Deer Season

[cwlongshot]

The 25/45 added to the freezer tally this year again!!




CW

[Bob the nailer]

Nice work CW

[tallburnedmidget]

Nice eater there CW!

[Gimli]

Well, I have to report a lost deer.

Yesterday evening I shot and lost the first deer I have attempted to take with a subsonic round. I was using Lehigh Defense 194 gr Maximum Expansion ammo. My rifle is zeroed at 90 yards and good within +/- 3” out to about 107 yards. The shot was broadside or nearly so at 60 yards and I had a good rest. I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect first trial.

After the shot, it bucked and took off. It ran into some thick scrub pines about 125 yards from the point of impact. I waited 10 minutes and then checked for blood. It snowed lightly yesterday, so that was a big help.

I located blood and headed into the thick stuff. Inside the thicket, the snow was very patchy, but I was able to take my time and by following tracks and blood I found where it had bedded down about 75 yards in.

At that time I was kicking myself. In planning for using this ammo I had been thinking that the LD MEs are more like shooting a 1000 FPS broadhead than a bullet. When I bow hunt, I wait 30 min before following up on a good shot if I don’t see it go down. That’s what I should have done here.

I managed to track it about 340 yards to a pine-canopied gravel driveway that is on the property boundary. At that point there was no more snow and the hard-packed ground didn’t show any more tracks. I decided to leave and come back in the morning. Unfortunately, I was unable to find any more sign so I had to give up. Without the snow I would never have been able to track it that far.

I’m disappointed because I hate losing game and that hasn’t happened in years, but especially because I’d really like to know whether the bullet failed me or if the fault was mine. I held center of lungs, but I probably should have held lower. The blood looked like it was a lung hit, but at 60 yards my rifle would have been about 2.5” high so maybe it was a high hit.

I’m not done with this ammo. I will try again this season, and I’ll try to intentionally aim lower. If I lose another one, that will really make me question this load and I may start looking at alternatives. I want to be clear that I’m not blaming the ammo; it’s possible that I could have some blame. I just wanted to report results at this time.

[dellet]

Well, I have to report a lost deer.

Yesterday evening I shot and lost the first deer I have attempted to take with a subsonic round. I was using Lehigh Defense 194 gr Maximum Expansion ammo. My rifle is zeroed at 90 yards and good within +/- 3” out to about 107 yards. The shot was broadside or nearly so at 60 yards and I had a good rest. I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect first trial.

After the shot, it bucked and took off. It ran into some thick scrub pines about 125 yards from the point of impact. I waited 10 minutes and then checked for blood. It snowed lightly yesterday, so that was a big help.

I located blood and headed into the thick stuff. Inside the thicket, the snow was very patchy, but I was able to take my time and by following tracks and blood I found where it had bedded down about 75 yards in.

At that time I was kicking myself. In planning for using this ammo I had been thinking that the LD MEs are more like shooting a 1000 FPS broadhead than a bullet. When I bow hunt, I wait 30 min before following up on a good shot if I don’t see it go down. That’s what I should have done here.

I managed to track it about 340 yards to a pine-canopied gravel driveway that is on the property boundary. At that point there was no more snow and the hard-packed ground didn’t show any more tracks. I decided to leave and come back in the morning. Unfortunately, I was unable to find any more sign so I had to give up. Without the snow I would never have been able to track it that far.

I’m disappointed because I hate losing game and that hasn’t happened in years, but especially because I’d really like to know whether the bullet failed me or if the fault was mine. I held center of lungs, but I probably should have held lower. The blood looked like it was a lung hit, but at 60 yards my rifle would have been about 2.5” high so maybe it was a high hit.

I’m not done with this ammo. I will try again this season, and I’ll try to intentionally aim lower. If I lose another one, that will really make me question this load and I may start looking at alternatives. I want to be clear that I’m not blaming the ammo; it’s possible that I could have some blame. I just wanted to report results at this time.

Curious to know what kind of five shot groups you were getting at 90 yards

[cwlongshot]

Well, I have to report a lost deer.

Yesterday evening I shot and lost the first deer I have attempted to take with a subsonic round. I was using Lehigh Defense 194 gr Maximum Expansion ammo. My rifle is zeroed at 90 yards and good within +/- 3” out to about 107 yards. The shot was broadside or nearly so at 60 yards and I had a good rest. I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect first trial.

After the shot, it bucked and took off. It ran into some thick scrub pines about 125 yards from the point of impact. I waited 10 minutes and then checked for blood. It snowed lightly yesterday, so that was a big help.

I located blood and headed into the thick stuff. Inside the thicket, the snow was very patchy, but I was able to take my time and by following tracks and blood I found where it had bedded down about 75 yards in.

At that time I was kicking myself. In planning for using this ammo I had been thinking that the LD MEs are more like shooting a 1000 FPS broadhead than a bullet. When I bow hunt, I wait 30 min before following up on a good shot if I don’t see it go down. That’s what I should have done here.

I managed to track it about 340 yards to a pine-canopied gravel driveway that is on the property boundary. At that point there was no more snow and the hard-packed ground didn’t show any more tracks. I decided to leave and come back in the morning. Unfortunately, I was unable to find any more sign so I had to give up. Without the snow I would never have been able to track it that far.

