It will be a sleepless night - buck yet to be recovered

[j-bird]

Tom - I use .50 powerbelt Aero tip 223 grain bullets with 100 grains of poyrodex or triple 7 (don't recall which at the moment). Never had an issue before.

Stu - I normally at least knock the SOB down or they take a few steps and start tryng to plow ground!

I'm figuring either I didn't hit him as well as I thought OR I hit him higher than I wanted and got no exit - frustrating either way.

 

[OkieKubota]

I am simply down -but not out! I intend on looking more this coming weekend - the meat may not be good, but I owe it to the deer and myself to ensure I have done EVERYTHING I can to find it.

Looking back there is one thing hat happened that I have NEVER had happen before - I shot the deer, but it never fell down while I saw it. Even those I have had run either fall first and get up or take only a few steps and fall. Anybody else ever put a good hit on a deer and had them truely run off???

The deer gods are really makin sure some of the things I listed above stick in my mind for a long time - it may end up costing me my largest buck to date of my hunting career.

I shot a small buck one time with a .300 Win Mag that never fell and when I went to where he was standing his front leg was laying right there. Never found him even after looking 2 full days...

 

[Terrific_tom]

Tom - I use .50 powerbelt Aero tip 223 grain bullets with 100 grains of poyrodex or triple 7 (don't recall which at the moment). Never had an issue before.

Stu - I normally at least knock the SOB down or they take a few steps and start tryng to plow ground!

I'm figuring either I didn't hit him as well as I thought OR I hit him higher than I wanted and got no exit - frustrating either way.

j-bird google powerbelt bullets and no blood trail. Lots of stories just like yours.

 

[OkieKubota]

I have shot Powerbelt HP's from their inception and have never had a blood trail issue and have never lost a buck using them... I recovered the one from my muzzleloader bucks neck this fall and it was a beautiful mushroom!

 

[Don'tWorryIHuggedItFirst]

Powerbelts are very polarizing. People either love them or hate them. I've seen too many instances where people have had them not open up at all.

 

[chickenlittle]

I only ever bought one pack of powerbelts. I shot a few at a target and the rest sit in a box of stuff I'll never use. When it comes to the fancy muzzleloader bullets, I am mostly just offended by how much they cost. I shoot big lead conicals from little business called No Excuses Bullets in Utah. $25/box of 50 and 2 boxes ship for $12. Not as cheap as a roundball but they are still trucking at 200 yards. Only thing is you can't order online. E-mail your order and he ships it to you with an invoice. http://www.muzzleloading-bullets.com/index.htm.

 

[Natty Bumppo]

j-bird google powerbelt bullets and no blood trail. Lots of stories just like yours.

Interesting. Can I offer something something? At first I doubted the Powerbelt = no blood trail connection. But yes, there seems to be a connection on-line. I wonder if these guys who are claiming the Powerbelts did not open up are coming to false conclusions. Many, many beginner muzzleloaders (and experienced ones) make the mistake of storing their firearm indoors after a day's hunt. I can not tell you how many young hunters and their dads do this around here each year. The problem obviosuly is that as the cold barrel warms up it creates condensation that then slides dopwn the barrel and weeps past the bullet and wets the powder or pellets. The next thing you know they have a shot opportunity and one of many things goes wrong...1) the weapon doesn't fire, 2) the weapon fires with a whimper, 3) only one pellet fires resulting in a poor shot, 4) the pellet fires, the shot placement is decent, but penetration is terrible and expansion is non-existent.

Just an alternate theory to the Powerbelts = no blood trail connection. I shoot Powerbelts and have never had a problem. But, I also keep my firearm out in the cold garage at night and change the pellets after every few days. Lastly, I shot a nice buck several years ago that I tracked into a swamp. I hit him solidly with a Powerbelt...he didn't run 14 yards. That thing just tore him up. When I was skinning him out guess what I found lodged just under his skin...yep, a .45 Powerbelt bullet from the year before that hit the shoulder and did not penetrate and did not expand all that much.

j-bird...sorry about the deer. I'll keep my fingers crossed. My hats off to you for doing the search, and for being honest and open about what hapened. This is how we all learn and grow as deer hunters.

 

[j-bird]

I have never had an issue before and have used these for several years now - I think it's more a reflection of my shot placement. It would be different if I had a pass through. I may have a pass-thru - I don't know for certain, but the blood trail gives no evidence of a pass-thru. Bullet may have worked just fine - I may have just put it in a piss-poor spot!

