.30 cal airgun whitetail head?

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tigerhunter

tigerhunter

Member
Feb 11, 2018
388
34
michigan, United States
My new, used impact shoots the 45gr pellets at about 911 on the best tune so far. Though it's not legal here in Michigan does anyone have any experience on head shots? My guess is a clean pass through. 

In Michigan air rifles must be .357 or greater. 

Though I am not hoping for it Michigan has one of the highest car-deer Collision rates in America I believe if I spot one in my neighborhood I may do a drive-by on that dead deer laying on the side of the road
 
I dare say a local meat (venison) processing plant would sell you a deer's head, be ready for a bit of negative feedback from the anti's should you publish your findings.

good luck.
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It would work but working in ideal settings and ethical shots in reality are two separate scenarios.

Keeping ethical is the way we keep our rights, keep making more hunting, and keep our sport growing.
 
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ABSOLUTELY DO NOT. That's not considered ethical at all, and there's a reason we aim for the designated vital areas on specific animals. Deer have very small brains in comparison to their head and size. You can easily miss the brain but punch a hole in its head which'll make it suffer drastically. You're easily going to piss off a lot of other hunters by doing that... 
 
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ABSOLUTELY DO NOT. That's not considered ethical at all, and there's a reason we aim for the designated vital areas on specific animals. Deer have very small brains in comparison to their head and size. You can easily miss the brain but punch a hole in its head which'll make it suffer drastically. You're easily going to piss off a lot of other hunters by doing that...
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We all live and operate by our own ethical standards, and the standards set by our societal groups. Your ethics may differ from their ethics, so probably not needed to shout orders in all caps telling some to do (or not do) something based on your ethical standards.

For example, an anti-hunter, when asked whether or not it is okay to kill a deer by any means whatsoever may respond with something along the lines of: "ABSOLUTELY DO NOT. That's not considered ethical at all..." See what I mean? That's their ethics, not mine, and probably not yours either.

And, no, I'm not recommending anyone take head shots on deer. Personally, I don't. But I also wouldn't try to stop someone else from doing so if it is inline with their ethics.
 
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I've witnessed first hand of poor hunting techniques gown awry, and I will be the first to tell you I have messed up before too. We just don't want the unnecessary people to get involved in our business or people nearby you to find a suffering deer on their property and start involving these unnecessary people into our business. Better to nip this at the bud. 
 
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ABSOLUTELY DO NOT. That's not considered ethical at all, and there's a reason we aim for the designated vital areas on specific animals. Deer have very small brains in comparison to their head and size. You can easily miss the brain but punch a hole in its head which'll make it suffer drastically. You're easily going to piss off a lot of other hunters by doing that...
Click to expand...


We all live and operate by our own ethical standards, and the standards set by our societal groups. Your ethics may differ from their ethics, so probably not needed to shout orders in all caps telling some to do (or not do) something based on your ethical standards.

For example, an anti-hunter, when asked whether or not it is okay to kill a deer by any means whatsoever may respond with something along the lines of: "ABSOLUTELY DO NOT. That's not considered ethical at all..." See what I mean? That's their ethics, not mine, and probably not yours either.

And, no, I'm not recommending anyone take head shots on deer. Personally, I don't. But I also wouldn't try to stop someone else from doing so if it is inline with their ethics.
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Sorry to displeasure you. I'm not trying to intercede into anyone's freedom; people can do whatever they want. You walk in a grey area when discussing ethics however, and there's a reason there is a general consensus among the hunting community as to where to aim for vitals; I did't make this stuff up just now because of my conscience. If some person's ethics are in line to kill other people, then according to your logic, they should just go ahead and do it? See how this conversation goes? 
 
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ABSOLUTELY DO NOT. That's not considered ethical at all, and there's a reason we aim for the designated vital areas on specific animals. Deer have very small brains in comparison to their head and size. You can easily miss the brain but punch a hole in its head which'll make it suffer drastically. You're easily going to piss off a lot of other hunters by doing that...
Click to expand...


We all live and operate by our own ethical standards, and the standards set by our societal groups. Your ethics may differ from their ethics, so probably not needed to shout orders in all caps telling some to do (or not do) something based on your ethical standards.

For example, an anti-hunter, when asked whether or not it is okay to kill a deer by any means whatsoever may respond with something along the lines of: "ABSOLUTELY DO NOT. That's not considered ethical at all..." See what I mean? That's their ethics, not mine, and probably not yours either.

And, no, I'm not recommending anyone take head shots on deer. Personally, I don't. But I also wouldn't try to stop someone else from doing so if it is inline with their ethics.
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...If some person's ethics are in line to kill other people, then according to your logic, they should just go ahead and do it? See how this conversation goes?
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You missed half of the logic I applied. To refresh, I said: "We all live and operate by our own ethical standards, and the standards set by our societal groups."

