Shot a buck.. Deer reaction when hit..

So I shot a buck at about 75 yards with a 30-06 using iron sights. I saw him do a little jump and run off in the direction he was traveling. I waited a while and went to check it out, but I couldn't find a single drop of blood or hairs. I missed? Gun is pretty accurate and so am I, especially at that range. Did have a bit of buck fever though. That ever happen to anyone?

I have never used iron sites on a rifle to hunt deer with. I guess the buck fever could've possibly messed with your shot. I get to shaking sometimes too and I have to calm my self before I fire, but my scope and 25-06 has done the job everytime.

Even a cheap scope is better than iron sites. It take it as a learning experience and go invest in some glass for that 30-06.

Nothing wrong with iron sights. I use them on a muzzle loader, lever gun, slug gun, pistol and a bow has a form of them if you will.

Practice makes perfect, and I have found after years of hunting that a lot of times animals will not react to a shot and they don't all start spurting blood right away. Give it a few, get some marks when he is running away and go look for blood at impact if noting give it 20-30 minutes and then look a little further.

I messed up a couple years ago and bought ammo for tough skinned animals for my 30-06. They don't leave a blood trail on whitetail deer. I have used them on 4 different deer now. 3 of the 4 ran with no blood trail, the other was a neck shot. All 3 that ran were perfect heart shots and the deer only ran 20 to 30 yards. Start making circles in the direction he ran.

If he jumped at all, you either hit him or the bullet whizzed close enough to him that he felt it. They don't jump from the noise. At least in my experience.

Now, you may have just grazed him and it felt like a horsefly bite. Not saying he's dead or there's even anything to follow, but any time they actually jump, something made them.

I think the title should more read, "Shot at a Buck not sure if hit or not". Do concentric circles in the direction you shot and believe he ran to. Try to locate the actual location the first shot was taken at and move from there using hat/s or tape to mark trees where blood found, etc. Go out 50-100 yards and you'll likely have your answer if you hit or not..

How well did you check the area and for how long did you look for sign or the deer? I have killed deer that did not leave a blood trail at all. Found them by just continually walking trails.

Using iron sights to shoot a deer at 75 yards is not a good choice.

Hunters have different definitions when it comes to looking for a deer. While some might look for five minutes or less, others will say you haven't looked at all if you haven't spent at least an hour.

I shot a doe this weekend that broke every rule in the book for how they react when hit with a bullet. She kicked her hind legs like a gut shot, then turned and ran back from the way she came, jumping once as if she hadn't been hit at all. I found her on my circle back about 20 yards from where she stood at the time of the shot. It was a clean, heart and lung shot.

I would challenge anyone who says their hit deer always crumble without taking a step. All deer are different just like all shots are different. Some might crumble immediately, while others might run some distance with just the blood left in their veins.

Texas Dan nailed it.

I have had very few deer just drop dead on the spot. Most will make it 20-50 yards from where they were shot before expiring. I shot a buck opening morning, it was a heart shot that broke his front leg and he made it 40 yards and left no blood trail whatsoever. He casually trotted off after being hit.

Then again I have had double lung hits and a blood trail that looks like they were shot with a broad head.

Please explain..

He read the silver Winchester box that said tough skinned animals lol

No two deer I have ever shot has reacted the same.
I have seen a doe shot head on in the chest with a 30.06 at 75 yards run for 300 yards.
I have see a big bodied mature buck shot in the shoulder with a .243 at 90 yards drop like a rock and never move.

You just never know what they are going to do.

Must have been bought at Sears...

Deer I shot Sat with my 30.06 in the boiler maker ran 30 or 40 yards. Not a drop of blood at impact or where he fell. Same with the last few deer and hogs. I might change bullets but who knows. If it exits high you won't have blood like a low exit point. Luckily I have not relied on a blood trail as they are all dead within 50 yards except a pig or two who made it 100.

Might need to take another look around, depending on how much time you spent yesterday. I have shot deer and never saw a single drop of blood on the ground near area of impact, but was confident with my shot...searched around, and eventually found the deer down. Done the same for friends that swore they hit one, and then they went to the spot where the deer was and didn't find blood and "thought" they must have missed it. I'll show up, and after a continued search, we find their deer. They think I'm a magic tracker (who am I to try to tell them otherwise, right? ). truth is, I just spent a little more time searching than they did and I found their deer down. If you feel confident with your shot, and saw a good hit type reaction, I'd say your deer might be one the ground.

