First time hunting, got my buck but unsure about ammo for next year...

[MooseMedium]

I went hunting this past weekend for the first time and managed to shoot a Blacktail Buck. I was using a 30-06 with HSM bullets loaded with 165grain SSTs, rated at 2700fps. I know this is a little slower for a 165gr 06 but my rifle shot these extremely well. The deer was at 90 yards and I shot him from a knelt position. I aimed for behind the shoulder but ended up hitting a little further back than I wanted and he was quartering to me more than I thought. Deer ran downhill and I gave him a few minutes before starting to track. The problem was that I found zero blood and relied on prints to locate him, but he ended up only about 50 yards away. While gutting him, I found that the bullet hit near the back of the rib cage and exited through the opposite flank. One lung was hit and his gut was... well let's just say it was an adventure gutting my first deer.

Anyways, I wasn't thrilled with the shot placement but glad the deer expired quickly, but I was most concerned with the lack of blood, which could've been very difficult to track.

My questions are:
1. Would using a bonded or soft point have produced a better blood trail, or was this more likely a shot placement issue?
2. I'm assuming this shot placement was marginal as far as quick kills go, did the SST provide a larger margin of error that other bullet designs would not have?
3. With all this in mind, should I just stick with SST or try another bullet for next season?

 

[PsRpOiGrRiAtM]

Shot placement 100%. Go forth with your current bullet and kill more deer.
Congratulations on your first one!

 

[hunterjmj]

Tgat is a small sample size and you're probably lucky you clipped the lungs. Being so high it's possible you'd get no blood no matter the bullet. I think margin of error is a mindset rather than fact. Bad shot is a bad shot no matter the bullet. I made a bad shot on a nice buck in 2020 with my 300wm/215 Berger and never found him. Great bullet but a bad shot. It happens to everybody if you shoot enough critters.

 

[Billy Goat]

Placement has a huge effect on blood trail, and bullet construction.

Can of worms.

Deer went 50 yards, under most conditions, you don't need a blood trail.


I have watched 4 mature deer get shot this year, total amount traveled is 200 yards, one of those was shot with a bow.



The 3 not shot without a bow, I didn't find any kind of blood trail, but the vitals were mostly exploded, and of those 3 the total distance traveled was 30 yards.

You can go for a blood trail, and need one.
Or capitalize on vital damage, and not worry so much about it.

 

[SloppyJ]

I think if you make a better shot, the blood trail will be there. I need a blood trail where I hunt because it's extremely thick. However, the two most recent whitetail victims of a .223 went down in sight. I like that better than a blood trail.

 

[MooseMedium]

I think if you make a better shot, the blood trail will be there. I need a blood trail where I hunt because it's extremely thick. However, the two most recent whitetail victims of a .223 went down in sight. I like that better than a blood trail.

It can be thick as he'll where I live in Blacktail country as well. I was lucky enough to find a couple good tracks and just used common sense from there to find him.

 

[Encore4me]

Congratulations on your first dear. High lung hits will sometimes leave no blood, the chest cavity needs to fill with blood before it can drain out, that is why I try to shoot for the lower third of the chest.


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[Macintosh]

Sst’s cause a lot of damage, and a 3006 is a lot of gun. At some point you may or may not decide you want a different bullet, BUT there is zero wrong with that bullet, and its doubtful that a different bullet—within reason—would have had a very different result.

Congrats!

 

[MooseMedium]

Congratulations on your first dear. High lung hits will sometimes leave no blood, the chest cavity needs to fill with blood before it can drain out, that is why I try to shoot for the lower third of the chest.


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Interesting. Hadn't thought about that. His body cavity was completely full of blood. I had to stand him up on his haunches a couple times to drain it so I could see what I was doing. It was all a hot soupy mess

 

[SDHNTR]

Bullets aren’t broadheads.

 

[Sinistram]

Congrats on your first deer - a pic, maybe?!

As others have stated, the bullet wasn't really at fault here. The fact it went the whole way through is optimal, IMO. SST's are a softer-ish bullet and really shine on deer and other small critters, so I'd say don't change a thing and make sure your shots go where they should. We all don't make perfect shots 100% of the time, so take this one as a win with an asterisk and remember the lesson for next time.

 

[Jpsmith1]

The sst makes a mess of vitals. I've shot 4 deer with them out of a 6mm and the vitals are some kind of blood jello.

I don't think I'd choose a different bullet.

 

[Unclecroc]

A sst is a great deer bullet, shoot with confidence. Go buy more and practice is what I suggest you do.
Congratulations on your first deer, us simple minded folk love pictures!

 

[gentleman4561]

Shot placement 100%. Go forth with your current bullet and kill more deer.
Congratulations on your first one!

This, combo of gut shot and flank is never going to bleed much with any bullet unless you get lucky and clip the artery in the flank.

 

[jimh406]

Learn more about where to aim, or learn to shoot a bit better. I don’t think the ammo is the issue.

 

[Fireflyfishing]

Shot placement 100%. Go forth with your current bullet and kill more deer.
Congratulations on your first one!

This

 

[30338]

Learn the gut free cleaning method. You may have had a totally different experience with a solid copper or bonded bullet with that shot placement. The SST worked amazingly well all things considered.

 

[Cactus kid]

Congratulations on your first deer! You are also asking the right questions.

I see you were aiming "behind the shoulder", which is where i was taught to hold as a kid. The idea is hitting a deer here will waste little meat. My personal experience is this is not the best spot to put a bullet for short blood trails.

When i started putting bullets in the middle of the shoulder (or the "vital V") animals started going down much quicker. It may waste a little shoulder meat, but remember, all the meat is lost on an unrecovered animal.

The vital bits "behind the shoulder" is the lungs, and to a lesser extent, the liver.

The vital bits in the vital v include the heart, aorta, bronchi, and lungs. A bullet impacting a little fore of the shoulder is either a clean miss or will impact the brachial plexus, dropping the deer. Missing a little aft of the shoulder will put the bullet "behind the shoulder" .

 

[Macintosh]

To be fair, the exact angle of the deer—squarely broadside vs quartering-to vs quartering-away—has everything to do with it. It can be hard to quickly see exactly what angle the animal is at relative to you, and its easy to get a little fooled…and that can be enough of a difference to turn what would have been a perfectly acceptable shot, into a marginal or worse shot. Id say if there’s any takeaway, its that practicing to accurately gauge those off angle shots in order to hit vitals is a critical aspect of making good hits.

 

[LeftyWilbury]

congrats on the deer! keep doing what you're doing. and practice practice practice. my doe this year was a broadside shot, 70 yards. hit a little high in the chest. no blood trail. found her 25 yards away. chest full of blood. wouldn't have mattered what bullet.

last time i truly gut shot a poor deer i just turned and went home....and came back the next morning to find him. guts make for very poor blood trails and very jumpy deer....