So yesterday around 3:00 I walked in sat down on my little stool. I often use the stool when I'm checking out an area. Anyway 10 minutes max after sitting down.I see a buck heading my way. I was surprised of course that quick never happens to me. So I wait for him to get in a clear spot. And boom I shoot then I see him run. I think I see him pick up his right front leg a little when I first shot. I wait an hour and call a buddy to come help me. Reason being I looked at where he ran and it's extremely thick stuff. He had to run up a steep dike which go's around the whole Creek to help with flooding. That's the only path he could take. Anyway we couldn't find any blood at point of impact or up the dike or on the other side. We walked it back and forth side to side never seen anything.we ended up walking 4.2 miles with all the zig zagging. I was using 30/30 with peep sights approximately 40 yards and I was at an incline. Any thoughts this has never happened to me before. I can't stop thinking about it. It's really bothering Me. I twisted my knee and couldn't go back today. With no blood I don't know if I hit him or not.
Got that sickening feeling
- Thread starter DRSJ35
- Start date
Sounds like a shoulder hit , not good actually if he's not bleeding he probably will make it .
ROUGH COUNTRY HUNTER
Well-Known Member
Sounds like a clean miss to me
Thanks fellas yep no blood anywhere. Needless to say I'm retiring the 30/30 till I get a scope. I got the peep sight cause of the thickness of the area. Maybe a low powered scope with large enough recticals to pull of a quick shot and or closer shot. Something in 50 yard range or shorter. Not sure a good choice of scopes. I hope I missed or he'll make it. I'm a hunter but an ethical one. I don't take shots That seem impossible just for that reason.
ROUGH COUNTRY HUNTER":2r2ovsbs said:
this^^^^
At what distance was the gun zeroed for?
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Gobbler88
Well-Known Member
Was there any saplings or limbs that maybe you didn't see? My brother shot at one back during muzzleloader and we looked for close to an hour without finding anything. I circled back to where the deer was standing and there was a sapling maybe 5 yds in front of where it was standing and sure enough, there were 2 limbs cut from the bullet. Hope this helps. Hopefully you missed and get another crack at him. Good luck.
You said he may have "raised his leg" at the shot. You may have grazed him on the leg as well. How did he run as he left? Any sign of distress, stumbled, fell even?
fairchaser
Well-Known Member
Regardless of hit or miss, you must find some evidence of a shot. There should be hair even if there were no blood and that could tell you a lot if you can find any. Since the shot was so close you can recreate it especially with the help of another. If you noted anything the deer was standing next to all the better. What was your sight picture at the moment of truth? If you don't recall, you might have missed. You might check your peep sights at a similar range target too. Also I have mistaken which angle the deer ran and confused it with another deer consequently I was looking in the wrong direction. Go back to the point of impact and look every direction for several yards just in case. Misses will haunt you forever. Good luck.
Well I went back yesterday morning. I hunted an hour or so.of course I couldn't get the situation out of my mind.So i was recreating the situation over and over. Where He went over the dike I found a drop of blood size of a rain drop. I was there all day till dark. Couldn't find anymore blood to lead me in the direction he went. So I went back and forth. I was on all fours a lot of the time. I checked deer beds and as much area as I could fiscally check. Now it's rained and snowed. Only thing I can think is the bullet grazed his leg or something. Cause I walked hundreds of yards in no dead deer and no blood to send in a direction. I hate to give up. But this whole thing has wore me down fiscally and mentally. And I can't find him anywhere
It's likely happened to all of us at one point or another in our hunting lives, except for those who are perfect of course 
. I know it has for me. It does wear you down mentally, almost to the point of throwing in the towel sometimes. But you just have to try to learn from it and move on. I know that sounds redundant as well, but it's basically what we have to do in a nutshell.
. I know it has for me. It does wear you down mentally, almost to the point of throwing in the towel sometimes. But you just have to try to learn from it and move on. I know that sounds redundant as well, but it's basically what we have to do in a nutshell.Thanks MUP it is mentally exhausting for sure. Thing that sucks I had a pretty good opening between trees. it all happened pretty quick. Of course I bought the 30/30 and put a peep sight on it for that exact purpose. At first I was cussing the gun. Saying why didn't I buy the 44 marlin that I really wanted. You know the routine. In reality should have been cussing my poor shooting. And trust me I have been.Still not sure about the lever evolution rounds for the 30/30. Of heard good and bad.
Hunter 257W
Well-Known Member
I lost my 1st deer ever this year on ML opener. I knew it was bound to happen but didn't make it any easier to accept. Mine was at about 90 yards with a buck facing me with his head down. I shot right at the top/center of his neck while he had his head down eating acorns. Normally I wouldn't have taken such a shot but I figured that with the 310 grain 44 caliber bullet at approximately 1600 ft/sec I should have enough penetration to go through that neck and on through the chest cavity. It put him on the ground like a ton of bricks and kept him there long enough to get about half reloaded. But he got up and made it about 20 feet, fell once more, then got up and simply vanished. No blood, no hair, no nothing. Drives me crazy thinking about it. Never found and buzzards circling, bones or anything but it had to have killed the deer.
DRSJ35":3h5btol2 said:
You should look thru the archives and find the story about my 2013 season. Talk about nearly throwing in the towel. :roll: Never before, and never since have I had such a terrible season, from ML thru rifle season, just one thing after another.
there's only one thing that could redeem my season. And I'm slowly running out of time.already have taken all my vacation days at work.Ruined several days walking through some of the nastiest briar infested area a man could imagine looking for that buck. I got cuts in places That don't see to much daylight.I stepped in one patch of briars.And before I knew what happened I had briars wrapped around my head and was bleeding from the tip of my nose.but I'll keep after it till the end I suppose.
