Worlds worst deer hunter

[ksgobbler]

Yep thats me. Buck came in tonight and stopped at 80 yds. I shot him with the .270. On tv they fall immediately so I was suprised when he ran off. Some white hair at the shot site and not one drop of blood. Think I am gonna sell all my deer hunting stuff.

 

[Catscratch]

Grazed him or marginal hit?

 

[bueller]

We've all been there. Sometimes it seems so easy. And then there are those times that nothing goes right.

 

[ksgobbler]

Grazed him or marginal hit?

I dont know. I had the crosshairs tight behind the shoulder. Rifle is dead nuts on at 100 so I expected to see him fall.

 

[Native Hunter]

Don't get down on yourself too soon. Sometimes blood can be hard to find - even on a really good hit. Also, the white hair doesn't necessarily mean a bad shot. I've seen deer run a long way on a good hit from a big bore rifle many times - especially on a lung shot. Go out tomorrow and make some big circles in the area the deer ran into. You may find him.

Also, even if you did make a bad shot, don't be disheartened into giving up deer hunting (If you were serious about selling everything.) Work with someone who can help you shoot better. Good luck finding your deer tomorrow.

 

[Peplin Creek]

I had a terrible bow season this year. 2 hits and a clean miss. All fantastic deer.... it happens. Hang in there, eventually things turn and all of sudden you won’t be able to do any wrong. Hope you find him.

 

[Apple Junkie]

You took an ethical shot with proven equipment. If we all called it quits when our best effort falls a bit short, there would be no one in the woods but those that DON’T feel as bad as you do now. Like you, a lot of us have felt the heat ache of not making a clean kill on an animal we admire. Check you rifle, then get back at it like the rest of us. Better days are ahead - good luck!

 

[Catscratch]

My kids and I have shot several deer with my .308 over the years.... not a single one left a blood trail and only one fell in it's tracks. A couple have been pretty darn hard to find even though they never go far. Can you go back and grid search?

 

[Tree Spud]

I shot him with the .270. On tv they fall immediately so I was suprised when he ran off.

Sorry KS but are not experienced with gun hunting? Don't take that wrong I am just trying to understand your perspective & experience.

What is your concern?

Bow hunting like gun hunting has a target kill zone ... a bit high or other can cause blood to flow in the body cavity, but not be blown out.

LOL! Welcome to the club ... I say that with all the love intended. I can't tell you how many deer i have shot that didn't have immediate sign.

BTW ... stop watching deer tv ... nothing on there represents what we experience in the field. Out of 120 plus deer i have killed, only 2 have dropped dead in their tracks. That was because i shot them in the neck where all their nerves are. Every other deer ran from 20 yards to 500 yards. they are amazing beasts ...

Sleep well and go out with a positive attitude in the am ... you will find him ... i am confident.

 

[ksgobbler]

Ive never shot one with a rifle. This was going to be #1. Ive had a couple with the bow. Ive only deer hunted since 2016 and have only harvested 3.

 

[MickT]

I wouldn’t give up on that deer yet. I don’t intentionally shoot the high shoulder “bang flop” shot because my main reason for hunting is food and that shot trashes a lot of good meat. They all run unless you hit or shock the spine.

Sometimes the wound plugs up just like with archery and they’ll take a while to start bleeding. I killed a nice public land buck last December with my muzzleloader. I shot him head on in the chest so there wasn’t an exit wound. He hunched up, turned, and walked 70 yards while I tried to reload, then fell over and painted the grass red. Very little blood until he started stumbling.

What bullet? I only hunt with a rifle or muzzleloader and I really like anything Barnes. They are solid hollowpoint bullets- all copper, no lead core. They are either DRT or leave 2 big holes.


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[ksgobbler]

Hornady American whitetail 130 gr

 

[bigbendmarine]

NOT the world's worst deer hunter... you found hair so sure sounds like you hit it. World's worst would have flat-out missed it.

In all the years I've hunted, I've only had 3 deer fall in their tracks. Majority have run, and run HARD for some distance. Incredibly, even though they were fatally wounded and likely lived less than a minute or two, they managed to sprint between 50 to 200 yards to the very toughest spots to recover them such as THICK bramble thickets, swamp bottoms, etc. More than one either bled VERY little at the initial shot site OR had blood completely stop after a few yards of their run.

Shooting them in the evenings makes recovery a FAR bigger challenge than in the daylight of early morning. Don't give up hope you made a lethal shot. If you can, get back out at first light so you can look for blood and / or do a patterned walk search that covers AT LEAST a few hundred yards distance from your shot site.

If you've followed some similar old posts, you'll know you're in GOOD company with MANY on this forum who've had tough searches for deer we've believed should have dropped. Hope that brings at least a bit of comfort. Will keep fingers crossed you have more luck than it sounds like you think you may.

 

[JJOSU9]

Given "no blood" there's a good chance you made a heart shot. I've had more than one that ran 100+ yards and didn't leave a single drop of blood where it was when shot. A couple that there wasn't any for 30+ yards.

 

[John-W-WI]

I'm still healing up from the miss I had this year. Still can't talk about it much.

Don't be too hard on yourself. I'm doing enough of that for both of us.

-John

 

[Bill]

Yep thats me. Buck came in tonight and stopped at 80 yds. I shot him with the .270. On tv they fall immediately so I was suprised when he ran off. Some white hair at the shot site and not one drop of blood. Think I am gonna sell all my deer hunting stuff.

On TV ugly old guys like me have a harem of hotties at the pool.

Wake up in the morning have some coffee and go find your deer. As has been said sometimes they bleed in. Lots of chest cavity to fill. .270 is a mean shell, 130 grains is plenty but not heavy. My brother shot a 150 grain 7mm WSM into a deer at 40 yards this year. No exit wound. We got his bullet back when we skinned the deer.

If the in hole is as small as the diameter of a pencil and there is no out hole, or it's plugged, there won't be much blood.

 

[ksgobbler]

There is an out hole. I found where the round hit the dirt.

 

[Catscratch]

There is an out hole. I found where the round hit the dirt.

Most of the deer I mentioned in my previous post had exit holes... still no blood trails. I would grid search, follow trails, and peak under cedar trees for at least 200 yds. Good luck!

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[Bszweda]

how long did you search? Did he mule kick or hunch up? Did he take off like a bat out of hell? How was shot angle? Did he run down hill or up hill? Two years ago I shot a deer with a rage and had pin size blood for like 30 yards, and some white hair. I backed out and let it sit for the night. Mid morning went back and found my deer 30 yards from were we stopped. The last 25 yards there was a ton of blood.

 

[ksgobbler]

Searched for an hr after waiting an hour. Dont know on the mule kick but he wasnt hunched whwn he ran off. Pretty flat where I shot him.