re: Finding blood

I shot a doe last year I couldn't find. No blood anywhere ( hard to see at night in wet pine straw) but I know I hit her. She was old and had a white face. Would see her every hunt and saved her for my kids to shoot. Had my 6 yr old in the stand with me and he begged me to shoot her. I did and we couldn't find anything. Never saw that deer again and it makes me sick to think about.

Later that year I shot a doe that ended up dying trying to cross a deer creek. Water was about 4' deep where she was jammed against a log. Temps in the 30s I almost abandoned her there. On the phn with my dad he reminded me that I shot her for meat, and I owe it to her and everyone else to recover her. That fricking water was cold

I’ve killed and been along on 100’s of recoveries. I’ve tracked two bucks that had no exit wound on tracks alone. They were long shots and the bullets energy was slowing down out there.
I stalked and shot a buck freehand at 100 yards with a muzzleloader. No blood. Went back to the stand and killed a doe. Went back to look for the buck. Found his tracks leading back into a cutover. He was ten yards in the cutover with no blood on the ground. With a gun, I always assume a hit.

Fourth poster thinks deer are more important than hogs and yotes.

I've been a professional hunter and professional fisherman for most of my life. I'm not a tree hugging PETA ****.. If I or my clients kill something, I try and make sure it's dead and not suffering.

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that attitude towards wildlife is what caused all of the problems with buffalo, deer, wolves, elk, etc.

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So, we shouldn't kill them and eat them? That what you are saying?

no, i'm not saying that at all. The general attitude among the buffalo hunters thought that the buffalo were a gift from god to help the west get settled. Many thought they would never be depleted because of that. There were only about a thousand left at one point. Game is a renewable resource but it has to be treated as such, you can't kill indiscriminately because "they were put here for us" and expect them to survive.

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Game is a renewable resource but it has to be treated as such, you can't kill indiscriminately because "they were put here for us" and expect them to survive.

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I never said anything about killing indiscriminately. I was simply stating that you and others have made deer out to have feelings which we should respect, as if they were human. They are just deer. They do not possess human mental and emotional capacities. I agree with doing everything you can to recover an animal, but I do it because it's wasteful not to. I don't do it because I'm worried about disrespecting the animal.

Sounds like a bunch of PETA folk here claiming all bullet shot animals bleed the same. As if a gut shot animal bleeds the same as a lung shot or one with a hole punched through the heart.

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I have never failed to find blood at the impact point if Its hit

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I've seen plenty of times where all you find is hair at impact point. And several times where deer that I thought would have bled like crazy didn't bleed at all.

I shot one last year in the crease behind the front shoulder...penetrated both lungs with 150 grain .270. He only ran about 30 yards, but I never found 1 drop.

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The general attitude among the buffalo hunters thought that the buffalo were a gift from god to help the west get settled. Many thought they would never be depleted because of that. There were only about a thousand left at one point.

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Because they wete slaughtered so the injuns couldn't use them. Let's not pretend it was for food. We killed them, took the hides and left the meat to rot.

But on topic, I shot a doe because my daughter wanted to see me shoot a deer. I shot it and saw it jump 10ft in the air. She asked if I got it. I told her yes. 15 minutes later we go and look and not a drop of blood anywhere.

Got a dog to find it. She didn't go but 60 yards but since there was a dog around that needed experience I waited for the dog. No blood except where she lay. Clean pass through using Barnes Tsx. 270wsm at 100yds.the last 4 deer I shot with them I never found blood but the bullet does what it's supposed to.