85gr Partitions on deer?

Knock on wood - I too have never lost a deer I shot at with a rifle from a pretty big variety of calibers. The furthest a deer ran from a rifle shot was from my 7mm Win Mag and that was from a classic broad side hit. I did miss two mule deer in Wyoming over the years where I under estimated range but have never wounded a deer that didn't fall in short order. I know there's always the first time though.

 
I've missed a few here and there over years, but that doesnt haunt me like wounding one. I have lost only one buck shot with a rifle a very long time ago. I was young and dumb and took a poor shot angle with a .308 Winchester. The range wasn't far, but the deer was moving and the angle was wrong. I was overly confident and felt like I had enough gun and was good enough to make it happen - I wasn't. I looked for that buck for the entire season and never could find him. I learned a lot from that experience and still think about it occasionally. Sickening feeling for sure.
 
Losing any animal is always sickening. It's part of hunting that never gets easier to take. I have lost deer when bowhunting. Terrible feeling.
 
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