Have you hit an animal that left no blood trail

[mattd]

Opening day of our rifle season I had a great buck in my scope at 50y. He was walking thru the timber but I got him stopped in my shooting lane. Feel really confident about my point of aim. Pull the trigger, he flinches and I watch him trot off for 100y before he disappears.

Shooting the NOE 180g w a cup point out of my 35w. With 40g of Varget and cast w 50/50 WD, it was averaging upper 1800fps.

There was a light snow on the ground, so blood would have shown up well. And since I saw where he went I was able to follow his tracks for over 150y. No blood. Looked around but never found anything. Chalked it up as a miss.

But I do feel really good about the sight picture. And I remembered my first cast bullet deer barely reacted and trotted off. Never found any blood then either but he was just 30y into the woods and easy to see.

Wondering if the no blood trail can happen w cast? It’s happened to some degree w a high shot from my bow. But never w a jacketed bullet. To me anyway.

A few years ago our opening day was super cold like this year and my first shot was a miss. The same deer gave me another opportunity a few minutes later and the second shot found its mark. I saw someone else from my state posted then about a miss due to the cold temps and his lube. I switched to a softer lube ever since. But still that could have been a factor. Coulda hit a branch. Who knows I guess.

[megasupermagnum]

Not on snow. I've helped track deer that turned out to be hit poor that only dripped every 25 yards until they laid down. We had some pointed bullets that didn't expand that left a pin hole through the deer. We lost a couple deer, but they both left obvious blood, may or may not have been good shots. I found one, and it was shot at an angle, but only through one lung. There was still obvious blood on the snow, and the deer went about 150 yards before he bedded down. Even a spitzer cast bullet is better than these particular bullets were.

It's always nice to know it was a clean miss.

[missionary5155]

Good morning
Yes corn crunchers get smacked with all sorts of projectiles (I use arrows) that may not exit thus not giving the best leaking point. Bullets can hit opposite side bones / ribs and get deflected or stopped staying inside. The hide is very elastic / stretchy and can stop a near expended projectile.

Entrance holes get clogged up easily. Bean eaters not hit through both lungs and or the heart can motivate long distances. I know of a buck hit this year through both lungs and heart with a 2" exit hole held open by a busted rib tip that left a huge red trail. At 80 yards along the way through brush / river bottoms it leaned against a large half fallen tree for long enough to "paint" the tree red. Then moved another 15 yards through thick brush where he finally laid down 95 yards plus past impact spot.

If there is no blood trail you need a dog to follow beyond the visible signs. If no dog is available then do all you can. Call in fellow hunters. I have helped numerous times down on hands and knees following the slightest red droplets, smudge in the dirt, fresh broke stick, crunched grass blades... that may appear once every few yards. That is when several sets of eyes help immensely. And no, we have not always been successful.

So in the end you are the one who was there. You are the one who saw what you saw and heard. We are the ones who have to decide on the spot "Is there anything else I can do to be certain" ?

[labradigger1]

Only deer I’ve shot that left no blood trail were with 243 Winchester’s. No more 243’s for me.

[Thundarstick]

One thing not me mentioned yet is hair. If you know where he was standing there WILL be hair cut from a hit. If you've dressed a few deer, you should be able to determine not only IF you have hit, but WHERE you've hit him.

I shot one (at one) year before last, that I would have never believed I had missed. I watched him run about 75 yards, jump a fence, circle back by me through a pasture about 100 yards away, then disappear over a rise. The whole time I'm thinking, "he's about ready to go down, he should be going down about now??, why's he not going down??, ****, he didn't go down! I was shooting a hand gun and I bet he wasn't 15 yards from me at the shot, I can hit a squirrel at that range with that gun and load! No blood, then i started looking for hair, not one hair on the ground whe he spun around, so at least i was able to accept it was a miss. :sad:

[CastingFool]

If you hit a deer high enough in the lung area, even though it's a complete pass through, they will bleed internally, leaving very little or no blood trail.

[jwhite]

i have had this happen, especially with smaller diameter cast boolits, 7.62x39 to be exact, one went about 125 yards and never dripped a drop that i could see. I was able to see his running tracks and find him but I was worried, hit in the chest cavity a bit high but not a drop of blood to seen and only a little around his nose when i got up to him. I lost another one with same bullet and load, 165gr LBT LFN Design going around 1900fps, hit a small 6 point buck at around 40 yards and off he went with out a sign of being hit, found a little patch of hair and no blood, searched the rest of that day and continued the following morning and never found a sign of him. I still occasionally take a 30 caliber cast hunting but tend to grab something bigger most of the time, there is a world of difference between a 30 and a 35. I am surprised that your 35 caliber didn't leave some sign, especially with a cup point, it may have been a branch like you mentioned, has happened to me with a 35 Whelen and a 190gr ranch dog boolit, about a 1" branch of buckthorn was enough to cause a completed miss.

[Shawlerbrook]

Yes, a high hit with a smaller caliber or hard bullet with little expansion will leave little or no bloood, especially for the first 100 or so yards. That said, if you got lungs, the deer shouldn’t get to far on their death dash.

[NSB]

My father shot a small buck one year and came back into camp and said he was positive he'd hit it in the lungs and it ran off leaving no blood. He said he looked for a while and found nothing. I went back out with him and I started walking in increasingly larger circles and finally found the buck laying dead on the ground. It's belly was facing away from where it had gotten shot so it wasn't visible until I got passed it and say it's white belly on the leaves. He'd hit it through both lungs with a 12ga slug and it didn't leave a single drop of blood that we could find. Inside it was full of blood. I've shot well over a hundred whitetails and that was a first for me. It can happen.

