Vital Hit not a certain death ?

[Owling]

So I decided to get back into this game ( I hadnt played that much yet so Im still using the .243) and I found a moose and got a vital hit on it, nice I thought since it was still up and running I shot again and hit it again but not vital this time. 20 minutes later havent found it, prolly is just living its life out there. So uuh, was it my weapon, was it a bug or idk ?

[NuCkEnFuTs]

Nope just a really slow bleed out, really slow

[StupidSexyBigChunga]

Did the purple hunting pressure appear on the map after you hit it? Otherwise its still alive.

[Owling]

Originally posted by Metal_Grunt:

Did the purple hunting pressure appear on the map after you hit it? Otherwise its still alive.

It did appear, but I wasnt able to find the trophy so I just wasnt sure if it was really dead

[PESCADOU]

If the hunting pressure (red stretch) appears on the map, there is no doubt IT IS DEAD.

[Old Goat]

1st...Do not hunt Moose with the .243 Small bullets make little holes and that "vital hit" only means your bullet has managed to touch a vital organ (no matter how large the blood splot is). Not that you seriously damaged it enough for it drop dead anytime soon. It most likely will die though so it's not safe to assume it will recover. The recommended cal for Moose is the .338.

2nd: Never run after a wounded animal. It will run clear to China if you do. The animals in Lake and HIrsch often return to the area you shoot them in within 3-5 min. Best to simply have a seat and watch and wait for it to return so you can get another shot at it (be sure to frequently check your map to see if hunting pressure has been applied while you do so. That will tell you if the animal is dead or not. Animals will run until they feel safe or die. That could be as much as 200m before they feel safe but usually it's less than 100m after a vital hit (provided U are chasing after it).

3rd: The only instant kills left in the game are heart or brain shots. Not touch or scratch...I mean penetration through or deeply into either one. Attempting to hit the brain by shooting through the forehead of a large animal will likely not work no matter how large a cal you use. Frontal shots into the chest are a sure fire way to have you tracking a wounded animal (unless you take out the heart).

4th: Tracks can be 30-60 meters apart, sometimes more. I've killed everything in the game except for any kind of buffalo withe the .243 but that was back when spinal shots were instant kills. I've also had to track an animal wounded in one lung for over 1 km before it died because I walked after it right away and because I used a small cal weapon on a large animal.

5th: You are free to use any cal of weapon you wish and free to choose your own hunting style. I'm simply offering advice on how to avoid having to spend more time tracking wounded animals than hunting new ones. I learned these lessons the hard way.

[Yard-Dog®]

Originally posted by Reallyoldguy:

1st...Do not hunt Moose with the .243 Small bullets make little holes and that "vital hit" only means your bullet has managed to touch a vital organ (no matter how large the blood splot is). Not that you seriously damaged it enough for it drop dead anytime soon. It most likely will die though so it's not safe to assume it will recover. The recommended cal for Moose is the .338.

2nd: Never run after a wounded animal. It will run clear to China if you do. The animals in Lake and HIrsch often return to the area you shoot them in within 3-5 min. Best to simply have a seat and watch and wait for it to return so you can get another shot at it (be sure to frequently check your map to see if hunting pressure has been applied while you do so. That will tell you if the animal is dead or not. Animals will run until they feel safe or die. That could be as much as 200m before they feel safe but usually it's less than 100m after a vital hit (provided U are chasing after it).

3rd: The only instant kills left in the game are heart or brain shots. Not touch or scratch...I mean penetration through or deeply into either one. Attempting to hit the brain by shooting through the forehead of a large animal will likely not work no matter how large a cal you use. Frontal shots into the chest are a sure fire way to have you tracking a wounded animal (unless you take out the heart).

4th: Tracks can be 30-60 meters apart, sometimes more. I've killed everything in the game except for any kind of buffalo withe the .243 but that was back when spinal shots were instant kills. I've also had to track an animal wounded in one lung for over 1 km before it died because I walked after it right away and because I used a small cal weapon on a large animal.

5th: You are free to use any cal of weapon you wish and free to choose your own hunting style. I'm simply offering advice on how to avoid having to spend more time tracking wounded animals than hunting new ones. I learned these lessons the hard way.

+1

Great tips! And thanks for taking the time to write what was an enjoyable and informative read.

