Learning from a lost deer

[Fire1]

Well, I finally got to shoot a deer with my .44 mag, but everything did not go exactly as planned. I shot a doe at about 20 yards with a 270gr Gold Dot over a max load of H4227. She was standing broadside and I hit her perfectly behind the shoulder, getting complete penetration. When I got down from the stand to go find her, there was a good amount of bright red blood on the ground, indicating a good lung hit, but she had still run off into the brush. As I started to follow the trail, the amount of blood quickly diminished to where I was only finding a few little drops every few feet. I shot her near dusk, so when it got too dark to continue with the flashlights I had, I went back to the cabin to get a bigger flashlight and some of the guys, but my dad's friend and the land owner were like "don't worry about it, you will find her in the morning no problem". When I started looking again just after sun rise, I could find no more blood on the ground, so I just started walking in the direction the deer had run. She went into the thickest area of brush and dead fallen trees and down into a creek bed. After about 20 minutes of searching I found what was left of her. The coyotes had stripped her clean. All I found was some entrails, some pelt, some leg bones and the head, spine and chewed up rib cage. I was beyond pissed to have not brought that meat back. I'm still angry. So, I would like to hear constructive comments about what I could do differently in the future to increase my chances of recovering a deer more quickly after shooting it with my pistol. For instance, with a .44 mag would I be better off to try for a shoulder hit? Should I have spent less time trying to exactly follow the blood trail, and done more pattern type searching instead?

 

[Newt]

If you know you made a good hit, and you think she wouldn't be far off, then I would've gone ahead to find her. On the other hand, if you're unsure about the shot and not finding much sign of a good shot, I would've done exactly what you did. I would've gone back the next morning. If you keep pushing a wounded deer, you may never find it.

As far as shot placement, sounds like a real good shot on her. I've had experience hunting in Ill. with some friends, and they shoot all the does in the head. Sounds rough, but works well. They don't usually run far when they have a bullet in their head. Bucks may be a different story. You will want to cut his rack off to hang on the wall with the others, so, needless to say, you wouldn't want to mess up the rack with a shot.

 

[mete]

On a broadside shot I go for the lung ,yes they may run a bit but it will be fatal. Most of my lung hits run about 50 yards. You should have gotten friends and flashlights and found it right away. As for shoulder shots ? This year I shot a buck ,aiming for the lung with my 45-70. It did the usual thing , ran about 50 yards. When I butchered the deer I found that the bullet had entered the shoulder breaking the shoulder blade near the joint, smashing the joint , breaking the leg bone below the joint ! I can't figure that one .

 

[critter]

Typically, lung shot deer DO run, sometimes quite a ways. This seems to be especially true with handgun rounds which do not have the shock of a high velocity bullet. A good blood trail is badly needed.

Because of the above, you NEED two holes, one in and one out. (Apparantly you had that.) They often bleed (on the ground) better with a very low chest shot. To shorten the distance they run, a double shoulder shot is very helpful. Very low, double shoulder shots do not go far and do not ruin much edible meat. Backbone, neck, head shots deliver the classic 'BAM-FLOP', but are VERY small handgun targets.

If you do not hit bone (legs, shoulders, backbone, even ribs) both the entrance and exit holes MAY become plugged with lung tissue and not bleed out onto the ground. Bone hits cause bone splinters to disrubt more tissue and bigger holes poked into things and hence more blood on the ground.

A handgun is not the most efficient deer killer on the planet so shot placement is paramount.

Good luck with your handgun hunting. It is a WORLD of fun!

 

[Byron Quick]

I'd try for both shoulders if possible.

Check my post on trailing wounded deer with a Beagle.

I've done the night tracking with gas lights and such. I won't again.

 

[nygunguy]

Push Hard

When I'm sure of a good lung hit and find immediate, good bright blood I usually think dead deer even if its not in sight. In your circumstance I'd have pushed hard on that deer because its probably bleeding out and won't go too far.

I would have gone back that night. Dontcha just love Monday Morning QB's?

 

[Carlos Cabeza]

I have done the same thing you did. I was very confident of shot placement and new that she couldn't have gone too far. I looked for about an hour by myself and would lose the trail each time I tried to "go back to where she was shot at". I radioed some buddies (6) and we found the animal in about an hour. She was entangled in the thickest briars you could imagine, approximately 45 to 65 yards away from the shoot point. If you were convinced of your shot I would have continued to track until I found the animal. Sorry you lost your doe..........

 

[Atticus]

Sorry to hear about your experience. I'm leaning toward hunting only in the morning (bow hunting anyway). Following blood trails, field dressing, and dragging deer out of the woods in the dark just ain't much fun for me. Not to mention that I'm usually exhausted from a full day spent outdoors before the shot is even fired.

 

[BenW]

I would probably have started a pattern search once the blood trail began to break up too much. But I'm also not sure if I wouldn't have decided to wait until morning at some point either. I'm pretty anal about recovering my downed game, and have been known to spend an hour trying to find a dove while dozens more were buzzing over my head. But there's a safety aspect to consider too. Looking for your deer in tough terrain at night could easily lead to an injury. In some circumstances it's better to break off and save yourself a broken leg (or worse) than to fixate on recovering the game at all costs. JMHO.

 

[scotjute]

If your deer runs off after being shot, its best to wait about 30 minutes before attempting to trail. The logic is that they will just go a certain distance and then lay down, bleeding all the time. If frightened quickly after being shot, their adrenaline will kick in and they may go several hundred yards or more before collapsing. If not frightened they will stay there slowly bleeding, in 30 minutes when they hear you moving they will most likely be too weak to rise.

If all deer hear is one shot they can't always tell from which direction the sound came. They often will run just a short distance and stop trying to locate you by sight, sound, or smell. If you mechanically chamber another round, they'll have your location pegged. Ditto if you climb down from stand and walk after them.

If you hunt long enough, this type of thing can happen. One of the reasons my father quite hunting with .30 cal. carbine years ago is that he got sick of trailing them for 1/2 mile or more before finding them, if at all. A dog is about the best most sure method of trailing them, especially after dark. (a high-school friend of mine uses his Chichuaua).

 

[OH25shooter]

Sorry you lost your deer. You've got me wondering about using my 44 handgun. My bucks have been shot with my 12 guage no later than 8:30 in the morning. I come prepared for the night search thing, but have been lucky with morning hunts. That is a bummer.

 

[JShirley]

I've learned the hard way, from past deer, that you really need to let them lie for 30 minutes or so. I've had a solidly hit deer jump up and run *25* minutes after being shot. Half a mile and a Glock 23 ended that escapade.