[Pb Burner]

I'm with Thundarstick, sounds like you know where the deer was when you fired, if you connected there would be hair.

[white eagle]

I had something similar happen to me this year
fired at a buck then it disappeared thought it was drt
went to look and nothing no blood hair nada
bothered me for a couple of days and I went back to
look and follow the likely direction and it was a total miss
yes it can happen no blood and no hair

[Tripplebeards]

Yes, November 10th this year. I shot a good sized 10 pointer chasing a doe with a NAP sling blade broad head. The deer was walking at about 30 yards broadside when I let my arrow fly. The deer walked out out of the shot and I hit it in the liver. I heard the broad head make a big slapping noise when I hit the deer so I knew I hit it. The deer ran about 50 yards down the hill made a circle and ran back up the hill and stopped behind a downed tree a 100 yards away. I couldn't see where it stopped. I figured it was going to lay down there and die. A few minutes later the deer made and mad dash making huge leaps across the top of the hill another 100 yards and stopped. I thought it disappeared. A few more minutes passed and I could barely see its tail twitching back and forth frantically through the thick brush and tree limbs Which was another indication it was hit. After that I couldn't see it. I shot it at 4pm and got out out of my tree stand at 4:25 to look for my Arrow. I couldn't find it but found it a few days later when I went back out doe hunting. When I found the arrow it was solid red like I painted it sticking in the ground. No blood or hair on the ground anywhere around the arrow....but that night I couldn't find the arrow and no blood where I shot or going down or up the hill. I walked up to why it stopped behind the downed tree. I started making circled and found one place where it stood for so many minutes and found one spot of blood the size of both my fists put together. There was no blood trail from there on out when it ran across the top of the hill. I walked where it was twitching its tail hoping I would find the deer. I've shot several in the past with arrows that have stopped, and started twitching its tail frantically and lay down right there and die. Well, no deer or blood where i last saw it tail twitching. At this time I called my neighbors since it now crossed onto their property to get permission to look for my deer. Good to go and hung up and started following the main deer trail that looks like a cow path and figured my deer walked it. It was only about 2 to 3 seconds of time after I got off the phone till I saw my deer. It went a good 250 yards with one spot if blood where it stood for minutes. The deer expired between a couple logs and its rack got caught on the way down so it's head was still propped up. I figured it was still alive and let another arrow fly. I cracked it in the front shoulder. The deer never flinched at the impact. I have shot deer farther back in the liver and they maybe go 60 yards with a good blood trail. I learned two things from this. I should have made a BAAAA to stop the deer before taking the shot and not to ever use NAP sling blade broad heads anymore. The blades are signed to fold in and go around bone which is exactly what they did. When I cleaned it the blades folded in when going in and out of the rib cage making an arrow diameter hole in and out of the deer. I've shot hundreds of deer with bow and arrow and crossbows and can tell you this is the only deer I've ever found that didn't bleed. I got lucky and knew the lay of the land and know where the deer travel. The biggest key is watching where ever you last saw the deer and mark that spot in your head. Look for a certain tree or piece of brush to help remember the spot and make sure you aren't moving to alert the animal to spook it even further. The odds are it didn't know what happened and will not travel far and lay down. If I would have bumped that deer I would have never found it. In all honesty I should have waited a few hours before trailing like I always do giving it time to die but I didn't expect to find my buck.


What was really weird is 99.9% when I hit a deer bow or gun it will buckle or hump up a little when hit. This deer looked like a picture if health the whole time. It really through me for a loop when it bounded across the hill top after standing for several minutes. When I gutted it there was a good 5" slash and inch deep across its liver from the broad head blade.

[pertnear]

Only deer I’ve shot that left no blood trail were with 243 Winchester’s. No more 243’s for me.

LOL...a statement like that is sure to rile a few folks! But I too swore off the .243 years ago. That is probably THE most popular caliber for Hill Country deer hunting in Texas. Low recoil & super accurate! Most hunters say their deer dropped like lightening hit it or it took a few steps & dropped.

I'm the curious type, so over the years, when someone in our group gets a deer, I always back track & check out where it was standing & what kind of blood trail did it leave. The 6mm calibers do kill like lightening, but leaving a blood trail is not their long-suit. The good thing is that the hunters usually watch their deer stagger off & drop & go right to it!

I have never shot a deer with a cast bullet, but I know a very meticulous fellow hunter that does. He casts his own dead-soft bullets & paper patches them. He hunts with a .30-30 lever gun (not sure of model) with a "peep" ghost-ring. His groups at 100 yds are amazing! His ammo & rifle look like precise instruments! He gets his deer(s) every year & claims that those bullet mushroom like crazy & leave a substantial wound channel.

FWIW...

