Sub 150fpe Deer Kill with a Pellet

I was sitting in a bow hunter's blind from a previous hunt when 60 yards off on the other side of a 6 foot berm was a set of elk antlers moving towards where the animal would come into my field of fire. As soon as his head came into view he winded me and I decided it was now or never. Feeling that any head shot should kill it quickly but not really knowing the exact position of the brain I dropped the hammer on a 7mm mag. I hit exactly what I was aiming at which the middle of the left side of it's head. I saw a huge cloud pink blow out the other side and knew I had connected. Then it just wandered off back behind the berm and I could no longer see it. I decided to sit and wait for 20 minutes and then go get it. It had managed to walk about 200 yds down a steep hill and was resting against a Pondarosa still alive where I finished it. I was pretty shocked at this situation. This bull had a hole the size of a grapefruit on the exit side and it didn't even knock it down momentarily. I'd have to really think hard to take another head shot any large animal in the future if it presented itself.

I agree with the frontal head shot being the preferred opportunity. As having killed a few beef cows at close range with a single .22 LR between and just above the eyes dropping them instantly.

The deer didn't drop. Took a while. I've drop deers with a Marauder .22 (30ft lb) in it's track with head shot. I mean drop straight down, no running off and then dying. It's all about shot placement. I wouldn't used a .177 on a deer, but a .22 with at about 30ft lb will drop a deer. There's many videos of it on youtube.

Nice one @Bullfrog, interesting video

I don't think the deer knew what hit her. Reminded me of a bow going off.

The deer didn't drop. Took a while. I've drop deers with a Marauder .22 (30ft lb) in it's track with head shot. I mean drop straight down, no running off and then dying. It's all about shot placement. I wouldn't used a .177 on a deer, but a .22 with at about 30ft lb will drop a deer. There's many videos of it on youtube.

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.22 Marauder? Unethical (and illegal) I’m sure those deer lay there, kicking and flailing until they’re finished off humanely.. .22 Marauder would skip right off a deers skull unless it’s very close range on a 90 degree angle. A lot of things “can” be done, but shouldn’t and why advocate for something so sketchy.

I have never shot a deer with an air gun but have killed a few pichup truck loads with a bow. In the earlier years I used fixed blade broadheads with a 1 and 1/8" dia. cut. Many times I thought I missed the deer as they just looked up and continued to feed until they fell over. When I switched to mechanicals that all changed as they are 1.75" and more of a chopping action than a slice and I never shot one with a mechanical that did not run. There is one thing that concerns me with the kill on this deer. Any hunter worth his salt shoots for the exit hole. You pick a spot on the other side of the deer where you want the arrow to exit. I try to exit as low as possible while still getting two lungs. This will give me an immediate blood trail as opposed to a high double lung that may bleed internally long enough for the deer to get to cover. If you don't get pass through and couple that with a high hit he better go right down or it could be a long day especially if hunting in thick cover. I am not saying I will never hunt deer with an air rifle but it will have to have enough power to produce an exit wound.JMO

I don't mean to be critical of anyone's hunting ethics. Almost any weapon can kill a deer humanely with precise placement. We are talking here about an amount of energy that is analogous to a HV .22 rimfire, and most every animal on the planet has been killed with a .22 rimfire. But, I've also seen squirrels drag themselves away after multiple hits with a .22......squirrels.

I suggest that the more relevant question may be not the minimum amount of energy than may result in humane kills, but rather the minimum amount required for consistent kills assuming a reasonable error in shot placement. I'm not the best shot in the world, but I'm very experienced, and I think I have a good understanding of the things that can go slightly wrong, and affect a precise shot placement. I'm not suggesting that one should carry a .300 Win mag for whitetail, and I acknowledge that shot placement is far more important that power. But, IMO, a reasonable amount of power is prudent to offer an acceptable margin for error. The hunter here displayed exactly the way the available power can be used effectively, and I congratulate the results. But if a group of experienced air gunners were given identical weapons and placed in productive deer stands, I fear the overall results would be disappointing. 

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Any argument against weaker airguns for hunting larger game is also an argument against archery equipment. I think the inclination to hold airguns to a different standard than archery equipment is due to the fact that airguns superficially resemble firearms, although in terms of energy they function more like bows and crossbows. In other words, our eyes and biases play tricks on us, when a purely scientific analysis would suggest that if we accept archery equipment, we should accept airgun equipment of similar powers. 

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I agree. And unfortunately, many bow hunters should not be in the woods. I am not against either one on principle, but I know that a disproportionate number of lost and crippled deer result from bow hunting. I have nothing but respect for the hunters who put in the time to become effective with archery equipment, but too many do not. I don't have the answer, just an observation. 

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Any argument against weaker airguns for hunting larger game is also an argument against archery equipment. I think the inclination to hold airguns to a different standard than archery equipment is due to the fact that airguns superficially resemble firearms, although in terms of energy they function more like bows and crossbows. In other words, our eyes and biases play tricks on us, when a purely scientific analysis would suggest that if we accept archery equipment, we should accept airgun equipment of similar powers. 

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I agree. And unfortunately, many bow hunters should not be in the woods. I am not against either one on principle, but I know that a disproportionate number of lost and crippled deer result from bow hunting. I have nothing but respect for the hunters who put in the time to become effective with archery equipment, but too many do not. I don't have the answer, just an observation.

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There are basically two ways to put a deer down. Either the weapon imparts enough shock to drop him in his tracks with a front shoulder shot or spine shot or he drops from loss of blood. You may be able to drop a deer in his tracks with a bow or air rifle with a spine or brain shot but both are poor choices. So you are left with bleed out. First let me say I am totally in favor of hunting deer with a bow or air rifle but many hunters try to use their rifle tactics when bow hunting. In Pa you can not use cable restraint traps for animals without taking a course and getting a certificate yet you can bowhunt without any instruction. One of the biggest mistakes bowhunters make is shooting too close to the front shoulder. You are shooting through heavy muscle tissue and even with a passthrough because the blood clots in muscle areas very quickly. Anyone who processes their own deer knows how much nicer a deer is to bone when shot a few ribs behind the shoulder than shot through the muscle tissue around the front leg. In forty plus years of bowhunting I have never had a problem finding a deer hit through both lungs through the ribs but have shot several through both lungs and through the front shoulder that didn't put a drop of blood on the ground until right before they dropped. Many years ago I shot a buck at 28 yards through both lungs and the ribs. There was about 3 inches of snow on the groung and when I got to where I hit him there was no blood. With 3 inches of snow I knew I would find him even though the hit was higher than I would have liked. As I said I saw no blood in the snow but when I looked down in my boot prints I noticed they has a slight pink tint. I realized he was spraying a very fine mist through his nostrils but was not bleeding externally. I soon found him and that just reinforced the instruction that I received. Shoot for an exit hole below halfway up the deer. When I started bowhunting my mentor always preached that you shoot for both lungs and a blood trail with a bow because hitting and finding are two entirely different things.