For those who have shot many different calibers and bullet style. What seems to give better than average blood trails than the next one. Given similar shot placement of course. Do you see that speed, caliber size, or bullet construction play the biggest role in your blood trail?
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Caliber,bullet style, blood trail
- Thread starter Easygo
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baddave
Senior Member
NOPE- honestly i hunted w/ 30-06 for about 100 yrs and now a .260. i can't tell the difference in blood trails , knock down, run distance ,- nothing, other than kick, noise and amount of powder. i used every type of bullet you can name in 30-06 but so far in 260 just 140 gr. sgk and 123 gr hornady sst
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tbrown913
Senior Member
Bullet type is biggest factor to me given equal shot placement. I love the core lock, hornady interlock, or boat tail soft point. Great fast energy transfer and exit is about double the caliber size from the 270 and 308. They all leave blood that is pretty easy to follow.
The barnes ttsx and deep penetrating bullets never performed well for me and never left easy blood trails. I had a beautiful double lung shot on a doe at 85 yards with the ttsx. Found the doe 100 yards away and never found a drop of blood.
The barnes ttsx and deep penetrating bullets never performed well for me and never left easy blood trails. I had a beautiful double lung shot on a doe at 85 yards with the ttsx. Found the doe 100 yards away and never found a drop of blood.
Hillbilly stalker
Senior Member
i have had great results with 150 grain core lok in both 308 and 30-06. 100 grain core lok in .243
tree cutter 08
Senior Member
Barnes is hit or miss with blood trails in the 243 i shoot. Where it shines is you can shoot any angle and bullet will perform, penetrate and exit everytime. No need for blood trails if vitals are hit, they won't go far.
Rackmaster
Political Forum Town Crier
.270 & .280 for me 150gr bullets. I have hunted with also 7mm-08 & 30-06 if you can’t hit them there’s no blood trail.
Winchester Power Points, Remington PSP Core Loks, and Federal Nosler Partitions are all I shoot.
Use to shoot Ballistic Tips kinda shyed away from them but never lost a deer with one.
Winchester Power Points, Remington PSP Core Loks, and Federal Nosler Partitions are all I shoot.
Use to shoot Ballistic Tips kinda shyed away from them but never lost a deer with one.
While there has been a smattering of 140 gr bullets, the vast majority of the deer Ive killed have been done so with 150 gr Nosler bullets. Whether from a 7mm Rem Mag, 280 Rem, 7-08, 270 win, 30.06, 300 winny, (180 gr)
When shot through the heart/lung area I have always had good to excellent blood trails provided the exit is not too high and that wouldn't be the bullets fault tho..Again, the vast majority of time blood trails are not needed. I either see them fall or hear the crash..
When shot through the heart/lung area I have always had good to excellent blood trails provided the exit is not too high and that wouldn't be the bullets fault tho..Again, the vast majority of time blood trails are not needed. I either see them fall or hear the crash..
GT-40 GUY
Gone But Not Forgotten
Shot placement is more important than bullet type.There are three shot placements that will drop any deer in its tracks with minimal loss of meat. Head shot, neck shot and 3 inches above the heart and just behind the front leg. I like the last one because there is almost no loss of meat. I have killed more than 50 deer hit in this spot. What happens is the bullet severs all or almost all the arteries at the top of the heart and it is usually loose in the chest cavity. With a heart shot the deer usually kicks up its hind legs and runs like the dickens. Try it next time to see for yourself.
PS: I have been a target shooter for many years and almost every time I shoot at a deer I use some kind of a rifle rest.
PS: I have been a target shooter for many years and almost every time I shoot at a deer I use some kind of a rifle rest.
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Lilly001
Senior Member
I find a downward angle from an elevated position with a cup & core style bullet where the exit wound has tissue tearing is best.
Everything else is a montage of variables.
Everything else is a montage of variables.
Kev
Senior Member
The .308 Winchester with 165 grain sierra gameking boat tails are awesome. I also shoot a .338 win mag sometimes and the big bucks just don't run if you hit the body.
I don’t think there’s a whole lot of difference in most common hunting calibers. Bullet style makes a difference.