[Tripplebeards]

Lol I've heard this from some marginal shot 243 users as well. My favorite caliber coyote rifle. Close counts! It will literally blow them in half if you hit a bone with 70 gr ballistic tips loaded at 3650 fps. I own a Remington 600, 700 heavy barrel with a hs prescion stock and just bought a couple of ar10 uppers in 243. Never tried it on deer. I believe besides shot placement picking the right bullet IS KEY. I load up 90 gr swift Sciroccos for a friend and he says his deer go 60 yards on average every year. If a deer doesn't drop consistently within a few feet after being hit I call that bullet a failure. It's too hard and not expanding. Sure it kills the animal eventually but I'm not into trailing at all costs. His nephew I loaded 100 gr hornady soft points for. He dropped his first deer last year in its tracks. I'm not a fan of Nosler ballistic tips for hunting but have read 95gr BT are the go to bullet in 243 for dropping deer in their tracks. I'm sure it blows up like a varmint bullet inside. I think the key is a soft bullet that transfers all or most its energy In its prey...the opposite mindset of the cast boolit shooters here. A hard 6mm diameter bullet that doesn't expand in or out is a smaller hole than shooting an arrow with a field point through a deer...and you wonder why a deer acts like it wasn't hit and runs. IMO .243 and smaller calibers to make work effectively needs a fragile bullet for energy transfer running at extreme speeds. I'm sure there is THAT guy who shot A deer once or twice with a slow hard cast boolit and dropped a deer with a head,neck, or shoulder shot, but that's not what this caliber was designed for. I have witnessed both hard and soft bullets on deer. I'll take the soft expander every time and watch my deer drop on the spot with a correct shot placement in the heart and lungs besides not ruining and meat with a shoulder shot. Im not getting any lead poisoning trying to brag that I ate right to the hole like a lot of the posters here claim.lol...I'll go buy a nintey nine cent burger at MC Donald's before I get lead poisoning and cut out a 1/4 lb pound of lead stained or IFFY meat. I have some 90 gr BT loaded up waiting to try. Some calibers were designed to run fast expanding bullets to work their magic and without a doubt the 243 is one of them. IMO I'd never run a slow boolit with cast in this caliber unless I was small game or varmint hunting which would defeat the purpose of what the 243 is designed for. At the end of the day a bad shot is a bad shot. A 44 or 45 cal hole with a marginal shot at least lets you waste your time with a frustrating blood trail for miles on end and never find you game. If I'm casting boolits for deer size game I'll stick with .358 and larger size calibers so if my bullet fails to expand I have a good size hole in and out. Can't wait for antler less only next week to try out my devastators.

[RU shooter]

None of them leave a blood trail I can see ! I'm color blind and can't see the bright red the rest of you can I can only hope they drop within sight or ear shot or there's snow . I recall one time I had to get dad to help track one , within seconds he found blood and it was everywhere so he said . He ask can't you see all this ? Nope

[Tripplebeards]

That sucks! You ever try a gimmic blood trailer type flashlight to see if it helps? I had one the first year it came out and sold it...never worked for me.

[mattd]

i had almost the same situation you describe above this year. hit a great buck, thought a bit back, proly liver. he ran behind the blind, and I made a second shot, but thought that missed. found the first arrow covered in bright red blood, not the typical darker liver blood. backed out for a few hours, and got back on a long bright red blood trail. never any typical liver blood. turns out my second shot hit forward on the shoulder and bleed meat blood.

that's what we followed, and tried my buddies brand new blood light. pretty much worthless for distinguishing blood with the purple light.

BTW. this bow shot was the evening before I made the rifle shot on the buck in the OP. after the less then perfect bow shot, that's why I was being super careful lining up the shot. few c-rap shots from the season of my life

[Moleman-]

High hits and fat deer have given me the least blood trails. They generally also go a little further.

My son is also red/green "color deficient". Against snow he can see blood, but not so much on leaves/grass ect unless it is much lighter in color. He shot one this year high double lung that did a mad dash across a small marshy area before dropping. It was a fatty deer and a high hit so there was little blood as it bled out internally. The bullet took out a section of rib on the way out leaving a decent hole in the chest wall so you'd think it would be blowing foamy blood everywhere, but no. He did ok following the blood in the snow, but had more trouble where there was no snow. When it went through some standing water there was only the occasional piece of grass/cattail with blood on it which he could only see if I pointed it out.

[megasupermagnum]

I won't claim to have that much experience, but if there was no hair, meat, or blood at the spot he shot it, and not even a drip for 150 yards on snow, I'm going to stick with it being a miss. Even a paper cut would leave a clear blood trail on snow.

[Tom W.]

I've shot a few with a 7mm RemMag as they were facing me. I hit them in the chest and they dropped like rocks, but the bullets never exited. Those that I hit in the neck with anything I used would spin around but not go anywhere either.
The strangest shot I ever took was with an SKS I had. The deer walked up to me and again there wasn't anywhere to shoot but straight forward. When I fired I noticed a line going down the back of the deer. I hit it in the neck, and it was DRT, but that line puzzled me. I got out of the stand and inspected the animal. The bullet had gone through the neck and actually shaved a line down the back without cutting the skin until it went through the ham and out very near the anus.....

[LUCKYDAWG13]

Yes I shot a doe a few years ago in the snow with a muzzelloader at dusk there were deer tracks all over the place looked for a hour in the dark it kept me up all night next morning I found her but the Coyotes found her 1st I still don't know why there was no blood and she jumped after the shot but she didn't run away just walk away into the woods I thought for sure she was dead on he feet. And would be easy to find

[Rick Hodges]

I helped track a buck hit with a 180gr. Jacketed 30/06 at about 80 yds. We found hair at the point of impact but no blood until we found the deer about 200 yds away. He was struck high in the near side lung and the exit was plugged with a huge wad of fat.

[500Linebaughbuck]

Only deer I’ve shot that left no blood trail were with 243 Winchester’s. No more 243’s for me.



LOL...a statement like that is sure to rile a few folks! But I too swore off the .243 years ago. That is probably THE most popular caliber for Hill Country deer hunting in Texas. Low recoil & super accurate! Most hunters say their deer dropped like lightening hit it or it took a few steps & dropped.

