.....hit help.

Discuss deer hunting tactics, Deer behavior. Post your Hunting Stories, Pictures, and Questions/Answers.
mauser06
500 Club
Posts: 2074
Joined: Tue Oct 29, 2013 5:11 pm
Status: Offline

Re: .....hit help.

Unread postby mauser06 » Wed Dec 07, 2016 1:31 am

Well you guys gave me some hope. Maybe I'm not totally crazy.


Heading out now. Been fighting a cold and ended up sleeping a little longer than I wanted.


Will keep you posted. Hopefully kill pics to follow.

[ Post made via Android ] Image


User avatar
Southern Man
500 Club
Posts: 3827
Joined: Sun Feb 21, 2010 7:04 am
Location: Extreme Western Kentucky
Status: Offline

Re: .....hit help.

Unread postby Southern Man » Wed Dec 07, 2016 1:33 am

Good luck, be patient.
You Can't Argue With A Sick Mind
User avatar
Jackson Marsh
Moderator
Posts: 19547
Joined: Tue Aug 17, 2010 3:11 am
Location: SE WI
Status: Offline

Re: .....hit help.

Unread postby Jackson Marsh » Wed Dec 07, 2016 1:50 am

Good luck with the recovery....

[ Post made via Android ] Image
Outdoor814
500 Club
Posts: 1620
Joined: Fri Dec 04, 2015 12:36 pm
Location: Pennsylvania
Status: Offline

Re: .....hit help.

Unread postby Outdoor814 » Wed Dec 07, 2016 2:01 am

Go get him!

[ Post made via Android ] Image
Joe™
User avatar
DeerDylan
500 Club
Posts: 1491
Joined: Sat Dec 27, 2014 6:17 am
Location: North East
Status: Offline

Re: .....hit help.

Unread postby DeerDylan » Wed Dec 07, 2016 2:07 am

Good luck man. Pulling for you!
JoeRE
500 Club
Posts: 4576
Joined: Thu Oct 18, 2012 5:26 am
Location: IA
Status: Offline

Re: .....hit help.

Unread postby JoeRE » Wed Dec 07, 2016 3:15 am

Definitely search the area hard. I agree a deer's reaction is usually true. If he looked hard hit, probably was hard hit. Some hits just don't bleed out so lack of blood means absolutely nothing. He could be dead 100 yards away.


ON THE FLIP SIDE - that hair is belly hair for sure. No doubt about it really. Either it was from an exit wound (from hopefully a good hit) or you just clipped some hair basically right off his nads, way too low. Would that make him stagger yet not bleed? Not sure...you sure are having some strange ones this year man.

Another thought - are you sure that hair is from your deer even?
User avatar
vtbuck
500 Club
Posts: 2560
Joined: Tue Nov 01, 2011 4:43 pm
Location: ne wi
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: .....hit help.

Unread postby vtbuck » Wed Dec 07, 2016 3:15 am

Good luck!

[ Post made via iPhone ] Image
Perfection is a dream, practice is hard work, and achieving a goal is making that goal a reality.
mauser06
500 Club
Posts: 2074
Joined: Tue Oct 29, 2013 5:11 pm
Status: Offline

Re: .....hit help.

Unread postby mauser06 » Wed Dec 07, 2016 4:02 am

I agree. It's belly hair all day. Actually I'd say it's right around the rib cage on the body side. I looked at a mount at home and there ain't white hair on a deers chest or brisket besides the throat patch and thatd dropped him dead. Ive shot that before. This one may been going on the wall...I've shot others front chest and they dropped like buffalo.


The hair isn't long like true belly hair. But looks exactly like the hair when gutting one and cutting upto the rib cage. White wirey hair.


I don't know how it'd be possible to graze there and just take a few hairs off. But an exit there from a 35 Whelen you'd think there'd be SOMETHING on the ground.


I circled very hard for 100-150yds of where I last saw him. Not a spec of nothing.


I covered every nook n cranny within a 200yd circle and pretty confident he's not there.


He either crossed the road high or doubled back.



Thinking about it more...he stood there long enough I don't know that he was hit. Ive never seen one stand there several seconds then run when hit with a rifle. I have seen that reaction plenty of times with clean misses.

My buddy also spent 2 hours there this morning and couldn't find anything.

We're pushing everything again. But I'm not sure he's actually hit at this point.


The hair definitely seemed like it was from him. It was at the point of impact and scattered a few feet and as he ran a few more fell here n there for 15ft or so. Never much. But I could see it.


I've never had such a year. I take pride in being a good shot and I'm at the range regularly. Free hand, sitting, prone, leaning on stuff...I practice a lot of stuff besides bench rest. I've shot deer 3x as far free hand with the flintlock.

