09-29-2023, 01:36 PM
Fess Wrote:Killing an animal at short range does not make for interesting reading, however, so most articles in magazines were about longer-ranged hunting. In other words, although a majority of animals were shot at short range, you would not realize it if you just read the magazines and books.
Thanks. This cuts right to the heart of the question, and is an answer I sort of hoped for. The hunting area and style I grew up with is more like the wooded hunting you describe, and I guess relatively more prevalent in our hunting industry as a whole. I always wanted to own a 30-30!
Fess Wrote:The combination of relatively velocity and sufficient bullet diameter resulted in a lot of kills where the animals fell to the ground and didn't run, sometimes referred to as "DRT" (Dead Right There). We now know that the higher velocity of impact tended to create a large enough temporary cavity that the animal was stunned for a short time, not immediately killed. With proper bullet placement, though, the animal would die before regaining mobility, which provided the same result.
I have come across the DRT reference often in recent times. Seeing an animal drop in its tracks from a body shot is always an alarming sight for me, suggesting a badly placed shot. I have come to believe that animals run away from the best shots almost as if unharmed. Of course not including central nervous system shots.
Thanks