ORIGANAL: PA Bow.Flinter
[/align]How high/low are you hitting the deer? I can't believe you are having unreasonably poor blood trails with that gun/bullet combo because it is a very common combination in the hunting world. What I am wondering is if you are hitting the deer higher up in the chest cavity which would cause the blood to bleed into the chest cavity before it reaches the height of the hole and begin pouring out....which would explain the more profuse blood trail near the deer.[/align]
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ORIGANAL: Paul L Mohr
[/align]I'm not surprised with those hits. Heart shots often do not produce a great blood trail because if you destroy the heart it quits pumping, which means there is nothing to force the blood out of the deer. A single lung shot is not that great either. I shot a deer with a bow once and got a single lung and hit the heart. The deer ran quite a ways with a very sparse blood trail.
Something you need to keep in mind when hunting, even with a gun is where the exit will be. I always aim for the exit wound, not the entrance. Much more important with a bow, but I still keep it in mind with a gun ( I use shotgun or ML, no centerfire where I live). So you need to look at some pictures or diagrams of a deer anatomy and picture different shot angles and where the bullet path will go.
I personally like a bullet that will exit the animal. I like one that will expand, but not so much that it will stay in the animal. Pass through shots normally will give you a better shot at a blood trail. Or from what I have been told you can aim for a high shoulder shot and it usually anchors the deer where it stands. Never tried it to be honest though.
Paul [/align]
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Good posts! I use Remington's 140 gr. Core lokts in my 280 Rem. and 150 gr. Core Lokts in my 308 Win. the main reason I use them is because they shoot very well in my rifles, which to me is very important. I am going to try and step up in bullet weight and use better constructed bulletsin both rifles. Not because I've had bad luck with the Core Lokts, but becauseI'm going to use this rifles for deer as well aswild boar and black bear, that's a different story altogether though.[/align][/align][/align]
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