[ Post made via Android ] Image
Hatchetman
Posts: 291
Joined: Thu Aug 11, 2016 11:42 am
Location: Wi
Status: Offline

Re: .....hit help.

Unread postby Hatchetman » Wed Dec 07, 2016 6:40 am

Could the deer been quartering very slightly?

If so,
The only thing I can come up with is that you hit low and to the slight quartering towards side, like in his arm pit region (hence the white hair) slug may have entered the body there & slid along the inside of his sturnum and punched into the gut and stopped somewhere in a hind quarter.
Couple reasons I think this...
1)About the only spot you could have possibly hit to get white hair from the front.
2) He definetly took an impact (reason for the deer's impact hunch up)
3) Inner front leg hit could of caused the stumbling coming out of the ditch.
4) Like you stated "not much hair". this is all the more reason to substantiate a hit, very uncharacteristic of a graze in my opinion.

I would think nothing from the diaphram forward is gonna kill this deer with a hit like that, however the slug through the guts will.

I'd treat it as such.

Good luck and I hope you find him, sounds like a good buck for sure!
User avatar
stash59
Moderator
Posts: 10077
Joined: Thu Nov 27, 2014 8:22 am
Location: S Central Wi.
Status: Offline

Re: .....hit help.

Unread postby stash59 » Wed Dec 07, 2016 7:20 am

Good luck!!!
mauser06
500 Club
Posts: 2074
Joined: Tue Oct 29, 2013 5:11 pm
Status: Offline

Re: .....hit help.

Unread postby mauser06 » Wed Dec 07, 2016 9:44 am

Couldn't turn up anything....


There is a chance he was slightly quartering. Right side closer to me. Hair if I had to say would been off the right side though.


I just don't know. I literally was hands and knees for a half hour of so inspecting the POI. There wasn't a spec of nothing. Just some hairs.


He was on a slight hill...coming down. So if I nicked the bottom of the chest/arm pits etc the guts would been higher.


When I say he hunched/buckled at the shot he locked up...for several seconds. Long enough for me to get the jam nearly cleared. 10-15 seconds I'd say. That wasn't a quick fix.


Seems more of a reaction from a scared deer than a hit one. I've never hit one that stood there.


I'm torn. I don't know what to make of it. Easy to say he's hit and easy to say he's not. The only grazes I've seen have left LOTS of hair and a few drops of blood/meat/tallow.

The stumbling on the other side of the ditch could been confusion on which way to go...cross the road..back towards where he knew he was chased out of.. trying to figure out what happened..looking for his does. I didn't have a great view or I'd sent him another round. I was reloaded at that point.


I've never been so confused. I can usually make heads or tails of a shot and track job.


We'll be back in the area again tomorrow. I'm pretty confident he's not within a few hundred yards of there at this point.

[ Post made via Android ] Image
dagger
Posts: 177
Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2015 10:39 am
Location: New Hampshire
Status: Offline

Re: .....hit help.

Unread postby dagger » Wed Dec 07, 2016 11:07 am

Well Mauser, not trying to be the bearer of bad news here but I've seen three big boys hit in the chest with '06-.308 and we lost all 3. I won't be taking that shot anymore. I personally have lost 2 that way, one of them bled good and lost chunks of bone and the other one never dropped a single speck. Unless you hit them just perfect from the front thats a sketchy shot. The weird thing is with the 35 whelen you'd think you could hit em in the hoof and it would kill him. I feel the pain!

[ Post made via Android ] Image
mauser06
500 Club
Posts: 2074
Joined: Tue Oct 29, 2013 5:11 pm
Status: Offline

Re: .....hit help.

Unread postby mauser06 » Wed Dec 07, 2016 11:57 am

I've done it with the 3006 and a 50cal flintlock and it's been bang flop. But that's always been higher hit. With the Whelen I was tracking on his chest and figured I better leave good enough alone and sent it.


That thing hits with authority. I shot a doe last year at about 75yds. Heart shot. Wasn't anywhere close to shoulder or spine but she hit the ground like a lightning bolt.


Every deer I've shot with it has fell straight down minus the hard quartering away buck.


I can't see it possible to have an exit to give white hair and not have something hit the ground. When I say I was hands and knees I was literally hands n knees.


The white hair and reaction is the head scratcher for me.


If that bullet entered his body I wouldn't think he'd lock up for 10 seconds. I've personally never seen it.



So many things indicate a hit and others tell me he wasn't hit.


I'm not done looking. I'd be thrilled to find him. He's a pretty buck.

