A hit or... what ?

[Joe Maisto]

Siting looking down a draw and clearing with the rancher standing next to me in N.Dakota in '77. one by one, 4 white tail stepped out of the woods and continued on their way into more woods. My .270 Model 50 JC Higgins topped with a Redfield Widefield 3 x 9 watching them as they walked off. Here he comes ! The biggest buck with the biggest set of horns I have ever had in my sights, stepped out and stopped...broadside. Distance ? estimated at 150-175. Rancher whispered ...THAT'S A BUCK ! He never knew we were there. I pulled on his shoulder, touched one off, and that huge animal came straight up off the ground perhaps a foot, and ran off . Rancher said... You
GOT him !
He went there. I stayed sitting where I was, eventually joining him. No hair, blood, anything. Never found him. Still looking for an answer after 47 years. What would make an animal jump that high off the ground. ? I refuse to believe I shot under him at that distance. The rifle /scope combo was shooting, as I already had a 6 point the day before. ( there were three of us hunting.) Your thoughts ?

 

[Toby Bradshaw]

From your buck's reaction I'd guess that you made a chest hit, probably lethal. I've had chest-shot coyotes run close to 200 yards before piling up, leaving little or no blood trail.

When I shot this one I thought I had missed, then found this massive blood trail 50 yards from where he was hit. He made it another 50 yards before expiring, despite having no heart muscle left.



Animals hit too far back tend to hunch up when shot, rather than buck. Hits to the central nervous system will drop them in their tracks, even if only temporarily (such as a hit on a vertebral process).

 

[JFrank]

Maybe shot under him, they don’t like that

 

[daniel brothers]

you didn't miss him... that is for sure... they don't wheel upwards on a miss.... you hit it, but NOT in a good location... especially with a off hand shot at that distance.

 

[Joe Maisto]

you didn't miss him... that is for sure... they don't wheel upwards on a miss.... you hit it, but NOT in a good location... especially with a off hand shot at that distance.

I was in a sitting position all the while, long before he stepped into the opening and stopped ...and while taking the shot as well....

 

[Idaho-Lefty]

By any chance, were you shooting, a Remington, BRONZE Point, bullet ??
We lost 2 nice Deer ( mid 1960's ) with them, using 150 grs, factory Bronze point, loads, in a .30-06 ! We started using Hornady and then, Nosler Partitions after that and we never lost any, since ! I actually stood next to an older Friend and watched him drop one, hard ! I was congradulating him for, making a good shot, WHEN it got back up and went over the Hill ( we found, where he fell and found mucho Hair but , no Blood ! ) . My dad lost, a huge, Non-Typical, Utah deer SAME shoulder shot with, the same Ammo ( again, NO, Blood ! ) After losing those deer, we only shot Jackrabbits with, the rest of, the ammo ! Our Theory was, that they Cratered the Hide and blew up on, the shoulder blades. Most of, TODAYS Bullets,.. are so much, better !

 

[nr123]

Coyotes and deer can run a long way after a heart shot. Often not leaving a blood trail, or covering a lot of territory and making it very hard to find any blood.

 

[Kramerica]

Reaction of the deer indicates a hit but zero blood and zero hair.... I agree with @SPJ probably shot under him. What grain bullet were you using? 100 yard zero?

 

[rjtfroggy]

Plain and simple YOU MISSED.
Been there, done that.
And embarrassing myself even more, at a closer range.

 

[Idaho-Lefty]

@ nr123,.. AGREE with that, too ! Years ago, I used, a Sierra 125 gr bullet, in my .30-06 and IT did, "pencil thru" with, very minimal blood ! But, we were able to "track" it by finding, a few drops of blood here and there WITH, 4 of us looking ! Nosler and Hornady 150 gr Bullets @ 2,900 FPS, always did, a MUCH better "Job" for us with, 50 cent sized, Exit holes.
IT would help to know, the exact Bullet that, the OP used !

 

[Dub]

certainly all speculation after 47 years...

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

Bucking either the bull type or donkey kick is almost always a hit, see it with both gun and bow. High lung( especially single lung) will take quite a distance before blood starts to show on the ground. Liver hits can be a tough blood trail, as fat can plug the hole(s).

 

[wkdickinson]

I was going to say "I missed the biggest buck I have ever seen", but I don't think I did. 15 years ago I was hunting with a friend in a blind that overlooked a stubble field in the UP of MI. The blind backed up to a swamp. My friend had hunted this blind a lot and knew that the deer came out very late and also knew there was a really big buck hanging around.

So it was almost too dark to shoot and this monster appears like a ghost in front of us at about 70 yds. I pull up on him with my Ruger No. 1 in 280 Rem, aim low at the front of the chest, like always do and break the trigger. I knew he was dead! At that time I was seriously shooting NRA High Power and was in the habit of "taking a picture with my eye" when the trigger broke and I know where the scope was when the trigger broke.

We walked into the field expecting to find a dead buck, but could find nothing. Four of us looked for an hour, no blood, no fur, nothing. We went back the next morning when it was light, same thing, we also walked the swamp - nothing. To this day, I can still see the sight picture when the trigger broke and I know that deer was dead - but we never found it.

