Daughter shot a decent buck this afternoon. 225 yards. I was watching through my scope, he mule kicked really high and took off 30-40 yards into some thick woods. Was almost dark by the time we got to where I estimated he was standing and never found blood. I tried to cover the edge of the woodline and never picked up blood. Could have sworn I saw the hit just behind the leg about 1/3 up his body. Didn't go in the woods. The shot looked great.

Think he's dead or did she graze him...... ???

Dead if you are pretty sure that is where she hit him.

Sounds like a clean miss.

Call a dog!! Had to be first to say if.

My son shoots a 243 and it's killed every one he has shot at but a couple only left blood at the shot site and the hole seemed to plug up and not bleed until 40 or 50 yards later when he was about to drop.

Dont be surprised if you dont find much blood but if you hit him where you say you did you got him, dont give up on him.

Could be a heart shot. You won't find much, if any, blood. But the deer isn't far away.

[quote=charlie]My son shoots a 243 and it's killed every one he has shot at
X2. My son started with .243 and had this same thing happen a couple of times. You will find it dead within 50-75 yards. Good luck.

Dead. I shoot a .243 and that is pretty much what happens with every deer I shoot. Especially bigger bodied bucks at longer range. She probably didn’t get a pass thru but the deer should be dead within 100 yards if she hit him where you think she did. I usually go mark the spot where the deer was standing when I shot and then i mark the last place I saw him, then I walk in the direction the deer went. Usually i find them dead within 50 or 75 yards. If not, I’ll go back and start crawling around looking for blood.

I have thought about switching guns because I worry that one day I’m gonna lose a deer because of the lack of blood trail and knockdown power...but I have never missed or lost a deer in the 15 years I’ve used this gun and I hate to switch when this one hasn’t failed me yet.

Lord willing I'll find him in the morning. Dang sure not gonna ruin in this weather. I would be her best buck. He was behind a door headed to the turnip patch.

Topcat, I hope y’all find him in the morning. I bet you do. The situation you described is not uncommon for a .243 hunter. It will make you sweat and worry a little bit, but when placed correctly is as deadly as anything else.

I bet it’s dead within 100 yards or so. As stated earlier, no pass through and the entrance probably left one or two small drops. I’ve killed a couple this year that I could not find blood because I was looking in the wrong spot. I started making circles and walked up on both. At 225 yards and dark, it would be very easy not to find any sign - especially with a .243 and no exit. Good luck and show us a nice buck.

this they are usually piled up within 30 yards

Hunt with one for around 30 yrs Decent shot ,,,,,,80 yards or so.

95 gr Nosler ballistic tips will increase your blood trail in the 243, tremendously. Good luck.

This is the same thing I've witnessed with my wifes 243. If she dont drop them,we ain't finding much blood the first 30-40 yards

I’ve killed a pile of deer with a 243 and the only ones I had problems with a blood trail was the ones i shot with Hornady SST’s. Other than that blood trails have never been an issue. Honestly most are DRT. If he’s hit good he’s dead.

Ive killed pile of deer with a 243...what you described sounds like a normal death..kill..destroy...with a 243...very few i shot bled right out the gate....but most all were dead in under a 100. Ive made a buncha 200+ yard shots with a 243....in my experience the farther they are away with that little bullet...the more difficult it is to find the initial blood trail "quickly"...almost always eventually found it tho.

Quinky dink...i was typin..we just happened to say the same thing...haha

Just my .02 but you’re going to find a dead deer. I’d switch to the nosler partition. I started my son out on .243. The partition is one of the better bullets for that round. He shot a heavy deer that ran close to 100 yards, but we had a decent blood trail and blood from the pass/through where the hit was made. Just keep looking.