[ Post made via Android ] Image
Hatchetman
Posts: 291
Joined: Thu Aug 11, 2016 11:42 am
Location: Wi
Status: Offline

Re: .....hit help.

Unread postby Hatchetman » Wed Dec 07, 2016 12:26 pm

mauser06 wrote:Couldn't turn up anything....


There is a chance he was slightly quartering. Right side closer to me. Hair if I had to say would been off the right side though.


I just don't know. I literally was hands and knees for a half hour of so inspecting the POI. There wasn't a spec of nothing. Just some hairs.


He was on a slight hill...coming down. So if I nicked the bottom of the chest/arm pits etc the guts would been higher.


[glow=red]When I say he hunched/buckled at the shot he locked up...for several seconds. Long enough for me to get the jam nearly cleared. 10-15 seconds I'd say. That wasn't a quick fix.[/glow]


Seems more of a reaction from a scared deer than a hit one. I've never hit one that stood there.


I'm torn. I don't know what to make of it. Easy to say he's hit and easy to say he's not. The only grazes I've seen have left LOTS of hair and a few drops of blood/meat/tallow.

The stumbling on the other side of the ditch could been confusion on which way to go...cross the road..back towards where he knew he was chased out of.. trying to figure out what happened..looking for his does. I didn't have a great view or I'd sent him another round. I was reloaded at that point.


I've never been so confused. I can usually make heads or tails of a shot and track job.


We'll be back in the area again tomorrow. I'm pretty confident he's not within a few hundred yards of there at this point.

[ Post made via Android ] Image


Mauser, I miss understood you.
If he just stood there, I think it highly unlikely you did hit anywhere in the body cavity at all.

I too have never seen a gun hit deer just stand there and take a slug???

Sounds more like you just scared the crap out of him and for a time, he didn't know which way to go!

After thinking this again, I think you still hit in the arm pit area just way lower, like just at the bottom maybe even creasing the inside of the front leg. this would explain the minimal amount of hair, some short (more like leg hair)
and some long (like arm pit hair). With him standing with his but higher than his front would also explain why the bullet never grazed his belly (belly would have been slightly up) I would think if he would've been om the level you may have grazed the hair somewhere along his belly maybe even laid his gut open.

I think this deer is got the last laugh on you.

I do however agree with dagger, a front on shot is a low percentage. I would say your margin of error is about 4 " across. Up and down is probably a foot or more.

I got this pounded into my head by my dad as a kid. " Don't take a front on shot unless he's really close and you're sure you can hit dead nuts in the center".
I remember of stories(sounding like Dagger's) of bucks he lost to frontal shots. I remember him saying "If you don't hit right in the middle, the bullet will deflect off the front V shaped point of the rib cage and end up smashing into the front shoulder. Youl'll have buck running you all around the countryside on three legs, bleeding just enough to track but very hard to catch up with and finish off"
I don't know if he was right or not about the bullet actually glancing but I do think a lot has to be just right for a front on shot to be a killing shot.

Mauser, My pa wouldn't of yelled at you for taking the shot (sounded like he was close enough) He would of yelled a little for missing though... LOL

Pa was a little rough around the edges...
mauser06
500 Club
Posts: 2074
Joined: Tue Oct 29, 2013 5:11 pm
Status: Offline

Re: .....hit help.

Unread postby mauser06 » Wed Dec 07, 2016 2:34 pm

Seems like that's the most plausible explanation.


I didn't start a stop watch. But I'm sure it took several seconds to attempt to rack the next round in, realize something ain't right, fight with it and get it right and get another round in.

He was close enough i thought maybe the muzzle blast alone would drop him.....hahaha.



He was definitely moving right to left at first...that's how I was tracking him..as he got to where he was he was going to turn to go right to left to follow his girls.


It ain't over. I still might get the last laugh!


There are some bigger buck around...but man...I don't think there is a prettier one.


95% sure he was locked down with a doe Halloween evening..I was within 30yds. He stood up and wouldn't move and wouldn't let her move. That was right after I hit a buck and was walking to the truck.

Have to look through the cam pics and see if I have any of him. He was a good ways from there. But I'm fairly certain it was the same buck.



I really never considered the frontal shot one not to take with a gun. I won't do it at any distance. But I've flattened a few with it.


Could definitely see a bullet going between the rib cage and shoulder and causing a LOT of damage and a deer that probably won't be recovered if not shot again.


Not sure how it would have played out had I let him keep coming. I learned a while ago if you wanna kill deer to take the first comfortable shot you're confident in. Don't wait for the next one because chances are it wont come for one reason or another.

[ Post made via Android ] Image


  • Advertisement

Return to “Deer Hunting”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 87 guests