Will I recover this buck or should I continue hunting?
Filed under: Miscellaneous
Last Friday I shot a buck with my .270 at about 40 yards. The shot hit a limb but still hit the deer a bit farther back either in the liver or guts. I was using ballistic tips and i believe the bullet flew right through him making a small exit and entry hole. The blood was difficult to track but right after I shot the buck it began to rain lightly. By the time I found first blood it was starting to wash out. First thing I found was a bed with a good amount of blood in it. Then I tracked blood for about 100 yards until it began to difficult to track. It snowed overnight and I looked again Saturday but with no luck. Do you think this deer in findable or should I continue hunting other bucks? For reference I put a picture of where I believe the hit was. Thank you!
Brandon,
Ballistic tipped bullets are designed to expand rapidly. If the bullet hit a limb I strongly suspect it would have expanded before it hit the deer. It would have made a large entrance and even larger exit hole. It a ballistic tip bullet hit the liver there would usually be a lot of blood.
I suspect that either the bullet didn’t enter where you believe or only a fragment of the bullet struck the deer. In either case, all hunters have an obligation to make an intense effort to retrieve game they’ve shot. If snow covered the sign I’d ask a few buddies to help you search the area. Watch for coyote tracks, listen for crows, etc. Such scavengers will often find deer carcasses rapidly!
I hope you recover the buck!
Enjoy creation,
grant
November 23, 2015
