Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Is it possible to sucessfully hunt deer with FMJ ammo?

To avoid eating poisonus lead bullet fragments. What about a double lung shot. They run how far afterwards? I realize its illegal in some states, so please don't bother to point that out to me. Experienced answers only please, no speculations. Using 30-06 at 25 yards. Thanks.Is it possible to sucessfully hunt deer with FMJ ammo?
A FMJ will kill a deer, but that does not mean it's a good idea. In KY it's not legal to hunt deer with FMJ ammo. If you are worried about eating lead it is better to buy some of the new lead free high dollar ammo that is required in the people's republic of CA.





Good luck.





DaveIs it possible to sucessfully hunt deer with FMJ ammo?
Deer have to bleed to death or have a brain shot to die immediately with fmj bullets.. In many cases they don't know they have been shot until they bleed to death. In wooded or hilly terrain it might be impossible to find a wounded deer as they can run as much as 500 yards after shot.


No need to worry about lead ingested from deer meat if you use modern bullets as they are specially designed not to fragment. Since you seem concerned, either be more careful in cleaning so as to recover all the fragments, or refrain from eating deer meat that has been shot with a gun.


About your link: This paper deals with subsistence hunters, whose main source of food is from meat they have killed. If you ate all the lead from one bullet, you would not get anywhere near the concentration of lead they get.
Back in the Great Depression, folks did what they had to. The gardens placed near a back window were to attract deer to within 22LR headshot range. Not so awesomely many 30-06's were available to the public before WW2, but enough so that it was well known that head/spine/neck/heart/lung hits with FMJ ammo at close range worked fine on Bambi, the close range contributing to accuracy of lethal bullet placement more than overpower to begin with. If back window garden shooting in season with license and tag and all, one should consider a download, like my own recipe of 44.4 grains of IMR-4064 and any 150 grain bullet (I use Nosler Partitions for ALL hunting of big game), with Cartridge Overall Length of 3.230'; to fit all standard guns (in case some get distributed). This is halfway between the 30-30 and the 300 Savage, set 2.7'; high at 100 yards, trajectory is +/- 3'; out to 225 yards, and delivers 1000 ft-lbs to 300 yards. This is all one actually needs for deer hunting, but if anybody wants more power, Hornady lists 50.0 grains of IMR-4064 as an ';accuracy'; load 200fps below maximum. Maybe split the difference for elk, as full 30-06 power is actually a moose load.
so, you already know it is illegal to use to hunt with, which means you know there is a reason it is illegal. FMJ ammo does not expand, it does not cause enough tissue damage or impart enough energy to ensure a clean ethical kill. It leaves animals to suffer. How far can they go with a lung shot with FMJ? How about many miles, many days and endless suffering.


I have found animals that had been shot with FMJ ammo which punched a small hole thru the animal from side to side. The animals were in very bad shape, suffering horribly from infected wounds, wheezing thru blood filled lungs, unable to eat or drink, I can only wish that the person responsible suffered a similar fate sometime! I did the ethical thing. I dispatched the animal, and even though the flesh was not salvageable for consumption, I placed my tag on it (since I did kill it) and contacted local fish and game (yes I left the animal where it was long enough to get a ranger back there to see it). My hunt was ruined by an un ethical hunter using FMJ ammo, but you know what? Knowing I did the right thing, and ended the animals suffering was worth it.


Shoot safe (and with the proper ammo)
Sure it is, just watch out for what might be behind it. I would go for a heart shot or a neck shot to break the neck and drop it in it's tracks. There is very little to worry about lead fragments in a hunting bullet. You're probably exposed to much more lead in every day life...Quite a lot of that FMJ stuff is corrosive, clean your gun...
NO





A successful hunt is a legal hunt. FMJ are illegal to hunt with.





You may not use:


•rimfire cartridges, military or full metal jacketed ammunition.


http://www.agfc.com/hunting/genregs/hunt…
I took a Mule Deer with FMJs at 150 yds 2 years ago. Ran 10 yds and dropped dead. Right through the lungs.





I have shot deer with 12 gauge hollow points at point blank range through the heart and they still ran 25 yds.





FMJs will work though they are not preferable.
I have to say you sound like a poacher. Illegal hunger.





Using a 30-06 at 25 yards? Looking at FMJ? Just doesn't add up to a good hunter.
oh brother.
I never saw anything but fmj.





I have 2 -30.06's. One is a Rem 742 with 4x12, and the other is a Golden Eagle 5000 with a 4x12, and a prismatic rangefinder and a bullet drop compensator. I could go long range or up close.





Before I quit hunting....I didn't know there was a choice.





Lead has never been a problem.

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