# Shot a deer, no blood trail...



## Sterling

This morning I had an opportunity to harvest a doe. Shot her right behind the shoulder angling down.  At first it seemed odd that she ran off with her tail in the air.  I wondered if maybe I'd hit a small branch thus missing her.  Got down and looked for blood.  Nothing.  Walked to the last place I saw her and still no blood.  Now I am thinking I must have missed, but walked back to the spot I shot her at.  Noticed her tracks going down the hill and decided to follow them.  It was easy at first with the loose leaves and her digging in while running off, but then the tracks started to get a bit tough to follow and at that point I finally found my first spot of blood.  However, after that there was no blood or tracks.  I circled the area and noticed something in the creek...it was her.  After inspecting the shot she was hit right where I was aiming, but the angle caught her lower lung and exited low on the other side.  I guess the exit hole was blocked by other organs and such which may not have allowed for any blood loss.  Anyone else ever experience this kind of thing?  

One thing I have learned, give it a bit more time and effort before you write it off as a miss.


----------



## smitty

Good save!  Always second guess yourself and look some more. Seems alot of folks couldn't tell ya where the deer was when shot and alot more couldn't figure out where they ran too following the shot!! I had same thing happen only blood I found was from drops coming out the  nose,entrance was high and exit low and full of lung!


----------



## AJLBucks

I killed a buck one time that did not bleed at all. Luckily he dropped dead in his tracks. I halfway examined him for entrance and exit wounds but found none. When I cut him open to gut him blood trickled out of both holes. I thought that was very strange but I didn't give it much thought cause I was too excited. He is my second best to date.


----------



## hunter_58

i'll bet that when you field dressed her, her abdomen was full of blood


----------



## bnew17

I shoot a 7 mag with 140 grain Winchester Ballistic Silver Tips. I rarely get a good blood trail and i hit behind the shoulder everytime. Now my deer run no more than 65 yards but they dont leave a blood trail. Luckily i have been able to watch them fall. When i am cleaning them and open up the cavity there is some serious internal bleeding like mentioned by Hunter 58.

good job on keeping with the deer. congrats. she'll eat good


----------



## BrentSte

Congratulations on your persistence! and your harvest!

Please note that I am not attempting to start a "where do you shoot them" hijack of your thread:

Many rifles shoot far too fast to successfully expand the bullet to cause the intended damage when flesh shooting a whitetail. I was always taught to hit the shoulder, not behind it as when bowhunting, so the bullet will hit the bone causing it to expand and cause its energy to disburse throughout the deer. This causes the shock that normally drops them on the spot or leaves a wound channel the size of a half-dollar or more.

Leave the "behind the shoulder" shots to the arrows with broadheads that cut a 1 1/2" - 2" hole and you'll limit your hit or miss dilemmas in the future!

Good Hunting!


----------



## shawnrice

x2 on that shoulder shot !!!!!!!!


----------



## shan528

my 11 yo daughter made a great shot on a 4 pointer last week found the arrow covered in bloo but never found the first drop on the ground never found the deer


----------



## bnew17

BrentSte said:


> Congratulations on your persistence! and your harvest!
> 
> Please note that I am not attempting to start a "where do you shoot them" hijack of your thread:
> 
> Many rifles shoot far too fast to successfully expand the bullet to cause the intended damage when flesh shooting a whitetail. I was always taught to hit the shoulder, not behind it as when bowhunting, so the bullet will hit the bone causing it to expand and cause its energy to disburse throughout the deer. This causes the shock that normally drops them on the spot or leaves a wound channel the size of a half-dollar or more.
> 
> Leave the "behind the shoulder" shots to the arrows with broadheads that cut a 1 1/2" - 2" hole and you'll limit your hit or miss dilemmas in the future!
> 
> Good Hunting!




a shoulder shot will drop deer, but it will also ruin half your meat..


----------



## Ruger Theory

I shot a buck a couple years ago took out both lungs and the heart, he ran 100 yards and never bleed a drop. I found him by doing the briar stomp for an hour then tried to back track him and couldn't find any blood still. I think sometimes we can kill the heart and there sometimes isn't enough pressure to push the blood out. Just a theory.


