Cypress32

Had a nice 8 point feeding in my corn pilethis morning right at daybreak so he ha dprobably beent here for a while. He was the one from my cameras and hes always gone by 6:30 so I knew he was going to walk at any minute. I had enough light and thought I got off a good shot but didnt even knock him down. Figured since it was such a close shot at about 30 yards and he was a nice size that there was no exit wound especially since I was shooting a .243 and he was probably gonna run for a bit.

Just spent 4 hours walking around and didnt even find a single drop of blood. All I saw was tons of tracks around water and bedding areas. So basically I just ****ed up hunting that area since I walked all through where they sleep and drink. I did have on my rubber boots but Im sure my scent is still everywhere. I should have figured I didnt hit him when 5 minutes later 3 nice zied does walked out like nothing happened and I didnt hear him hauling ass through he woods either.

So how long does it usually take an area to settle back down after you walk all over it searching for something you didnt even hit? Am I going to have to wait for a good rain or can I hunt the same stand tomorrow?

mr.mc54

The next day, Deer move constantly!

halfbakedi420

probably went over his back....mil dot on the scope? also at short range bullet might not expand upon entry, and leave a lil through and through hole, seal up pretty good as to not leave blood. probably wouldnt start leaking til the cavity fills 1st. i have seen deer jump straight up upon a shot, and one never move a muscle. hard to say. if he jumped up in the air like a spring, i'd say ya hit him.

elmoughler

Hunt it again right away. I've shot and missed before and saw the very same deer the next day come by.

Cypress32

Yea I will try it again tomorrow. He didnt react at all like he was hit. I watched him through the scope and he just disappeared. Was shooting hollow points so figured they would do enough internal damage to drop him even though it was a small caliber but I never saw even a drop of blood. Also usually they will vomit up what they were eating when I get a hit and there wasnt any of that either and he was feeding. I hate to admit missing something so close but Im sure I shot right over him as Im zeroed in at 100 yards. Switched back to my .270 so at least I should be able to get an exit wound. Looked at a new Browning 7mag with a Trijicon milidot scope combo today. With that combo I will never have to track a deer again. Im just really bad at gauging how far up or down I should be aiming and should have had a milidot in the first place but good ones are $800+ and I couldnt afford one at the time.

SecondChance

Just because you were shooting HP's does not mean they will do alot of damage. In my line of work we shoot HP's because of their superior long range accuracy capabilities. They do not open up!!!!
I have shot plate steel with several of my rifles at home and then shot FMJ's right beside them and had the HP's out penetrate the steel over the FMJ's.
In a 243 you would be better off with ballistic tips or soft points for penetration and bullet expansion that you desire.
To the mil-dot scope. If you are not accostomed to shooting mil-dot, you will be worse off then without. You need to shown how to correctly use and gauge you mils to get their full capabilities and learn on how to use then for the wind values and the mil specs themselves. I have been shooting them for going on now 15yrs and still get them screwed up once in awhile. Especially if you have other traditional scopes and will have to trade back and forth. Better off learning what you have and stick with it to get its full potential. And at 30yds, you could have shoot over its back easily in the rush of the moment. What power is your scope and at what power setting was it at when you shot?

Cypress32

3-12x56 and I always keep it on 12. Im thinking thats too much cause I almost shot one of the does that came out cause she looked huge. Then she walked under my stand and it was a fawn lol.

halfbakedi420

ahhhhh...at 30 yards zoom should be all the way out, not zoomed in at all ever. goes for 100 as well, imo you should use the zoom as little as possible.

Austinhuntman

There is nothing wrong with a .243 and at 30 yards it would have passed through if you didn't find any hair or blood then you missed hunt it again I would and if you hit him he may not have rolled or anything .243 usually delivers a ton of shock I've never had one run with a hit from a 243 lol I shot a spike at about 10 yards and he went nowhere didn't even flip his tail or kick. He weighed 140

Cypress32

gonna try a differnt spot tomorrow morning. Was putting out some corn around lunchtime and heard what sounded like a mack truck running through the woods that I must have jumped. Have hunted that stand twice since missing him and havent seen him so gonna wait a few more days.