I'm the curious type, so over the years, when someone in our group gets a deer, I always back track & check out where it was standing & what kind of blood trail did it leave. The 6mm calibers do kill like lightening, but leaving a blood trail is not their long-suit. The good thing is that the hunters usually watch their deer stagger off & drop & go right to it!



i've tried a few 243 in my time and i swore(a whole bunch!!!!!!:razz:) off them too. bt, spitzers, round noses, partitions....doesn't matter, if you hit them in the lungs, they run and run and run some more. i have gotten everyone of them(deer), but i figured that a 243/6mm bullets is not for 150lbs + deer. blood trail? whats that? all i've ever gotten was a little bit of deer hair at the shot. i know that the 243 kills, but its not for me. i also figure that a 25 cal with 115-120gr bullet should be a minimum for deer.

[petroid]

My son shot a six point a few years with my Mosin nagant loaded with 123gr hornady SST. Deer went 30 yards an fell over dead. Not a drop of blood. Neat entrance hole and no exit. He hit liver and top of stomach. When dressed I saw hole through the opposite ribcage and felt a bulge under the skin. Dug out the remains of the bullet which only weighed 80 gr. It did the job but not really to my liking

[MT Gianni]

I shot a buck with the 308 150 gr Hornaday interlock. he took off at a dead run after the shot. I marked where he was (about 125 yards from me), put my hat on the ground and walked in circles looking for blood. I found nothing in the first 25 yards and 20 minutes later concluded I must have missed. I went back, got my hat, and proceeded hunting. When I crossed the main trail there was a two sided blood trail that looked to be 3"-4" wide on either side. He was dead in the bottom of a gully, his heart was loose in the chest cavity. Following it back he ran about 35 yards before I found any blood and when I did it was unmistakable.
I shot a buck in 1988 that got me into reloading. With Remington Corelocks, I hit him 6 times while he stood at 75 yards then wandered off with no apparent reaction. I went to where he was and could smell him but no blood. He wandered around the hill and dropped dead. That was the last game animal I shot with factory ammo.

[Bazoo]

Last year I shot a deer with a 30-30 jacketed bullet. I felt I had hit it good, but high. My buddy and I could not find any blood, and although im not super experienced, i've previously tracked by blood and did real good. It was pretty thick stuff and I found no sign that she had went the direction she did, as I found the carcass in the spring, 50 or 75 yards from where I shot her, but opposite the trail. I did some research, and it seems a high lung shot lots of times dont bleed much.

[megasupermagnum]

You guys are forgetting we are talking about snow. You can see a drop of blood from 20 yards away on a white background. The OP is talking about ZERO blood or hair at all, for at least 150 yards.

[chsparkman]

Three years ago I shot a doe with my Marlin 336 in .35 Rem. I saw it run 50 yards, stand still, then fall. I could find no blood anywhere, even on the deer! I carefully skinned it, and for the life of me never found where it was hit. Maybe I scared it to death?

[Texas by God]

I believe you missed, mattd. I had a similar experience two seasons ago. Nice 8 pt, solid rest on a round bale, about 150 yards right before sundown. When I fired my 25-06 and he twitched a little then trotted off. I was convinced there was no way I could have missed. Winter dead Coastal Bermuda is yellowish white so blood is easily spotted on it. I looked until ten pm and for days afterward. Every deer I've shot with this rifle has been drt with two bullet holes(in and out). I've killed lots of deer with my 22-250 and a few with .223 and .243. Not much blood trail with those if any but none of those deer went further than a few feet.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[megasupermagnum]

Three years ago I shot a doe with my Marlin 336 in .35 Rem. I saw it run 50 yards, stand still, then fall. I could find no blood anywhere, even on the deer! I carefully skinned it, and for the life of me never found where it was hit. Maybe I scared it to death?

That's how it went for me this year. One shot, deer just fell over. I gave that deer to a family member, have yet to figure out if he ever found the entrance. Funny thing was there was blood on the snow, but nothing on the deer!

[Texas by God]

That's how it went for me this year. One shot, deer just fell over. I gave that deer to a family member, have yet to figure out if he ever found the entrance. Funny thing was there was blood on the snow, but nothing on the deer!
Here's another- several of us were returning to camp on our atv's after the afternoon hunt. A group of deer ran across the road, one looked back and hit its head on a 6" Steel pipe gate post- DRT! We consulted the regs book, put a .38 special boolit thru it's lungs to make it official and tagged it. It was a non protruding button buck. It just wasn't his day I guess.

[Friends call me Pac]

Happened to me last week. http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?371606-Another-w-NOE-311165

As for deer and the 243, with 105gr jacketed speer spitzers I have only lost 1 deer. I have no idea how many I have used it to put a tag on one. I wouldn't hesitate to use a 243.

[MostlyLeverGuns]

Shot a cow elk, 65 yards quartering away, Savage 99 308 Win, 165 gr Nosler Partition. She took off running hard, I went to where she was grazing when I hit her. A couple hairs, no blood, I heard her fall in some willow tangle. No blood, heart was shattered, bullet exited in front of shoulder, nothing to pump blood, ran about 175 yards in timber. No snow, reaction at the shot and sound of fall led me to her,heard her last gasps as I walked to her.

[JoeJames]

Years ago I shot a nice buck broadside chest area at about 40 yards - 308 - 165 grain Sierra Gameking; he ran about 125 yards, and no blood trail. Heart and lung shot. I asked my vet about it. He said if the heart is destroyed there is no blood pressure, and therefore no blood trail.

