I'm Sick

Took a shot at a nice buck, 100 yd shot quartered-away. Aimed right behind the front shoulder using 7mm-08 Fusion 140gr. Fired and the buck acted like he was hit by bucking his rear legs in the air. He ran into some brush immediately and I lost him. I never heard the shot connect with him.

Waited about 20 minutes till I went looking. Found nothing but some a couple slivers of meat where I shot him and one drop of blood about 5 yards away where he ran. After I found nothing else and couldn't pick up his trail. Searched a few hours with no luck.

The only other deer I have shot with the 7mm-08 and Fusions I could definitely hear a hit. A doe I shot that was quartering to me I broke her front right leg and had a clean pass through her ribs but no blood. Found her 30 yards away tho.

Thoughts on where I might have hit him? Sick thinking I mortally wounded him andcannot find him.

I have never been able to "hear" a hit. I read about it all the time though.

Good luck. If there is meat and some blood you got a hit. Get a dog out there to
Help.

I wouldn't give up on him.

I have only heard the pop on 200+. If he kicked, usually a good indicator. Could have missed the heart, but ripped through the chest wall, he is probably dead, closer than you think. Keep looking. Good luck

Good caliber , adequate projectile, and a reasonable range. I would be scratching my head to what went wrong also. If I had to guess, the quartering away angle may have thrown you off, and you shot a little too far forward or reward. Sorry for your luck bud.

Dog or grid search time. You know you hit him so you've got to give it all you've got.

X2

Yup get a pup out there. Good luck.

This

Good luck on your search

Where you hunting

Near Iraan.

I have never heard my one shot under 200 yards, but I bet you got a good hit on him, may have been a bit high. I'd be out looking

I have a dog but I'm nearly 4 hours from you.

Shoot off of a mountain 220 yards with a 11 degree drop down in a Chili Bowl and hear that impact that sounds like you smacked a slab of beef w a 2x4 and it makes me Giggle everytime

If there's any water in the area be sure to search around it thoroughly. Best of luck with the search.

Good Luck FYI

This is a shot of him a few days ago.

A shot right behind the shoulder with the deer quartered away may mean you shot him too far forward, missing the lungs. If this is the case, the odds are probably against retrieving him.

I know what you mean about feeling sick. Been there before myself.

Lots of possibilities some would be fatal some would not be. Killed a buck years ago at less than 20 yards that I grunted in and he was looking for a fight. I did not know until after I shot him there was a wound in the shoulder that had over a 3 inch exit hole at the front of the shoulder, bullet had gone in and across the lower part of the shoulder blade and exited the front. Killed another that had large part of the meat from the shank gone from a front leg just below the chest. Don't think I have ever seen meat on the ground where there wasn't an exit wound though.

IMO either you hit too far forward,too low or the deer is dead somewhere. Keep watching the cameras if he is alive he will most likely show up in the next few weeks

Have to agree it is a sickening feeling to loose one

No telling, Had a kid with me shoot a doe at 60yrds with a 243.I thought hit was low and when i went look for blood found very very little and some hair.. crawled on hands and knees almost 100yrds following specks... found her piled up under a mesquite... while cleaning her seen shot was a little lower than intended but took out half the heart in the process... dont know how she made it so far. Putting a dog on it with in a few hours would have been the best bet.. i seen a few posts with people advertising free and pay for services here.

Great observation. Always consider the trajectory the bullet must take in order to pass through the heart/lung area when considering the aim point. In fact, avoid taking shots at deer quartering too far away since the aim point would be so far back that it would likely require going through the stomach area first. And NOTHING is worse than trying to clean a gut shot deer.

good luck in your search

I shot a doe with one of those ballistic tips once and when it hit her rib, everything exploded out towards the point of impact. Really bizarre. I heard the hit like somebody smashing two rocks together and instantaneously saw this red outward explosion. Entrance was huge, no exit at all.

Hopefully you was just off a little that day and just got a piece of the front shoulder. Loosing a deer is no fun. I have and that's part of hunting. Had a perfect 180 yard shot on a nice doe. Found hair and nothing else. I was sick and pissed at myself.

I have been through this before. I took a 90 yard shot on a doe quartering away. The doe kicked and ran off, left me nothing but bone and the slightest blood trail possible. No luck finding her.

So discovered at 100yds my rifle was hitting 4" to the left and about 2" low. Good guess is I hit the buck in front of the shoulder and hopefully in the brisket. Praying hes not mortally wounded.

I had almost the identical shot opening weekend except the buck was about 200 yds away. When I shot there was no hitting sound and he did not kick or hump up. Looked a long time but didn't find blood or hair anywhere. Still concerned because he disappeared after that and never showed back up on camera anywhere. He was a feeder hog and was always near a feeder. Still sickens me just thinking about it. Probably would have been my biggest whitetail.

I like the way you desribed that LOL. Personally ive never heard the impact but my furthest kill shot is about 150 yards on a pig and he was DRT just ask Erath.

If the buck kicked you hit him.... and usually in the mids

Iv gotten to were I can hear the pop everytime.. love that THAAAWAAAAP

Is this with or without hearing protection?

Without

Had the exact same thing for me. 25-06 hornady. Same angle and range. Mine kicked and dropped front shoulder and ran in woods. Waited 30 mins friend saw it and said it was a good hit. Jumped it. Backed out waited 2 hrs. Jumped it. Waited 3 hrs jumped it never saw it or blood again. My guess is it went through front should on out ner breast plate never hitting vitals.

It sucks when you have a deer run on you. Luckily, i have yet to experience that feeling with a whitetail. Few hogs have ran off to never be found. Sometimes i hear the smack of the bullet, sometimes not, of course i run everything suppressed, which helps a bunch!

Got him on camera this past Monday and Tuesday. He's alive and well!

Good deal

Can you see any marks on him to give you an idea of where you might have hit?

outstanding....hope you get another shot at him.

Man, I switched my loads this year on my .270 WSM from Winchester hollowpoint 140 gr. to a fusion 150 gr. soft point.
All the years I shot hollow points, the deer dropped in their tracks like a bomb went off inside them. This year all three deer I have shot have run with little to no blood where the deer were shot. Finding them laying in a puddle of blood. The first doe I shot , would have never found her but I knew exactly where she ran, and it was into some heavy brush. Saturday, I hit another doe, this time in a wide open pasture at 300 yrds broadside. The doe shot up in the air and did the " I'm hit " Dance for about 20 yrds, again, no blood on the ground where whe was shot, but laying in a puddle of it. this was a double lung and heart shot. I like the flatness of the round, but the expansion and shock is just not doing it for me. Don't give up and good luck