hunt12ga

I shot this buck last Friday on the Illinois gun opener. The bullet went in the top of his left shoulder and came out low on the off side. 250gr SST in front of 90gr BH209 out of my Optima Elite. (and gotta give Ron Laughlin props for the BP! Thanks again!) Once again, the SST did its job, but didn't give me much blood to follow. I shot him right before dark so I went to look for blood shortly after the shot. I found some hair, but no blood. He left on the same trail that he came in on, so I knew right where to look for sign. I sneaked down the trail looking for blood so we had a place to start with the flashlights. I went almost 50 yards before I found any, and it was just a small drop. I marked the spot and backed out to give him plenty of time. We went back to the truck and loaded all of our stuff up, and got the lights. Luckily he stayed on the straight path and we were able to see his hoof prints. The drops were about 15-20 feet apart and only small specks. After about 50y of this, we were pretty sure that I'd shot low and just grazed his brisket. We were talking about giving up for the night and coming back the next morning. Fast-forward through several minutes of frustration, and he started pumping pretty good and it was a no problem following the flood at a quick pace. He didn't go far after he started bleeding out his mouth. When I butchered him, there was a hole in both sides of his rib cage that my 6yr old son could have stuck his fist through. His lungs were turned to jello.

The SST's are tack drivers out of my Optima Elite. But this is usually the story with all the deer I've shot with them. Some have taken only a few steps before dropping, but others have run 150y or so. I find them, but some have left me guessing for a while. I shot a doe last winter in the snow (put it right behind the shoulder) and had trouble finding blood, even in the fresh snow. This time turned out great, but what if it would have been in tall grass? Or what if he would have left the trail and I wasn't able to follow his prints? I guess what I'm getting at is if you use these, don't think you missed just because you don't find blood right away. Keep looking.

I am ready to try something different again, but just don't have the $ to sink into toying with different bullets/sabots. I tried XTP's last season with poor results. I shot them with 90, 100, and 110gr BH. I was putting up 3 and 4" groups at 50y. I'm going to try them again with 80gr this weekend to see how they do.

If all else fails, I will stick with the SST's. They put up 1 1/2" groups for me at 100, so I know if I do my part they will go where they need to. It just may take a little extra work to find my deer after the shot.

rw

Semisane

Good report hunt12ga. Thanks for putting in the effort.

Well written detailed reports like yours are what makes this forum so valuable. Beats the dickens out of anything you find in a glossy magazine.

I'm glad you found your deer. Looks like a mighty fine buck, and you earned it with that search.

Palehorse

I hear ya hunt12ga. I hate having terminal performance that produces little or no blood trail.

Last good sabot combo I used was a 454 Casull bullet (300 grain Flat point) in a mmp sabot. I am still wringing out my Barnes load, with less than satisfactory results so far this season.

oldsmellhound

Nice buck and I'm glad you were able to recover it! That's great that you kept up the search when some would have given up. Sounds like the bullet did just fine, kinda strange that you didn't get more of a blood trail. I've shot a few with the 200 SST that didn't leave much of a blood trail, although none has made it more that 50 yards or so, so no trail needed. The 250 Gold Dot/Deep Curls have a good reputation for putting deer down fast and/or with good blood trails. I've only taken 1 deer with the 250 Deep Curl, but it did leave a very good blood trail (1 deer is not enough to make conclusions).

I guess blood trails haven't been an issue when shooting muzzy's - for me the vast majority of the time the deer falls within sight, and if not, it only goes a short distance.

Boonechaser

I wander what could be the problem. I mean logic would say if you have two holes the size of a childs fist and the lungs are jello, you should have a good blood trail.

Maybe he is not a drinker therefore his blood was not thin enough to run. Maybe he had hypercoagulability?

SJAdventures

I am not understanding the no blood issue if it is leaving that size of wound in both sides of the rib cage????

quake

Congrats on finding your deer. Good report and good job with the persistent tracking job. Excellent work.

lemoyne

hunt12ga
A thought for your consideration.
I had some similar experiences try many bullets and loads. Ended up with 120 gr of BH and the Bonded 250 gr Shock Wave.
The pics are the inside and outside of the exit side of the rib cage of the doe I shot from a tree stand at about 40 yds.
There was a swath of blood 4 inches wide and 3o inches long where the bullet exited when I hit her and a 6 inch diameter spot every place her feet hit the ground for the 30 or so yds she staggered.The 250 grain bonded shoot the same impact point as the 250 SST or the 250 gr Shock Wave.

hunt12ga

Boonechaser, as much fat as he had under his skin I'm guessing he ate too much fast food. He probably had clogged arteries. hehe

Thanks for the input guys. Enjoy your deer seasons and be safe.

rw

rafsob

Had a friend of mine shoot a nice 8 pt with just this same bullet. the blood trail drove me nuts. It was just like yours. One speck here and then another one there a few yes away. He had a great shot and we finally found the beast.

Now in my case, I use the Hornady sabot with a 300 gr XTP and green sabot. I have been using this sabot for about 10 or so yrs and have had only one deer take me for a long hike of over 100 yds. I swear by this saboted bullet and it has not failed me yet. I am using 100 grs. of BH209 behind it.