Opinion: Did I connect, Y/N?
11-19-2010, 08:42 AM
#11
Spike
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 70
Big buck. Ya mean supersonic.
Anyway. Ive Hit deer with bullets traveling in excess of 3000 ft/s and never found hair.
Ive also seen it where I didn't find a single drop of blood for 80 yards. Sometimes the initial shock of being hit constricts the blood vessels and there is no blood for a while. Its been my experience that the best thing ya can do is watch the tail. 99.999% of the time when I have a hit the tail tucks, but if I miss the tail don't tuck.
Anyway. Ive Hit deer with bullets traveling in excess of 3000 ft/s and never found hair.
Ive also seen it where I didn't find a single drop of blood for 80 yards. Sometimes the initial shock of being hit constricts the blood vessels and there is no blood for a while. Its been my experience that the best thing ya can do is watch the tail. 99.999% of the time when I have a hit the tail tucks, but if I miss the tail don't tuck.
11-19-2010, 10:22 AM
#13
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 2,445
The flag thing is not definite. Sometimes they flag and sometimes not. It's possible you hit a twig. It's happened to me on a gimme shot.
If it were me, I'd exhaust all possibilities. If there's nothing to track, then go to the area you last heard the deer running or walking. Do a grid search, then look in all likely places like thickets, near water, etc. I have found deer esssentially in the open, in very small bits of cover, like maybe 10 feet square. They go to places like that to watch their back trail.
Everybody misses, but I try to aim so there's some margin for error. I don't aim for the heart. With a gun I normally aim 1/3 to mid way up from the belly, and also shoot to break the offside shoulder if the angle allows.
If it were me, I'd exhaust all possibilities. If there's nothing to track, then go to the area you last heard the deer running or walking. Do a grid search, then look in all likely places like thickets, near water, etc. I have found deer esssentially in the open, in very small bits of cover, like maybe 10 feet square. They go to places like that to watch their back trail.
Everybody misses, but I try to aim so there's some margin for error. I don't aim for the heart. With a gun I normally aim 1/3 to mid way up from the belly, and also shoot to break the offside shoulder if the angle allows.
11-19-2010, 10:44 AM
#14
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Virginia
Posts: 1,473
At 15 yards, do you really think a twig would deflect a .45 cal projectile traveling close to 2000 fps enough to matter? An arrow or a long shot, I can see that for sure.
11-24-2010, 10:02 AM
#17
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 2,445
You just need to do all you can. I've shot at a few deer that were pretty close and missed. A couple I knew I missed because the deer were moving and the sights weren't on the deer when the gun went off. I still follow those up because you never know. Other times I've found a twig or small sapling that's freshly cut off. I follow those up as well. A defelection can cause a hit or a miss. I do think a bullet can be deflected enough to miss, even on close shots, but it will be much easier to determine if you hit something simply because you don't have as much area to cover between you and where the deer was standing.
After you look for blood and find none, you're down to tracks. Many times you can track a running deer by leaves that are kicked up and get far enough along the trail to find some blood or the deer. If tracking fails, I go to a grid or circle-type search. If that fails, I double check any blowdowns, thickets, sources of water, etc. Don't ignore small pieces of cover out in the open. Deer will go to those places to watch their backtrail. I always go further than I think a deer should have gone. After that you're pretty much done. I found one deer while headed back to the truck, almost tripped on it. The doe was laying against a log that I passed on the opposite side, not 10 feet away. I've gone back after a couple days to try to see if buzzards are circling, but that has not worked for me.
Now and then, you're left scratching your head with nothing to show for it. It happens. You'll never truly know if you missed, unless you see and recognize the deer later.
After you look for blood and find none, you're down to tracks. Many times you can track a running deer by leaves that are kicked up and get far enough along the trail to find some blood or the deer. If tracking fails, I go to a grid or circle-type search. If that fails, I double check any blowdowns, thickets, sources of water, etc. Don't ignore small pieces of cover out in the open. Deer will go to those places to watch their backtrail. I always go further than I think a deer should have gone. After that you're pretty much done. I found one deer while headed back to the truck, almost tripped on it. The doe was laying against a log that I passed on the opposite side, not 10 feet away. I've gone back after a couple days to try to see if buzzards are circling, but that has not worked for me.
