Wellll......

[croatandan]

Had a nice 8 on camera (~4yrs old around 200#) for two months along with 3-5 does. Nothing was daytime at all. With it being prime time this week i hunted him anyway. He walked out exactly how and where i knew he would. He was bigger than i thought. Took a shot with 00 buckshot 30yds out. Rolled em. He took off and started breaking branches. The noise faded and i never heard him”crash. I give him an hour and go to where i shot him. No blood. Ok, I’ve had that happen to me before. No worries. I start easing in the general direction i saw him run off. Never found blood but saw his tracks. They gave out in the middle of the block of woods. I backed out and went back this morning to look for him. Unfortunately, I never found him. I’m 99.999999999% sure i did not miss. I checked every tree between me and 15 yards past where he was and didn’t see pellets. I’m guessing i bumped him during my initial search. Bummed to say the least. The stars aligned and I have nothing to show for it.

[mauser06]

I've never shot a deer with buckshot....


But I'd have to keep searching. You likely have several 36cal lead balls in him at that range. I wouldn't think they'd exit so you likely wouldn't have much of a trail depending on the hit....but I'd have to imagine atleast 1 or 2 hit something that'll kill him?

I've hunted the area you are from...I know how nasty thick it likely is. Not sure how much you searched...but sounds like a great buck ESPECIALLY from that area...might be worth some more searching.

[ridge_runner91]

I'm with mauser.... I'd have to keep looking. The first thing I do if I miss an animal (or think I might have) is check the gun/bow. I'd shoot a round at a target and verify you are hitting good at 30 yards. If the gun hits well it will hopefully give you the confidence to keep looking.

I have never used buckshot. Any reason to use it instead of a single slug?

[oldrank]

What kind of choke were you using? Double 00 is deadly close range but you stretch it out to far n you start blowing legs off, gut shots n so on. They also don't bleed for crap.

Did you pattern your gun? How did it look at 30 yards? If you are confident in your pattern at that distance odds are you have a dead deer. When I say pattern, I am talking you should have 90% of you pellets in a paper plate. When you get that you know that's your effective range. They won't move. I've shot a bunch with buck shot and dropped most of them in their tracks. Get a dog in if you can.

[83mulligan]

get a tracking dog if its legal in your state. they can take the mystery out of things quickly.

[stash59]

Killed a buck one gun season. When I went to gut it, the usually thin belly membrane was thick and layered. Reminded me of bacon. Even had old hairs in the layers. Found 9 '00 pellets in that mess. Even parts of the intestines were mixed in. No puss though so it had to have happened months, if not a year earlier. Thing is buckshot is illegal to deer hunt with here in WI. So I've never used it myself. But from this and what I've read about it. Not a fan. Since a slug works/performs so much better. Why handicap yourself with buckshot.

Keep looking, find a dog. Good luck!!!

[croatandan]

I searched and searched. Trust me, I’m not letting a deer (especially that one go to waste). I’m searching now as we speak actually. The gun patterns very well and the reason for using it was it was all i had. Sometime this kinda stuff happens. It’s part of hunting, but I’m not ok with it by any means. Unfortunately no one in the area has a dog and i can’t afford to bring one in. This isn’t my first deer with buckshot. I’ve killed just as many deer with buckshot as i have slugs and have seen deer not bleed until i was 10 yards from where they died. It sucks to say the least

[P&YBuck1]

Tough one, but hoping you still find it. If dogs are not an option, it might be helpful to get second set of eyes with you if that is an option. We normally then use toilet paper to mark areas we searched as we slowly expand area we believe the deer to be headed to. Don't forget the backtrack of a deer too, which is really hard in your situation since no blood yet, but have had bucks backtrack up to 50-yards on exact same trail and then turn off trail. I was able to see this since buck we were tracking was bleeding bad so able to see this scenario play out. I wish you well since I know the feeling it is to possibly lose a nice buck.. Good luck!

[oldrank]

I searched and searched. Trust me, I’m not letting a deer (especially that one go to waste). I’m searching now as we speak actually. The gun patterns very well and the reason for using it was it was all i had. Sometime this kinda stuff happens. It’s part of hunting, but I’m not ok with it by any means. Unfortunately no one in the area has a dog and i can’t afford to bring one in. This isn’t my first deer with buckshot. I’ve killed just as many deer with buckshot as i have slugs and have seen deer not bleed until i was 10 yards from where they died. It sucks to say the least

Good luck man. Give it all you got.

[croatandan]

P&y
I’ve had 3 of my buddies with me since sunrise. I’m starting to think my theory of me bumping him is coming true

[PK_]

Find a good dog. I never used buckshot but i would think he is laying dead somewhere if you put pellets in his chest.

You said you rolled him. If you hit low in the leg or something I think you would have found blood. Maybe you got him in the shoulder, idk...

Did you loook for hair at point of impact? I would think 00 would give a pretty good shave at that distance.

[croatandan]

Find a good dog. I never used buckshot but i would think he is laying dead somewhere if you put pellets in his chest.

You said you rolled him. If you hit low in the leg or something I think you would have found blood. Maybe you got him in the shoulder, idk...

Did you loook for hair at point of impact? I would think 00 would give a pretty good shave at that distance.

Don’t have access to a dog
I looked for hair.... none.
The wad ended up right behind where is shoulder would have been. I’m to the point of calling the game wardens to see if they can help. I really don’t want to leave him in the woods.

[purebowhunting]

Find a good dog. I never used buckshot but i would think he is laying dead somewhere if you put pellets in his chest.

You said you rolled him. If you hit low in the leg or something I think you would have found blood. Maybe you got him in the shoulder, idk...

Did you loook for hair at point of impact? I would think 00 would give a pretty good shave at that distance.

Don’t have access to a dog
I looked for hair.... none.
The wad ended up right behind where is shoulder would have been. I’m to the point of calling the game wardens to see if they can help. I really don’t want to leave him in the woods.

Dont think a game warden is going to come our to help track. Try to take something from the situation and learn from it. May be not to use buckshot in the future, reason it's illegal in a lot of states.

[croatandan]

Called the game warden and they are coming to help. I used buck shot cause that’s all i had. It’s not illegal in NC Lesson learned.... always give a deer time to die.

[walleyeralph]

Look towards the area he came from not just the way he ran.