[Grmps]

Another advantage of PC or HiTek boolits, you don't have to worry about lube freezing.

[megasupermagnum]

Happened to me last week. http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?371606-Another-w-NOE-311165

As for deer and the 243, with 105gr jacketed speer spitzers I have only lost 1 deer. I have no idea how many I have used it to put a tag on one. I wouldn't hesitate to use a 243.

If there was snow on the ground, you absolutely would have found blood. I know how hard it can be to see blood on leaves.

[toallmy]

Reading this post reminded me of my love / hate relationship with my 243 Winchester , in my teens I purchased a Winchester model 70 in 243 and loaded my own ammunition . I could shoot the change out of your pocket at a 100 yards on a bet even if you had a role of dimes but I couldn't kill a deer with it to save my life , or I thought at least . You see I read all the magazine's on bullet placement + used so called hunting bullets with a loads that were worked up nicely , with dismissal failures constantly every time . I'd sit out in the freezing cold hunting day after day , even sleep in a ditch to be out in the field at sun up just so I could get a shot on a deer . Then when I finally got a chance to put the cross hairs on the magnificent beast and take the perfect shot , I would watch the Nobel creature run off to never be found by me and die in vain , even though I would spend days looking knowing I hit it just like the book said to do with a hunting bullet . Now that was probably 35 years ago or more and it still breaks my heart to think of all the deer I punched holes though before I started blowing the shoulders out of them . I still have the rifle , and it will still knock a hole in a dime but I haven't used it much for hunting . I know a lot of my buddies neck shoot them with the 243 or hit them with a lung or Hart shot with a varmint bullet , but I just haven't had the Hart to take that rifle afield for years . The game deserves a quick and clean kill do your best .

[Blammer]

if you felt good about the shot make sure you do a thorough search. A real thorough search, likely he's dead and just needs to be found.

yes I've shot a deer and had no blood trail. I used a 50 cal muzzleloader, 333gr conical, he ran 100 yds then died.

actually now that I think about it I've only ever tracked two deer I've shot with a blood trail.

[Tripplebeards]

Thompson center 300 gr shockwave bullets don't ever give me a blood trail loaded with 150gr of 777 pellets. I've shot 9 deer with them so far. Not one blood trail. Most go 60 yards and drop in sight. It they didn't shoot all in one hole at 100 yards and 2.5" groups at 300 yards I'd switch. I know when I pull the trigger I hit where I aim...its just the load is to hard and doer the expand zipping right through the animal with no kinetic energy transfer. I even shot Kobe square in the shoulder one year. It still ran on three legs almost 45 yards and dropped. To hard of a bullet is not a good thing my book.

[Tripplebeards]

Yes, November 10th this year. I shot a good sized 10 pointer chasing a doe with a NAP sling blade broad head. The deer was walking at about 30 yards broadside when I let my arrow fly. The deer walked out out of the shot and I hit it in the liver. I heard the broad head make a big slapping noise when I hit the deer so I knew I hit it. The deer ran about 50 yards down the hill made a circle and ran back up the hill and stopped behind a downed tree a 100 yards away. I couldn't see where it stopped. I figured it was going to lay down there and die. A few minutes later the deer made and mad dash making huge leaps across the top of the hill another 100 yards and stopped. I thought it disappeared. A few more minutes passed and I could barely see its tail twitching back and forth frantically through the thick brush and tree limbs Which was another indication it was hit. After that I couldn't see it. I shot it at 4pm and got out out of my tree stand at 4:25 to look for my Arrow. I couldn't find it but found it a few days later when I went back out doe hunting. When I found the arrow it was solid red like I painted it sticking in the ground. No blood or hair on the ground anywhere around the arrow....but that night I couldn't find the arrow and no blood where I shot or going down or up the hill. I walked up to why it stopped behind the downed tree. I started making circled and found one place where it stood for so many minutes and found one spot of blood the size of both my fists put together. There was no blood trail from there on out when it ran across the top of the hill. I walked where it was twitching its tail hoping I would find the deer. I've shot several in the past with arrows that have stopped, and started twitching its tail frantically and lay down right there and die. Well, no deer or blood where i last saw it tail twitching. At this time I called my neighbors since it now crossed onto their property to get permission to look for my deer. Good to go and hung up and started following the main deer trail that looks like a cow path and figured my deer walked it. It was only about 2 to 3 seconds of time after I got off the phone till I saw my deer. It went a good 250 yards with one spot if blood where it stood for minutes. The deer expired between a couple logs and its rack got caught on the way down so it's head was still propped up. I figured it was still alive and let another arrow fly. I cracked it in the front shoulder. The deer never flinched at the impact. I have shot deer farther back in the liver and they maybe go 60 yards with a good blood trail. I learned two things from this. I should have made a BAAAA to stop the deer before taking the shot and not to ever use NAP sling blade broad heads anymore. The blades are signed to fold in and go around bone which is exactly what they did. When I cleaned it the blades folded in when going in and out of the rib cage making an arrow diameter hole in and out of the deer. I've shot hundreds of deer with bow and arrow and crossbows and can tell you this is the only deer I've ever found that didn't bleed. I got lucky and knew the lay of the land and know where the deer travel. The biggest key is watching where ever you last saw the deer and mark that spot in your head. Look for a certain tree or piece of brush to help remember the spot and make sure you aren't moving to alert the animal to spook it even further. The odds are it didn't know what happened and will not travel far and lay down. If I would have bumped that deer I would have never found it. In all honesty I should have waited a few hours before trailing like I always do giving it time to die but I didn't expect to find my buck.


