25-06 and a Lost deer

What is everyone shooting out of their 25-06. I've been using 100 grain Remington Corelokts for awhile because the rifle shoots them so well and never tried anything else. Well today I had my first problem I lost a nice 8 point this morning. Shot him at around 150yds, did the high kick I could tell he was hit from the he was running, he took off into the middle of a thick marsh. I didn't think much about I was confident in my shot pretty much text book. I've shot alot of animals with this rifle and never had any issues. I figured he was going to be laying 10yds into the brush walk over and he is not there. I searched 3hrs and no sign of him. The problem I have noticed with this round is no exit and no blood trail..So I'm looking for bullet options and opinions. I'm shooting a Remington 700 ADL.

I shoot 120 grain Remmington Corelocks. I've never had any problems with losing a deer I've shot. Any chance you just grazed him maybe? Maybe shot under him?

Shot placement!
Sounds like you didn't hit him with a killing shot, and caliber makes little difference with a poorly placed shot.

Deer will do the high leg kick even on leg hits.

In most cases I prefer heavy-for-caliber bullets. In .243 I shoot 100grs instead of 80. In 6.8 I shoot 115 instead of 90. In 25-06 I'd probably shoot 115-120gr, but I agree this was likely a shot placement issue or the one in a while that takes a licking and keeps on ticking. Sorry you didn't recover him.

Im well aware of shot placement. Only thing I could think of is I may have pulled the shot and hit him a little far back. I would really like to think I missed him altogether but I feel that's not the case. Makes me sick first deer I have ever lost. My question as far as my caliber was mainly about exit holes and different bullet options that y'all use. Shot a doe a couple weeks ago about the same distance perfect heart shot same deal, jumped and ran about 30yards once again no exit, no blood? Opened her up and heart was mush..

Are you a handloader?

Have you got the money to hire a dog handler to come out?

No sir I'm not

I shoot Hornady Superformancw 117 grain. Never had a problem, even with some good size pigs. Albeit I do shoot the pigs in the head

I shoot 100 grain bullets in both my .243 and 25-06.

As for my strength with shot placement, I measure it only by what I achieve with many three shot groups at the range.

Just yesterday I shot a small spike in the high shoulder with my .270 using a 130 grain bullet at less than 100 yards and there was no exit wound visible. Upon cleaning, it appeared the bullet bounced off the shoulder and into the spine area without ever exiting the animal.

Is hot the 117 gr. bullet.. And it does a good job!

shooting the 100 gr nosler ballistic tips. sounds a lot like shot placement perhaps a little far back.

Here's an interesting bit of information on the Remington Core Lokt:

I have shot both Remington Core Lokt and Hornady Interlock SP bullet. I have always had a pass through with the Hornady, but not so much with the Core Lokt. IMO, the Core Lokt "blows up" and does a lot of internal damage,hence the mess when cleaning, but because it does not or may not pass through we the hunter do not get the blood trail we get when we have a bullet that passes through.

Try a Hornady SP 117 grain

Try Federal Fusion 120gr....you'll get exit wounds.

If you plan to continue using a 100 grain bullet, the Barnes TSX might provide a better chance at creating an exit wound. Personally, I'd pick something along the lines of a 117-120 grain bullet for deer sized animals.

Sorry to hear of the lost Buck, I know it is disappointing. If hit a bit far back (read Liver) it can travel quite a ways before bedding up and expiring. IF shot even farther back (read paunch/stomach) many will not be recovered, they simply leave little to no blood trail and can travel great distances.

If you choose to change up your ammo, do NOT fail to re-sight your rifle before returning to the field. Chances are excellent it will shoot to a different point of aim.

Best of luck!

Flint.

This.

I shoot 100 grain core lokts out of a 25-06 and have never had one not pass thru.

117 grain Hornady . Like others have said up your bullet size.

I shoot the hornaday 117 gr SST rounds and we have not had a deer lost, yet. My son has done most of
The shooting and he has nailed several deer in the heart and they run a little but have always found them, but lung shot deer dropped just as good.

We have had some coyotes that get hit and they run off. I know they were hit due to blood and fur at the site, but they still ran off. Tough suckers or maybe poor shot placement. We throw lead at coyotes when we see them though so it isn't comparing apples to apples.

Shot placement is a huge part of it. That being said, I watched a buck take 4 rounds from a 150gr 30-06 Corelocts like it was nothing. First shot was 188 yds left front shoulder almost broadside. 2 & 3 were in the neck from 203 yds on the right side. 4 shot was just behind shoulder right side almost broadside at 215 yds. All rounds hit point of aim, and all rounds exited, the dude just didn't want to die. He made it 30~ yds after the 4th shot.

We killed a pile of deer with plain old 80g Sierra softpoints.

First thing I'd do is check the rifle at the range.....

I just went and picked up a box Hornady 117 grain, so going to the range next. Hopefully I will have good results.

The round you are shooting is fine. So many variables it's insane for people here to guess. I like the federal 120's in that load, but the core lokts killed a shiton of deer

Good choice!

