I passed up a 20 yard shot on a 6 pointer Friday, because he was quartering towards me. If it were my 338 WM I'd expect it to break the shoulder and destroy the vitals. But with my 10mm, I had second thoughts. I had the stock barrel in my 29 and it was loaded with Underwood 200gr XTPs. Would it have went through the shoulder and still made the kill?
Now when I go out hunting with it, I'll be using my 4.6" barrel. For some reason that would have made me feel a little more confident.
Really does make for a tight shot at angle, prob would have passed too unless more power
I'm willing to applaud the handgun hunter or any hunter that holds a shot on pristine game because he is unsure. Thanks for being a true sportsman and conservationist!
The short answer is that you made the smartest play.
The long answer is that you could have gotten into a gunfight with the animal and chewed him down with several shots depending upon how much effect your bullets had on him from that angle, the rapidness of the follow up shots, and your accuracy at speed.
Nice job!
^ this! 8)
Don't second guess yourself it's that simple. Confidence in caliber or your shooting ability is 100% based on your instant judgment and the circumstances presented in that moment. Don't second guess yourself.
No disrespect to the G29 but I think you made the right call both in passing on the shot and bring something next time with a little better site radius and barrel length for hunting purposes.
Commend you on passing on a questionable shot.