So.... that was odd....

[imhntn]

Glad you found it. Sounds like you may need to go the the nosler partition or something that holds together better.

 

[Mitch Rapp]

Glad you found it. Sounds like you may need to go the the nosler partition or something that holds together better.

I have Nosler Ballistic Tips that I am switching to for hunting, this was a surprise hunt, so I had to shoot what I had loaded.


Sent from my T.A.R.D.I.S. using a Sonic Screwdriver.

 

[victor3ranger]

We had a similar deal happen this year. My wife shot a deer with her 270 (471yds-rangefinder), deer mule kicked, ran 20 or so yards then layed down. For almost 30 minutes it would try to get up but couldn't like its front shoulders were blown out.
I finally told her to get out of her stand and close the distance then finish the deer off because something wasn't right, it should have already passed.
So, she gets within 50 yards and the thing jumps up like it wasn't hit but she was able to get another round off before it got inot the woods.
When I arrived I found where she had made the second shot and had a massive blood trail due to the fact she had hit the deer in the neck and it bled out fast.
We couldn't find any sign of the first shot, after skinning the deer we found a huge bloody bruised area on the back edge of the front left shoulder and ribcage but NO hole in the hide or thru the body itself.
Still kind of a mistery what really happened.

 

[swampratt]

That bullet did it's job..It is your job to recover the animal.
I have shot many deer with many different bullets some exit some do not..I have used target bullets that make 2 tiny holes in and out and other target bullets that almost remove both front legs.

I have shot deer in the heart and had them go as far as 120 yards and pile up.
Pierced a windpipe on one and she fell where she stood...

Many deer i have shot do not bleed...Just do not give up on the look..

My buddy called me last year from the stand.. he was using my 30-06 reloads 150gr hornady interlock soft lead tip exposed..the #3031 bullet.
Shot at a buck 40 yards and watched it run out of sight with another deer through the woods...
He told me they looked for blood and found none.. walked back and forth for 80 yards seen no blood...

I told him walk further and that he did not miss the shot.. I was about to make the 60 mile drive to find his deer..20 minutes after i hung up the phone he calls back and said they found him.. front shoulder blown apart and heart was 1/2 there...
Said that deer never even acted like it was hit..
Blood was found 5 feet from the deer.
I have shot them with 30-30 flat nose 150gr and in one side and out the other 2 tiny holes..exploded lungs and a piled up deer 80 yards away.. no blood trail..

You just never know...
I shot them with my sks 7.62x39 with FMJ bullets no expansion ..and dropped them on the spot.
That is not a hunting bullet at all but is what i had given to me after all my guns were stolen..

 

[fishfurlife]

the bottom line in my experience is that blood trailing a rifle shot deer is very seldom an easy task.

 

[Mitch Rapp]

That bullet did it's job..It is your job to recover the animal.

I agree completely, I was on the verge of giving up just based on the fact it was getting dark, and we had zero sign that he deer had been hit. That being said, I trust my ability to call my hits, so I was really flustered. I KNEW where the crosshairs where when the shot went off. This is only the 4th deer I have taken with a rifle, so I am by no means very knowledgeable about killing them, two main lessons from this, 1. try to shoot deer where you can observe them after the shot, that way even without blood, you have a starting point. 2. Trust my gut about where the shot went, until PROVEN wrong.

 

[Mitch Rapp]

the bottom line in my experience is that blood trailing a rifle shot deer is very seldom an easy task.

I think that's part of my problem, lack of experience! lol, the deer I have shot thus far either fell within sight, or left trails a toddler could follow.

 

[dennishoddy]

The doe I killed last night didn't leave a drop of blood. I shot her in the snow, and watched her trot the 25 yds with her tail down, knowing the hit was on target. Not a drop of blood anywhere on the trail. The shot was through the top of the lungs, with all of the blood pooling in the cavity. Bullet was a pass through.

 

[ElkStalkR]

Lots of different things can happen, but 9 times out of 10 if you get a pass thru you will get tons of blood. Not always, as dennis just mentioned, but most the time you will.

That is why I shoot bullets that I know will pass thru. Entrance wounds don't bleed much, exit wounds do! If my bullets don't expand and pass thru I consider that a bullet failure. (at least on whitetails, no excuse not to get pass thrus on whitetails). Yep a hollow point/light bullet will do tons of damage and kill just as fast as your favorite bonded one will, but they don't leave near the blood trail when the deer runs 100 yds and expires in chest high CRP grasses.

With the proper bullet, recovering a rifle shot deer should be a simple task. Follow the red carpet.

 

[AKguy1985]

last years deer I shot didnt leave a blood trail either. The entrance wound was very small and took me a little bit to find it. he only ran about 50 yards. I was using winchester PDX1 .223 hollowpoint. The bullet entered the left side of the ribcage and exploded. I never did find it.