12-04-2012, 03:10 AM
I would say the 123 gr Hornady load as "enough" for deer. Shot placement is always critical. Found a starving pig (poor thing)once that had his lower jaw blown off 2 weeks earlier by a 3006. Had that pig been shot in the same place with any legal firearm I don't think the results would have been any better. The Grendel just makes it easier to hit where your aiming, it dosn't fix buck fever or excuse poor marksmanship. I spent 4 hours this Sunday helping a friend look for a deer . He shot it with a .270 130gr factory load. The hunter was standing up shooting off hand, not even using a sling. He said it fell, got up and limped off. The range was about 250 yards and all we ever found was some blood. I think he hit the deer in the foot. He would have been better off using a Grendel, going prone with his sling and hitting where he should have. Oh and if they get back up, shoot them again.