Have you hit an animal that left no blood trail

[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.