Hunting deer with smoothbore....

[Brad Foust]

I have harvested plenty of small game, squirrel, pheasant, etc with my 20 ga smoothie over the years.
Yesterday here in the early PA Antlerless season I thought I'd try a round ball and see what happened.
I have used round balls quite allot at SB shoots and the gun shoots very well with it's 48" barrel, especially with a rest.
Didnt sit 10 minutes and out came a medium sized doe at about 30 yds, and I had a good rest.
I have to say now that I really do not care for this early season as I have trouble finding blood trails in the leaves, no snow.
But I thought the big ball might make a bigger hole well you get the idea.
Perfect hold, broad side, fast ignition and down it went.
But after a few seconds got up and took off.
I tracked and searched until dark, about an hour and back at it this morning.
Found a little blood about 75 yds down rangs but then lost it.
I am going to not hunt again without snow with a ML. Just hate it when this happens.
I know it was a good hold and no flinch. That deer should not have gone over 100 yds.
I would be interested in hearing similiar stories??
I have killed very many deer with ML since the ML season began in PA many years ago. But it has always been tough finding blood with round balls.
I have killed a few with my 58cal Enfield in the reg doe season.
Even they did not really bleed much.
Maybe the answer is to hold extra low, still trying for a heart shot, but at least they will bleed out a low hole.
Seems like the chest cavity fills with blood over time but little escapes???
Keep yer powder dry

 

[roundball]

Yes, if you hit too high they can travel.
Based on it going down then back up I suspect you hit quite high, the general shock to the region where the spine & neck vertebrae are located, stunned it briefy, then back up and away. Probably no vitals hit and the deer will probably be fine.

 

[BrownBear]

Based on it going down then back up I suspect you hit quite high....

Same here. Furthest I ever had to track a deer was about half a mile. After a very high hit at about 20yards. With a .600 ball on top of 110 grains of powder. Deer piled up, hitting the ground so hard it bounced. Then it hopped back up while I stood there with a grin on my face and an empty gun.

Took about 5 hours to track it down, with a whole lot of circling and crawling and a little luck involved. Sick, but still able to motate a bit. Reaffirms my resolve to hunt only in the morning. Never, ever would have found it on an evening hunt.

 

[roundball]

Yes, everything about a morning hunt is better.....except for answering that %$#@&% Alarm Clock!

 

[Spikebuck]

A deer hit in the lungs with a round ball should leave all kinds of blood and from my experience, not go much more than 50 or 60 yards...and usually much less. The large buck in my avatar was hit nearly 1/2 way up the body and right behind the leg crease and he went about 30 yards with a .530 RB that passed through. There was sprayed blood at the hit location and a 30 yard trail Steve Wonder could have followed. I have found that to not be uncommon for a hit in that area and I always aim for that location on a broadside deer as I believe it gives the most room for error. I have also shot a number of deer with conicals and do not see any more blood than with round balls. BTW...I am red/green color blind and blood trails don't just jump out at me, so if I can see blood, anyone can.

I agree with Brown Bear and Roundball. I'd bet the hit was high and probably "forward" of the zone I normally aim for. Any brush or twigs in the way that could have caused a deflection?

I once had a 35 yard perfect broadside shot as it was getting a big "dusky", but still well within legal and ethical shooting light and found a gob of back hair at the site and nothing more. Brought my wife out to help as she is a superb tracker, but after several hours we found nothing but one perfectly clipped off 1/2" thick branch about 5 yards right in front of where the deer was standing. I spent 1/2 of the next day searching as well, but found nothing more and figure the shot was deflected and just took a bunch of hair off one lucky buck's back.

 

[ncmtmike]

I have only shot 1 deer with my smoothbore as of yet. But you could have stood it back up in it's tracks. This .62 has punch :wink:

 

[54ball]

Welcome to the real world. If you hunt primitive, sometimes these things happen. :hatsoff: Sometimes you miss, sometimes you make an excellent hit but do not recover, sometimes you just blow it but most of the time you are successful.

I think we are not getting the whole story. You know the part right before the trigger is squeezed. The knot in the gut, the adrenaline dump and the shaky front sight. A person can shoot paper all day making spectacular shots but it's whole nother ball game when you have that magnificent critter in your sights...the moment of truth. Some folks are never able to get past it. This is where the rubber meets the road. It's real hunting.

Please do not misunderstand, I was not there but I have missed and I have hit and lost deer. If I live long enough I'm sure I'll miss and loose deer in the future. Honestly it is refreshing when someone posts about being unsuccessful. Does it bother me when things do not go as planned, absolutely but the only way to gain skill is frankly to do it, to pull that trigger.

