Hey guys,

I got a Ruger American Ranch Rifle Compact 350 Legend 2 years ago for my kids to hunt with. They are 9, 7, and 6. Over the last two season, my boys have shot 4 deer with the gun. We have recovered 2 deer with literally zero blood trail and we have not recovered 2 that I am 99.9% sure were hit (the only reason I’m not 100% sure is because we found no blood.) This morning, my 7 year old son was trying to kill his first deer. He shot and the deer mule kicked and ran into some thick young pines. We found a bunch of brown hair on the ground and not a drop of blood. I’m not saying my kids are sharp shooters, but 4 deer with zero blood has me concerned about this caliber. The two we recovered were shot in the shoulder and the lungs. I’m thinking about switching them over to a .270. Thoughts??

The answer is right here. It’s not the caliber. Good luck to them as they gain experience .

Yes, but those two ran 80-100 yards without a drop of blood. That’s my issue.

have them shoot for behind shoulder to get a double lung and a pass thru. try that it might make a big difference on recoveries.

I shot a pretty good buck with a 257wbymag partition that went about 60yds with no blood. Looked like a massacre happened where he was laying but no blood untill that. Weve shot 5 nice bucks with a 223 62gr fusion. Never a blood trail, not a drop, no exit wound but all those deer fell within 50yds and had major trauma to their insides. Some folks get an idea in their heads what a deer is supposed to act like after you shootit with a particular bullet. It dont always happen. 50/50 with yung kids is about normal. At 8yo i saw my son shoot a buck from 200yds, a perfect shot. When he was 13yo i saw him miss a buck clean from 50yds. Morethan likely, its the kids fault, not the ammo.

There ya go, high percentage shot. Shoot them with a rifle just like a bow . Teach them how to take quartering away shots also.

Stay off that shoulder. Double lung deer bleed.

Not always. I shot a doe up in Jackson Cty w/ a 7mm-08 at 70 yards. Knew it was a dead deer running when it took off. She still ran out of sight, following a bench. Went down to where she was standing. No hair, no blood. Sight trailed using the kicked up leaves and knew the direction she ran. After about 80 yards of no blood or hair, saw a squirt of blood. Looked over the bench and there she was piled up half way down. Bullet hit center front of the rib cage, came out low center rib cage opposite side. Complete pass through, little/no blood until she did her death leap.

What bullets are you using?

It most definitely isn't the fact that it's a 350 Legend. The 35 Remington has been a stone cold killer for decades along with the 358 Winchester.

What ammo are you shooting in it?

It really is this simple.

I’ve only shot 1 deer with the 350 legend and it was only 60-70 yards away. It ran about 30 yards and fell over. I didn’t need a blood trail, but there was one and lots of internal damage . That was with the Winchester 150 grain deer season xp

We are using the BXR Rapid Expansion 155 GR. My problem is that several of our fields are surrounded by pretty thick pines, and if I don’t have blood or a dog, it’s like finding a needle in a haystack. Maybe we have just had bad luck so far, but four hits without a drop of blood made me want to ask the question to you guys. And one of the hits was a lung shot.

Idk..i had a picture i showed to hunters where they needed to aim..you hitem in the ribs right behing the shoulder..blood errwerr…you chootem in the middle of the shoulder mehhh..might bleed..might not….almost ever deer got shot with a 7mag and federals with 176gn sierras…idk..they just dont bleed back through a shoulder real good sometimes

Maybe the BXR bullet is too light and explosive nevermind what the box says. I have no experience with it but just a thought.

Nothing about what I quickly read about this ammo would ever lead me to believe that you should be getting a different result than what you are getting. 🤷‍♂️

Use a better bullet to give you the outcome you want.

What’s the range on the deer they shot?

I don’t think the legend is the problem. People lose deer with 300 win mags. I even lost my first two with a rifle in 15 years this season, both hit with the almighty creedmoor. I had the exact same issue where one didn’t have but a single drop of blood before it hit a pine thickets and the other bled like a faucet was left open but dried up over pine thickets as well. Sometimes it just happens. More powerful rounds just give you a larger margin of error. If you’re soured on the legend, I think a 270 is going to be a bit much for kids. I’m about 18/20 on recoveries with the creedmoor now, they’ll probably enjoy shooting that a bit more.

Asides from trying to improve shot placement, I’d look at changing your bullets to something deeper penetrating. Deer bleed better when they are poked on both sides.

Spend more time at the range and use a different bullet I used the cheap Winchesters in mine and my kids never lost a deer and never ran out of sight

All 100 yards or less. I am going to try some different bullets and see if that helps. Thanks for the thoughts guys.

No experience with the Legend.
As to the question on the .270 and youngsters. I would look at a .308 or 7-08 or The Creed. My 700 ADL .270 will thump you. It has more felt recoil than my Winchester 70 in 7mm Mag.