Ok to start off I am a very seasoned deer hunter and have taken countless deer with a bow, muzzleloader, slug gun, rifles and set up my shots so that they are close (bow range) even for my muzzleloader hunts.
That being said I just finished a deer hunt yesturday and this is what happened,
I saw a nice buck 70 yards away walking in a direction that would put him way behind me so I left my willow blind and stalked him until he was only 40 yards away when he crossed my only opening and he stopped in that opening for a nice broadside shot on a relaxed deer.(easy as pie)
I took aim and squeezed the trigger on my .50 flinter. Well the buck just stood there for about 20 seconds and I had time to scan for the entrance wound but saw none. Anyway he decided he had better get to moving and ran straight away from me for 40 yards and it looked like he slowed down and I swear that I saw him do the dead on the feet stagger then I could no longer see him.
After I reloaded I walked to where I shot him and found nothing no hair no blood just nothing.
BTW this is in a slough bottom which is very thick with willow thickets and other brush with tall slough grass.
I tracked his trail to where I last saw him (expecting to find him lying in the grass but he was not there. (still no blood) I tracked up and down the trails that he could have taken and still did not find him or any blood.
What happened?
Did I just plain miss?
Do these roundballs not open up going in and not produce a blood trail?
What is your experience with blood trails using roundballs?
Yes this would be my first deer with a flinter as well as a patched roundball.....I did sight the gun in and it shoots VERY VERY accurately with 85 gr of FFFG and a .490 roundball.
That being said I just finished a deer hunt yesturday and this is what happened,
I saw a nice buck 70 yards away walking in a direction that would put him way behind me so I left my willow blind and stalked him until he was only 40 yards away when he crossed my only opening and he stopped in that opening for a nice broadside shot on a relaxed deer.(easy as pie)
I took aim and squeezed the trigger on my .50 flinter. Well the buck just stood there for about 20 seconds and I had time to scan for the entrance wound but saw none. Anyway he decided he had better get to moving and ran straight away from me for 40 yards and it looked like he slowed down and I swear that I saw him do the dead on the feet stagger then I could no longer see him.
After I reloaded I walked to where I shot him and found nothing no hair no blood just nothing.
BTW this is in a slough bottom which is very thick with willow thickets and other brush with tall slough grass.
I tracked his trail to where I last saw him (expecting to find him lying in the grass but he was not there. (still no blood) I tracked up and down the trails that he could have taken and still did not find him or any blood.
What happened?
Did I just plain miss?
Do these roundballs not open up going in and not produce a blood trail?
What is your experience with blood trails using roundballs?
Yes this would be my first deer with a flinter as well as a patched roundball.....I did sight the gun in and it shoots VERY VERY accurately with 85 gr of FFFG and a .490 roundball.