What was really weird is 99.9% when I hit a deer bow or gun it will buckle or hump up a little when hit. This deer looked like a picture if health the whole time. It really through me for a loop when it bounded across the hill top after standing for several minutes. When I gutted it there was a good 5" slash and inch deep across its liver from the broad head blade.



Here is the arrow...and the deer. The shoulder shot was after it was already dead with its head propped up and eyes wide open. I wasn't taking any chances and thought it was still alive and sitting there looking at me. I passed this guy up three times bowhunting and never had a bigger one on camera or in sight the 21 days I put my butt in the stand so I harvested the filled my tag. Smallest buck I've shot in about 20 years. Finally had a bigger one pass my stand on camera the first day I decided to try out a new stand on the other side of my property last Friday during rifle season. Go figure. I'm after him with my smoke pole now,

http://i.imgur.com/0ILTzwP.jpg


http://i.imgur.com/l5Qfgnv.jpg

[megasupermagnum]

Ok Tripplebeards, I don't know you, but what you are claiming is pretty far fetched. First it was a sub 3/4 MOA slug gun, now its a muzzleloader that shoots 2 1/2" at 300 yards, with pellets no less. Not that it matters, considering it would drop about 3 feet, and wind drift would be worse. I realize you are probably in the best county for deer antlers, but that's a 120 if not 130 inch buck. Antlers bigger than that don't come around often enough to be getting them every single year for 20 years, at least not in the wild.

[Tripplebeards]

It does drop that much I use a Nikon BDC 2.5x10 monarch. The gun is sighted 3 3/4" high at a 100 yards and will hit 200,250,300, and 350 all using the center circles at 10x got the drop measurements from Nikon customer service way before the spot on program came out. Mega I pm'd you so you can see proof in the pudding. I'm a single guy with no life and spend every waking moment in the woods during hunting season. I'm actually heading out to Muzzel load hunt in a few minutes.

[Tripplebeards]

Here are a few that I european mounted myself. They all were the were nice looking racks and there are a few up to 20"plus on the inside collecting dust up there but not head mounters IMO. I have a half dozen heads mounts hanging in my dads house...the dandies! The other pic is my living room of a few predators I've taken. All on private land. The ship under the bobcat is full of basket rack antlers I shot over the years. I plan on making a horn Christmas tree some day when I get enough. Anyone want to trade a whitetail hunt for an elk hunt let me know. All the deer were taken off my little slice of heaven. The bear up north WI and one guided hunt in Canada. The bobcat, 2 from AZ private land I called in and the other from up north WI. I hired a Houndsman. The coyote came off my property.

http://i.imgur.com/PA63AMH.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/XsHYsp0.jpg

[Tripplebeards]

I had some old targets saved that I keep in my load books when I find a good powder/bullet combo. Here's a 100 yards group of my TC shockwaves and a group from my savage 220. Now you can study them and tell me that groups were bigger,smaller, or I shot them at 10 yards.lol I love how posters just get bent out of shape when they or their rifle can't perform so that means no one else can shoot better. I shoot with a lot of guys that can outshoot me and put me to shame...do I cry about it or call them liars...no

I remember over 20 years ago when a buddy and I both bought 300 RUMs. He could out shoot me gun for gun with every load we tried and use to tease me that I couldn't shoot as good as him. The smart Allic let me shoot his and I outshot him.lol...my SAME 300 RUM to this day will not shoot better than .6" groups even after skim bedded in an HS precision stock. Some guns are just made better than others. Unfortunately there are a lot more duds out there than shooters. That's were acraglass bedding, free floating, and trigger work comes into play along with trying every available ammo and or load combo in my grasp and if it still doesn't shoot I sell it and start over. Sorry to hijack the thread OP. I guess my post of teaching members not to give up and go the extra mile to look for the animal they shot at and giving it the respect it deserves got a little off track...and yes I pass up a lot of bucks most people would give their left arm for. I am very fortunate to own a piece of property that produces huge bugs and I will normally go without a filled tag before I just settled and shot something I wouldn't excited to have harvested for no reason or be proud of.



http://i.imgur.com/uPfz03i.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ij22aMk.jpg

[ghh3rd]

I didn’t hit an animal that didn’t leave a blood trail, but I missed one that did that. :sad:

[Jedman]

231769It just happened to me recently. I have a antique Stevens tip up rifle that I relined to 38 special.
The action is pretty strong so I worked up a accurate load that shoots a H&G cast 160 gr. FN at a little over 1200 fps. I have wanted to take a deer with this rifle for years and this year had a ideal situation where I would have a close 20 - 25 yard shot if a deer would show up at a feeder.
So a small buck with a broken leg shows up, gives me a ideal shot and I put a bullet just over the heart at a slight quartering away angle.
The deer did show a small reaction at the shot but hopped / trotted away on 3 legs like nothing was wrong. I seen him stop about 70 yards away and for about 30 seconds look back at where he just was shot but thru my 4 X scope I could not see any blood on the side of his body.
He then disappeared in to the woods still on his feet probably 45 seconds or more after I shot him.

I gave him a good half hour before I went looking for him and when I did I did not find any hair or blood anywhere ? I found the exact spot he was standing in the woods where I last seen him standing and searched good and still found no blood.

