Buck down. 6 hours later.
Massachusetts
Had a big spike come in early this AM. 50 yards. Piece of cake with a muzzleloader. Leaned on the tree to get a good level. Scope was a little foggy but I could see the mass so I pulled the trigger.
Buck ran and I never heard it pile up. Uh oh. Got down to the point of impact. Not a drop of blood. No hair. Could I have missed?
Did I search where I thought it might have gone down. Nothing. Went back to The point of impact. Literally not a drop of blood.
Clean miss, I thought.
After consulting with a buddy I went back out to take a test shot and see how far my zero was off. I was off about 2" right at 25 yards. Elevation was dead on. There is no way I could have missed that deer.
Went back to the original spot and on my hands and knees followed the running hoof prints from the point. About 40 yards and an hour later, I found a single hair. No blood. Went 5 feet more and found a clump of hair about the size of my thumb. This deer was hit.
Finally an hour later of painstaking hands and knees searching I saw him piled up.
I never did find a speck of blood. Entry wound into lungs, no exit wound.
Trust your gut, gentlemen. It's often right.
Nice job! Way to stay on it!
Good job !!! Congratulations
Great job. Did you use a Powerbelt bullet?
Well done - and congrats! How far do you think he went shot to bed?
Spike you took the words outta my mouth!
Once I switched from my cva to a TC I stopped using powerbelt and use the TC 250 grain shockwaves. I had problems with no blood using powerbelt. So far 3 deer down with shockwaves tons of blood and deer drop in their spot.
That's some gut instinct! Good job! Great December deer
Bj, I shot a bunch of deer with Powerbelts and they get flat as a pancake. The deer went down and the bullet worked however all the bullets did not exit and were found under the offside skin. The one deer that ran left zero blood trail and I never found it. I have since switched to a different kind.
No exit are you sure ? When you get inside do a little looking around and let us know . I had one that didn't have an exit but it was a straight on head down spine to heart shot . I was surprised but it happens. Did you hit the spine or high up on a big rib ? Curious.
Oh and congrats , great that you tracked like you did . Yu do us proud !
That's why with gun i always shoot them right in front shoulder or in the head behind the shoulder is only for arrows never had one walk with a shoulder or head shot the drop right there
Thank you for posting this. I think many deer are not recovered due to poor tracking and the assumption of a miss.
Powerbelts usually don’t exit. They break up. I switched to hornaday sst. Big exit hole congrats on your buck
Lol how did you guess on the powerbelts? Maybe I'll have to look into some other bullets for this offseason.
Fwiw, the gun is an in line .45, not a 50. It was given to me for free. When I do make a purchase it will be a .50 and I'll pay this one forward to a new hunter.
Thanks for the kudos, guys.
I hate Powerbelts. I’ve had that happen several times years past. Thankfully saw the deer drop. I’ll only use shockwaves now. No problem with them! Congrats and way to trust your gut!
Bones, I knew because I know everything their is to know about deer hunting except how to find and kill one lol. Powerbelts are damn accurate but just too soft.
Horady sst takes them off there feet 100 grains pellets 50 Cal sabot
Bones, I would not worry about it being a .45 cal. Sweet size. I myself like the smaller calibers for hunting. My 25-06 was hell on deer and most people think a .243 is too small. I love the small fast calibers.
Whoops, I forgot to answer Will's question about distance. I looked at it on GIS - he ran about a thousand yards. Both lungs were shredded but his heart was fully intact.
"Both lungs were shredded but ...he ran about a thousand yards" just doesn't compute for me. Not saying you are wrong, i just don't get it. How could he gave traveled that far with both lungs gone?
Bones - WOW. Amazing he ran that far.
I've only shot one deer with a gun, my ML, with PowerBelt's in 50cal. double lung. ran about 60yds... but there was 2 feet of snow. No blood for 20yds or so, then decent blood - in snow... so come to think it may not have been a clear trail if there had been no snow.
I keep debating ditching 777 pellets for the Buckhorn stuff... Now, I think next summer Ill adjust and just make the change.
From what all of you say, the buckhorn no fouling pellets coupled with shockwaves would be a good combo - correct?
Will check out the TC XTP’s. I also tried the Shockwaves and the TCs shot better but every gun is different. I like the fact you get 30 in a box and good price.
@ma_bowhunter, I just did an exact measurement with GIS. I picked him up 630 straight-line yards from my stand.
Don't be afraid to try the FPB bullet too. Always pass through and good blood. And accurate, 3"-4" groups @ 100 yards.
Barnes expanders are a great choice for muzzleloaders. I'm shooting both my muzzleloaders with those. Four petal expansion. Tremendous wound channels and blood trails like someone painted the woods red.
Snowshoe Agreed , Never lost one yet with that combo . Lighter shockwave 250 round shoots better than heavier 300 out of my Thompson O'. and never more that 60 yards till they drop . Pellets are so easy and consistent and I have been shooting the same box for years without any change . Keep them in a Zip lock Baggie . Sabots are tight and accurate shooting .
Wet/ Moist swab of the barrel and one dry wipe and your good as new to shoot again . You can jam a few down in a dirty barrel but it's best to swipe it I think. No need for smokeless or measuring . Who shoots that much at a deer ? One shot and done.
looks like the Hornady SST and the Thompson shockwave are the same bullet. A few forums said one is bonded better than the other, but it varies which one is bonded.
Anybody know?
Interesting discussion about the Powerbelts. I've always liked them in my TC Omega with two 50 grain Pyrodex pellets, probably because the first time I finished sighting in with them three shots essentially made one ragged hole at about 70 yards. Not that I could ever repeat that LOL. I also found that they load fairly easy in a dirty barrel. I usually don't anticipate having to make a second shot but if I do have to I don't want to be fighting with the ramrod while trying to load.
I've only shot one deer (smallish doe) with them at about 40 yards and it looked like someone spray painted the ground red on the exit side. I think I could see the blood from about 10 yards away. She ran about 20 yards and dropped.
I have shot many deer with Powerbelts and never lost one. To me the good far outweighs the bad as said above I have had some that did not exit and some that did. They are very accurate {which is key for me) and I have never had a deer go beyond 75yds with or without an exit hole. If you hit where your aiming to me it doesn't matter if the bullet exits or not your tracking should be short regardless of what your shooting. Personally I do not like jacketed sabots but many people do. It is all about confidence so shoot what your comfortable with. I have shot deer with 12 ga that did not exit.
