I would of taken my wife to range first before she ever went hunting with a new rifle. And I have never missed at any deer.

LOL. Not going to get it to eat but more for a peace of mind.
PS All my guns are sighted in.
GL to you too. Hope you get the person who pissed in your conrflakes this morning. No need to take it out on others.
Have a nice day.

Merlin I guess Killer Primate might be a little abrasive(no offense Killer) but I can understand where he is coming from. Don't take this the wrong way because I have missed deer and don't consider myself a perfect hunter but afterreading the part of your post that I quotedI can see where he was coming from initially. She was outon a stand hunting with a weapon shehad never even shot. That is no good. The time to practice is before drawing down on your game, not after you miss and realize you don't knowhow the gun shoots. She should be far better than "pretty good" with it before you put her on stand(IMO).You owe that to the game you hunt. That deer was hit(based on your description of it's actions) and it was never recovered or even looked for(another questionable point of your post, a 40yd circle doesn't count as looking). You should blame yourself and expect a little constructive (from most)criticism. It is your job to mentor her as a hunter and that includeseverything leading up to the hunt i.e.stand selection, safety,weapon familiarity, and so much more. No blood doesn't always mean no deer as the title of this thread seems to implyand I am sure a lot of othersherehave experienced that, I know I have. Buteven if you are unsure,you still look, it's just the right thing to do. The fact of the matter is you could have eliminated most of the problems you encounterd on this hunt with a little better preperation and follow-thru.

At the very least ifyou find it you may figure out where the shot went wrong. good luck. Let us know how you do.

I guess my Definition of pretty good is. Hitting the target and keeping the bullets in the center circle of the target.

No offense taken.

As I will say once again and I openly admitted its my fault. Don't like the idea of you mention " If it was even looked for". No I didn't mention it cause it was irreleavent at the point I was making that for some people seem to get to technical and fail to see.

I hope this does help someone else. To at least learn their are those out there that like to criticise others for no other reason but for sh!ts and giggles.

Yeah, my first deer left NO blood, NO hair, NOTHING. He did a little bit of a hop turn to the left, right as I was squeezing off the shot. The bullet entered in the front of the right hip, quartered through him, and lodged just under the skin of the left shoulder. So, it went in where there would be very little bleeding and didn't exit. It took us almost an hour to find him, curled up in a thicket not 30 yards from where he was shot. No blood where he laid down either.

Merlin,
I’m not trying to be combative with this next statement, but you don’t know how your gun is sighted in. I think you’ve made that clear.

Until you know all of the following, you are not ready (IMO) to go shooting at animals.
- Near zero range yards
- Maximum trajectory
- Maximum trajectory range yards
- Zero range yards
- Point blank range yards
- Supplemental range yards
- How all of the abovementioned items are affected by pointing up hill, down hill as well as windy conditions.
- Knowing how to adjust all these items to optimize your hunting situation would also be considered important.

There are also a lot more I concern myself with, but I would consider these the basics, and don’t think I’m out of line saying that you should know them too.

My ten-year-old son and seven-year-old daughter know them, so I'm sure you are capable.

KP

Well I didn't try to tear you down I was juststating my opinion on your original post.The person this particularthread should be helping is the one who started it. I don't criticize for sh!ts and giggle. I do it to be constructive and possibly help for the most part. But that goes both ways because when I post I fully expect some to do the same to me, and even if I don't want to hear it the criticism can be helpful and there may be something I can take from it.

I oul dhave to agree with you primate it those circumstances. I dont hunt when its windy will not take a shot further then 150 becuase its past my comfort zone. Besides most shot I have take has been within 75-100 yards.
I only missed once. and learned that mistake. I have learned where my .270 will hit at 50 yards and 150 yards when zeroed at 100 yards. I know the corrections and where to aim. Cause I have practices it many times shooting at targets within theose ranges.
So till everyone truly knows my ability and takes things and reads thigns into what I wrote. Lay off me. I have been enjoying and have learned alot the past few weeks reading stuff here.
I am always looking to learn more. I didn't have the luxury of a father that hunted but was decent enough to given me My first guns. I went mostly off what I learned from Magazines, Hunting shows and what some would teach me.NO one taught me all the techincal terms. I learned with a cheap $30 Tasco scope from Kmart and paper plates I spray painted a black dot on. My oldest brother taught me the basics of scope adjustments and hunting, most was trial and error. People around here to to let you learn on your own. To afraid they will give up soem secret.
Not looking for anything just a little back ground.
I came here to learn to be a better hunter. But I have never gone year with out putting a couple in the freezer.

Let me get my slide rule out while the deer patiantly waits for me to kill him(or her).Knowing your gun is one thing anyone would agree on.And shooting it is how it happens.Onece a week all year long... it will keep you tuned in with your rifle.