a couple of quick questions

[eddie_v21]

i shot at a spike tonight at about 60-70 yards with my knight wolverine.i was using 245 gr. powerbelts and 100 gr. pyrodex.the shot looked good he jumped up and and ran out while being kinda hunkered up.the other deer that was with him just continued to feed.i went over to see if i had good blood or not and find NONE.i walked around there for a lil bit woulda stayed longer but it was getting dark and had a nice hike up the ridge.one of my questions is has anyone ever shot one and got no blood or hair on the spot and still found the deer close by?if by some chance i missed this deer do you think he will be back in that spot or should i move now?thanks

[davidhardegree]

Go back and look for the spike is what I would do. I shot a doe the other week and there was no blood where I shot her. I never did find blood. She was in a field and after I continued looking through the scope, mistake because I didn't she which way she ran. I had a pretty good idea because I saw others before she come in exit the bottom side of the field. I walked the perimeter and found her just a few feet from where I thought she may have entered. She ran about 100 yards. I backtracked to where I shot her from where she laid and found nothing.

Good luck.

[1dahunter]

Definately go back and keep lookin if it ran hunkered up you hit it and you owe it to the animal to at least try to find it. Good Luck.

[eddie_v21]

i cant believe i have no hair or blood to work with,ever deer ive killed in the past had a nice blood trail or at least found some hair but they were all with my 7 mag.this is the 1st deer ive shot with the muzzleloader.maybe ill be able to recover him in the morning but im just worried i missed him but i dont see how.i also feel bad bc i like the meat and i guess thats ruined,but at least i may be able to find him and get his horns.anyways if anyone else has ever had this happen let me know and what results you had in finding the animal.

[skeeter 7MM]

Yes very possible minimal or little blood left, I have seen it with bow, rifle and ml especially if no exit hole and the entrance becomes plugged. A couple questions 1) jumped up and humping...would indicate a heart to me. However you used hunkering...is this a hunch your referring too?( midsection rose severely) A heart you should find at least some blood specs, if not a pouring when he made few steps as he would be breathing it in..so no blood, hunched usually mean a bit far back (ie gutshot). If so blood trails are generally very weak, if you left him and didn't bump chances are he never went real far. Bad news meat is probably lost after being exposed to the insides over night. 2) Flag up or down? If he was flagging you missed, if down you should consider it a hit. 3) while not always true deer hit and fleeing usually have the head down or straight out, if up and alert most likely missed him. 4) Did you hear a whap, the sound of the slug/bullet hitting the deer. With a ML I have found this sound to be very evident.

Replay it in your mind to try to visualize as much detail as possible. In any regards you owe it to the animal and yourself to get out in the daylight and do a search. Hopefully you have a good idea of where he went after the shot and have some help to do a grid search if the bush is thick...take it slow.

Best of Luck

[cardeer]

Go back and look harder

[eddie_v21]

well i went back looked around harder and found nothing.i went back to my blind and replayed the shot.however in complete light i saw just a few branches through the way but they were pretty small and dead.i dont know if that would have affected my shot or not but he looked smacked.anyways im gonna go back out again.do you think that spot is done for since i shot there?if he survived do you think he will be back?

[johnl]

if he survived he will most likely be back but don't let the no blood fool you last year I shot a buck and he ran off no blood anywhere I tracked where he ran and 50 yards later I found him piled up the slug completely destroyed his heart all the blood stayed inside

[bushmaster_5bko]

i shot a doe went to look for blood and could not find any. between 30 or 40 yrds later i found some blood.. it may be u missed some depending on how long you looked and how big of an area you looked.. Keep looking and Good luck

[eddie_v21]

well i circled the ridge and walked through some of the thickets and around the edge of the thickets.no blood,no deer.im gonna go back and hunt that same spot tomorrow evening and it would be a relief to see that spike walk through again bc it really bothers me theres a chance he may be down and i cant find him.to me thats a complete waste of an animal even if he was just a spike he woulda taste good the same but oh well,being i didnt find him i hope i missed.one of the rare cases you hope you missed