Hand load Barnes bullets

I use the Hornady superformance 117 SST and have had great success with the bullet passing through. It does do a lot of meat damage if you hit one in the shoulders. Only had one not pass through and that was on a large bodied mule deer my son shot that was quartering slightly away. The bullet lodged under the skin on the off side shoulder area and we watched the deer expire after stumbling about 10 yards. I think you will be happy with the Hornady as they shoot accurate in my Remington 700.

where is your shot placement on the song dogs? 117gr and they run off?

I see no problem with your load. You said a little far back which makes me think you were going for a heart/lung shot so I'll use that as an example. I like the heart/lung shot due to the minimal meat damage but it does have drawbacks. If that deer is close to some place you don't want it to go such as a fence, swamp, deep thickets then your taking a risk. I've seen heart shot deer cover 50 to 100 yards and in some places that's way too much distance to allow. I've yet to see a deer hit with the high shoulder shot that didn't fold up in it's tracks. It may not be dead but it's shoulders and spine are broken and it ain't going anywhere. I like neck shots for the same reason but not a shot I'd recommend for everybody. If there's plenty of room I like the heart/lung but if it's tight I'll go for the high shoulder or neck.

These are on moving 175yd+ shots....I have yet to have one stationary that didn't drop, but like I said I throw lead at any legal (on my lease) coyote so it doesn't bother me they get spun by a round and keep trucking. I have seen less and less coyotes so I think I am being effective. Now if I could only get the neighbors on the same program...if I owned I would worry more about that.

I think what bothers me is he does not know exactly where the shot hit...if he thinks he shot too far back I am surprised he is not sure exactly where the shot hit. When I shoot a deer I know exactly where the cross hair was located and would know where the shot should hit or the gun is off. The very reason he thinks he could have pulled the shot tells me this was not a good shot at all and maybe he totally missed the deer. Sorry not trying to be harsh but just facts tell me something is not right not knowing where the cross hair was for sure when the gun went off. However if he shot the deer too far behind the shoulder I have seen a deer run for 300 yards or so before they go down.
I'm not perfect either but I know when I made a bad shot...bad shots are not predictable where the bullet will hit....or what affect the shot will have on the deer.
I'm not a great shooter so I aim for the shoulder and sometimes take out both shoulders that ruins some meat..but a deer has not got away from me in 50 years but could at any time as it will happen to everyone sooner or later....mine is over due.
I am sorry that the deer got away from you as I have looked many hours and covered many miles trying to help find a deer that a hunter has shot on my lease. The hunter always feels so bad especially when he shots his rifle to check if the gun is on and it turns out the gun is dead on.
In my opinion...it was not the gun at all but shot placement for this rifle.

good luck..sorry for the loss

100 grain Fed Premium Nosler Ballistics. My son killed a 250lb mule deer with that load when he was 7 at about 200 yds. I believe the deer to two steps.

Sometimes bullets do funny things. Sometimes we pull a shot etc.

I think if you want to "guarantee" an exit your are going to have to step up to a premium style bullet barnes, partition, etc.

Past that if you put almost any bullet where it needs to go they will all kill, just not all provide the trail of blood to locate the downed critter.

Put it on the shoulder and break them down... exit wounds mean nothing

SOme get away even if you are shooting a mortar. Shot placement, as mentioned before, is the key.

I would disagree a good blood trail is like have a string running from the shot to where it stops. You can make shots where a blood train isn't needed, but unless you cant watch them fall its a very handy thing to have.

exactly.... unless the hard way is just more fun... shoot for the shoulder and tracking isn't needed... 25-06 is well large enough to do so

The case in point we are dealing with is an instance where the bullet didn't go exactly where it was intended. I like cheap insurance and don't like counting on a deer dying DRT.

I have 3different 25-06 rifles ( me and 2 boys) and shoot handloaded 120 gr bullets... No issue but it does make a difference with shot placement as with all caliburs.

a pass through will not guarantee a blood trail...

the shoulder blade is a very broad target also if it cant be hit with a 25-06 should prolly think about going up to a 30-06 and do more damage to handicap shooting.. that's just my take on it

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/product/i...0-rds?a=1582754

These will solve your problems also

My last missed shot was the result of having allowed my rifle to slide off a tree and fall directly on top of the scope. I should have checked it before even attempting a shot afterwards. Such things are very frustrating when you spend a s much time at the range as I do. I consider my shooting skills to be no better than my last round of three shot groups at the range. For me, that requires at least a half box of bullets. Others would scoff at such a small number. Whatever the case, I would never judge it by a single shot made in the woods, or at the range. Once you reach a bullet size known to be effective at the distance traveled, all other debate boils down to shooting skills and correct rifle and scope setup.

The best response after a missed shot is to go the range and fire not just one shot, but as many as it takes to ensure both the hunter and the rifle are accurate and consistent. Ironically, it's also the best approach before hitting the woods. Just like the one learning to play a musical instrument, the goal should be to reach the point where you can sit and play for minutes or even hours on end and never hit a sour note.