Most everything we get called out on is about shot placement......There's only been a few tracks that I would point to a bullet as having an impact on the situation. One that I can remember off the top of my head was a silver tip out of a 30-30 from 150 yards away......Hit the shoulder and just fragmented into the meat and bone. It crippled the deer up and had to be finished off.

As far a calibers go.......I see a wide range.......pretty much everything.......The 6.5 is becoming pretty common to track for now just because its become popular to use. We get a lot of calls for .243's as well because that's what a lot of folks get for their kids and wife and they are typically inexperienced shooters.

I have tracked a pile shot with a creedmore also all but one was no recovery the one we did recover I had to finish

I tracked 2 deer for a guy this year and he shot both high shoulder with hornady sst bullets in 308. Both bullets blew up in the shoulder and had to be finished off. I honestly don't know anything about those bullets but I thought it was interesting anyway.

Blasphemy!! Pure blasphemy! The "C"reed is absolutely the most powerful, flattest shooting, fastest, most accurate and deadly cartridge ever developed. It is impossible not to kill a deer with it, if it is pointed in the deer's general direction. If you dont believe me, just ask AU338 and the other 8-10 fan boys on here. Most likely the reason your dogs couldnt find anything was because the Creed completely vaporized the deer on impact. You probably found just a little blood and maybe some burnt hair, correct?

I would bet a paycheck that those 308 silvertips were actually the ballistic tip silvertips. The old super-x silvertips are known to hold together and are deep penetrators. The ballistic silvertips explode when hitting something hard. For the record I think ballistip silvertips are a terrible choice due to both ruining meat and performance on poorly placed shots.

Too bad winchester quit making the super-x silvertips.

Hmmm. I deer hunted with a .243, .308, .257 Roberts, .270, 7mm Mag, and the famous 6.5 Creedmoor. Funny thing is, every deer I shot in the correct place has died with those calibers. The 6.5 Creedmoor is my current choice and is the most accurate rifle I have ever owned. Perhaps shot placement is most important, don't you think?

Ever take the time to think that just maybe, just possibly, the real reason it is your most accurate rifle is that the rifle you now have has a better barrel, lighter/crisper/better trigger, is properly bedded, free-floated barrel, properly torqued action screws, clearer or higher magnification scope, maybe you personally shoot it better due to the low recoil, or any one of a myriad of other "true" causes for rifle accuracy or inaccuracy, rather than the caliber................? Y'all are so funny about the Creed. It's not the caliber or the Creedmore name that makes a gun accurate. And yes, bullet placement is the key to killing animals.

I agree!

I'm a firm believer that "only accurate rifles are interesting". I'm also somewhat of a trigger snob, so all my rifles have had trigger work, but that is all I have done. Perhaps my current rifle just happens to be a "lucky" one. It is a factory stock Savage Lightweight Hunter. Weighs 5 1/4 pounds bare, has a soda straw barrel, and shoots lights out with Hornady Precision Hunter ammo. I've had 3 different scopes on it, trying to get the best for my aging eyes. It shot as well with all of them. I've had Remington 700's, a Model 7 from their custom shop, another factory Savage, and a couple of Abolts. They all shot well when fed the right ammo, just not as good as my current choice.

I couldn’t tell you squat about any of that…...not even sure the last tine I cleaned my rifle....…I can kill the chit out of deer though.

10-4!! Chute'em in the right place with any caliber and check their pulse.. They dead!

Probably right, but that makes me wonder about some of the ballistic tips. There are so many out there. Did you shoot them all? Or are people actually using some of the match ammo for deer? Hmmm.

Now this is an example of what I was wondering too. Winchester or others have came out with all these new ones that just may be more like FMJ on hard bone creating more crippled deer or that seems to be more common as to what people are saying about certain ballistic tips.

For sure folks are using match ammo, and MAYBE it has its place in specific scenarios, long range mostly.


Last year I shot the biggest deer of my life, antlers and body at 185# if I’m recalling correctly.

150 grain ballistic tip out of a 7mag. So little blood it was only that I was stubborn that I found a drop. A drop led to a swipe on some dog fennel, that led to the deer only 75 ish yards away. If I hadn’t been stubborn and found that one drop I would have gone home and laid my head down certain I just missed.

Bullet selection will always be discussed on forums and it’s good that it is, but two holes in the animal is my way going forward.

If someone will contact me I have a great picture of Matt Hill and his Blue Lacy Shady , and Davey Arnold and his blue Lacy Hank . Without their help I would have not found my 8 pt buck . After all the tracking stories on here and the comments about making better shots I had it in my mind not to call a tracker . Smartest thing I’ve done all week ! After 24 hrs , windy as all get out and rain starting I thought there’s no way we going to find this deer . I am now a believer ! Thanks to both men and their dogs ! My cell # is 256-605-2975 if someone can post the pic .