At that point I thought I would move slowly in the direction I thought he went and was ready for another shot if I found him wounded or still on his feet. I only went about 40 yards and right on a main trail he laid dead. So I looked for a wound or blood to tell me where he has hit and there was no blood on either side of him and no blood out his nose . I was stumped at where I hit him !
After field dressing him I looked inside the body cavity and could see nothing, so after I had him hanging I took a flashlight and looked inside and finally found a small spot on the off side where it looked like MAYBE a .357 bullet could have made but really it looked very small.
I started feeling around the front shoulder on the off side and finally I felt a lump under the hide
And with my knife slit the hide and dug out the bullet. WOW ! The bullet looks just like when I loaded it ! No expansion no sign of it contacting anything hard.
So where I found the bullet it showed my shot was where I aimed but I still could not find a entrance hole ? I looked like a surgeon on the inner rib cage for where the bullet came through but couldn't find the slightest Mark ????

I took the deer to a local women that processes a lot of deer as I was to lazy to do it myself so I wount get to see the deer skinned but this is a mystery.

The end result is it was a clean kill, the deer was recovered, but the bullet was to hard and velocity a little to low as with a exit hole I think there would have been a blood trail.

I am posting a pic of the bullet I recovered from the deer and it could be reloaded and used again, no expansion at all.

Jedman

[Hogdaddy]

For those that don't like the win. .243 .. I've harvest my fair share 90gr SP.. Never had on go further than 50-60 yard max.. As far as blood trail , I can't say I've needed many except for "bow" ; )
H/D

[clintsfolly]

Shot a 2 1/2 yr old 6 pt with my BFR475 with a NOE 477-385. 35 yds in the shoulder thru the heart and lungs and out the ribs. Ran about 65-70 yds with no blood for the first 45 yds then blood on the exit side. Watch him run and stopped wobbled a little then fell over! With 2-3” of snow tracking was easy.

[M-Tecs]

I am not sure how many deer I have killed with a .243 but it is around 50 or 60. Mostly with 100 grain softs points. Never lost one with it and never had to track one over 75 yards. Snow with a crust on it is great for tracking. Fresh fluffy snow can be a challenge. The warm blood melts and sinks in the fresh snow.

[Blanket]

Hit high and under the spine you really need to look for the tiny specks of blood and hair is a give away, put a dog on the path and they will find it. As the chest fills up you will find splotches, then clumps then the animal

[crankycalico]

it happens a lot really. if the animal is rather fatty from all those juicy acorns and piles of carrots and beets and apples and such like... well that fat closes up fast and keeps the leakage inside. Bear hunters know about it..

Hit an animal to high, and you can take forever for the blood to come out, has to fill the cavity up to the hole to get leakage, normally always get some splatter on the ground at impact site, but not all bullets want to do that, so NORMALLY is the word.

.223 and .243 never leave a blood trail for me.

[hc18flyer]

Actually, the buck my Grandson shot on Sunday during our muzzle loading season didn't leave a blood trail. It was from a high angle frontal quartering shot that broke the off side leg, at the bottom of the shoulder. At the shot he took off hopping without his left front leg, we saw where he went. We waited about 35 minutes before looking. He traveled about 70 yards, no blood trail on 4" of snow. It looked like he laid down and died there, one set of legs was under him. I don't always wait, but becoming more of a believer? hc18flyer

[hc18flyer]

Had to check the canners. When we field dressed the buck, the ball had cut across the surface of the heart. The chest was full of blood, none on the outside. I always wonder how many deer are wasted because hunters assume they missed, and don't take the time to followup? hc18flyer

[crankycalico]

Had to check the canners. When we field dressed the buck, the ball had cut across the surface of the heart. The chest was full of blood, none on the outside. I always wonder how many deer are wasted because hunters assume they missed, and don't take the time to followup? hc18flyer

Also the reason why 30-30 is useless for deer hunting, and you need at least a 300 win mag using a 150-180 grain JSP that leave a 3" exit hole in a shoulder through shoulder hit... at 100 yards.

[LUCKYDAWG13]

Tripplebeards


My T/C Omega shoot's the same as yours with the same 3 pellets but I use pyrodex and a 250gr shock wave

[Tripplebeards]

Tripplebeards


My T/C Omega shoot's the same as yours with the same 3 pellets but I use pyrodex and a 250gr shock wave


I'll have to try the pyrodex pellets. Those are the original offering I believe. I should try the white knight pellets as well. Guess they don't fowl as much. Only ran tripple seven through it. I'd like to shoot the lighter 250's through mine. I think they would expand quicker putting a deer down faster than the results I'm Getting.

[JBinMN]

Also the reason why 30-30 is useless for deer hunting, and you need at least a 300 win mag using a 150-180 grain JSP that leave a 3" exit hole in a shoulder through shoulder hit... at 100 yards.

Sarcasm?

[robinsroost]

The .243 was my first center fire rifle, a Model 700BDL Remington. I loaded 70 grain JHP's over IMR 30-31, for groundhogs. When I started hunting deer, I loaded 100 grain Nosler Partitions over H1000. That load has harvested 36 deer and two hogs. most DRT. One hog went 50 yards with a quarter size hole through its heart. I have larger calibers, .270, .308, .44 magnum and .45 Colt, but the .243 is still my go to...…..robin

[MT Gianni]

I shot an antelope angling toward me with the 243. The angle was not over 45 closer to 30. With the Hornaday 100 gr interlock the bullet entered behind the shoulder and exited behind the last rib on the same side. He naturally decided to run and I put bullets in his gut, neck [pass through no bones hit] and broke his brisket with the 4th shot. Previous to that I had harvested 12 mule deer, 8 whitetail and 13 antelope with that combo. Anything can happen though never did find why that bullet turned around inside that critter.

