johnf

[davetucker]

tjought about your search alnight.how did it turn out.remember good guys finish first,and your one of em.

[johnf]

Well, I took one of my students out there and we searched the whole hill again, both sides. We spread out about 50 yards apart and went over the whole thing. First we started where I saw the deer and made circles untill we were out about 200 yards then we went about 100 yards past the clearing to the East and zig zaged each others trail untill we hit the road.

My stomach's in knots just thinking about losing that thing.

I've decided to put the 243 up for awhile. My wife got me a box of 25-06 remington corelokt. I'll be shooting the bigger gun for the rest of the season. And probibly aiming a fair bit lower and a little further back.

[QDMAworks4me]

I hunt with a .243 and so does my father. I would not trade that gun for any other gun in the world. I shot a 185 lb 8 point last night and it went 10 yards. What load are you shooting? I use a 85 grain sierra spitzer bullett and I have shot "MANY" deer with that round and so does my father and we very seldom ever get a deer that goes more than a few yards or they just pile up in a heap!! When I was younger I made some shots that were questionable and they still did not go far at all and I found every one of them. I am also very sorry to hear about the loss of our deer.

Just my 2 cents

[Texan_Til_I_Die]

John, I still think you killed that deer and he's not far from the spot you shot him. He just managed to find some nook or cranny to fall into and die, and unless you get lucky and step on him, you probably won't be able to spot him.

[wtnhunt]

John, I still think you killed that deer and he's not far from the spot you shot him. He just managed to find some nook or cranny to fall into and die, and unless you get lucky and step on him, you probably won't be able to spot him.

I would have to agree with this. My wife has killed a couple deer with her .243 shooting 100 grain core lokts. All one shot and none went more than 30-40 yards. The shot placement you explained I dont think that deer went far at all, think you maybe have overlooked it somehow, believe me it happens.

Amazing how close you can get to a downed deer and not realize it, that was why I suggested getting as low as you could to look in thick stuff. Learned a lesson on the deer my daughter shot that my wife(9 months pregnant at the time) talked me into believing was a miss. Shame of it is that the briars and tangled vines along with water and some fallen trees, had me probably no more than 10 yards from the deer, but I never saw it and could not have seen it from where I was.

I did end up finding that deer 4 days later after hearing yotes one evening in that area and going back and looking again. I walked in from the opposite direction and a buzzard flew up. I pin pointed where it took off from and there lay her deer, what the yotes had left of it anyways.

[johnf]

I was shooting a 95gr. winchester power point plus supreme. I shot a doe with the same bullet 3 years ago with devistating affect on her. It was a quartering away shot and I hit just behind the last rib. The bullet made a brown soup out of the liver and the left lung was just chunks. The bullet lodged in the brisket on the far side of the deer. There was no blood trail, but she only went about 15 yards. I figure the bullet traveled about 2" inside the body cavity before stopping.

[davetucker]

25-06 is a nice weapon of choice.up here in maine that is all the big guys hunt with.they believe it or not even use them for hunting moose.sorry to hear about you devastation though god will make an even better oppertunity for you though.HAPPY HUNTING

[Guest mainebigbuckslayer]

Hey Johnf I am one to tell you that it takes some time sometimes to find that big one. My example to you is 2 years ago I shot a 10 pointer with a Marlin 444 at 100 ft. At first I thought I had shot over the top of it. I then tried to flank it, remember I believed I had missed. I came out on a trail about 300 yds from where I shot. I walked back to where the deer was standing when i shot and surveyed the situation. I was in a camp yard and there were 3 trails leading from camp, no blood found. I walked 2 trails and found nothing. I then went back to the original spot. The deer had dug its hoofs in the ground pretty deep and it had taken off with its tail down. Now I had checked all 3 trails because the 1st one is the one I came out on originally.I decided to walk up a little farther on the 1st trail and about 20 ft from where I cut into it I found my deer by seeing half of his rack just above a blow down. I walked right by it when I first cut that trail. The moral to the story is just cause you don't see it doesn't necessarly mean its not there. My shot had hit the ribcage followed the shoulder muscle and cut off its windpipe not one drop of blood came out of that deer even where it fell. Hope your future hunts get you the SMASHER U DESERVE.