Deer loads/ blood trails advise.

[chop house]

’ve noticed that the blood trail has a lot to do with how high the exit wound is on the side. Lower the hit, the more blood On the ground.

Yup. Being predominantly a bow hunter, my saying is " I would rather miss 'em low than hit 'em high"

Thus when gun hunting I have difficulty thinking 'high shoulder' or 'further forward'.

 

[chop house]

Also .. is it unadvisable to take deer with .44 240 hard cast sw (18 brinell) at high s&w spcl speeds (1000 fps)

Is a lung shot pass thru unlikely?

 

[Rooterpig]

Hammer hunter will fix it for you.

 

[DeerHunter82]

I’ve always taken vital shots when possible and have had great success with Sierra Pro Hunter and Game King. 130gr in .270 and 150gr in .308. Rarely ever make it far with a lung shot.

 

[deadidarren]

2 weeks and no reply from the OP? WOW

 

[Steve h]

I’m with Kermit in VA: Accubond

 

[RegionRat]

My wife and I both shoot core-loks in our 270 win and 308. The last two deer we shot had to be tracked for 100 yards with little or no blood trail. I accuse her of shooting blood less bullets. I want to try something else.

Allen, can you share a little more of the story on those bad experiences with respect to the distance of the shots, and how those particular shots hit in terms of anatomy and line?

That link with the transparent deer showing the major bones and anatomy are a very important concept to teach novice hunters and folks who have not done much field dressing or butchering.

When I have guided young kids with no background, I have them visualize what I called "the basketball".

We talk about how chaotic and difficult shot placement can be by describing the anatomy, and we make up an imaginary "basketball" that sits inside the front of the chest with a little margin from the front, top, and bottom and sides.

They have to pretend to "see all the way through the deer/elk", not just the surface and fur. This way, when they don't get a perfect broadside, the head on and quartering shots do not throw them off.

Then I have them imagine "extra points" for hitting a "baseball inside that basketball" and to do this for all the frontal angles.

We talk about holding off on the quartering-away shots and the going-away shots, due to the obstructions of all the internal parts blocking that basketball.

If they hit the middle 1/3 of that basketball, we generally get a DRT. If they barely get it in that basketball, as in a double or single lung, we might have to track for as far as those amped-up deer/elk can run for about 30 - 45 seconds, (which can be far). If they just nick a lung, I will have a long day....

Personally, my guess is your story will be of a lung, or double lung shot. I have seen some huge mule deer and elk take it right through the heart with 7 MAG and run a long way while dead on their feet, so I don't think your story sounds like it was all that bad.

So what were the details of those shots?

 

[MQ1]

Also .. is it unadvisable to take deer with .44 240 hard cast sw (18 brinell) at high s&w spcl speeds (1000 fps)

Is a lung shot pass thru unlikely?

In my experience, a hard cast .44 will do just fine. I think my pistol loads with a keith bullet are about 1100 fps. I wouldn’t try to lob them out too far, but inside 60 yards they should do just fine.

MQ1

 

[nwmnbowhunter]

My wife and I both shoot core-loks in our 270 win and 308. The last two deer we shot had to be tracked for 100 yards with little or no blood trail. I accuse her of shooting blood less bullets. I want to try something else.

Core loks are the best deer killing machines ever made.

Blood trails are never consistent for rifle shot deer.

 

[ISS]

I shoot them here in SW Idaho mostly with my 50-90 Winchester. Cast 650gr Paper Patched bullet at about 1500fps MV. They go about a foot from impact. YMMV...

ISS

 

[marchx]

I shoot deer with berger hybrids due to their exceptional accuracy. In Europe we shoot vitals, That’s the old school shooting. We love to track deer, and there is a popular belief the meat tastes better because of the blood loss.

 

[wright brothers]

I have a lot of experience with
old corlokts in 270.
They work. I'll take Noslers every and all the time thank you.