Has this ever happened to anyone else?

[thomasmgp]

This morning I sat in a stand next to a freshly harvested corn field cause I knew the deer would be in there eating the stuff the combine didnt pick up. Had a nice 6 point come out around 7:15, around 130-140 pounds, but with a messed up rack so I wanted to kill him. He was about 20 yards out and broadside. I could count the damn burrs on his tail he was so close. I put the scope on him right below his shoulders and squeezed off a round. Didnt even knock him down but I was like no way I missed. Sure enough walked 10 yards where he went in and found blood. Followed it for about 40 yards deeper into the woods where it just stopped. I spent 2.5 hours going in all different directions using the last blood pool as a starting point and never even saw more blood and never heard him struggling somewhere either. Finally had to give up cause I had class in an hour.

I went to the guy who I buy all my guns from and told him what happened and he asked what gun I was shooting. I said my .270 cause my .243 was getting repaired. Then he was like what ammo. So I pointed to a box of Hornady SuperFormance 140 grain SSTs. He started laughing and said thats why. He said the bullet went straight through the deer and never mushroomed.and thats why I didnt even knock him down. Before I always shot a .243, which obviously has less power, but all 3 bucks I shot last year (two 7s and an 8) just dropped and didnt even make it a foot. They just folded up like chairs. I guess the smaller caliber had time to mushroom and do some internal damage and thats why they didnt stand a chance. I have just never heard of a more powerful gun being less effective.

Anyone else ever have this happen to them? I got some Winchester Power Max hallow points so I hope those will work better at close range.

[Deebz]

What really sucks is that the deer you shot is definitely dead somewhere (if your shot was true, and the blood you found suggests it was). But I have heard of that happening, especially at close ranges.

I've never rifle hunted as we are only allowed guns and muzzleloaders here in IL, so the 1 oz 12 ga lead sabots I shoot deer with usually do some serious damage

[thomasmgp]

What really sucks is that the deer you shot is definitely dead somewhere (if your shot was true, and the blood you found suggests it was). But I have heard of that happening, especially at close ranges.

I've never rifle hunted as we are only allowed guns and muzzleloaders here in IL, so the 1 oz 12 ga lead sabots I shoot deer with usually do some serious damage

Well if hes dead hes in another county cause I couldnt find any signs of him after that last blood. Also I never saw lots of it or even any at the place where I shot him. Just a little here and a little there with a decent amount of space from blood to blood and I didnt find the first blood till 10 yards into the woods. I figure if it was a mortal wound there would be more blood. Well at least the coyotes wont be hungry tonight if he is indeed dead cause I have a decent sized pack of them on my land. I would rather miss every single deer I shoot at than hit one and lose it.

[kellory]

Sorry to hear about your deer, but you could put it to use. watch for the yotes to find it, then use it as bait and take out the yotes.

The effect you asked about was know back when sailing ships ruled the seas. High velocity cannon shot, punched clean hole through ships, while low velocity shot would cave in bullocks and shatter timbers. When closing with a foe, they would reduce the powder charge for slower shot, and increased splinter wounds. Also there was the chance the ball would rebound within the hull, and decimate the crew, like a so many bowling pins.

[Woods Walker]

You're not gonna want to hear this, but it's a valid assumption........

A .270 is a high speed bullet, and like all high speed projectiles they create hydoscopic shock when they hit flesh. Now, when a high speed rifle fires a bullet that is built to mushroom then the shock wave that goes through the animal is larger and obviously more devastating and it's that shockwave that does the actual killing when it hits the heart/lungs....hence the red "milkshake" that you literally pour from the chest when you open them up. I had a good friend that I hunted with in Wyoming years ago that used a .270, and while it was a great flat shooting rifle, the only disadvantage to it was the meat damage it caused. If he hit a front shoulder that shoulder was pretty much destroyed (I'm talking about deer and antelope).

From what you say the bullet you used was not built to mushroom like that, and I do agree that it probably went right through him. But it still went through with a tissue destroying shockwave. It was just not as large as it would have been with a different bullet.

But large shock wave or small, if that bullet hit any vitals the deer would be dead by now. If you didn't hit any vitals then there's still destroyed tissue, and here's where the problem lies. With a razor sharp arrow that hits non-vital areas of a deer that is mainly muscle tissue, it's generally a "clean" wound and most likely will heal over and the deer will survive. I personally have found healed over encysted broadheads in deer that I've either field dressed and/or butchered, or that friends of mine have killed that I've butchered. But with a high speed rifle bullet that makes a "messy" wound, the healing is very hard to achive. Most likely that damaged flesh will decay and the deer may very well die of gangrene. I've seen that occur with my friend that I mentioned earlier. On one hunt we made his wife shot at an antelope and hit the hind quarter. Like you we tracked and tracked, but to no avail. The next day we went back out again and because it was in wide open prairie we were able to locate the wounded animal at a distance. We eventually got close enough for a finishing shot and the back leg already smelled to high heaven from gangrene.

[thomasmgp]

Man this isnt my day at all. Didnt see anything in the stand I hunted tonight and got out about 45 mins before dark. On the way back to my house I noticed the farmer left his combine in a new field he started harvesting. Since its about 10 feet high I figured it was safe enough to shoot a rifle from if I saw something. Was sitting on the side of it watching an area he cleared where we shot 6 deer last year so I figured a few would come out to feed. Was getting late and mosquitoes were killing me so I stood up and decided to look around with my scope and looked directly in front of the combine and saw the most ridiculous buck I have seen in a while. At least 8 points but he saw me and was looking right at me. I waited 5 minutes hoping he would turn broadside but he just stood there staring at me. Was about 80 yards so I figured it shouldnt be that hard even though I only had a view of him from the front. Then I realized I had nothing to rest my rifle on so I could steady my aim. Trying to stand up and free shoot a full wood browning .270 isnt exactly easy. But this deer was one of those that was so big it was worth the chance cause we dont get many big deer. I mean if I hit it then I got something for my wall and if I miss, then I will just get him another day. Put the crosshairs on his neck a little above his chest and squeezed off a round that must have missed him by so far because he didnt even flinch. I didnt even bother with a second shot. I just stood up, he ran off and I guess I will get him again another day.

