Rifles & Blood Trails

[Pieters_Pasture]

The past few years I've been hunting with an American Reuger .270, 150grain - R&P Whitetails and have been successful at harvesting deer but blood trails are very minimal. The first buck I shot, I thought I missed, he trotted off about 60 yards and went down. I went to where the impact happened and found nothing, not until we were almost on top of him. The following year, I had a buck bedded and made a successful shot and still barely nothing. Being kind of new to rifle, say three years... Is this the normal or could it be the type of ammo being used? 

Any suggestions please share..  

[grampy]

I've only killed two deer with a rifle. 7mm-08 140gr. Federal Premium Nosler BTs. Both died instantly. So I  too will follow this thread, to see what the more experienced rifle hunters have to say.

[G-Man]

I do not like anything smaller than 30cal for deer or bear.. I assume you bow hunt and are punching thru the ribs like you do with bow.. Arrows kill by hemorage.. Bullets by shock .. Aiming point is different a high shoulder with rifle will drop them instantly do That with an arrow and you have no deer.. 

A soft noses or hollow point or expandable tipped bullet will help you with your choice of weapon..thin skinned game bullets.

Personally I have a good chance of seeing bear and I use a 45-70. My woods are thick shots are 50 to 70 yards max.. Leaves a big hole. Flat nosed bullet and if deer does run blood trail is very evident.. Plus I like the ability to take a bear without a perfect shot.. Most of 5th guys have gone from 270.308 300 win mag to 30-30 and 45-70 as well as back to 12 ga as distances were not needed and bullets just punched thru leaving poor blood trails unless shoulder shots were made..( ruins a lot of meat..bone and blood shot threw out) . 

[wolc123]

It is common to not get blood trails with rifles, especially relatively fast ones with lighter bullets.   The main reason for that is that those bullets often transfer all of their energy to the deer. They are designed for that purpose. To do that, they have to stay in the carcass.  If they blow all the way thru, you might get a blood trail from the exit wound, but some energy is wasted.   If you want an exit wound and a better blood trail, consider a slower, heavier bullet/rifle like a 45/70 or 35 Rem.

There might be something to just a little more dia (.03" or so.)  All three that I have shot with my 30/06 have dropped dead in their tracks, right where they were hit.  The 150 grain bullets stayed inside the first two, struck from the side at longer range.   Not a drop of blood came out of either of those, until I gutted them.   I did get a lengthwise, back to front pass thru on the last one,  from 50 yards, and that one left a pretty good sized puddle of blood on the snow from the exit wound, at the front of the neck.         

[The_Real_TCIII]

I use the same setup, the first buck I shot with it went about 50 yards and piled up. No blood to speak of and I jut had a pencil hole in and out. Double lung so not much to stop the bullet I guess? Last season I shit a buck at 8 yards with it, he went about 75 yards with an absolute mess of a blood trail


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Buckmaster7600]

Did you have exits with those 2 shots?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mowin]

I've shot deer with everything from a 22-250 to a 35rem.  Some have had great BT, some not.   All depends on where hit, exit wound or not ECT.  I've had tremendous BT with a 22-250.  And some not so good ones with a 35 remember. 

Biggest mistake, assuming you missed because of a lack of blood

Edited November 8, 2017 by mowin

[vizslas]

I have only had blood puddles when I hunt with my rifle. British 303, for instance the 9 point that I took in Centerville, dead before he hit the ground. Big doe in Gowanda I caught her bedded across a ravine She jumped up at the shot and again, dead when she landed.I think what happens is with a small entry wound there is really no way for blood to get out instantly like with an arrow. The hydrostatic shock turns everything to jelly and leaves everything a mess,witch in my opinion would inhibit blood flow. remember without a direct hit to the heart or spine its really the shock that drops em on the spot and a little luck.Bullet choice has a lot to do with it, got to love the hollow points.

[stubborn1VT]

I've had mixed results with rifles.  My first buck I shot at 18yds in fresh snow with a .32-40.  No blood at all.  Hit him twice, double lung, and through the windpipe.  He went 70yds and tipped over.  

The rest of my deer have been taken with 140-160 grain bullets out of a 7mm Rem Mag.  Out of the 20 deer I've killed with that, most blood trails have been weak.  I have always gotten an exit hole.  The only buck that bled well was a big spike that I shot lengthwise and had to track over 1/4 mile.  The exit was low in his hind quarters and he bled lots.  

I don't have any great advice.  Your setup is an excellent one, IMO.  Shoulder shots do anchor deer, but I hate to ruin meat.  I shoot double lung/heart and then go a little ways and find them.  Good luck!

[vizslas]

heart shot and break a leg slows em down.