[Rookie-31st]

.243 is too weak for a moose. I was able to drop two of these beasts with .270 just yesterday, heart shot drops them right there especially close range (longer range might require immediate follow-up shot to ensure 100% quick kill)

[CaptainNebulous]

Vital Hit means a moderately slow to very slow death. To find the blood trail of a downed animal you go to the center of the hunting pressure that it created and you'll find the beginning of the blood trail (from the first shot you took)

[Rookie-31st]

Originally posted by CaptainNebulous:

Vital Hit means a moderately slow to very slow death.

No, vital hit means vital organ was hit. This is actually the only way to get instant kill. It usually leads to instant or fairly quick death in case proper weapon class was used. You would need to check blood trail to see bleeding rate - Very Slow or Slow means long time before death, Moderate and High means pretty quick death

[CaptainNebulous]

Originally posted by Rookie-31st:

Originally posted by CaptainNebulous:

Vital Hit means a moderately slow to very slow death.

No, vital hit means vital organ was hit. This is actually the only way to get instant kill. It usually leads to instant or fairly quick death in case proper weapon class was used. You would need to check blood trail to see bleeding rate - Very Slow or Slow means long time before death, Moderate and High means pretty quick death

That's right.... brain fart. I was confusing it with "non-vital hit" as opposed to "flesh wound". Non-Vital often times results in death, but a slow one.... as opposed to flesh wound which usually results in no death.

[Owling]

Originally posted by Reallyoldguy:

1st...Do not hunt Moose with the .243 Small bullets make little holes and that "vital hit" only means your bullet has managed to touch a vital organ (no matter how large the blood splot is). Not that you seriously damaged it enough for it drop dead anytime soon. It most likely will die though so it's not safe to assume it will recover. The recommended cal for Moose is the .338.

2nd: Never run after a wounded animal. It will run clear to China if you do. The animals in Lake and HIrsch often return to the area you shoot them in within 3-5 min. Best to simply have a seat and watch and wait for it to return so you can get another shot at it (be sure to frequently check your map to see if hunting pressure has been applied while you do so. That will tell you if the animal is dead or not. Animals will run until they feel safe or die. That could be as much as 200m before they feel safe but usually it's less than 100m after a vital hit (provided U are chasing after it).

3rd: The only instant kills left in the game are heart or brain shots. Not touch or scratch...I mean penetration through or deeply into either one. Attempting to hit the brain by shooting through the forehead of a large animal will likely not work no matter how large a cal you use. Frontal shots into the chest are a sure fire way to have you tracking a wounded animal (unless you take out the heart).

4th: Tracks can be 30-60 meters apart, sometimes more. I've killed everything in the game except for any kind of buffalo withe the .243 but that was back when spinal shots were instant kills. I've also had to track an animal wounded in one lung for over 1 km before it died because I walked after it right away and because I used a small cal weapon on a large animal.

5th: You are free to use any cal of weapon you wish and free to choose your own hunting style. I'm simply offering advice on how to avoid having to spend more time tracking wounded animals than hunting new ones. I learned these lessons the hard way.

First, thanks for the good advice, I appreciate it, second Ive actually managed to kill 3 female Moose(es ?) with the .243 today with vital hits, it just took them a few minutes to drop

[Rookie-31st]

Save yourself from possible frustration, avoid hunting larger animals with .243
You're not getting best out of your time by doing so as well - if you don't get 100% quick kill, you also lose on weapon score which you need to unlock more weapons and ammo. With .243, it is more efficient to hunt blacktails, whitetails and coyotes

[Owling]

What kind of weapon do you recommend for larger animals ? If I have one for larger animals, is that one just as effective for smaller animals ? Ive heard the 7mm is decent/good

[PicSoul]

Here's a pretty good cheat sheet for a quick glance at what rifle works well on what animal.

https://i.imgur.com/ZIR26uI.png

[Rookie-31st]

For larger animals you need at least .270 but 7mm is definitely better

They can be used for smaller animals but you would lose Integrity bonus so don't use them on smaller animals.

You can take pistols as supplement, .357 is very effective for both fox and coyote.

You can also take a bow with 420gr arrows for deers and coyote, get some weapon points with it to unlock 300gr arrows which are suitable for rabbits and ducks. Bow hunting is fun, but requires more patience and stalking as it involves shorter ranges (below 50 meters in most cases)