So, yes, there are many instances when it may be considered ethical by certain individuals and groups to kill other people. Two extreme examples:

1. A cop shoots an armed bank robber that was threatening people in the bank with a gun. Is this inline with your ethics? Is it inline with the cop's ethics? Is it inline with the robber's ethics?

2. A tribe of isolated people on a remote island kill a missionary that visits them to preach religion. Is this inline with your ethics? Is it inline with the isolated tribe's ethics? Is it inline with the missionary's ethics?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Allen_Chau




 
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I wonder if we were talking about a head shot on a ferrel pig if there would be the same ethics problem? Still have to hit the right spot, small brain, but you see guys using 25 caliber on pigs with no problems or criticism. It’s not a matter of if the 30 caliber would be leathal enough, it’s if your capable of hitting the brain for a quick kill. Animals have a way of moving just as the gun goes off. 
 
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My fault, I missed the AND from your comment. If anything, I feel like the old guy in front of a computer yelling at young kids not to do things. And honestly, that's really what you should take me as, just someone on the internet who gave another person on the internet some stern advice. Let's not go down that ethics rabbit hole lol, we'll be sitting here all day trying to figure out the existence of life at that point. Cheers to all. 
 
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My fault, I missed the AND from your comment. If anything, I feel like the old guy in front of a computer yelling at young kids not to do things. And honestly, that's really what you should take me as, just someone on the internet who gave another person on the internet some stern advice. Let's not go down that ethics rabbit hole lol, we'll be sitting here all day trying to figure out the existence of life at that point. Cheers to all.
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Agreed. We were getting way off topic. Cheers.
 
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I have no experience hunting deer with an air rifles, but from what I have seen people state is for a Michigan sized white tail you should look at a minimum muzzle energy of 350 plus ft/lbs. UpNorthAirGunner is based in Michigan and I would say knows the legislation on hunting for deer there through and through. Here is a link to his channel on YouTube. He is also quite entertaining. https://www.youtube.com/c/UpNorthAirGunner He is a big advocate of the slug pass through for a successful and quick, thus humane kill. Better to overpower than under power.

Idaho where I am originally from says for mule deer / pronghorn you need min of .35 cal and 350 plus ft/lbs of energy at the muzzle and elk / moose and bighorn sheep you need a min. Of.45 cal with 350 plus ft/lbs. If you are caught not meeting the legal minimum, at least in Idaho, you will probably lose the gun and fined at a minimum.
 
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this is my 3rd year hunting deer with airguns in Michigan .... i have killed deer with 400fpe and 175fpe.. shot placement is everything with airguns also keeping deer in your guns kill range... i like getting as close as i can keep all my shots under 50 yards but i personally go for the neck... 90% on (my) deer drop on the spot and the ones that run a little bleed out fast.. now thats just me.. i have seen lots of deer on here of Facebook shot in the head some out to 100+ yards but thats with a big bore putting out the power to do so... but if your in town i would not shot any deer because someone might call the cops or dnr...lol
 
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HI Tiger , I can answer your question , OK 30 caliber is a great caliber for small to medium sized game , a white tail is large game , while my 30 caliber pcp guns average around 100fpe and I shoot my slugs , They are fine for coyote sized game for a clean kill , I have even taken many coyotes with 69fpe slugs in 22 caliber ,



OK back to question ok first shooting a dead deer head is not really a test for a ethical kill , you did say a pellet , I would only shoot say ground hogs and small game with pellets for various reasons first they have low BC so energy evaporates quick , where a a hi BC slug will penetrate deep it will also retain energy , so a slug must be used , So no a 30 cal with 100 fpe is not powerful enough ok look

if you shoot your pellet say only 100 yrds your pellet will have only 45 fpe but a slug same settings will retain 75fpe so huge difference I hope you understand also skulls are thich a pellet flattened out doesnt penetrate well ,

I took 12 coyotes with heart shots with pcps , only one which I had to track was a head shot , heart shot is better , or if you are certain you can have pinpoint accuracy you can drop him instantly with a spine shot in neck . but again vital is very small , Id go for a heart shot every time



Now with most states like states are 35 or 9mm and up but any pcp will be fine texan , American air arms 457 , and a few others out there , are fine ,and the 357 impact wont have the power to be legal it is more a pellet gun then a big bore slug gun

LOU




 
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I think it's up to the individual hunter to decide what they feel is ethical. Even in .35 caliber the Impact is still a pellet gun. Hunting big game with an Airgun is far different than shooting little Tweety birds off power lines. The goal is to get in close similar to how you would bowhunt. Vital shots are very important, as mentioned to much can go wrong with a headshot. Can it be done, has it been done? Yes I'm sure, no guarantees in hunting. Important to eliminate the errors and use the correct tool for the job.
 
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