Loud groan after shot....
 

I shot a buck with my muzzleloader from about 50 yards. The deer was quarting to me and when I hit him he made a loud groan the whole time he was running (well for at least 75 yards). We found some blood and after 100yards or so the blood got down to just a drop here and there. Any guesses where I hit him (Guts or neck would be my guess) Anyone else have a deer make this noise after the shot and where did you hit them? Thanks!

Dont know about the groan. But what bullet were you using?

lol well if he is groaning, i'd say ya missed the lung. if someone shot you, you would groan too...lol i actually know of a guys cousin that wont hunt no more cause a deer groaned at him...head down hill towards the water, let him sit over night. usually the most direct and wide open route is the way they go.
where was the poa, or poi if ya saw it?

I did shoot a doe two yrs ago two years ago that made a loud "moan" after i shot her. She dropped right where she stood when i shot her and made it as she was layin there right befor she expired. My little brother had one do it to him this year too... he did make a neck shot on it... there may be some correlation because the deer that did it to me was shot a lil high at the shoulder... most neck shots dont run off though when they are shot with a bullet.

295grain hollow point powerbelt

What is poa it poi? No lung is obvious

The only one I have ever heard do that had been shot through both flanks by another hunter

Had that happen this morning. Had a deer quartering away looking back at me. I shot and saw it run then heard a groan. Gave it an hour and found it. It hadn't expired so I backed out.

"295grain hollow point powerbelt"

not that the bullet would stop the groan. But do yourself a favor and quit using PowerBelts. In my experience 90% of the time they will not pass through. So the lack of blood is an issue. Sure there is blood at the point of impact but a blood trail is just not there.

Many will disagree with me. But trust me I have been at this long enough and have had to trail many deer with my dogs and for the most part PowerBelts are the main culprit. Not only powerbelts all ballistic tip bullets.

I don't agree with the part of all ballistic tip bullets being bad. However, I do agree with the part about the PB's being horrible and not leaving a good blood trail. I used them in a 295 grain hollow point for a few years and finally switched last year to Deep Curls. The difference is amazing. I will never go back to Powerbelts. Most of my friends that have used them also realized they suck and have switched. I only know 2 guys who haven't switched, and they have problems with losing deer after deer as there is hardly ever a blood trail.

poa = point of aim
poi = point of impact

I don't use PowerBelts because I've heard too many problems with them breaking up or not passing through. But by no means do I think all ballistic tips are bad. I switched to a 280gr semi-jacketed hollow point in my Omega .50 and I really like how they perform at the closer ranges I hunt (100yds and under). Plus they are about 1/2 the price of everything else in a sabot. I think they are Thompson Center. I know they come with Mag Express sabot (black) they also load easy enough in that particular rifle. I've had good luck with TC ShockWaves and the Hornady SST's which I believe are the same bullet, not sure though.

I actually hit a nice buck in July with my truck that had a whole bunch of unusual groans. Dogs ran him into a 45 mph road and as he came out, I started to slam on brakes, and he turned away from me to try and outrun truck I guess...but my bumper punted him about 30 yards into a ditch. It broke both of his back legs and to put him out of his misery I pulled my knife and slit his throat. The moans still came from lower than where I had cut and I waited for him to expire before throwing him in the truck and getting him home for some backstraps and tenderloins...the hind quarters were so bruised up I couldnt see making any steaks from them. his moans continued as he was laying in the bed of the truck dead, but it was more of a bellow from his diaphragm. It was the first time I had heard this sound from many harvested animals, but I dont think he appreciated me giving him a 45 mph punch from behind. I guess I was the lucky one as he didnt put a scratch on my truck or grill/bumper.

As far as my sabot of choice...it remains the powerbelt! In 6 years I havent had any issues with pass throughs, except when I switched to the 270 grain platinum last year. The platinum is like shooting a hangrenade into them as they simply disintegrate and leave a terrible mess inside. As far as a blood trail, I guess it depends on where you hit them. I use a climber and stand that are pretty high up, so most of my shots are within 30-50 yrds with a few at 5 steps or directly underneath, and those never seem to even take a step before dropping where they stood. Trying to test all that is available is a very expensive hobby and after trying Hornady and a few others I wasnt getting anything like the accuracy of the powerbelts with my scope. I can hit a quarter at 100 yrds with my scope, and since its working, why bother fixing it. I shot a doe (double lung) with exit and it looked like a bucket of red paint spilled where she was hit, but with a cloud of smoke in my face I didnt notice that she had taken off after the hit. I went to POI and not 30 steps and she was piled up, and that was almost the farthest shot I had made on a deer with my CVA Optima.

:sad0064:

Don't remember ever having a passthrough with my powerbelts and I've shot a lot of deer with them

The main problem I know of the ballistic tips is when an ordinary ramrod end is used for loading. A fairly deep " cup " is required to lessen damage to the tip, IMHO


I'd guess the hit was high in the guts. Dead deer.

That groan noise is the lungs deflating.