If I think I've hit a deer, I'll spend a LONG time looking for it. My two cents.

I disagree. I have not used a scoped rifle in three years. I have been on a kick with the traditional lever action lately. I have had venison in the freezer all three years, with my longest shot being 110 yards. Zero misses, zero lost deer. I will admit, I have passed up a lot of shots that I would not have passed on with a scoped rifle, but 75 yards is not one I would pass on.

To the OP, sounds like you hit him. Hope you find him.

I shot one last year took me 2,hours no blood trail the only trail was a broken tree branch follwed by broken cactus found him 50 yds into the brush with a heart shot. Found him in the opposite side of sendero where he had ran into

The time spent looking for a deer is often based on the confidence of the shooter. And IMO, those who spend time practicing with their firearm are far more likely to spend more time looking for a deer after taking a shot. Having invested their time to become better shooters, they're not as quick to throw in the towel. The one who spends many hours at the range, will often be the one who does likewise looking for their deer.

Sadly, it's the ones who fire just one or two practice shots a year that are often the ones who spend little time looking. Nothing invested, nothing lost.

One thing is certain - The buzzards never miss finding them.

It sounds like you either hit or buzzed him either way keep looking so you'll know for sure. Go back during daylight and look for buzzards. Yes I've missed and so has everyone else just some won't admit to it. Iron sites are fine at that distance. You hunt how you want to hunt but the potential of that caliber has so much more to offer if you scope that rifle.

Good luck.

Absolutely. The difference is those willing to put forth the painstaking effort to ensure to themselves that it wasn't a hit.

I spent three hours looking for my last un-retrieved deer.

Never said that I haven't missed. I said that I haven't missed in the last three years. Just wanted to clarify.

I'd bet money he's hit. Probably a fatal wound. I can't find it now but I once read a study that claimed ~ 60% of deer shot with rifles don't show discernable blood or hair near the point of impact.

I know from personal experience with many hunters that that % isn't far off. Many bullets today are designed to spend their energy inside the animal and therefore lodge in or near the opposite side skin leaving no exit wound. In that case you are depending on blood filling the chest cavity to the level of the entrance wound (that can easily close with fat), or blood to come out of the deers mouth. Both might not happen for many yards and at the end of his flight.

Fully agree with all of this. I've seen heart/lung fall where shot, and I've seen them run 100-200 yards. I shot a buck twice in the shoulder, fully destroyed heart/lungs, and he made 150 yards of dirt and 20 yards of water before dying in the middle of a stock tank. Not a large deer, dressed 95 or so. Shot a doe one day from the truck, she ran off like nothing, dad says 'you missed' and all of a sudden she falls over in the middle of a field 200 yards further out.

Open sight 30-06 is old school. Is it efficient? Sure in the right hands with lots of practice. Are there better more efficient options? Sure modern scopes are pretty good even the cheap ones. I shoot a 30-06 and use a scope because it improves my odds of making a better shot.

My son shot a spike youth weekend and he did the hunch and jump. Walked over and not a single drop of blood or hair. Searched the immediate area for 10 maybe 15 minutes and nothing. I knew he was hit by his reaction and I heard the hit. I opened my search up towards the direction he headed and sure enough30 yards away and 5-10 minutes later there was good blood. Found him about 40 yards further and he was heart shot with a half fist size exit. Weird... but you never know.

Sure are a lot of people hunting with bow and arrow and now we got criticizing over modern rifles and open sights??

I'll have to go back and look some more. I searched for about 1.5 hours in the direction it went. Its just the first time I don't see blood, im a little confused.

...until you keep looking.

Keep in mind comments are often not directed at whoever made the original post, but towards the topic in general.

Yes, sometimes a fresh and/or another set of legs and eyes is all it takes to find a downed deer. I remember the time when a friend came and got me to help him look for a deer only after he had just about given up. It took me less than 15 minutes to find the deer, not because I was any better at looking, but because I looked in an area he never thought the deer would go.

If you were searching after dark, you have to consider the shadows that are created when light from even the best hand held lights encounter objects and the terrain. It's why I like to use just a plain old Coleman lantern when searching for a deer at night. It provides more light in a more broad manner.

