Possible to have no Blood?

[Viking]

I was Shotgun hunting this past weekend and had the opportunity at a very nice buck.  Biggest deer I'd ever seen hunting by a long shot.  It gave me a perfect shot at about 45 yards.  I couldn't have scripted it any better.  He reacted like I had a good shot on him by coiling up immediately.  I thought for sure I double-lunged him and I'd find him not too far away.  I tracked him across a plowed field for about 250 yards before he entered someone else's property.  I spent about 3 1/2 hours disecting every step he took until it entered the neighbors property (who I could not get ahold of to do some searching).  Not one spec of blood.  What I did find though was right where I shot at him there was quite a bit of white hair spread about.  But no blood.

I had since convinced myself that I must have somehow shot under the deer and just grazed the belly.

Since then, two things have happed:

1. I'm considering giving up hunting as this was possibly the worst miss of all time by any human being. 
2. I've been questioned if I really missed, or if I might have gut shot it and simply didn't have blood within the first 250 yards.

Was I too quick to give up hope?  I am working on getting permission to go and look for the deer on this land but am wondering if I'm only adding insult to my mental injury.

[Outdoors Junkie]

Was there any snow on the ground in the area you were hunting?

I have never hunted with shot gun.  I have shot a couple of deer with a 30.06 that did not bleed much more then a couple drops.  One deer had no blood in the area of the shot.  I thought for sure that I hit him.  He reacted kicking his back feet off the ground.  I kept doing circle s out from the last spot I saw him run.  I finally found him laying belly up 150 yards from where I shot him.  there wasn't blood.  If he would not have been laying with that white belly showing, i might not have found him.  This was a thick brushy, wooded area.  I am not sure how far a deer will run with a wide open field to cross.

Keep your chin up.   

[deadeye]

Dennis is right.  You can frequently hit a deer and not find blood.  If you had lots of long white hair you may be right about grazing the belly.  If it's any consolation the big ones usually get away.  Thats why they are the big ones.  Just think, you saw and had a crack at a bigger buck than most hunters only dream about.  Good Luck and keep on hunting. 

[antlermass]

I haven't shot with shot gun either, but did he coil up like he sucked in his belly and arched his back? 

My books if he hunched his back and pulled his tummy in there is a high chance he is laying in the neighbors with a bad tummy ache and or dead, we had one like that this year in our group and the intestines plugged up the wound hole and the only blood on the ground was from the gutting process.

Goodluck!

[Outdoors Junkie]

One other thing I thought of, did he run away with is tail (flag) up?  If a deer is hit, most of the time it runs off with it's tail down.

[Viking]

To be absolutely honest I'm not sure if his tail was up or down. Something tells me that if it was down I would remember. 

There was no snow on the ground.  Sure wish there was though.

[stevejedlenski]

i agree with everyone eles, my dad shot a buck two years ago and we didnt find any blood not even where it died. but there he was dead as can be, if he would have gone much farther we would have thought he missed.

as for asking for permission on your neighbors land you dont need to. the law says that you can legally enter unposted land to find a wounded deer, however if they ask you to leave then you must leave. but then call a CO and they will come and you can look for the deer then. its on page 13 of the mn hunting regs book.

[Mayfly]

Let me tell you about the first buck that I had ever shot....It was with a shotgun.


It was my first time ever hunting deer and the weekend before I had shot a doe. So I am sitting there and at about 8am a nice 6-8 point buck comes right into my main shooting lane. It was broadside at about 30-40yds! I could not ask for a better shot. I locked in on him and pulled the trigger. That deer fell so darn hard that I knew that was it. As I lowered my gun he bound up and stood there broadside and didnt move....what the heck!!?? I had four more shells in possesion and I unloaded on him missing...don't ask. After the assault he slowly walked away like nothing happened. I saw him walk down the ravine and up the other side and bed down. I knew that was it but wanted to wait. Next I slowly got out of my stand and headed over to my buddies to get more shells. I then returned to my stand and located the deer again. He was still sitting there head up. Hmmmm...I couldn't figure out what he was doing. He eventually stood up and slowly started walking away and into the neighbors land. I knew there was a guy in a stand right where he was walking and as soon as I lost sight I herad a blast....one shot. That is one morning that I will never forget. I've replayed it a million times and wish I would of handled things different. I still can;t believe he got up after the first knock down but what the heck!! How did I miss 4 in a row?! Buck Fever?? Might of been. It was the second deer I had ever shot at and the first buck.

So yes....I have seen a deer get slammed by a slug, fall to the ground hard, get up and walk away like nothing happened....and no blood.

No reason to stop hunting my friend....only reason to hunt harder!!!!! `

[Cody Gruchow]

my very first deer there was no blood, she ran about 60 yards into some brush then i seen a tree shake so i knew she was down, but i still always track them no matter what even if i see them run and fall. went to were she was standing were i shot, a little hair and no blood, was walking the line she ran and found a few small drops even when i found her there no blood, cut her open and all the blood was clotted up in her, it was a perfect heart shot, was nothing left. maybe talk to the neighboor and ask if you can do a bit of searching.

[Go Big Red!]

I have drilled deer at 15 yds with a 30/06 and no blood either besides what splatters from the exit hole.  Be patient and follow carefully. 

Be very careful not to damage the trail especially if it is a small one.  That can ruin recovery chances if there is minimal blood.  Idiot me has done that before.

[Grute Man]

My first deer didn't bleed out until the spot where I found her and I shot another last year that didn't bleed out either.  I got lucky and a friend of mine found that one; I never would have.  So it does happen.  Don't give up and don't feel you're the worst hunter of any time.  No one is perfect.  ANother point of view was given to me last year on lost deer.  If the deer didn't survive, then other animals in nature benefitted from it.  Not that it our goal to feed coyotes and others but animals living off of each other is part of the natural cycle of things.  A bad shot? -- maybe but the worst? -- no way!! And don't give up hunting.

Grute