I really hate shooting a rifle that isnt mine. Not to mention its my Dad's gun and he so stubborn he wont even let me take it to see if its sighted in correctly. Seeing how he missed like 6-7 deer last year Im guessing his scope's off but of course he swears up and down its not and im just missing. Even after I reminded him that I killed 4 deer last year with 4 shots and none of them ever ran he still swears its me and not the gun.

[unclebuck]

Man this isnt my day at all. Didnt see anything in the stand I hunted tonight and got out about 45 mins before dark. On the way back to my house I noticed the farmer left his combine in a new field he started harvesting. Since its about 10 feet high I figured it was safe enough to shoot a rifle from if I saw something. Was sitting on the side of it watching an area he cleared where we shot 6 deer last year so I figured a few would come out to feed. Was getting late and mosquitoes were killing me so I stood up and decided to look around with my scope and looked directly in front of the combine and saw the most ridiculous buck I have seen in a while. At least 8 points but he saw me and was looking right at me. I waited 5 minutes hoping he would turn broadside but he just stood there staring at me. Was about 80 yards so I figured it shouldnt be that hard even though I only had a view of him from the front. Then I realized I had nothing to rest my rifle on so I could steady my aim. Trying to stand up and free shoot a full wood browning .270 isnt exactly easy. But this deer was one of those that was so big it was worth the chance cause we dont get many big deer. I mean if I hit it then I got something for my wall and if I miss, then I will just get him another day. Put the crosshairs on his neck a little above his chest and squeezed off a round that must have missed him by so far because he didnt even flinch. I didnt even bother with a second shot. I just stood up, he ran off and I guess I will get him again another day.
I would never use somebody else's gun without re-sighting it in myself. Every shooter is differant. Maybe you did this, but if you didnt perhaps this could be the reason for your missed shot. I would sight it in again. Or convince your dad to let you take it in and at least get it bore sighted and go from there.

I really hate shooting a rifle that isnt mine. Not to mention its my Dad's gun and he so stubborn he wont even let me take it to see if its sighted in correctly. Seeing how he missed like 6-7 deer last year Im guessing his scope's off but of course he swears up and down its not and im just missing. Even after I reminded him that I killed 4 deer last year with 4 shots and none of them ever ran he still swears its me and not the gun.

[unclebuck]

Man this isnt my day at all. Didnt see anything in the stand I hunted tonight and got out about 45 mins before dark. On the way back to my house I noticed the farmer left his combine in a new field he started harvesting. Since its about 10 feet high I figured it was safe enough to shoot a rifle from if I saw something. Was sitting on the side of it watching an area he cleared where we shot 6 deer last year so I figured a few would come out to feed. Was getting late and mosquitoes were killing me so I stood up and decided to look around with my scope and looked directly in front of the combine and saw the most ridiculous buck I have seen in a while. At least 8 points but he saw me and was looking right at me. I waited 5 minutes hoping he would turn broadside but he just stood there staring at me. Was about 80 yards so I figured it shouldnt be that hard even though I only had a view of him from the front. Then I realized I had nothing to rest my rifle on so I could steady my aim. Trying to stand up and free shoot a full wood browning .270 isnt exactly easy. But this deer was one of those that was so big it was worth the chance cause we dont get many big deer. I mean if I hit it then I got something for my wall and if I miss, then I will just get him another day. Put the crosshairs on his neck a little above his chest and squeezed off a round that must have missed him by so far because he didnt even flinch. I didnt even bother with a second shot. I just stood up, he ran off and I guess I will get him again another day.
I would never use somebody else's gun without re-sighting it in myself. Every shooter is differant. Maybe you did this, but if you didnt perhaps this could be the reason for your missed shot. I would sight it in again. Or convince your dad to let you take it in and at least get it bore sighted and go from there.

I really hate shooting a rifle that isnt mine. Not to mention its my Dad's gun and he so stubborn he wont even let me take it to see if its sighted in correctly. Seeing how he missed like 6-7 deer last year Im guessing his scope's off but of course he swears up and down its not and im just missing. Even after I reminded him that I killed 4 deer last year with 4 shots and none of them ever ran he still swears its me and not the gun.

[69Viking]

I really hate shooting a rifle that isnt mine. Not to mention its my Dad's gun and he so stubborn he wont even let me take it to see if its sighted in correctly. Seeing how he missed like 6-7 deer last year Im guessing his scope's off but of course he swears up and down its not and im just missing. Even after I reminded him that I killed 4 deer last year with 4 shots and none of them ever ran he still swears its me and not the gun.

You should never start a hunting season without sighting in the rifle you're going to be using. With your two stories one can only assume that rifle is off. This happened to me once when my scope loosened and slid forward without me noticing. After two bad shots in a row where I luckily recovered the deer I had shot I knew something was wrong. One was a gut shot and one was a spine shot, both times the deer were broadside at 75-100 yards and I know I had the crosshairs right behind the shoulder.

Not sure how old you are but I would highly recommend you find a way to get your Dad to agree to let you sight that gun in. Challenge him to hit the bullseye of a target at 100 yards and keep in mind everyone shoots differently. A gun sighted for him might not be sighted perfectly for you. You need to shoot it at that target too.