I shot him with my Rem 700 in 30.06 and was shooting a NOE 311165 (165gr) bullet cast from 50:50 wheelweight and soft lead. Bucked out, now it's time for a doe or two.
I shot the deer at a distance of about 30 yards from my ladder stand and he made it about 50 yards to a thicket after the shot. It was a good shot and I was really surprised he didn't drop in his tracks. I followed a very scant blood trail and lost it just a few yards in the thicket. I went home ate supper and then my wife and I went back looking for him. She stayed at last blood and I ran a grid but couldn't find anymore blood. After about 30 minutes of back and forth searching I saw him and he wasn't 50 yards from my wife.
I asked her if she would drive back to a friends house and ask if he could help drag the deer out and load up but she said she wasn't sure if she could find the jeep in the dark. She told me to go so I handed her my Kimber for coyote control and made my way back to the jeep. My buddy wasn't available so I went in my garage and came up with plan B. I would use my cargo carrier that goes in the receiver hitch as a means to carry the deer home. I made it back to about 200 yards from my wife and went down the old grown up field road to get started dragging. She said she had heard a pack of coyotes but they didn't come close.
We dragged him about 50 yards to the old grown up road and it was another 200 yards to the jeep. The old road is grown up with briers and grass so I had an idea but I would have to run it by her since it is her jeep. I asked if she wanted to drag it the 200 yards to the edge of the field where the jeep was or was she cool with me driving through the rough stuff in her shiny jeep? She said use the jeep and make it easier for us. So now her jeep is really muddy but what a time and backache saver. My wife is the greatest.
I really consider the two deer I have shot this year as blessing since I'm still weak from my neck surgery. The last one I killed I had a heck of a time getting him in the back of the truck but tonight I used my luggage carrier on my wife's jeep to haul the deer on. Being lower to the ground and with my wife's help it was so much easier.
I can't find a exit wound and the buck was absolutely filled with blood so I think the slug is still in there. I've never had any bullet other than 1 roundball that didn't punch two holes. I'm going to do my best to find the slug so I can see how it mushroomed but that will have to wait until the morning. With the high shoulder shot from my stand and no exit I can see why the blood trail was so poor. It didn't leak out.