----------



## ponyboy

way to stay with it , congrats


----------



## queenj

hunter_58 said:


> i'll bet that when you field dressed her, her abdomen was full of blood



I had that happen last year; my shot went through both lungs but kind of high and I didn't find any blood for at least 40 yards, and then it was minimal. Another 40 yards and there was my doe. There was very little blood coming out the nose and it was hard to even find the bullet holes. All the blood was still in the chest cavity when I dressed it.


----------



## BrentSte

bnew17 said:


> a shoulder shot will drop deer, but it will also ruin half your meat..



Half a deer found on site is much more advantagious than no deer found and wasted.

I challenge you to weigh the meat, a shoulder and leg will yield about 4-6 lbs of meat. I am only shooting one of them. I will cut you a roast off of a hindquarter of a mature deer (buck or doe) that will weigh that much.

Bullets are made for impact and resistence to perform correctly.


----------



## seaweaver

I shoot no super fast,super hyped calibers. Big,slow and heavy. Meat shock is always minimal, and have only lost one deer...crazy as that was w/ a 45/70. the woods looked like a horror movie for the blood everywhere and that was w/ 3 guys looking at night and the next day so I consider that a fluke.
I have only fretted over one and it was found the next day. A 9pt high lung shot that went a straight line 250 yard w/ blood the last 30 feet or so. I think w/the high shot, the lungs had to fill to reach the exit hole.
Good job in sticking to it to find her.
cw


----------



## Richard P

Body fat and skin movement will close up a hole. If the shot is low you may get blood dripping. In the case of a shot through the heart, it may still pump but the blood just goes into the chest cavity.  A high hit, as mentioned, will fill the lungs but should result in bood exiting the nose.  A deer can run 40 to 50 yards, probably more, being heart shot. Rarely are two shots placed the same. It's a puzzle.


----------



## DeepweR

high shoulder shot= DRT no tracking job needed


----------



## T.P.

BrentSte said:


> Congratulations on your persistence! and your harvest!
> 
> Please note that I am not attempting to start a "where do you shoot them" hijack of your thread:
> 
> Many rifles shoot far too fast to successfully expand the bullet to cause the intended damage when flesh shooting a whitetail. I was always taught to hit the shoulder, not behind it as when bowhunting, so the bullet will hit the bone causing it to expand and cause its energy to disburse throughout the deer. This causes the shock that normally drops them on the spot or leaves a wound channel the size of a half-dollar or more.
> 
> Leave the "behind the shoulder" shots to the arrows with broadheads that cut a 1 1/2" - 2" hole and you'll limit your hit or miss dilemmas in the future!
> 
> 
> 
> Good Hunting!



Speed has nothing to do with expansion. Expansion comes from proper bullets matched to the game and load. 

Saying a bullet is traveling too fast to expand is like saying the faster you drive your car the less damage you'll do if you hit something.

The lung shot is King.


----------



## 2bbshot

T.P. said:


> Speed has nothing to do with expansion. Expansion comes from proper bullets matched to the game and load.
> 
> Saying a bullet is traveling too fast to expand is like saying the faster you drive your car the less damage you'll do if you hit something.
> 
> The lung shot is King.



The lung shot is king if you like tracking deer. The high shoulder shot is king if you like watching them hit the dirt. I prefer the latter.


----------



## T.P.

2bbshot said:


> The lung shot is king if you like tracking deer. The high shoulder shot is king if you like watching them hit the dirt. I prefer the latter.



I don't mind tracking them a full 30 feet.


----------



## bigalshootmupper

I am no expert at all.  Only killed 2 deer, both right behind the shoulder.  Both ran 40 yards and died within seconds.  
First deer shot at 40 yards with a 90 grain Nosler ballistic tip 6mm Rem that didn't exit, no blood trail at all.  Didn't like that so I stepped it up to a 308 shooting a 165 grain Nosler ballistic tip.  I was expecting a huge exit hole, but it was only nickel sized and no blood trail again.  But both deer dropped within 40 yards so why complain.  I think each situation is way different so you really can't compare each bullet, caliber, velocity, etc.  Just use what works for you and what you have confidence in.


----------



## Sterling

I reload all my ammo and have used a boat tail spitzer with great success and usually with great blood trails or seeing/hearing my game crash within sight/hearing distance, but this was a freak case I guess.  Got some good ideas from many of you though and I appreciate that very much.  Thanks guys!


----------