I have had the condensation issue bite me before - 3 cracks of the cap without a boom - finally on the 4th try I got a hang fire. Pulled the shot but dropped the deer. That was not the case here. I literally was loading the gun as the deer was walking toward us. I would guess only a few minutes passed between loading and firing. Absolutely no hint of a firing issue.

Got a text from my nearest blood tracking dog handler and he says the water and my additinal searching pretty much screws the option of a blood tracking dog - I figured as much, but I had to at least ask the question.

I'm not going to blame the equipment - its my responsability to know the limitations of myself and my equipment and to act responsibly - I f'ed it up. It's that simple. I then made it worse by making rookie tracking mistakes. If I had used my head in tracking I would have my buck -I am convinced of that. I am still commited to finding this deer - I owe it to the deer and myself. If nothing else the effort put into this will make this exercise a painful reminder in the future and help keep me in the proper frame of mind next time and make me a better hunter and tracker.

 

[j-bird]

I FOUND HIM!!!! I estimate he traveled roughly a mile from where I shot him. I pulled the shot and gut shot him - bullet never even entered the upper chest cavity - blew the liver to pieces. Doubtful the meat is any good (been sitting a full week with daytime temps at 45 or slightly more). I can now sleep! I hate loosing a deer and was hell bend and determined to find him if I could. Lots of folks said to move one. Nope - that wasn't an option. I probably walked roughly 4 miles before I found him today, but this story does have a happy ending.

 

[Freeborn]

View attachment 3245
I FOUND HIM!!!! I estimate he traveled roughly a mile from where I shot him. I pulled the shot and gut shot him - bullet never even entered the upper chest cavity - blew the liver to pieces. Doubtful the meat is any good (been sitting a full week with daytime temps at 45 or slightly more). I can now sleep! I hate loosing a deer and was hell bend and determined to find him if I could. Lots of folks said to move one. Nope - that wasn't an option. I probably walked roughly 4 miles before I found him today, but this story does have a happy ending.

Congrats! Glad your search was successful. I am like you, I take shooting a deer very seriously and will pass unless I know I am going to kill the deer.

Your hard work paid off, Good work!

 

[SD51555]

J-bird, did you shoot this one on public land, or were you having to navigate the politics of crossing others' private land to search for him?

 

[j-bird]

I only hunt my land and I am surrounded by private ground. Luckily I get along with most of my neighbors - not to the point of being able to implement a co-op, but they at least understand that deer run sometimes. This is only the second deer of mine I have had to cross the line to recover. I always talk to the neighbor in person and I never take a weapon and even work with them if they have folks hunting. We have a fairly close group - all our kids go to school together and that helps. It also helps that I'm not standing on their doorstep every weekend either!

 

[bueller]

Nice job j-bird. How did you eventually find him?

 

[Natty Bumppo]

View attachment 3245
I FOUND HIM!!!! I estimate he traveled roughly a mile from where I shot him. I pulled the shot and gut shot him - bullet never even entered the upper chest cavity - blew the liver to pieces. Doubtful the meat is any good (been sitting a full week with daytime temps at 45 or slightly more). I can now sleep! I hate loosing a deer and was hell bend and determined to find him if I could. Lots of folks said to move one. Nope - that wasn't an option. I probably walked roughly 4 miles before I found him today, but this story does have a happy ending.

That's awesome! Congrats on finding him. A liver shot deer will only last about 4 or 5 hours. Was their any indication on the day you shot him that it was a liver shot?

 

[wiscwhip]

Congrats on the recovery j-bird. Well done!

 

[j-bird]

bueller - I simply worked areas in as much of a grid as possible. I would check one area and then move to the next. Tried to keep areas realistic in size and not get overwhelmed with the amount of cover to search - you eat an elephant one bite at a time. Just kept trying, and pushing. The deer was in one of my last options. There was no secrete or trick to it, walk, walk, walk and then walk some more.

 

[non-pro-archer]

Glad you found him. It sucks losing one

 

[OkieKubota]

I am amazed the coyotes and birds didn't have their way with him in the 5 days!

Congrats!

 

[shawnv]

Congrats at finding your deer, persistence pays off! The meat might not be rotten but the flavor will be affected.