[LET EM GROW]

Ive only taken 1 deer with a rifle, 30-06 with 165gr core lokts. Hit was back in liver/guts.. Both small holes in/out. Blood trail was good IMO for where the entrance and exit holes were. But with my ML I shoot 250gr shockwaves polymer tipped .. they leave small holes in, and small holes exiting.. Therefore blood trails are pretty minimal. Unless hit lower in the chest cavity. It definitely depends on the location of the hit, and the type of bullet used. They are nothing compared to slinging a rifled slug through a rib cage of a whitetail.   

Sticking with the ML and probably the 45-70 this year. 

[Ontario Buckhunter]

1 hour ago, The_Real_TCIII said:

Last season I shit a buck at 8 yards with it, he went about 75 yards with an absolute mess of a blood trail


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

If your crapping like that I would ask if you had the blood trail.

[Uncle Nicky]

Big heavy bullets, caliber greater than .270, and shoulder shots ought to drop even the biggest buck right in their tracks. Only a couple I have shot ran, and Stevie Wonder would have been able to track them. Most times, I find a decent clump of hair right at the impact sight.

[WNYBuckHunter]

1 hour ago, The_Real_TCIII said:

 Last season I shit a buck at 8 yards with it, he went about 75 yards with an absolute mess of a blood trail


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Was the blood trail from him or from you? That had to hurt. 

[mowin]

Knew a guy that hunted with a 458 win mag.. Shot lots of deer with it. You would think it would anchor them on the spot.  He said many deer ran after being shot thru the lungs.  Bigger isn't always better. Hit 'em rite, and you'll find 'em.  Currently using a 7mm-08 with 140g.  Usually see 'em drop depending on terrain.  

[airedale]

11 minutes ago, mowin said:

Knew a guy that hunted with a 458 win mag.. Shot lots of deer with it. You would think it would anchor them on the spot.  He said many deer ran after being shot thru the lungs.  Bigger isn't always better. Hit 'em rite, and you'll find 'em.  Currently using a 7mm-08 with 140g.  Usually see 'em drop depending on terrain.  

It is all about bullet performance and matching hunting bullets to the game that is being hunted. Large caliber big game cartridges are designed to penetrate large animals and break through big bones (Moose, Elk, Big Bears, African game) consequently their jackets are heavy and will take a lot of resistance to make them perform properly. There are also many calibers used for Deer hunting that are also used for larger game and there are some loads manufactured with heavy duty bullets for that job. A Deer is really not a big animal and does not require that heavy duty type of bullet at all,  those bullets made for larger game with thick jackets just make a pass through with little or no expansion on Deer. High velocity along with explosive controlled  expansion will provide the best drop em in their tracks performance. Take the popular 30/06 as an example, for me I would be using the thin jacketed 150 gr bullets for Deer hunting and maybe the 180s if I was in Bear country with an opportunity to take one. For large bodied big boned stuff like Moose and Elk heavy constructed 180s, 200s and maybe even 220s depending on the terrain and cover.

Bottom line when you match your game to the right bullet and make a good shot it is all over.

Al

[wfmiller]

I use a .270 and I get very little blood as well. The holes are so small going in and only once Have I gotten a pass through with it.

[hunterdan44]

I've used a .270 for years and have shot maybe 20 deer and a 250 lb black bear using 130 grain core lokt bullets. I would say I've never had that problem but there are so many variables , shot placement is one of the them. I use several different rifles during gun season. Last season I shot a 6 pt at about 15 yards ( heart shot) and it ran about 50 yards blood everywhere. During a heavy snowfall so I got on his trail quickly, I would say I've had as many drop in there tracks with the 270 as any other caliber I also use. 300 win mag, 44 , 30-30 30.40 krag depending on my mood.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Rack Attack]

For deer you really want a bullet with a thin jacket that will open up.  this will increase the shock to the animal as well as leave a larger exit wound.  For deer I really like a nosler ballistic tip in anything from a 243 on up to a 300 class rifle.  I also really like the nosler accubonds, they are just a bonded ballistic tip.  I'm not a fan of partition type or solid copper type bullets for deer as they do not expand enough in my opinion.

[steve863]

I think some of you are over thinking this blood trail issue here.  So are some of you saying that people shouldn't hunt with proven deer calibers like a .270 and .30-06 because deer don't bleed enough shot with these rounds?  What type of blood trails are you expecting?  The only time you will be following blood is if you made a poor shot.  I know $#!+ can happen, but the goal should be to make a hit where you won't be needing to trail blood.  If you hit a deer where you are supposed to behind the shoulder in the vitals, he may run a bit, but in the majority of cases he will drop within sight and there will be absolutely no need to trail blood.   Exactly how much blood would you expect if a deer dashes for 50-100 yards after a mortal hit and then drops dead?  The deers movement alone may restrict blood from flowing out.   And a deer can cover 50-100 yards awful quick!  In my opinion, if you hit the deer where you are supposed to, the amount of blood that will pour out of it won't matter in the least.