In general, I think basic soft points like the winchester power point perform better on deer than the tougher bullets. I’ve had the same experience with barnes bullets as tbrown. I shot a small buck once with a .300wiag and a barnes ttsx that ran 150 yards with an almost non-existent blood trail after a perfect double lung shot. If you hit something solid in there, they do great, but not so much if you just hit soft tissue.
I’ve also had a couple poor blood trails with a 7.62x39 and cheap russian soft points. The same caliber with hornady SSTs is a whole different story.
Overall, I’d say the best blood trails I’ve gotten have been with a.50 or .54 muzzle loader and solid lead bullets.
In general, I think basic soft points like the winchester power point perform better on deer than the tougher bullets. I’ve had the same experience with barnes bullets as tbrown. I shot a small buck once with a .300wiag and a barnes ttsx that ran 150 yards with an almost non-existent blood trail after a perfect double lung shot. If you hit something solid in there, they do great, but not so much if you just hit soft tissue.
I’ve also had a couple poor blood trails with a 7.62x39 and cheap russian soft points. The same caliber with hornady SSTs is a whole different story.
Overall, I’d say the best blood trails I’ve gotten have been with a.50 or .54 muzzle loader and solid lead bullets.
GT-40 GUY
Gone But Not Forgotten
Looks like you hit the top of the heart and cut all the arteries like I said and it dropped. If your shot was a little higher the same thing would have happened without destroying the heart. If you hit lower on the heart without cutting the arteries it would kick its hind legs and run.
GT-40 GUY
Gone But Not Forgotten
tree cutter 08
Senior Member
A hole from a 50 cal leak a lot of blood! Haven't shot enough to say yet but the 240 hornady xtp in 44 and 45 cal leaves big holes on both sides from what ive seen so far.
LEON MANLEY
Banned
I never put much thought into a "blood trail" I put more emphasis on marksmanship.
Aim small miss small. Most people have to trail animals that they "shoot in the side".
Shooting from a bench at a range is for sighting your rifle in, and close isn't good enough. Some folks get within 4" of the bull's eye at 50 yards and think "that's good enough", then want to take shots at 150 yards.
Due to a lot of "hunters/shooters" not having a bench in their hunting blind, they should try some free handed shooting while at the range.
If you shoot for vitals, you are usually following a blood trail. Which is fine with me. I don't aim for hi-shoulder unless it’s raining or near a property line. I care more about the meat than the horns. And, no matter how much time you spend at the range, you’re not always going to make that perfect shot in the woods. Paper targets don’t move, and there aren’t thousands of twigs and weeds between you and your target on the rifle range. And deer don’t always show up at the perfect angle. And paper targets don’t get your adrenaline pumping.
All this talk about blood trails... you guys are rifle hunting right? I've tracked a passel of deer that I shot with a bow, but off the top of my head, I can count on one hand the number of rifle-shot deer that didn't drop in their tracks. A couple of young bucks shot with a 30-30 ran less than 50 yards. One big buck that I made a Texas heart shot on stumbled and fell down the mountain 70 yards or so. Another buck that I shot too far back but hit spine fell down the mountain 100 yards or more.
I've rarely had a muzzleloader shot drop one in its tracks, but I haven't killed a ton with a muzzleloader.
Almost every single deer I've ever killed with a high powered rifle hasn't taken another step. The last 15 years or so, they've all been with a .270wsm with 140gr bonded bullets. I think I must shoot them higher on the shoulder than some of you guys.
I've rarely had a muzzleloader shot drop one in its tracks, but I haven't killed a ton with a muzzleloader.
Almost every single deer I've ever killed with a high powered rifle hasn't taken another step. The last 15 years or so, they've all been with a .270wsm with 140gr bonded bullets. I think I must shoot them higher on the shoulder than some of you guys.
That has not been my experience over a lot if years and deer, unless you shoot them high shoulder. Not even then sometimes. I’ve dropped 10x more in their tracks with a muzzleloader than a centerfire.
Kanook
Senior Member
And sometimes a heart shot Deer runs off and starts to heal https://ibb.co/htUDfV http://redirect.viglink.com/?format...19-143021.jpg" class="postimage" alt="Image">