I’m disappointed because I hate losing game and that hasn’t happened in years, but especially because I’d really like to know whether the bullet failed me or if the fault was mine. I held center of lungs, but I probably should have held lower. The blood looked like it was a lung hit, but at 60 yards my rifle would have been about 2.5” high so maybe it was a high hit.

I’m not done with this ammo. I will try again this season, and I’ll try to intentionally aim lower. If I lose another one, that will really make me question this load and I may start looking at alternatives. I want to be clear that I’m not blaming the ammo; it’s possible that I could have some blame. I just wanted to report results at this time.

Thats the worst!

Any dogs available?

I have been real lucky and diligent like a pitbull dosent hurt. I'm the last one in when I'm out looking and its proved one of my best assets.

One time in Northern VT I too lost one... was a rock solid hit on a big mountain buck. (Small horns big body) This deer was 250 if he was a ounce. The shot was witnessed from about 150 yards, the deer was horizontal two feet off the ground, hit the ground and BOUNCED... got up and made a dead run to the thickest forest you have ever seen.

Waited 15-20 my friend walked across the field and we headed into the trees. on my belly cause it was literally that thick... 50-60 yards in it opened up just as the sky opened with a snow squall that dumped a inch of fluffy wet snot in a very short time... I had no chance in hell of finding that known dead deer...

35 Whelen, 75-80 yards wide open in a field at 15:30 hours 225g Sierra bullet. That was 1995/6 and it still bothers me. Mother nature took that one form me, I know its dead form my shot. Blood trail easily followed, thru and thru based on blood splatter at POI.

CW

[Gimli]

Curious to know what kind of five shot groups you were getting at 90 yards

1” to 1.25”.

[dellet]

Curious to know what kind of five shot groups you were getting at 90 yards

1” to 1.25”.

If you're shooting that well at your zero, it was probably just a bad hit. Maybe from range estimation or hold under. You know from your bow hunting it's a lot of arrows down range at unknown distances that makes the difference in success.

The thing that will kill a sub load is a high ES. 25 FPS can be close to 1" vertical at 100.

Sucks to have happen, but would be nice to know where to improve for the next one. Look forward to hearing about a successful result.

[tallburnedmidget]

Well, I have to report a lost deer.

Yesterday evening I shot and lost the first deer I have attempted to take with a subsonic round. I was using Lehigh Defense 194 gr Maximum Expansion ammo. My rifle is zeroed at 90 yards and good within +/- 3” out to about 107 yards. The shot was broadside or nearly so at 60 yards and I had a good rest. I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect first trial.

After the shot, it bucked and took off. It ran into some thick scrub pines about 125 yards from the point of impact. I waited 10 minutes and then checked for blood. It snowed lightly yesterday, so that was a big help.

I located blood and headed into the thick stuff. Inside the thicket, the snow was very patchy, but I was able to take my time and by following tracks and blood I found where it had bedded down about 75 yards in.

At that time I was kicking myself. In planning for using this ammo I had been thinking that the LD MEs are more like shooting a 1000 FPS broadhead than a bullet. When I bow hunt, I wait 30 min before following up on a good shot if I don’t see it go down. That’s what I should have done here.

I managed to track it about 340 yards to a pine-canopied gravel driveway that is on the property boundary. At that point there was no more snow and the hard-packed ground didn’t show any more tracks. I decided to leave and come back in the morning. Unfortunately, I was unable to find any more sign so I had to give up. Without the snow I would never have been able to track it that far.

I’m disappointed because I hate losing game and that hasn’t happened in years, but especially because I’d really like to know whether the bullet failed me or if the fault was mine. I held center of lungs, but I probably should have held lower. The blood looked like it was a lung hit, but at 60 yards my rifle would have been about 2.5” high so maybe it was a high hit.

I’m not done with this ammo. I will try again this season, and I’ll try to intentionally aim lower. If I lose another one, that will really make me question this load and I may start looking at alternatives. I want to be clear that I’m not blaming the ammo; it’s possible that I could have some blame. I just wanted to report results at this time.

You say a lung shot. Was this long shot in the shoulder? If so the Lehigh ME expands so much and so quickly that it cannot penetrate the flat shoulder blade bone of the deer. I know from digging one out of a deer I had to shoot twice with the ME and from loosing a deer with the same shot. Again avoid mid shoulder shots at all costs with the ME.

It sucks to loose a deer just prepare prepare prepare, and then take a good shot

[Jay66]

I shoot the same load and have shot 6 deer so far this year. At that range the bullet will do it's job. The problem I've found is mid chest cavity shots will bleed little to none until the chest cavity fills up to the point of the entry/exit wound, not the "knock down" power of higher velocity loads. They can run a long ways with a lung shot although both lungs are toast, usually bleeding at the very end of the run or sparse blood along the way. The deer that ran the shortest was a low shot and took out the heart. Luckily I have a dog that is good at tracking so if I have problems I'll bring him in to find them. The exits have all been pass through with the farthest shot about 125yrds. Usually at least three different wounds on the far side from the petals breaking off and the core going through. I've only recovered one petal so far. Just aim a hair lower and try to get the heart next time.
Jay