[Tripplebeards]

For the 243 a 95 gr nosler ballistic tip from what I've researched is a lot of shooters goto bullet for putting Deer down in its tracks. Never tried them yet myself but I've used the 90 gr NBTs on coyotes!Bobcats, and a few other critters. It anchors them.

[Brett Ross]

Lost a big doe this year that bled but slowed to a stop after about 100 yards. I thought I hit her good (saw the fur fly in the scope) with my new 45-70 CVA hunter. I loaded some boolits I had cast for my brothers trapdoor Lee 405 HB, 30:1. I'm thinking I may have hit forward and it blew up on the shoulder as I do not think it passed trough. I think I may be in the market for a new mold with a bit more meplat and gas check shank so I can soup it up a bit.

[M-Tecs]

Lost a big doe this year that bled but slowed to a stop after about 100 yards. I thought I hit her good (saw the fur fly in the scope) with my new 45-70 CVA hunter. I loaded some boolits I had cast for my brothers trapdoor Lee 405 HB, 30:1. I'm thinking I may have hit forward and it blew up on the shoulder as I do not think it passed trough. I think I may be in the market for a new mold with a bit more meplat and gas check shank so I can soup it up a bit.

I was not there and I don't have a clue as to what happened, however, a 30:1 405 grain bullet at Trapdoor velocities is not going to blow up on a doe's shoulder.

[Brett Ross]

M-tecs, kind what I thought but was reaching for why. Look's like the most likely scenario is, my good hit, was not as good as I thought.

[crankycalico]

That should have blown through a small pony at that range. Perhaps too hard of a bullet shattering?

[Tripplebeards]

Too hard, too slow...if I had to guess. I shot a small black bear between the shoulder blades with a Winchester 405 gr factory load out of a 45/70 guide gun years ago at approx 100/120 yards. It was a Canadian guided hunt I went on A little over 20 years ago. I have it video taped. You can actually see the bullet fly across the screen and strike the bear. It jumped off the can it was eating out of and ran like it wasn't hit. No blood or bear was found. I was so mad I got rid of the gun when I came back.

[M-Tecs]

a 30 to 1 lead tin is not a hard bullet.

[rking22]

I suspect you hit farther forward than you thought, or she was at more of a quartering angle that it seemed. 405gr at 30:1 would go all the way thru both shoulders, even at pistol velocity. Most likely was more angle than appearing and turned in to a surface wound. Kinda hard to say without how far, what kinda shot, how fast, kinda short on data points.

[Chad5005]

my wife shoots a savage 243 and in the last 3 years shes killed a 195 pound 9 point,150 pound 8 point,2 120+pound does and a 100 pound spike and the only thing that didn't fall in its tracks was the spike and it ran about 30 yards,she shoots 100gr rem core loks

[cas]

I shot a button buck (thought it was a doe) with a 20ga slug that left no blood trail (in the snow). Not only that, it didn't react at all to being hit. It was very odd. Not my proudest bit of shooting.

Right at dusk, about 50-60 yards away, down a VERY steep grade. Fired, nothing. Fired again, nothing. Then I started thinking... over thinking. "I'm shooting down hill, I'm shooting over her." So I aimed low... nothing. Do it again, nothing! "Maybe I have that backwards?" Aimed high and fired... nothing. Now the gun is empty. Deer is still standing there looking up the hill at me. Extra shells are in my back pack. I have a pistol, but it's not a good idea. Start to take my pack off to get the extra shells, the deer finally bounds off.

I reload and work my way down and around the hill to the spot where it was standing. No blood or hair in the snow. Just to be thorough I decided to follow the tracks in a the snow a while. I follow them about 45-50 yards over a rise and down the hill and there he was laying dead in the snow. Double lung hit. No idea which of the 5 it was.

[Brett Ross]

Well worked ok today, last day of season, massive blood trail dead deer.

[74Monster]

First time poster, I have 3 animals with no blood trail(moose, elk and whitetail doe) all in the last 2 seasons , the moose and the elk were shot with a 444 marlin with a btb 355gr, 45gr of reloader 7 , both under 100 yards, both were shot through the front leg and heart shot with complete pass through. the hole through the leg was the same size as the exit hole. both animals only made 25 yards and down
also shot a doe with a 270 and 100gr accubond, 110yards quartering towards me. shot went into the near shoulder and into the chest, she took off running. winter time, not a drop of blood. started following her tracks and she made about 80 yards and dropped. one drop of blood out her nose when she hit the ground.
when I gutted her the bullet went into the chest cavity and hit the stomach and blew up. there was food all the way to the hide on the entry wound on the leg and her mouth was full of digested food.

[Static line]

My cousin shot a White Tail deer at 20 yards with his 45-70 and 325 gr. bullet. Pass through from behind the right shoulder with a 2 inch hole out the other side.No blood trail , not a drop,but found her 70 yards away laying with a large puddle of blood next to her. Stuff happens.

[fatnhappy]

One of the first nice bucks I ever shot took a 12 gauge slug through the front left shoulder that exited through the right ham about an inch from his other hole. Nary a drop of blood, it took me an hour and a half to find him despite the fact that I could have stuck a 3/4 pipe through his body lengthwise.

It happens.



(edited because I reversed the right and left. In my mind's eye I still see him facing me)

[Shingle]

When all hope is lost start at last place you saw the deer and make widening circles and most will be found sooner or later. I once trailed a 6pt. that was spewing pink foam everywhere after 4 hours im crawling through a over cut area and come face to face with a poor deer with his nose shot off. Another magnum cityidiot that cant shoot.