Now and then, you're left scratching your head with nothing to show for it. It happens. You'll never truly know if you missed, unless you see and recognize the deer later.
11-24-2010, 11:12 AM
#18
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Virginia
Posts: 1,473
You just need to do all you can. I've shot at a few deer that were pretty close and missed. A couple I knew I missed because the deer were moving and the sights weren't on the deer when the gun went off. I still follow those up because you never know. Other times I've found a twig or small sapling that's freshly cut off. I follow those up as well. A defelection can cause a hit or a miss. I do think a bullet can be deflected enough to miss, even on close shots, but it will be much easier to determine if you hit something simply because you don't have as much area to cover between you and where the deer was standing.
After you look for blood and find none, you're down to tracks. Many times you can track a running deer by leaves that are kicked up and get far enough along the trail to find some blood or the deer. If tracking fails, I go to a grid or circle-type search. If that fails, I double check any blowdowns, thickets, sources of water, etc. Don't ignore small pieces of cover out in the open. Deer will go to those places to watch their backtrail. I always go further than I think a deer should have gone. After that you're pretty much done. I found one deer while headed back to the truck, almost tripped on it. The doe was laying against a log that I passed on the opposite side, not 10 feet away. I've gone back after a couple days to try to see if buzzards are circling, but that has not worked for me.
Now and then, you're left scratching your head with nothing to show for it. It happens. You'll never truly know if you missed, unless you see and recognize the deer later.
After you look for blood and find none, you're down to tracks. Many times you can track a running deer by leaves that are kicked up and get far enough along the trail to find some blood or the deer. If tracking fails, I go to a grid or circle-type search. If that fails, I double check any blowdowns, thickets, sources of water, etc. Don't ignore small pieces of cover out in the open. Deer will go to those places to watch their backtrail. I always go further than I think a deer should have gone. After that you're pretty much done. I found one deer while headed back to the truck, almost tripped on it. The doe was laying against a log that I passed on the opposite side, not 10 feet away. I've gone back after a couple days to try to see if buzzards are circling, but that has not worked for me.
Now and then, you're left scratching your head with nothing to show for it. It happens. You'll never truly know if you missed, unless you see and recognize the deer later.
The next day after that, I went back and looked for another couple of hours after hunting the morning. Nothing. I did a grid search using a compass and searched 100 yards in each direction. There are no thickets to speak of in that particular area, but I did check all the fallen timber, etc. Anything that looked like it could be used as cover.
Unless I see the deer again (or come across his carcass during spring scouting), I guess I'll never know. I feel like I must have missed (especially since my first two kills with this load gave lots of blood and little movement), but I don't know how.
All I know is that I did my best, and that's all I can do. I'll add that you should listen to the voices in your head. Just before I saw the deer, I heard, "Turn, the shot will be to your right." If I had listened, I would have turned and been able to take a normal, right-handed shot. Not that I doubt where I saw the crosshairs...sigh....
11-25-2010, 08:09 AM
#19
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: cazenovia, NY USA
Posts: 2,973
Sounds like you did all you can - and can chalk it up as a miss.
As far as shooting from the left side - I would never do that. I can see practicing it in combat, where your life is on the line - but this is deer hunting. In in 20+ years of hunting I've never been unable to shoot from my right side, if I repositioned or waited for a better shot. I'd blame the miss on shooting from your weak side, and learn from it.
FH
As far as shooting from the left side - I would never do that. I can see practicing it in combat, where your life is on the line - but this is deer hunting. In in 20+ years of hunting I've never been unable to shoot from my right side, if I repositioned or waited for a better shot. I'd blame the miss on shooting from your weak side, and learn from it.
FH
11-25-2010, 08:17 AM
#20
Spike
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: TN
Posts: 66
Same thing happened to my unc. yesterday evening.
He went back this morning and tracked it. Took him bout 45 mins to spot a blood trail. He tracked him bout 15 yrds. from the blood trail and found him. Nice 6 point.
Don't give up buddy.
He went back this morning and tracked it. Took him bout 45 mins to spot a blood trail. He tracked him bout 15 yrds. from the blood trail and found him. Nice 6 point.
Don't give up buddy.
