.223 for bear, mountain goat, deer, elk, and moose.

[Formidilosus]

@form
could you shed some light on my last post related to the no blood at all "issue".

Lack of blood trails happens with all calibers and bullets. Your #3 deer you don’t know what happened, as it wasn’t recovered. #4 doesn’t seem like you know which shot was which, and so you still can’t say.

No matter what, 3 deer is an insignificant sample size to base blood trails on. With about 150-200 normal deer- the vast majority fall within sight. Of those that run, the vast majority leave a usable blood trail. Very few actually leave no blood trail.

My experience is that for the most part when people say “no blood at all”, there usually is a blood trail- but they aren’t good at trailing and if it isn’t buckets poured out, then it’s “no blood” to them. Not saying this is you to be clear.

 

[Formidilosus]

The 40 acres we have to hunt is realistically two spots of open field with thick trees/brush. You cant see a full grown cow thru the stuff at 15yds. Its great deer habitat but im concerned with the lack of blood for tracking.
That being said, will the 95 NBT or 108 berger be better for leaving a blood trail?
The other option is quick follow up shots, which the AR is good for, unlike my .243 bolt gun.

Generally the 95gr NBT exits. The 108gr is hit or miss, though in most southern deer it probably will.

 

[deer_hunter132]

Lack of blood trails happens with all calibers and bullets. Your #3 deer you don’t know what happened, as it wasn’t recovered. #4 doesn’t seem like you know which shot was which, and so you still can’t say.

No matter what, 3 deer is an insignificant sample size to base blood trails on. With about 150-200 normal deer- the vast majority fall within sight. Of those that run, the vast majority leave a usable blood trail. Very few actually leave no blood trail.

My experience is that for the most part when people say “no blood at all”, there usually is a blood trail- but they aren’t good at trailing and if it isn’t buckets poured out, then it’s “no blood” to them. Not saying this is you to be clear.

I suck at finding blood. I need buckets or for the deer to drop. I know my limit.
Honestly, i rubbed the #4 deer with my hand to find a hole/blood after i found him and it took me a minute to find the one hole. No joke. Not a drop of blood on his fur.

 

[Formidilosus]

I suck at finding blood. I need buckets or for the deer to drop. I know my limit.
Honestly, i rubbed the #4 deer with my hand to find a hole/blood after i found him and it took me a minute to find the one hole. No joke. Not a drop of blood on his fur.

If that’s the case, why not shoot them I bit farther forward to disrupt the CNS and drop them immediately?

 

[deer_hunter132]

Ill try that. I havent mostly because i get deer fever, this spot is making me shoot awkwardly, but it comes down to my ability. I likely can make the shot, i prefer the extra oopsie room for a misplaced shot.
Ill give the front of shoulder shot a try, since these are 80-100yd shots.
I just got some 64gr soft point pulls from american reloading; does that type of bullet pass thru at a reduction of internal soup?

 

[Formidilosus]

Ill try that. I havent mostly because i get deer fever, this spot is making me shoot awkwardly, but it comes down to my ability. I likely can make the shot, i prefer the extra oopsie room for a misplaced shot.
Ill give the front of shoulder shot a try, since these are 80-100yd shots.
I just got some 64gr soft point pulls from american reloading; does that type of bullet pass thru at a reduction of internal soup?

It’s not the “type” of bullets as much as which specific one. Readily available option that generally does exit (at the cost of longer incapacitation time) is 62gr Federal Fusion.

 

[deer_hunter132]

I might try the 95 NBT on the next one. The TMK does kill if it hits the spot. Seems like it goes in like a pencil, gets in the chest and just explodes the organs and then is done. Effective, just no blood on these deer (or buckets if you will). I wasnt expecting that. I wish things werent so rushed and i had time to explore the damage more.

 

[Formidilosus]

I might try the 95 NBT on the next one. The TMK does kill if it hits the spot. Seems like it goes in like a pencil, gets in the chest and just explodes the organs and then is done.

That’s not really true though. The 77gr TMK often leaves exits and good blood. You’ve shot 3 deer with it- that isn’t enough to draw any conclusions on. The first 4 deer that I ever shot with Barnes TSX’s, I recovered all 4 bullets, the deer all ran 80-100 yards and left the least amount of blood from any deer I had ever shot with rifles. If I stopped at those 4 deer I would have stated that Barnes don’t exit deer and don’t leave blood trails- however the next 30+ all exited, no bullets recovered, and very good blood trails.