Help NEEDED!!

[bear3725]

Hey guys and gals today I had an eight point buck come out about 100 yards today facing me. I took a good and steady aim putting the crosshairs right on his chest and then carefully squeezed, not pulled the trigger on my 30.06 rifle. The reason for the post is that I did not see if the deer got hit or not. I thought I saw him tumble back and then run back into the woods, now the tricky part is there was no hair, no blood. Before I go out looking through the thickets and thorns, do you guys believe it is possible that I hit him and he didn't leave a blood trail and maybe went and laid down and died?!?!? I just cannot fathom that I didn't hit him, as I made what I believe is a textbook shot on him. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

[Nick Roehl]

It's always a good idea to track a buck you thought you might have hit. There have been a few nice bucks I recovered this way. Made a shot didn't hear the thud, no blood, nothing at all. Then last minute I decide to track them and found them all dead within a couple hundred yards.
So if you feel you hit him it can't hurt to go and look for him.

[8pointsncounting]

Dear Help needed, same thing has happened to me, my advice is wacky but proven- something about it though- have a friend- family member or someone go back with you and look when this happens- an old hunter told me you cant find your own deer- put your bud on it- it's is so true- I have found my friends deer when they walked right by it! and so have they mine, my biggest suggestion is to shoot deer in the neck- anywhere in the neck and they don't run- 90 percent of the time they drop right where you shot them and die instantly- I was skeptic at first but now if I can; I shoot all mine there- I have shot 6 deer there in the neck- lower or upper and only one ran- 10 feet becuse he was a huge 8point- hope this helps-

[ironhead]

It does sound like you probably hit it,,sometimes it takes several yards to start finding blood trail. I would not recommend taking the head on shots though,,pretty low percentage and kind of reckless. It will also destroy the stomach and intestines making the meat taste nasty,,and the longer it sits the worse it will be. What ammo were you using,,let us know how it turned out.

[big buck hunter]

you could have hit him? On my first deer I shot it layed down on a hill and it took a couple of ours to find him. we found one drop of blood at the enterence of a trail and we whent down the trail but it turned out he diden't and ran across a little field and into the woods to die.

[cjg]

Probably should have spent time looking for him instead of getting on the computer. Way to many deer get wounded/lost because of poor shots and worse folow ups. Head on shot is never a good shot, if he's that far away, he shouldn't be able to see or smell you, take your time and wait for a better shot.

[pastorbmp]

Absolutely you could have killed him! It is highly possible that he would not bleed for some time. I have killed bucks before with ML and rifles that didn't bleed a drop until their final resting place. You need to get out their and find your buck! Let us know how it turns out!

Few tips for finding your deer:

1. A mortally wounded deer will often run downhill (not always) and toward a thicket or creek.

2. A buddy is good to have when tracking, but not too many people at first. You don't want friends trampling all over blood trails.

3. If you can't pick up a blood trail, make circles, each one larger in diameter. Look for blood and the deer.

4. Be patient, take your time and be thorough.

Don't quit too soon. I shot a nice buck with ML a few years back. It ran into a 5 year old cutover. I found zero blood. Couldn't tell what direction he ran, because of the smoke of the ML. I finally found two spots of blood about the size of pin head where he was standing when I shot him. It was too thick with briars and brush to make circles. About 20 yards inside the clear cut was an old logging road. Finally, in a last ditch effort, after everything else had failed, I decided to follow the logging road to the left as it ledd down hill. Sure enough, at the bottom of the hill lay may buck. A decent nine pointer. No blood anywhere (except the two tiny spots) until the place he lay. Do not give up too soon. Hope you find him!