighborhood.

I took a buddy out for a long day hunt to try to get his first elk and we mainly found horse tracks, but did manage to pick a raghorn and a couple of cows out of the timber. Long stalk and a bad wind later they were walking out at about 425, no good prone shot so they carried on unassailed.

Also got my boy out for his first elk hunt. We had a cow and calf pegged at 325 first thing but the awareness was mutual and as is common with new hunters, just didn't have the time to get set up right and get a shot off before they vacated. We watched a bull and some cows fool around in the timber but it was a little far to shoot and we made a low odds stalk to no avail. We spent the rest of that day hanging out/hauling meat with some friends who'd killed a nice bull moose.

The better bulls are one step ahead of me as usual, I'll probably do another little backpack trip before I run out of time altogether. Still have three new and/or first time hunters to help with antelope tags, and mine, which will probably go on literally the first buck I see. Truly not enough time to do these tags justice, even with a decent amount of time off.


Rainy day forward operating base.





Some little bulls, the second of which got shot by another group.







There was a decent one at the bottom of this bunch.




Alpine start




A bunch of kids carrying moose meat.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Great photos and write up. I think there might be something wrong with your boy’s face though...

I hope you get a chance to connect on an elk soon. Good luck on your antelope hunts—especially your son.
 
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