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I know it happens sometimes but it amazes me why so many guys like to shoot an animal in the shoulder! One, it causes a good deal of meat damage. Two - you run a higher risk of inadequate bullet penetration (i.e.: this post and several others).
Maybe its the way you were taught when you were young. I've been hunting close to 45 years and have taken a lot of deer and other game with rifle, bow, and ML and I can only recall3 that I did not recover (2 archery - 1 ML). One of the archery shots and the ML shot were shots I never shouuld have taken and I still kick myself for them.
Now - I for one never try shoot for the shoulder but just behind it on broadside or quartering away with the bow or ML. With the centerfire, I imagine a basketball setting between the shoulders its vertical centerline up from the rear of the front leg and aim for the center of it. This usually results in a dead right there deer.
With the ML, you punch a 50 calbullet behind the shoulder (hitting a rib at worst) you will puncture both lungs and the animal will not go far if anywhere. If you don't see if fall, give it some time, track slowly and carefully and you will recover it.
I know a lot of you guys are good hunters and decent shots. So please don't take this as a criticism but think about it and it is up to you to make the shot placement decision.
Merry Christmas

Not unusual for a deer shot thru the lungs to run 100 to 300 yards before expiring. More than enough distance for your trophey buck to get to adjacent private property rendering it unrecoverable.

Shooting a deer in an openbean or cornfield where you can watch it fall after an extended death run is not a luxury all of us have. The area we hunt in has thick cedars and russian olive trees so dense that you have to get on your hands and knees in the mud and crawl to access them. Next to thatis 120acres of CRP grass 5ft tall

Compound this by shooting a deer in the late evening and your in for a long night with a good possibility of not finding the deer until the next morning.

It'seach individuals decision where to aim at a deer but I almost always choose the high shoulder shot so there is no tracking involved.

Toot - I respectfully disagree. 100 yds - maybe. But not much more. A well placed lung shot punching a 50 cal hole through both lungs even with the lowly but effective round ball will put most any deer down within 100 yds.
I too hunt the heavy woods and laurel patches of PA. And I am relating my experience fromeasily over 100 deer shot by myself and friends/relation that I've helped recover. Now I will grant you that a poorly placed shot or a single lung hit will increase the distance a deer will go if pushed too quickly. That is why my earlier post stated that if you don't see the animal fall, give it some time before persuing. And track slowly and carefully.

Quote:

ORIGINAL: MagnumMan308
Next yearI will be using something more suited for close range woods hunting, like Barnes Expanders, not a SST/Shockwave.

Good choice for short range. < 100 yard shot Barnes Expander. Over 150y shot Shockwave. Read how the SW was designed on the TC web site:

https://secure.tcarms.com/store/index.php/action/item/id/124/prevaction/search/previd//prevstart/0/

Chap

I have been having good luck with Hornady XTPs. For the 50 cal I use 300 gr .430" and Harvester Green CR sabots. For the .45 I use the .410" 200 grainers with the Harvester blue EZ load sabots. But where I hunt a 75 yd shot is a long one. I'm sure the Barnes bulletswould bean excellent choice also.

Quote:

ORIGINAL: Beehunter

I have killed 7 deer with 250gr shockwaves backed up by 100gr of powder and all I can say is WOW, every deer I have shot has been dead within 35 yds and left a good blood trail. I will never use anything else in a muzzleloader. I suspect you did not hit the deer in the vitals to start with IMO. I might add I can shoot pretty good at 160yds with this load.

I suspect 100g was the trick, keeping the bullet where it was designed to operate, between 1000 and 2200 fps. 150g is too hot for close shots. Chap

Quote:

ORIGINAL: ronlaughlin

Our muzzle loader season opened last Saturday. All my tags were for antlerless deer.

My load was/is 105g BH209 with Winchester primers and 300g SST which i assume is the same thing as a 300g shockwave. My rifle is an Omega, and stays in the pick up, loaded, for hours days or months.

