what do you think happened here?

[WhelanLad]

So last week i had some time an went hunting, one afternoon i shot a hind sambar from about 100meters away with the 9.3x62 and 250gr RN woodleigh, the deer launched and bulldozed her head along the ground for a few moments before hitting a fence and going through, then gaining herself and running into the bush line,
i tracked her up an found blood, not excessive, but enough to think she wouldnt be far away, an hour later i was nearing the ridgline an she had made her way up the gulley head..... i never found her that day.
i shot her as she was facing me in a downhill position angling slighty away to my Right- i aimed on her presenting shoulder...


during the days i glassed an see many crows an figure she is dead in one area, yet togo an find her due to heavy rain.

this past week i walked onto a stag an he caught me from above, was looking down his nose at me from above me, 80-100 meters away, an in elevation about 30m higher...
i aimed centre of his chest and sent a 250gr RN 9.3, he didnt slump, but contoured down an across out of sight, i listened but heard no crashing, then walking off.
i followed him up an found blood speck 50m away, then another 30m away i found a area which looked like coughed up frotthy blood in a fair circle appx 1m wide.
from here the blood was only in drips an drabs, sections of foamy lumps but also appeared to dry up as he contoured away into the bush an eventually i assume the creek line.


he was shot centre chest (point of aim) an was facing me front on chest wise but ass end perhaps to my left behind it if any. as if walking left to right , stopped , saw me an took a step toward to check me out.

been back looking for him too but no luc so far, again crows may help out an will find both deer next week

whats happening?

my shot placement with heavy 250gr RN projectiles doesnt seem to be alloweing the projectile to hit enough reisstance to open u, therefore i feel they are pinholing the deer!........

(ps im selling the 9.3) but interested in discussion....

iv used 225gr 358 rn an worked awesome up close opened up sometimes exited, these deer are close enough, a bit of pace an one stag i killed showed no sign of expansion in projectile from 40meters...... i will be using the 708 an perhaps a 3006 shortly.

 

[finstr]

My guess would be that the bullet hit high due to the uphill or downhill angle of the shot hitting the deer in the neck/throat and causing the frothy blood you found.

 

[Fox]

This seems silly but have you taken the gun to the range and verified that it is actually hitting where you aimed at 100 yards? I don't mean, did you sight it in, I mean, does it still hit where you were aiming it?

I know of a few situations where people could not figure out why their round did not drop the deer and after hours of tracking it was lost. They did not actually go shoot their gun on paper again until the next fall and found out their were a foot off or 6in off, etc.

If you miss a kill shot then for sanity sake just check on paper to at least make sure your sights are still where they were before the hunt.

 

[buzzmagoo]

Guns do get knocked about , buddies do fiddle with stuff when your not looking , different angles when aimed can and do change shot placement . Deflection ( from brush )will change point of impact . Hunting is a sport and a learned skill . No guarantees its part of the excitement ! Even when you do your part it doesn't mean that your targets will comply .

 

[Dogleg]

The first thing that comes to mind is that it's possible to slip a bullet between the shoulder and rib cage and not hit anything important. Do that and you'll never see it again. Two is a row would take a special kind of bad luck though.

The next is that people will sometimes misjudge their angles on quartering shots and screw up that way. Centre of the shoulder is great on a broadside, but quartering toward might need a hold in front of the shoulder to get the bullet path where you need it. Quartering away needs a behind the shoulder hold for the same result. Then you have to consider leg forward or leg back.

Those are a couple examples of perfect aim and bad placement, but I wasn't there, or saw what you saw through the scope. People tell me how they pick a hair to shoot at, like that's supposed to be a badge of honour or something. I always ask them if that was the hair holding the deer together.

 

[trevj]

I know from experience that a high hit between the backbone and vitals can result in a runner that can actually survive, as I went through that with an Archery deer hit.

I had another that I recovered that I shot front-on with a rifle, never did find the entry wound, would not have recovered her if she had not looped around to where she had started out and collapsed where I could see her. My best guess was that the fat layer sealed up the entry wound and stopped any bleeding to the outside.

Me, I'd be finding a stump to shoot really quick after events as yours, and confirming zero for peace of mind. It's a crappy feeling to be bearing down on the trigger, and wondering if the rifle is shooting poorly, or you are.

 

[Longwalker]

My best guess is a very stout builet not opening much combined with hits that were just a bit off of point of aim. The couple times I've seen deer run with head down "bulldozing" they were hit on top ( back) of the neck, just in front of the shoulder hump. The wound cut muscles that keep the head up. Nothing vital there. might have been what happened to you hind.
A facing-towards shot might not enter the chest cavity and skip along the ribs if the hit is just a teeny bit to one side. Not much of a deflection actually if you look at the structure of the bone. That could have been what happened to your stag.

 

[kamlooky]

I too suggest a bit of range time to determine poi.
If it is on the mark, you and that shewter have no karma.
Two in a row really sucks.

 

[Ganderite]

I shot a moose at about 20 feet with a 338Win Mag. It was walking towards me and I shot it center of chest.

The bullet scooted around the chest on the outside of the ribs and exited by the hind leg. It was not a kill shot, except a bone fragment cut through the top of the heart.

You are imagining that the bullet continues through the deer on the same path it entered. If it deflects a bit, it can be a non kill shot.

But the rifle and bullet seem perfect for the shot. 2 in a row is bad luck or bad something.

 

[phinton81]

2nd bull sounds like a single lung shot, not immediately deadly and might even be survivable. Since I started bow hunting, I have new appreciation for the limitations of even a well placed bullet. Not being familiar with Sambar, I still don’t love the idea of a head on chest shot with a bullet that doesn’t expand much.

Patrick

 

[WhelanLad]

This seems silly but have you taken the gun to the range and verified that it is actually hitting where you aimed at 100 yards? I don't mean, did you sight it in, I mean, does it still hit where you were aiming it?.

haha yeah, i wont take offence to the full rookie manouver mentioned there, it is shooting sweet- i re checked after the hunting dillemmas , each time its fine.
i know its hard to know online what the other guys experience is, appreciate it tho mate

 

[WhelanLad]

2nd bull sounds like a single lung shot, not immediately deadly and might even be survivable. Since I started bow hunting, I have new appreciation for the limitations of even a well placed bullet. Not being familiar with Sambar, I still don’t love the idea of a head on chest shot with a bullet that doesn’t expand much.

Patrick

mate i am hearing this one a few times among mates too! i reko nthats whats gone on

 

[WhelanLad]

My best guess is a very stout builet not opening much combined with hits that were just a bit off of point of aim. The couple times I've seen deer run with head down "bulldozing" they were hit on top ( back) of the neck, just in front of the shoulder hump. The wound cut muscles that keep the head up. Nothing vital there. might have been what happened to you hind.
A facing-towards shot might not enter the chest cavity and skip along the ribs if the hit is just a teeny bit to one side. Not much of a deflection actually if you look at the structure of the bone. That could have been what happened to your stag.

true, this sounds about right too !!!

 

[gerard]

Well after reading all of your post and looking at the pictures that you show us. Theres no doubt that your use to shooting at steep angles and know shot placement.
But its just one of those things that are beyond our control and it happens to all of us. As long as you looked for the animal and did your best to make every effort in doing so.
It's hunting, some days are good, some not so good.

 

[hunter148]

I agree with the "slid one under the shoulder" on the first. Have seen it more than a few times with slower 250 grn muzzleloader bullets with head on whitetail shots. Second, my guess would be high POI due to angle. Shoot the gun to ensure everything is in order as they can get bumped. Good luck in future.