I spent most of my hunting life taking whitetail's with a shotgun. ..., My problem was I put it right in the chest cavity but there was no exit wound. It was a good thing it was in a field and I saw it collapse because there wasn't much of a blood trail. Is that normal? ..., I have taken deer at 130 yards with 12 gauge sabots and always had pass throughs...., Kind of scared to use it because of the thick brush around I need a good blood trail to find them. Was it a fluke, ...,.
Using foster or Brenneke slugs? So you've been used to an entry hole of nearly .72 with a bigger hole perhaps on the way out, and you went down to a .30 hole, and it was a chest cavity shot?
A lot of folks experience the lack of blood trail, especially in the black powder community, especially when they go to a modern rifle and cartridge, even with a broadside pass through. (btw I agree the bullet probably exited and you simply didn't see the exit)
IF you hit the deer just a tad high, that chest cavity becomes a large internal bucket, and the blood stays in the chest. So when you're looking for a blood trail... not only on the ground do you search but also one foot to two feet OFF the ground
on the brush. As the deer moves with that wound, it will likely cough, and there is a good trail alright, BUT if your vision is centered on the ground you have a great chance of walking right past the actual trail which is up on the brush, not the ground.
I know as I've done it..., and it's especially easy if the deer goes through brush where the foliage is reddish or maroon!
When it happened to me and I finally found the deer, I back tracked it and discovered where I'd crossed the deer's path twice, but never saw the blood as my vision was too centered. The bushes were doused with sign, but the ground wasn't
It's a common enough mistake, and as I wrote, even for folks starting with a .50 or .54 entry wound, and an even bigger exit.
Another tip is to mark where you were standing when you shot. I carry an extra blaze orange knit hat, and mark the spot. What that does is give you a reference point when you look back, as you walk out to where you think the deer was standing when you shot. It helps you locate that proper spot to start tracking. Once you move a bit toward where you think that blood trail should start..., stuff looks different. Often folks don't go quite far enough. Confirm where the deer was standing when hit, and you will save a lot of time picking up any trail.
LD