poor blood trails, switch gun/ammo?
 

So here's the deal, bear with me as my posts always seem to be long winded. I've been fortunate enough to take a deer each of the last 3 years, 2 does and a buck (my first). I hunt with a Remington model 7600 30-06 pump action, and have tried both 150 and 180 grain loads, cheapo winchester or remingtons i think. The problem i faced with both the does i shot was that there was very little blood, and what little blood there was didnt show up until right before the deer expired. so basically these loads have given me very poor blood trails. both shots were good hits, 1 heart shot and 1 single lung, both deer went less than 50 yards and left merely specks of blood, leaving me to follow only tracks. I was wondering if anybody else has had this problem, and if so what was your solution. I dropped the buck in its tracks, but it was a shoulder shot and i prefer to not aim for shoulders as it ruins too much meat. I do have a Remington 870 wingmaster 12 gauge, and i would consider getting a slug barrel for this gun, as i dont have any shots much further than 100 yards where i hunt. Any suggestions? thanks for the help, i love my 30-06, but would hate to lose the deer of a lifetime or any deer for that matter due to lack of a blood trail.

RE: poor blood trails, switch gun/ammo?
 

I hunted for 26 years with a Remington 700 in .308 (same as your 30.06 at the distance you are shooting)and used 180grnRemington Core-Lokts...Never lost a deer and the blood trails (the very few times I had to follow them) were very good...By cheap ammo are you using the full metal jacket bullets? because they won't expand which wouldn't give you a blood trail.

I had the same problem when I used Federal Fusion ammo in my .270wsm...Lost 2 deer due to poor expansion andNo blood trails...I switched toFederalpower point bullets and now thedeer just drop.

RE: poor blood trails, switch gun/ammo?
 

The ole 06 is one of the best deer cartridges around, I agree with TPhunter I think your problem is with your ammunition.

RE: poor blood trails, switch gun/ammo?
 

nothing wrong with the gun or the ammo you are using. it just happened you didn't get good blood trails,next time it may change. just keep shootin what you got.

RE: poor blood trails, switch gun/ammo?
 

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.

RE: poor blood trails, switch gun/ammo?
 

I'd be hesitant to blame your ammunition, since there are more than a couple variables at work once a bullet strikes an animal.

I've used "cheapo" CoreLokts and PowerPoints, not to mention Hi-Shoks, for years in .30-06 and .243 and haven't had any issues finding game I've hit, minus one poor shot that was MY fault. It's hard sometimes, but it's been helpful to me to settle down a bit after the shot myself, noting where the deer was when I fired, and which general direction it left in. I'll generally mark the site of the shot with orange engineer tape, whether I find any signs of blood or not. From there, I'll look for tracks (generally kicked up leaves, other signs that a deer left in a hurry) as well as blood, going in the direction I saw the deer leave.

The worst effects I've experienced, though still resulting in a downed animal, were with handloaded Sierra GameKing BTs. They ALWAYS shed their jackets, scattering bullet fragments all over in a deer or antelope. I've since switched to "cheapo" Hornadys and haven't had any problems, but still wouldn't cancel a hunt if all I had on hand were CoreLokts, PowerPoints, or Hi-Shoks.

RE: poor blood trails, switch gun/ammo?
 

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

RE: poor blood trails, switch gun/ammo?
 

Thanks for the help guys, i think PA Bow/Flinter hit the nail on the head.i guess i hadnt thought about that, and now that i do, the shot on the last deer i shot, the single lung, was a higher shot that exited a lil far back, and when i gutted that deer i remember the chest cavity was full of blood. That makes total sense. it seems i was too quick to blame the equipment and not myself. I'll look into some anatomy diagrams and work on my after the shot tactics. thanks again

RE: poor blood trails, switch gun/ammo?
 

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ORIGANAL: PA Bow.Flinter

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ORIGANAL: Paul L Mohr

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[/align]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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RE: poor blood trails, switch gun/ammo?
 

Schobs, I forgot to ask, are you using expandable bullets like Core Lokts or Power Points, or are you using full metal jacket bullets?[/align]