Saturday was warm, and i ended up with two deer. Temperature during the hunt was around 35*. One deer was hit in the chest broadside, and the bullet hit both lungs, clipped the back bone low, and passed through. Of course the deer was immobilized right there and was dead when i arrived after reloading. The second deer was hit in the shoulder; the bullet hit one lung, and made a little dent in the back bone, and stopped. The deer was unable to get up and run, and was dead when i arrived after reloading.

Saturday night the weather changed and i think it was -19* here Sunday morning. I went up in the hills and when i left the truck it was -11*. I walked around for about 1 1/2 hour and it seemed as though my face was freezing so i went back to the truck. I was curious to see if the rifle would fire, so i touched 'er off before i got into the truck. At that time it was-5*. Spent the rest of the day, in the warm cabin, driving around; passed up a couple of deer cuz i was too lazy to deal with dressing them in the bitter cold.

Monday morning was -19*, and i did not feel like hunting, so i stayed home and worked in the shop.

I think Tuesday morning was -14*, but i headed for the hills anyway. Shot a deer broadside through the chest through both lungs, and the bullet passed on through. The deer ran in a straight line for around 100 yd in snow and left a decent blood trail, before it expired. Later in the afternoon it had warmed up to about 20*, and i found deer on a South slope with only patches of snow. Shot one in the chest, and the bullet hit both lungs and passed through. There was little blood to follow, and the deer ran on a contour for 75 yd or so, then went down hill maybe 20 yd, and then abruptly turned up hill and went about 30 yd before it expired. I was unable to find the deer easily, because of the lack of snow and blood, and the zig zag. I nearly gave up hope, and was sad that i couldn't find it, but made one more circle. It took me over an hour to locate the deer doing some painstaking tracking.

This morning it was 2*, and i headed for the hills to hunt. Found a deer in it's bed, and shot it through the chest at an angle; the bullet hit both lungs and passed through. There was a peculiar hole in the diaphragm; perhaps made by a rib fragment, or maybe a bullet fragment. The deer was unable to get up, and expired before i reloaded and got there. I think it was the hole in the diaphragm that kept the deer down, but how would i know for sure. It was like a spring day in the hills, and after i drug the deer to a road, and loaded it, i was amazed at the many many deer i saw from the truck, enjoying the sunshine.

After my experiences, i personally, don't think the sst-shockwave is the best bullet. It seems to be too hard when it should be softer, and too soft when it should be harder. They are inexpensive though, and i have a lot of them. Tomorrow i plan to shoot some Nosler at paper, and will try one on the next deer i get a shot at.

It was designed for long shots. You will like the Nosler 300g. Chap

Quote:

ORIGINAL: turk1270

i shot the 300gr sst/shockwave over 100gr of triple 7 2f and i have shot over 15 deer with this combo ranging from 15 yards to approx 150 yards and never had a deer go more than 50 yards from where i shot them most were either drt or dropped within sight all exit wounds were larger than the entrance the internals were shredded.never had bullet stay in deer to recover slug but seems like they all did there job,and since all exited i can only assume none fragmented.the only slug i have is one i fired into a section of 4x4 hardwood post approx 24" long at 50yrds.the slug penetrated approx 12-13"into the post lengthwise bullet didnt seperate or fragment retained approx 90% of its weight

The 300g is know to hold together much better than the 250g. It is amazing what 50g more can do, but the 300g has much more energy, much higher BC and generally holds together better because of the mass. I don't know if the jacket is thicker or not. Chap

chap no the jacket is not thicker actually the jacket in the front might be a little thinner the 300gr is a little longer and has a larger hollow point cavity under the tip i cut the 250 and 300 with a hacksaw

Chap I have only shot 1 deer w/ muzzloader asI just started this yr w/ 150 gr 777 and a 250gr shockwave at 15 yds slightly quarting to went in right shoulder and exited mid rib cage off side. I couldn't be more pleased in as 45cal out about double that size I did not recover bullet but appears to not have fragmented at all.Why do you think 150gr is too hot a load?These shockwaves had the yellow tip are there shockwaves w/ different color tips that are made different. I am going to do plenty of experimenting this summer at the range w/ different powders and bullets. The accuracy of these shockwaves is amazing 1"-2" groups at 100yd almost hard to try other combos out w/ those results