A two mantle Coleman Propane lantern puts out about 1000 lumens, while a Coleman Pinacle Propane Lantern is just shy of 1600 lumens.

Let me make a suggestion on something that has worked well for me, and helped me find blood trails. Use your rangefinder after you shoot the deer. Range to the spot the deer was standing when you fired, then walk there and range back to the stand to be sure you are in the right spot. I can say from many years of hunting and trailing that 'the spot' looks much different than it did from the stand. You can be 6 feet off on your guesstimate on where that deer was standing and you'll miss the blood trail completely.

And when trailing blood, use toilet paper bits to mark the path. Badly wounded deer tend to move in a somewhat straight line, where possible, and looking back at your TP trail can keep you on track when you can't find the next spot of blood. Also, wounded deer tend to drag their feet (hooves?), and if you have a good layer of leaves on the ground, you may be able to see where the deer walked. If shot in the lungs, the deer will often rest against a tree, so often the blood isn't always on the ground.

And a good messy bullet like a Nosler BT of Hornady SST through the lungs almost always gives a good blood trail. Lungs...shoot em in the lungs. I've been doing this since the early 60's. Trust me.

To summarize: lung shots, range finder, toilet paper, in that order.

After I got on the blood trail of that deer my boy shot I back tracked from the first blood I saw.... only saw a pin drop on a leaf about 5 yards before that but nothing from there to where he was shot. It still has me scratching my head. I wanted to keep going back and keep searching even after we found him which I did several times...

Dont believe anyone is criticising... If u get that out of my post id say youre a

Dog

Bow shots are less than 30 or 40, maybe 50 yards. I dont care if your davie crocket, at 75 yards you just cannot see well enough down those iron sights to make a clean ethical shot. Yes it can be done, and im sure some of yall are real badass shots (or so you say) but its a matter of being ethical,just buy a damn scope and quit trying to be annie oakley. Nothing worse than wounding a deer just because your too proud to buy a scope. And don't tell me you can't afford one.

I have a strong conscience myself, i hate wounding animals, why even risk it? If you had hit that deer correctly it would have dropped or ran little distance. A 30-06 should drop him on his [censored]. I use 180 gr winchester or federals and have never had a deer run more than a few yards with a lung shot. I use the same loads on elk with great results.

As mentioned earlier, a lantern does work well for looking for deer when it is dark and works better with foil on the back half as that improves your vision with the light all out in front.

Good point.

I've seen cases where someone who wasn't holding the lantern at the time, saw the deer before the person holding it.

X2

The outdoor store I purchased my ammo at had Safari ammo right next to the whitetail ammo. Both were 150 grain, and the only difference was the wording after 150gr. I wasn't paying attention and picked up the safari grade ammo. Shoots fine, it just doesn't expand on thin skinned animals like whitetail. I still shoot it because of the price, but I just make head or neck shots now. Plus side is no more tracking.

I'll try to remember to take a picture of the ammo when I get home. No promises though, I've been on seven twelve's for a while now. By the time I get home, I'm ready for a shower, supper, and to hit the pillow.

well, what is the verdict?

Found this while doing some research. Obviously not 100% and it's for archery, but it gives you a good idea of POI.

POI Impact Reaction

Did you look for the deer or just blood where you shot? I've had several deer the past couple of years that didn't bleed much at all including a doe that I shot this week. Shot her at 90yds quartering away with a 7mm Mag and NO BLOOD. Bullet exited through the center of the brisket. She ran about 30 yrs and pile up. Found her pretty easy in the brush, but there was no blood anywhere between the shot and the deer. Odd.

Agreed! If you can still go look I would! One if not THE biggest mistake I've made when hunting/shooting a deer was when I got down after I shot a buck. He whirled and took off into a creek bed. I went to look for blood but didn't find any...I thought that perhaps I'd missed but looking back on it and remembering his reaction there is simply NO WAY I missed! I am utterly coninced I hit him and he just didn't bleed out. I should not have given up so quick and should have gotten help. I was pretty young and thought that if I'd hit him there would be blood to follow which is not true! The one I shot Wednesday didn't leave a trail. Yes I found blood at the point of impact but then there was no blood at all to track, at least not immediately. I was fortunate that he ran into a field where I saw him pile up.