Heart Shot Deer

drayweb

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Shot a doe this morning. I assume I hit her in the heart, because I saw her hind legs kick out. I spent about an hour trying to find her before I finally gave up. There wasn't any blood trail. I know a deer can run about a hundred yards or more because I shot a buck in the heart with my bow and he went exactly a hundred yards. Maybe I pushed her when I tried to track her right away. Not going to be able to sleep much tonight.
 


1lessdog

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Did you shot her from the road out of a mobile blind ��
 

LBrandt

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If you hit the heart there should have been blood and lots of it. Maybe hit under and it would have been like spuring a bronc out of the chute.
 

Kickemup

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Deer hit in the heart with a rifle dont normally go far and have excellent blood trails from my experience. Unless it's a 243 and they just bounce off.:::
 


KDM

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Shot a doe this morning. I assume I hit her in the heart, because I saw her hind legs kick out. I spent about an hour trying to find her before I finally gave up. There wasn't any blood trail. I know a deer can run about a hundred yards or more because I shot a buck in the heart with my bow and he went exactly a hundred yards. Maybe I pushed her when I tried to track her right away. Not going to be able to sleep much tonight.

How did she run? Flat out sprint with tail tucked tight or did she bound a little with tail up or out flat?
Did she whirl and run back to where she came from or did she kick and run in the direction she was facing?
Did both shoulders/legs appear to be working while she was running? (This speaks to broadside, quartering to, or quartering away)

Heart shots without breaking a shoulder do happen, but normally one shoulder is affected by the shot. If the heart was hit, there may not be any blood trail as you shut off the pump, but there should be a spray of blood at the point of bullet impact on the ground. Keep in mind that a brisket shot (non-lethal) can make a deer "Mule Kick" just like a chest shot, but will result in almost zero blood anywhere as only the skin and minor muscles of the brisket will bleed.
 

drayweb

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Deer hit in the heart with a rifle dont normally go far and have excellent blood trails from my experience. Unless it's a 243 and they just bounce off.:::

Yes. It was a 243.

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How did she run? Flat out sprint with tail tucked tight or did she bound a little with tail up or out flat?
Did she whirl and run back to where she came from or did she kick and run in the direction she was facing?
Did both shoulders/legs appear to be working while she was running? (This speaks to broadside, quartering to, or quartering away)

Heart shots without breaking a shoulder do happen, but normally one shoulder is affected by the shot. If the heart was hit, there may not be any blood trail as you shut off the pump, but there should be a spray of blood at the point of bullet impact on the ground. Keep in mind that a brisket shot (non-lethal) can make a deer "Mule Kick" just like a chest shot, but will result in almost zero blood anywhere as only the skin and minor muscles of the brisket will bleed.

A brisket shot would be a lung shot right? It was a broadside shot at about 50 yards through the trees. I did have the scope turned up to 9 by mistake, so I had a hard time seeing her right away. Just a total bummer.
 

riverview

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pretty sure you missed the kill area i speak from experiance
 

thriller1

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I had a similar scenario this year as well. I kicked a doe out of some brush and she was bookin. I mean she got flat to the ground and was running faster than I've ever seen a whitetail run. My boy wanted to use my 25/45 Sharps for his deer (I didnt get a tag but I had a great view of the show). First shot was a clean miss but the second one rolled her. She got up and MAYBE made it another 30 yds before checking out. I know that there is some speculation that this is a sufficient round for deer. As we walked up to her, there was little to know blood. When we gutted her, the chest cavity was full; and I mean full of blood. The bullet entered and actually "disconnected" her heart for the most part. I couldn't find the exit hole until we skinned her out. It was no bigger then the entrance hole. The hole scenario makes me wonder that ifin I hadn't seen her go down and where; we might still be looking for her.
 


BDub

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9 power at 50 yards could certainly be a bad deal. Lesson many of us have learned over the years.
 

KDM

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Yes. It was a 243.

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A brisket shot would be a lung shot right? It was a broadside shot at about 50 yards through the trees. I did have the scope turned up to 9 by mistake, so I had a hard time seeing her right away. Just a total bummer.

Not necessarily. The brisket is about 2 inches thick and if you only clip the bottom of it, it's like getting punched in the sternum. It hurts, but you can still run and your lungs are fine. Also, a lung shot would bleed quite a bit whereas a brisket shot would not. I could be all wrong on this, but given the list of circumstances you have, you may not be dealing with a lethal shot. You have to treat it like she's down and go look. I would start off by taking a real hard look at where the deer was when she was hit. A heart, lung hit should produce a blood splash or spray at the place she was shot. Good Luck! I hope you find venison at the end of the trail.
 

ShootnBlanks

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Heart shot deer with .243 is a dead deer, and won't go far. Simple as that. My kids and wife use .243 and yes seems there isnt much of a blood trail sometimes even with a great shot. But the deer is always found within 100 yds. always
 

espringers

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You definitely missed the heart. Just saying. My guess is lung or missed vitals entirely. Fwiw, i hit my buck dead center of the heart after clipping the front shoulder this year. Tipped over without taking a step. That bullet didnt exit for some reason and turned his heart and everything around it into jelly. 6.5. But, ive seen very similar results with its cousin .243.

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Would agree that it was potentially a bit low or possibly farther back then u think.
 


NDSportsman

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Did you hear a thump when you hit her? If there isn't any blood where she was standing I doubt you hit her in the vitals. If you hit her in vitals she should be dead within a 100 yards. No deer can go farther then that without heart or lungs.
 

Hammer

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Very first deer I ever shot was shot right through the heart with a 243 from about 170 yards. She dropped in her tracks. There was zero sign of blood or entry/exit wound.
 

espringers

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?^^? I am not a fan of wasting front shoulder meat and prefer to shoot just behind it in the lungs with the hope of hitting the heart if possible. But, if i have a standing shot at a deer and i have 0 interest in tracking or losing, i punch the back portion of the front shoulders. Not Only to anchor it. But, cause the heart is in there isnt it?
 
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