SPORTING ANSWERS
Reducing deer damage
RIFLES
Q What type of ammunition is best for stalking muntjac or Chinese water deer (CWD) without it expanding too much and causing venison damage? I love venison so ideally I’d like to be able to preserve as much meat as possible.
A I use a variety of centrefire rifles for muntjac and Chinese water deer, so the ammunition is determined by the kind of terrain and landscape I’m dealing with when I shoot them. On one farm where I stalk CWD, there are very long fields and shallow ridges as safe backdrops, so I use a smaller .22 centrefire with a 50-gr to 52-gr bullet that shoots flatter and expands quicker.
This is safe but causes more venison damage, so you need to shoot just behind the shoulder and angle the shot into the heart and lungs through the ribcage. This stops you ruining the shoulder meat.
On woodland muntjac, or more undulating ground for CWD,
