# cannot get the blood trail I want



## Troy Butler (Nov 15, 2012)

What am I doing wrong. I shoot a s&w 44 mag performance center. I cannot get the blood trail I would like from the shells I have been shooting. Which all I have tried are the winchester 240gr soft point and the hornady 225gr leverevlotution as I new to this(handgunning). Shoot a doe last night hit in shoulder saw blood as she ran by. Got down found some blood was able to track for a ways but the blood  trail was not good at all. Ended up not being able to find blood after a ways and had to give up.
 I have killed a few with the gun using the 240gr shells but there again the blood trail was not good the deer did not go far thankfully but just a really poor blood trail. Sorry so long.


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## Wiskey_33 (Nov 15, 2012)

Is the round passing all the way through the animal?


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## AMBUSHER (Nov 15, 2012)

Get yourself a box of Cor-Bon 260gr. BCHC's and try them. At "reasonable" pistol range, guarentee that they will be leakin on both sides!


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## cddogfan1 (Nov 15, 2012)

Never had any problems with Hornaday 240 grain XTP hollow points


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## Win1917 (Nov 15, 2012)

Maybe try going for heart/lung shot. Hitting lower yields a much better blood trail. Second thought, if you're having to track shoulder shot deer then they might not be hitting the right spots. From what I've seen, shoulder shot deer usually don't need to be tracked.


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## Wiskey_33 (Nov 15, 2012)

cddogfan1 said:


> Never had any problems with Hornaday 240 grain XTP hollow points



Just loaded some up over some 2400 for this weekends hunt. Hopefully one will come in close enough.


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## HandgunHTR (Nov 15, 2012)

cddogfan1 said:


> Never had any problems with Hornaday 240 grain XTP hollow points



This is what I use in my .44 Mag and in my muzzleloader.  I have yet to lose a deer to them.



Win1917 said:


> Maybe try going for heart/lung shot. Hitting lower yields a much better blood trail. Second thought, if you're having to track shoulder shot deer then they might not be hitting the right spots. From what I've seen, shoulder shot deer usually don't need to be tracked.



What I have highlighted in red are very important.  It is most likely that she was within 30-50 yards from where you found last blood.  In my experience with the .44 mag, high hits will cause most of the blood to end up in the chest cavity instead of the on the ground.  Aim a little lower.

If you are hitting high shoulder, they should be dropping right there.  If you are hitting low shoulder or dead center shoulder, you may not be getting the penetration you need due to most of the energy being used up pushing through the shoulder blade.  My suggestion is just go for the same shot you would make with a bow (double lung).  That shot should leave a blood trail a blind man could follow.


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## LanceColeman (Nov 15, 2012)

True. High shoulder is a DRT (dead right there) shot. I get exits with my 480 ruger all the time. But not so much with my 44 mag. I think I have gotten exits only once from a high shoulder with my 44 mag and it was mainly because it was a small doe very very close.

Low shoulder could be getting bigger heavier bone and not getting far enough back in the goody basket. The exit wound is a huge factor in blood trails.

I shoot hornady XTPs in both calibers. 240 grainers in the 44 mag. Behind the shoulder makes from some nasty exits and nasty short blood trails.

But single entries with no exits even with the 480 don't put a lot of blood on the ground. I shot an 8pt Sunday with the 480. Shot him at 70 yds walking towards me. He stopped and stared at me and I knew it was kill him there or don't kill him at all. Bullet entered an inch above the little curly cue of hair center the chest. It was lodged just beneath the hair where the white and brown hair meet on the BACK of the ham. It turned everything inside him to jello. He only went 50-60 yds and piled up. But with no exit there was only a drop here and a little foam from his mouth there to account for a blood trail.


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## Dub (Nov 15, 2012)

LanceColeman said:


> True. High shoulder is a DRT (dead right there) shot. I get exits with my 480 ruger all the time. But not so much with my 44 mag. I think I have gotten exits only once from a high shoulder with my 44 mag and it was mainly because it was a small doe very very close.
> 
> Low shoulder could be getting bigger heavier bone and not getting far enough back in the goody basket. The exit wound is a huge factor in blood trails.
> 
> ...



Awesome story !!!


Glad you got 'em.


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## Troy Butler (Nov 16, 2012)

Thanks  guys I will be getting some of the hornaday 240 xtp's.


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## frankwright (Nov 16, 2012)

I have killed a lot more deer with the .41 than the .44 but the same things apply.
I shoot high shoulder and wait for the perfect shot. I have never had a deer not go down in sight and usually within feet of where it has been shot.
I have used the XTP, Remington JSP and a Lead SWC and have no complaints with any of them.
Last one I shot was with a Redhawk and it was with the XTP. If I could have stood the deer back up, it would have been in it's own tracks. Deer was at 25 yards and literally fell over and never moved.
Shot placement is key as even with a rifle a bad shot may mean a lost deer.


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## LanceColeman (Nov 16, 2012)

Let me see if I remember how to do this. If this works, this is a Hornady 325 gr. XTP recovered from the 8pt


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## LanceColeman (Nov 16, 2012)

AH! It worked!


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## Larry Rooks (Nov 22, 2012)

Hey guys, give a good hard cast bullet a try, they penetrate soooooo good and have always exited for me.
In 44 mag I use the RCBS 275 gr Flat Nose and it hammers em.  In 41 mag I use a 220 gr Keith type SWC and in 45 Colt a 255 gr Keith type SWC.  All 3 have worked 100%.  The only factory bullet is use is the Barnes TSX and they are awesome too, just expensive


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## Darkhorse (Dec 1, 2012)

Started hunting with the .44 in both carbine and SBH about 35 years ago. The first couple of deer I shot I had poor bullet performance. I was shooting Hornady 220 Hollow points. The first deer a 7 point took the bullet dead center the heart broadside at about 25 yds. The bullet came out in chunks but killed the deer. The second one was shot a little further away and we never found it.
So, a buddy of mine who I knew had hunted with the carbine for years told me he shoots Remington soft points in 240 gr. and it creates the deadliest mushroom in the woods.
Now all these years later I have shot many different types of .44 bullets but my hunting bullets have remained a 240 gr. soft point. I have a batch of Speer Gold Tip 240 SP's loaded to the max with 2400 and they are devastating. I had to shoot a big sow who failed to get caught by the trap and her pigs did, so she waited in the shadows. When I walked up she came for me and I shot her in the face at about 15 yards. The bullet traveled through paunch, lungs, bones and all and I cut it out of rump where the skin stopped it. The guy I gave the meat to said it was almost ruined and please don't shoot one through the body again.
I don't fix what aint broke. Practice a lot and stoke my SBH and Ruger .44 carbine with good quality 240 Sp's loaded to the max.


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## chefrific (Dec 5, 2012)

***Hornady 240 grain XTP
A deer slaying and accurate bullet.


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