At what point (caliber/power) do you see real differences in blood?

[Chris in TN]

I guess I'm somewhere north of 150 big game animals, mostly deer and three elk, plus truckloads of coyotes and bobcats and various other pests and varmints and maybe another 50 whitetail I watched someone else shoot, and maybe another 100 deer where I knew exactly what it was shot with and helped gut it and saw the damage, with a few more elk falling into those latter categories, and after all of that, with calibers from .22 to .50 and everything in between at speeds from less than 1000' on impact to above 3800', the only thing I'll really rest on is that everything always varies from shot to shot for reasons that aren't explained well AT ALL by projectile caliber and if you really want to guarantee a great blood trail nothing on earth comes close to a sharp broadhead through both lungs and the heart, that exits at a downward angle out the ribs but behind the front leg. Give me that and I'll show you a trail. Anything else and, well, it's gonna depend on impact speed and bullet construction and where it hit and if it exited and whether a leg was involved and how thick the animal's hair was and so on, ad nauseum, and you'd better believe that there are circumstances where a lightly constructed bullet leaves a superior exit wound and trail, versus a tougher bullet.

 

[streamerfish]

Wondering what you guys think of this one.

At what point in caliber/bullet diameter and power, with similar placement, do you think you actually start seeing meaningful differences with blood on the ground? With like bullets, including mono of course.

Is there actually a difference between say 6.5mm and 308 cal?

We all like the DRT shots but they ain't always.

And yep, I know they don't go as far with different bullets, etc etc

I think that bullet construction is by far the biggest differentiator assuming same shot placement.

If your talking same bullet and same shot placement, and just changing caliber/cartridge. I think your just getting into the white noise at that point. Real world just not a big enough difference in most hunting calibers to really see it...maybe at the extremes...maybe...

 

[Igloo]

I think that bullet construction is by far the biggest differentiator assuming same shot placement.

If your talking same bullet and same shot placement, and just changing caliber/cartridge. I think your just getting into the white noise at that point. Real world just not a big enough difference in most hunting calibers to really see it...maybe at the extremes...maybe...

Yeah exactly. Say 6.5mm vs 30 cal TTSX at similar speed etc

 

[Lou270]

I am in the boat where don’t think there is much difference 24 cal and up (243 up to 35 whelen, 45-70). I only say 24 because I don’t have much fair frame of reference for 22 cal. I think getting an exit is most important and it will eventually leak. Most years shoot a good number of hogs with a variety of bullets/cartridges on my place. I can say on average get the best blood trail on hogs with bullets like Swift Scirocco, Nosler Accubond, and Nosler partition out of a fairly potent cartridge ( 6.5prc/270ish and up). I think it is because these bullets consistently have the same terminal shape with a good frontal area when exit and because they retain weight have good velocity to punch a clean hole on way out. Monos exit more often but blood trails are more mixed, I think because they have smaller frontal area.

Lou

 

[Igloo]

I am in the boat where don’t think there is much difference 24 cal and up (243 up to 35 whelen, 45-70). I only say 24 because I don’t have much fair frame of reference for 22 cal. I think getting an exit is most important and it will eventually leak. Most years shoot a good number of hogs with a variety of bullets/cartridges on my place. I can say on average get the best blood trail on hogs with bullets like Swift Scirocco, Nosler Accubond, and Nosler partition out of a fairly potent cartridge ( 6.5prc/270ish and up). I think it is because these bullets consistently have the same terminal shape with a good frontal area when exit and because they retain weight have good velocity to punch a clean hole on way out. Monos exit more often but blood trails are more mixed, I think because they have smaller frontal area.

Lou

I'm following, Lou! The bonded bullets definitely open wider and penetrate less. Have had a couple spectacular blood trails from lower hits with Fusion bullets from a 308

When its in an area with a lot of recent deer traffic, it was appreciated

 

[rookieforever33]

Two weeks apart I put bullets right through the hearts of 2 deer. Same gun. Same box of ammo. First ran 80 yards spraying blood like crazy, second one ran 40 yards without a drop of blood. Both had exit holes, both same angle through the heart.
I prefer bullets that are more likely to have exits for more potential for blood to escape the body. But mother nature doesn't always care what I prefer, or expect.

 

[Awhis]

I double lunged a doe quartering toward me with a 45-70 last year. She dropped in her tracks but the amount of blood i encountered while cleaning her was disgusting. I’ve taken deer with anywhere from a 35 rem through 7mm and nothing compared to what the 45-70 did.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Pharmseller]

I hunt with a 7mm-08 so they’re all DRT anyway.

 

[SDHNTR]

This is a conversation for broadheads, not bullets.

 

[Rich M]

A lot of deer and elk run when shot cause folks don't want to ruin a 1.5# piece if shoulder meat. I've also seen inexperienced folks make marginal shots that require trailing.

Most of my deer have been DRT due to shooting with 30-06 many years. Maybe tracked 3 deer to 30-06. Never had an issue cause bullets went all the way thru. These were the closest to a steady stream of blood along the trail.

Now, am shooting 357 mag, 350 legend, and 243.

Amazingly, the 357 mag with XTP bullets is mostly a DRT caliber inside 70-75 yards - only 1 ran and it was a 20 yard shot on 180# buck, he ran 100-150 yards and had a splash of blood out the entrance hole (was a hair lower than the exit hole) every hop in his stride - an easy trail job. We also tried some A-frame bullets out of 357 mag and had tracking jobs with those, 75-150 yards, typical of dbl lung, similar results, blood every time the deer touched down, so it was splash, splash, splash about 30 inches apart. After a couple of these went back to XTP bullets.

350 Legend is about 50% DRT for me. The rest are decent blood trails. A .35 bullet hole loses a lot of blood. Had one where it was in tight behind shoulder and out gut due to angle. She ran maybe 100 yards. First 50 +/- yards were the gut blood, then the chest cavity filled and it was blowing out the entrance hole - painting trees and such. Crazy amount of blood.

243 is the one I have the least confidence in and is the most powerful of the last 3. Have shot 2 bucks with it and neither required tracking. The blood trailing experience I have is from my dad using it - couple "heart shot" deer and they bled fine. Then come the 7 or 8 from kids and inexperienced folks at a hunt club. The deer were mostly shoulder shot and ran 200 +/- yards. The blood doesn't start til the chest cavity fills, then is okay with splash splotch here and there. Small hole for leaking and leaks best when low in the chest cavity vs higher. One guy unzipped a buck's guts - 1/2 mile and 3-4 hrs later we found it still alive, put it down - not the bullet's fault.

Compare them to a broadhead? Arrows with good broadheads and chest cavity shots, say a Rage broadhead behind shoulder and 6 inches up from bottom will leave a lot more blood than a rifle but all rifles placed right there will leave a good trail if the animal doesn't just drop.

 

[Bama67]

My kids each shot a deer last year with .223 TMK.
thank goodness they made perfect shots and the deer didn't go far because there was zero blood, I couldn't even find the hole on the bodies til cleaning them. But they did massive damage internally.