Roundball hunting

[hellerodsyahoo.com]

great picture, I must have had the same thoughts during field dressing, just wouldn't be able to hold the camera with my bloodied paws!! LOL

 

[rancher]

.530 Hornady roundball in a pillow ticking patch over 80 grains of FFg Goex out of a Lyman GPR flint .54. 25 yard shot:

I have shot two with this load combination and gun. The first was a 50 yards and was not a pass through either. Both got a piece of the heart and both ran out of sight before crashing. Probably about 50 yards for the first one and 100 for the second.

 

[longcruise]

Hah! So typical! Dad or grampa ends up doing the work while youth watches. :haha:

 

[rancher]

Hah! So typical! Dad or grampa ends up doing the work while youth watches. :haha:

Ha, I couldn't keep him away from it if I tried! :idunno:

 

[Spikebuck]

I found a big difference between outwardly apparent damage and what goes on inside and it varies greatly with similar shots on different deer for one reason or another. Could be winter coat vs "summer" coat, amount of fat the deer is carrying, how the skin folds over a hole, etc.

My first muzzleloader deer was shot right through both lungs from the ground and didn't leave any blood for 40 yards, then opened up and spewed blood for another 40 yards where I found her. On the other hand, with a very similar hit last year, within feet of the hit was the first blood and within 10 yards the pools where the size of a small plate! That deer only ran 30 yards. Entrance and exit holes were very similar in size.

I've always said that hunting is game of inches. Hitting a 1/2 inch wide artery, etc can make all the difference in what sign appears and how far they might go after a hit.

I think the key is to treat EVERY shot as though it's a hit (unless perhaps you obviously see the deer go back to feeding or something). You cannot know if a lack of blood for 40 or even 50 yards or more means a miss. I personally would spend at least 5 to 6 hours on a body search, if necessary, after spending 2 hours or so trying to find any minute blood trace as a just-in-case to satisfy myself it was truly a miss.

 

[rancher]

Also forgot to mention both left real good blood trails. They were a little sparse at first, but after a short distance they became quite easy to follow.

 

[Greenmtnboy]

.530 Hornady roundball in a pillow ticking patch over 80 grains of FFg Goex out of a Lyman GPR flint .54. 25 yard shot:

I have shot two with this load combination and gun. The first was a 50 yards and was not a pass through either. Both got a piece of the heart and both ran out of sight before crashing. Probably about 50 yards for the first one and 100 for the second.

Nice dude!!!
:bow: :bow:

 

[Greenmtnboy]

Hah! So typical! Dad or grampa ends up doing the work while youth watches. :haha:

Ha, I couldn't keep him away from it if I tried! :idunno:

been there as a kid and am now there with my wife and friends.
gotta keep em on the straight and narrow.
:haha: