I have used my Contender carbine in .32-20 on several deer, but with a considerably different load philosophy. With its 1:10?? twist the 22? barrel can stabilize heavy bullets, so I took the idea of numerous handgun hunters who shoot the .300 Whisper (BO, WTF, etc.) by using subsonic loads. I load the Sierra 220 RN bullet to 1100 fps for an accurate, quiet, low recoil but deadly deer killer.

The long Sierra is stable in flight but once it hits flesh it tumbles immediately, producing very effective wounds. One penetrated stem to stern on a small buck with immediate knock down. On lung shots it takes a second or so, but kills very well. I would use the longer 220 HPBT but that bullet requires a 1:8? twist.

Regardless, thousands of deer have been killed with sub-sonic .308 bullets. Just a different way to skin the cat.


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