First year of ML hunting for deer and we have noticed little to no blood after making good vital shots. We are all shooting T/C Triumphs with 150gr 777 and 250gr Hornady SST sabots. In most cases there would be no blood from point of impact out to 40-50 yards then very little blood until we find our deer on the ground in which there is massive blood. After shotgun hunting in Iowa for 25+ years I was very surprised at this with our M/L's. Is this common or were our results uncommon even though same experience on 3 out of 3 deer? I should mention all shots taken were within 70 yards.

I experienced this years ago using round ball but lately using Maxi hunters in my flinters and Hornady XTPs and Harvester sabots, I have excellent blood trails.
I am glad to see you are persistant in tracking your animals and recovering them. There are quite a few so called 'hunters' out there that shoot and either don't check for sign of a hit because the animal didn't go down, or look a bit, don't see any blood and figure they missed.

yup its common.

I prefer a soft lead bullet and a nice comfortable powder charge.

Lack of blood trail is a real reason for concern. I just wonder why some get good blood trails using the same bullet and powder charge, while others get none. It has to do with shot placement.

I agree with you on shot placement. I am being honest here that all shots were in the vitals. Once the deer layed down, there was massive blood and we also confirmed they were vital shots after field dressing. If it were not for the little snow we have left on the ground, tracking would have more difficult. The blood trails that we tracked look more like the deer had a minor injury than a kill shot. In some cases we would track small drops of blood and then have no blood for 20-30 yards before we found major bleeding and the animal laying near by. I'm just not used to this as a 12 guage slug always left good blood.

Thanks for the feedback.

Are you getting complete pass through's or is the bullet blowing up inside with only one hole?

Since your in Iowa ya wanna shoot long bean fields or picked corn fields, so switch to 300g SW and shoot for high in the frontshoulder. Another option is to switch to a Barnes T-EZ 290 with supplied sabot, switch to a Crushed Rib sabot if that supplied sabot is too tight in your Triumph.If ya wanna give up about30 yards (MPBR of 170), switch to a Nosler Parition 300g HG with Crushed Rib sabot.

When you gutted thedeer was the exit hole the same size as the entrance hole? When you take "behind the shoulder shots", the SW is known to not expand when it doesn't hit bone/ribs(ie between the ribs)and "pencil thru" the vitals with the same size exist hole as entrance hole, i.e.little expansion.
Best Wishes on your "bullet quest".
Chap

PS. Board, Should this go to the SW/SST Scorecard?

switch to 300g SW and shoot for the high shoulder, right above the ball in the socket


Chap-you shootin them in the butt? LOL

Charlie

No, I should have said high in the front shoulder. Sorry for the confusion. I will change the post.
Chap

Alot of times, with high shot-placement, the deer will bleed buckets, but it all stays inside the body cavity.

I killed an 8-point this year with my .308--the heart and lungs were turned to jelly and he ran abt 50 yds with nary a drop of blood to be found on the ground between where he was shot and where he piled up...

But when I dressed him, buckets of blood just poured out.

The body-cavity just holds it all in.

Seen this time-and-time again.