mickle44

ok all deer dont bleed out some fill up,i must not be as good as you, because ive shot deer at 30 yrds broadside with a 12ga right in the pocket and still have them run 100yrds dead on there feet.i didnt say a 243 isnt enoght just not my choice gun for deep woods hunting,you cant say all deer leave blood trails, and when i said in the chest,i mentthe deer was quatering away,and shot it right in the chest, deer was standing still when he shot,made great shot on first deer,i still cant belive it went that far, but it did

Cannonw24

Yeah no exit wound sucks. Why dont you set up on him again just to make sure.. wouldnt hurt

StruttinGobbler3

I'd have to agree with the others, ten minutes is not enough waiting time even on a buck you believe to be hard hit. I usually wait about an hour beforetrailing, unless I feel it was a bad shot, then I wait five or six hours.As for the .243 its been my deer caliber of choice for ten years now, and I doubt I'll ever deer hunt with another caliber. I've watchedcountless deerfall in their tracks,several of them big bucks,after I put a bullet through the boiler room with my Remington Model 7 .243.If your buddy put that bullet where you said he did out of a .243, or any common deer hunting caliber for that matter, then he would not have ran 500 yards on his own steam. He was pushed. JMO

Charlie P

Am I reading this wrong or did the same guy shoot both bucks?

Charlie P

So where would you have shot him?

Cannonw24

Wouldnt have. if it was what I consider a big buck, i wouldnt want to take a chance on loosing the animal, I would only take the broadside or quartering shot. But then the guy changed it from chest to quartering away which would actually be exactly opposite of the chest, so I really think the guy might have had the second hand story from his buddy or somethin!(doesnt add up to me)

StruttinGobbler3

Actually I've shot deer that were facing me and dropped them. I just aim at the chest at the base of the neck. Spine shot. Game over. How is that an amateur shot?

JagMagMan

The .243 was not the problem! The deer was pushed.
If you are going to hunt when rain, thickets, light or other hunters are going to be a factor, it would be best to concede a little meat loss and shoot for the front shoulder to drop 'em where he stands!
My guess is that if it was a quartering away shot, it wasn't a "perfect" boiler-room shot! A boiler room shot, quartering away, would most likely take out the opposite shoulder, for a short tracking job.IF, the shot was a little farther back, it probablyhit the guts andtook out one lung. This would explain the poor blood trail,add pushing the deer, and it makes for a long, hard tracking job!

sproulman

if it is QUALIFIED dog by game laws,you can do it.

if i wounded a deer, most likely i would find it without dog.

but getting on a deer to soon, they will run a long ways with a bad shot.

mostof bad shots are in front leg or stomach area.

sproulman

well said, cant add anything.

i use 250 sav.i use a 87 gr bullet.

i try to just hit the elbow on front shoulder of the buck.this puts the buck usually right down and hits heart area too.

87 gr bullet will put a deer down more than a 100 gr bullet.

it explodes inside deer and causes shock.

but you cant take running shot a deer or front shot,you can but you risk chance of trailing a deer.

i ONLY take behind shoulder shot or buck walks.