Sask hunter
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2016
- Messages
- 3,292
Frontals are tricky for blood hit right they spray hit wrong and you don’t usually have an exit hole
Thoughts on no blood trail?
- Thread starter Jonesy125
- Start date
This. Nice job on the recovery.
Nameless Range
Well-known member
I don’t know if there’s any rhyme or reason to it. I mean I’m sure there is, but it’s tough to nail down. Lack of an exit hole definitely seems to be one.
I shot this bull with archery gear two years ago. Not the best shot but the arrow was buried to the fletchings and the broadhead stirred up his lungs.
He ran about 200 yards, and I basically only found two flecks of blood where he crossed a creek. Had I not shot him from only a couple yards and seen exactly where the shot hit, I would’ve questioned myself a lot more.
It’s just another unsettling thing: how many animals are shot and not recovered because they don’t give good blood or any at all?
I shot this bull with archery gear two years ago. Not the best shot but the arrow was buried to the fletchings and the broadhead stirred up his lungs.
He ran about 200 yards, and I basically only found two flecks of blood where he crossed a creek. Had I not shot him from only a couple yards and seen exactly where the shot hit, I would’ve questioned myself a lot more.
It’s just another unsettling thing: how many animals are shot and not recovered because they don’t give good blood or any at all?
Caseknife
Well-known member
Pretty simple as to why no blood. As stated, the thick neck muscles blocked the entrance hole, which was high in the thoracic cavity and with no exit to let the blood drain out. If you had opened the chest cavity, you would have found all the bull's blood. If you want a very reliable blood trail, shoot the animal low in the chest broadside with entrance and exit holes, the trail will look like a blood sprinkler. Shoot them high in the chest cavity, broadside with entrance and exit holes and because there is very little blood flow in the ribcage itself, the internal blood has to fill to the level of the wound to flow out.
Good for you to keep on the track and believe in your shot, nice bull. BTW, I hunt in timber and the majority of my shots are offhand also. Most of the time there is no time to make a nest and get comfy to take a 40-100 yd shot
Good for you to keep on the track and believe in your shot, nice bull. BTW, I hunt in timber and the majority of my shots are offhand also. Most of the time there is no time to make a nest and get comfy to take a 40-100 yd shot
Ben Long
Well-known member
Good work on follow up. A lesson there for all of us, especially with elk. Sometimes they just don't bleed externally, even though their chest cavity is full of soup. When you think about it, it makes sense. Entrance hole is .30 inches. About like a pencil. It doesn't take a lot of hair and fat to plug that up. When they get up and go, you gotta go follow them. Don't take no for an answer.
I had something similar once. Bullet hit low, went around the ribcage on the bottom and exited without going in the cavity.
Great bull! I agree with much of what's been said. Weird things happen, even with good exit wounds. One of the first deer I shot was a late season doe w/ 12 gauge slug high in the lungs, broadside, shot exited. I was on foot so there was no vertical angle to the shot. The deer only went ~100 yards, but I don't think I would have found her if it weren't for the snow. With both entry and exit high in the ribs, the blood that was coming out had to run down the ribcage and was soaked up by the hide. The hide was covered in blood but hardly a drop made it to the snow.
Nice bull. I would not hesitate to take that shot with a 300. I am more surprised that the bull lived as long as it did than the lack of blood but agree a total lack of blood is surprising. Maybe got 1 lung.
I think that there is some percentage of a chance that a hollow point bullet can close rather than open, and this is the reason that most bullets have exposed lead tips or plastic tips, as stated above. If it had not opened, I would have expected it to exit somewhere.
I would not rule out a bullet because of this one instance, but I would keep it in the back of my mind. I killed a bull with a 166 HH this year and it seemed to perform as advertised, but I will not fall in love with a bullet because of one kill either. Time will tell.
I think @Ben Long nailed it above with "don't take no for an answer." A big bull like that in the timber is an accomplishment, good on you for not giving up.
I found it interesting that you mentioned having a picture in your mind of the crosshairs when the trigger breaks. I have always been the same way, but I am not sure that I have seen it mentioned before.
I think that there is some percentage of a chance that a hollow point bullet can close rather than open, and this is the reason that most bullets have exposed lead tips or plastic tips, as stated above. If it had not opened, I would have expected it to exit somewhere.
I would not rule out a bullet because of this one instance, but I would keep it in the back of my mind. I killed a bull with a 166 HH this year and it seemed to perform as advertised, but I will not fall in love with a bullet because of one kill either. Time will tell.
I think @Ben Long nailed it above with "don't take no for an answer." A big bull like that in the timber is an accomplishment, good on you for not giving up.
I found it interesting that you mentioned having a picture in your mind of the crosshairs when the trigger breaks. I have always been the same way, but I am not sure that I have seen it mentioned before.
Addicting
Well-known member
My comment here spiraled off into a private conversation. One of the things that conversation made me think about is what happened that no blood was coughed up?
We all see the fantastic energy transfer into the ballistics gel from the shockwave of the energy transfer as the bullet mushrooms.
In a frontal shot if the bullet worked as advertised in the ballistics gel the lungs at a minimum would have the air knocked out of them thru the nose.
Even if it went above the lungs in the void the shockwave should cause that rapid expanse of air causing some bruising to the lungs.
I am surprised that the bull didn’t cough out any blood or have a nasal spray.
Hell, I look at a something wrong and get a nose bleed.
We all see the fantastic energy transfer into the ballistics gel from the shockwave of the energy transfer as the bullet mushrooms.
In a frontal shot if the bullet worked as advertised in the ballistics gel the lungs at a minimum would have the air knocked out of them thru the nose.
Even if it went above the lungs in the void the shockwave should cause that rapid expanse of air causing some bruising to the lungs.
I am surprised that the bull didn’t cough out any blood or have a nasal spray.
Hell, I look at a something wrong and get a nose bleed.
thusby
Well-known member
Because…….. hunting.
Addicting
Well-known member
I would wager it opened late at the diaphragm taking out the liver and buried into the stomach. That could explain why he laid down so fast. If it penciled I think it may of just kept going with the other bull.
If that was the case it was a dead bull walking and good on the OP getting a second shot in it.
Westelker
Well-known member
My wife shot a nice cow a couple years ago, .270 partition entered and exited just behind the shoulder. The cow ran for 40 yds and died in the big sage. After the shot we saw the cow run to our right. When we got down to where she was hit there was no blood trail, so we walked the 40 yds and saw her dead. No blood at all. I was able to locate where the bullet had entered and the hole was filled with fat. Same with the exit hole. She was an older dry cow that gave us delicious meat.
Could be. Also could be a marginal shot.
