deermaster
Member
- Joined
- Dec 26, 2010
- Messages
- 13
I have been messing with a .243 Win the past couple seasons. Last year I killed 4 deer with it, a 140lb doe, a 200lb buck, and two smaller 100lb deer. All deer went down in less than 100 yards, and the internal damage was amazing, but the blood trails were non existent on 3 of the 4. One shot was through the shoulders, the other three were through the ribs and lungs. Luckily I was hunting in a large field and saw 2 go down. The other two were found just in the woods, but it was blind searching, blood trailing was not possible.
This season I shot a mature doe, probably 130lb, at 200 yds. The Shot was lethal, bubbles in the blood meaning a lung hit, but once again, there was nothing more that five small drops of blood. This deer went into an extremely thick young pine forest, and I never found it. We looked for hours, and I am sure the deer is dead, but there was no blood to go on.
My blood trailing has been nearly all bow or muzzleloader kills, I have not trailed a deer killed with a rifle larger than a .243. Is this typical of all rifle calibers, or does the .243 just make such a small hole that blood does not leak out very well?
I'd like to hear some of your experiances with this caliber.
I would like to say, I am not doubting the killing power of this cartridge, it is deadly, I just have not had good blood trails with it.
This season I shot a mature doe, probably 130lb, at 200 yds. The Shot was lethal, bubbles in the blood meaning a lung hit, but once again, there was nothing more that five small drops of blood. This deer went into an extremely thick young pine forest, and I never found it. We looked for hours, and I am sure the deer is dead, but there was no blood to go on.
My blood trailing has been nearly all bow or muzzleloader kills, I have not trailed a deer killed with a rifle larger than a .243. Is this typical of all rifle calibers, or does the .243 just make such a small hole that blood does not leak out very well?
I'd like to hear some of your experiances with this caliber.
I would like to say, I am not doubting the killing power of this cartridge, it is deadly, I just have not had good blood trails with it.