The next year one of my friends was hunting that same swamp during bird season and found the remains of a deer with a huge rack about 50 yards behind where that blind had been. So it goes.

 

[msinc]

I have shot two whitetails that are similar stories. The first was a pretty decent 8 pointer at 75 yards with a 20 ga rifled slug. I had a nice broadside shot and the gun I had was very accurate, as throwing a slug goes. Point being, 75 yards was not out of range. He kicked like a mule and ran in the direction he was facing into some pine trees and out of sight. It was almost dark and I found no blood or hair. Came back the next day and found his tracks easily in the sandy gravel of the opening. Looked for two days with several other friends and we found no blood, no hair and no deer.
Second one was a big buck in an open field in the rain. I hit him with a 308 and there was no question because of the water vapor that blasted off of his hide. This deer actually immediately dropped in his tracks. Only to get up in a few seconds and run off. Not a drop of blood {wasn't raining that hard} not a piece of hair and no deer after two days of looking.
Generally speaking, when it comes to whitetail deer you can look for a couple things that denote a hit; they run with their tail down, they jump straight up, kick like a mule or make a sudden jolt motion and they run in the direction they are facing. Even if they are facing you and see you, they will typically run right at you initially then turn. If the flag is up, they don't jump up or kick often times dropping lower and they immediately switch directions then you probably did not make a hit. A bullet that fails to expand thru one or both lungs will seem like a kill shot, but often results in the deer getting away. Sometimes they die, sometimes they recover.

 

[Joe Maisto]

I was going to say "I missed the biggest buck I have ever seen", but I don't think I did. 15 years ago I was hunting with a friend in a blind that overlooked a stubble field in the UP of MI. The blind backed up to a swamp. My friend had hunted this blind a lot and knew that the deer came out very late and also knew there was a really big buck hanging around.

So it was almost too dark to shoot and this monster appears like a ghost in front of us at about 70 yds. I pull up on him with my Ruger No. 1 in 280 Rem, aim low at the front of the chest, like always do and break the trigger. I knew he was dead! At that time I was seriously shooting NRA High Power and was in the habit of "taking a picture with my eye" when the trigger broke and I know where the scope was when the trigger broke.

We walked into the field expecting to find a dead buck, but could find nothing. Four of us looked for an hour, no blood, no fur, nothing. We went back the next morning when it was light, same thing, we also walked the swamp - nothing. To this day, I can still see the sight picture when the trigger broke and I know that deer was dead - but we never found it.

The next year one of my friends was hunting that same swamp during bird season and found the remains of a deer with a huge rack about 50 yards behind where that blind had been. So it goes.

And that is what i still feel . Biggest mistake "we" made, ( rancher and I) was... not looking any further for that animal due to the way he ran off , and no hair where he stood. Stupid...
My bullet selection was probably one of my hand loads of either a Speer 130 or 150 , or a Norma SP -BT 150 in front of 54 gr. of 4350. Yeah... memories. Thank you all...for your responses. It has been interesting.

 

[Bill K]

What you describe is a typical heart/low chest shot. I would do some real good looking along the path the buck took off in. Somewhere there will finally be blood or the animal, on the ground.

 

[Bc'z]

Might I suggest a small spray bottle of hydrogen peroxide be kept in your hunting packs along with flaggers tape.
It took me a couple hours to track my buck this year on hands n knees. Lung hit bled internally
If it looks like it might be blood a lil spritz of peroxide will tell you.
Mark it and keep crawling.

 

[std7mag]

I've seen deer act as you described with a miss during archery.
Arrow just under deer (before i got a rangefinder). Jumped straight up & took off like no tomorrow!

I'd venture to suggest a miss.
Close, but still a miss.

 

[Joe Maisto]

What you describe is a typical heart/low chest shot. I would do some real good looking along the path the buck took off in. Somewhere there will finally be blood or the animal, on the ground.

I certainly should have done that ! I will forever be sorry, as that was a buck of a lifetime for me , and I still see it all as it happened. My rifle training with the "Corps" back then, and further down the road... with the 03'a3 in various positions , I do feel rather confident it was a hit, especially from a sitting position I was in, and plenty of time, as he knew NOT....we were watching him.
I have quit hunting in later years, as a spine shot on a WI. buck turned me off on Killing anymore , and that one was on a drive we were making, ( me included) on a fire lane perhaps 15-18' wide. He was airborne as he left one side of the woods to the other . Wasn't but a couple of seconds to raise my Win. 88-.284 with peeps to get one off. Wasn't pretty , and it took something out of me.
Thank you all...

 

[Kittitas George]

I shot a nice buck twice thru the heart at about 70 yards. He was right behind a doe, there was no indication I'd hit him or even shot. Second shot, nothing, he just kept following the doe. Found him about 100 yds. away 2 shots thru the heart. I don't remember which gun I was using, either a 270 or 300 WM, probably the 300 WM, we were in the Scape Goat, grizzly bear country. Not much of an exit wound, but the heart was gone, bullets didn't have time or hit enough mass to open up. Neither the guide nor I ever saw a deer just keep walking when hit like that. Other deer I've shot at that range fell down. While gutting the deer, the guide said he'd seen a grizzly right there a week before, luckily we got the deer back to camp before ole grizz showed up. Great memories.