The margin for error is greater with a smoothbore. Add the pressure of "that moment" that margin may open significantly. So shoot and shoot in realistic conditions and try to reduce that margin of error.

Maybe the answer is to hold extra low, still trying for a heart shot, but at least they will bleed out a low hole.

Do not do this. Always try for the best possible shot with the least margin for error confirmed by practice.

Small game hunting with shot will help your skill. Honestly, squirrel are very difficult to hunt. If you want to see deer, squirrel hunt and vice versa. The first one may be easy but once those critters know you are after them, they disappear. Take some squirrel and the occasional rabbit when your lucky, this will help in your deer hunting as you bond with your piece.

You may hear that ML hunting is a one shot affair but that's not always the case. Practice for a quick second shot immediately. A paper cartridge may be a good idea, powder ball wad prime. If he's moving at all put another one in him.

After the shot and through the smoke, watch where he goes. Watch how he goes, was he humped up, flag down or bounding flag up. Try to take note of land marks.

Tracking is a skill in it's self. Probably the worst person to track a deer is the shooter. The shooter will always think he missed or hit it poorly. It's a mental game that sometimes the shooter looses. A lot of the time the shooter gives up when the deer is literally just a few feet away.

As said the shooter has emotional involvement so it's always best to have a partner in your tracking that has a cool head.

Mark where the shot was taken. Mark where you think the deer was at. Work from there. I carry some toilet paper in my haversack. I place a piece at the first blood. White hair as well as dark blood is not a good sign but still it needs to be tracked.

Drop pieces of paper every now and then to mark the trail. When you loose the trail keep going the general direction. Wounded deer will usually take the easiest path. Wounded deer will tend not to go up hill but sometimes they do. Wounded deer a lot of the time will head for water or a creek bottom. Sometimes tracking requires you to get on your hands and knees.

After you have gone several,several yards in the direction the deer was going with no luck, return to the last blood. It should be easy to find since you marked it. From here start ever widening circles. Likely you will find something. If not, work the trail again, sometimes they will backtrack.

Look not just on the ground but on tree trucks and leaves above the ground. If the trail is very heavy and suddenly stops, that could be a sign he has bled out and has walked dead for several yards with no blood trail.

Remember you may need a compass and a light if you are tracking after dark or in an unfamiliar area, honestly it a good idea in any area. In some areas it is illegal or unsafe to track after dark. If so come back the next day. Sometimes on a poorly hit deer they will still be living, so as long as you are finding sign do not give up.

As said if you hunt enough you will loose one, that's just part of it heartbreaking as it is.

 

[Ron LaClair]

Roundball and Brownbear hit it right, your shot was probably high. I've done that a few times myself, I call it "Barkin" em. If the shot is high above the spine they'll go down like they was pole axed. The initial shock to the spine only temporarily disables em and then they're up an goin, leaving little blood. I'd guess this'n will recover.

 

[nhmoose]

Lost a 6 pointer to a high 54 caliber hit. He did the funky chicken on the ground got up and ran.

Shot him again 5 days later and the wound was healing very well. Second time hit in lungs and went less than 10 feet.

 

[BrownBear]

If the shot is high above the spine.

Mine was just below the spine, barely clipping the top rear of one lung and missing the other. Like I said, he was still able to move 5 hours and half a mile later, but he was plenty sick. Blood was plenty scarce on the trail, and no snow. I was able to sort his tracks from others because of the way he behaved with frequent rest stops, then every once a while frothy blood up off the ground on vegetation, kinda like he was coughing blood now and then.

Doubt he'd have lived, but it might have taken a few days to decide the question.

 

[Roguedog]

You make a good point Mike. It's amazing how a small twig can deflect a big bullet or roundball. I've seen and experienced it happen and it sucks. I once drew down on a nice buck that was 35 yards away, standing just on the side of a logging road. By all accounts, this was one of those slam dunks. My projectile hit a small twig and I completely missed the deer. As others have mentioned, sometimes negative things just happen. I figure that's part of why we choose the weapons that we do. We enjoy that extra challenge. I would encourage the original poster to not give up on the smoothbore. For what its worth, this same type of thing can happen even if one is using a 30-06. Just part of hunting. Yes, a negative part but that's how the ball bounces sometimes.

Jeff

Jeff

 

[faste350]

shot many with my 62 smoothbore and under 100 yards is about the fartherest i have had one go. most go down on the spot or very close. shot one tuesday evening at 55 yards quartering away. went in about 2" behind the ribs and came out the front shoulder. went 40 yards and lots of blood. misses or bad hits happen, even with high power rifles. i'm with you, wet days and no snow don't help. i like the late season alot better.

 

[Brad Foust]

Thanks all, very interesting opinions.
As I said, I think I held a little too hgigh.
Next time, low is the way.
Thanks again