[mowin]

55 minutes ago, airedale said:

It is all about bullet performance and matching hunting bullets to the game that is being hunted. Large caliber big game cartridges are designed to penetrate large animals and break through big bones (Moose, Elk, Big Bears, African game) consequently their jackets are heavy and will take a lot of resistance to make them perform properly. There are also many calibers used for Deer hunting that are also used for larger game and there are some loads manufactured with heavy duty bullets for that job. A Deer is really not a big animal and does not require that heavy duty type of bullet at all,  those bullets made for larger game with thick jackets just make a pass through with little or no expansion on Deer. High velocity along with explosive controlled  expansion will provide the best drop em in their tracks performance. Take the popular 30/06 as an example, for me I would be using the thin jacketed 150 gr bullets for Deer hunting and maybe the 180s if I was in Bear country with an opportunity to take one. For large bodied big boned stuff like Moose and Elk heavy constructed 180s, 200s and maybe even 220s depending on the terrain and cover.

Bottom line when you match your game to the right bullet and make a good shot it is all over.

Al

Exactly...  Some have mentioned to use larger calibers.  Guess I should have explained better that a larger caliber isn't always a better option.  

Thanks for saying what I was thinking,   lol

[wfmiller]

18 minutes ago, steve863 said:

I think some of you are over thinking this blood trail issue here.  So are some of you saying that people shouldn't hunt with proven deer calibers like a .270 and .30-06 because deer don't bleed enough shot with these rounds?  What type of blood trails are you expecting?  The only time you will be following blood is if you made a poor shot.  I know $#!+ can happen, but the goal should be to make a hit where you won't be needing to trail blood.  If you hit a deer where you are supposed to behind the shoulder in the vitals, he may run a bit, but in the majority of cases he will drop within sight and there will be absolutely no need to trail blood.   Exactly how much blood would you expect if a deer dashes for 50-100 yards after a mortal hit and then drops dead?  The deers movement alone may restrict blood from flowing out.   And a deer can cover 50-100 yards awful quick!  In my opinion, if you hit the deer where you are supposed to, the amount of blood that will pour out of it won't matter in the least.

The only time you will be following blood is if you made a poor shot....say what?

A few years ago I double lunged a buck at 15 yards, he went 200 yards before he dropped and we never found more then 8 or 9 little drops of blood. Last year I double lunged one at 25 yards, blood every where. It looked like somebody painted the ground red. He only went about 50 yards and dropped. So same shot, same gun,  two very different blood trails. So you can make a perfect shot and have to follow blood. 

[steve863]

10 minutes ago, wfmiller said:

The only time you will be following blood is if you made a poor shot....say what?

A few years ago I double lunged a buck at 15 yards, he went 200 yards before he dropped and we never found more then 8 or 9 little drops of blood. Last year I double lunged one at 25 yards, blood every where. It looked like somebody painted the ground red. He only went about 50 yards and dropped. So same shot, same gun,  two very different blood trails. So you can make a perfect shot and have to follow blood. 

I don't know how many deer you have shot, but I WILL guarantee you that if you shoot another 100 thru both lungs with a rifle, 99% of them won't go as far as 200 yards.  The caliber of the gun probably won't matter, neither.  So the one that did go 200 yards on you is a very rare bird.

Edited November 8, 2017 by steve863

[bushnell]

I use a Rem .280 w/140 grain core lokts. I have experienced almost everything I have read from all the posts. I would say a majority of my deer drop dead in their tracks. However I have made good shot placements on the deer...ie... my buck last year, double lunged ran almost 200 yards. Had a very little blood trail. Now I had lots of hair and blood at POI and the first 5 yards. Then I have shot other ones with good blood trails and would say are dead within 50 yards. So I just think that there are too many variable to really break it down on whether or not you have a good blood trail. 

[TACC]

I shoot 300 win mag, or 300 WSM. 35 years ago I shot a deer in the front shoulder, tracked him for 2 miles. Told myself I would only shoot neck or head from then on, if I can't get that shot I don't take it. Killed one every year since then using 150 165 or 180 grain nosler partition. Every year very consistent. Pencil hole going in golf ball size coming out, in fact the only thing holding the head to the body is skin.No blood trail worries, they are DRT. Yes I agree any centerfire caliber with any type bullet will create the same desired effect. I also agree location, location, location.

I am assuming the ML Shockwave will do the same thing using the same location.

I despise chasing wounded deer.

If you are going to shoot in any other area besides the CNS, you will always have the same areas of concern.

Sent from my SM-G900T3 using Tapatalk