I'll never do a shoulder shot again. Did one this morning about 10:30 on a buck with my 45 Colt. Still haven't found him. Saw him run off with a broken left leg. Found bone chunks and lung material. A little blood, but nothing like I find when I shoot low behind the shoulder. Will be out looking again at first light, but damn sure won't ever use a shoulder shot again.

That sucks. Hope you find him in the morning.

Don"t give up!!!!!

Hate to say it, but that sounds like a leg shot; not shoulder shot. 😁

Yeah that's what I'm finding out while talking with Rod. Still should be a kill shot in the lungs though..... I would think.

If you found bone, it's probably a hit in the leg below the brisket/chest line.


Oops...I didn't see that you found lung material. Scratch the above statements.

With that heavy hard cast you shoot would of thought you would get both shoulders, was the angle wrong for a double shoulder?
Good luck finding him tommorow and don't give up hope.

After talking with Paul I think he just hit a bit low and got the upper leg and not the shoulder.

With the slight uphill angle and pretty much broadside, a high shoulder shot should have put him down with that 335 grain slug.

That's my thoughts, but the lung material had me thrown for a loop.
Normally....you don't find bone when shot through the shoulders; just dead critter

I've killed a many deer by shooting them through the shoulder and can count on one hand how many went further than 20". The shoulder shot is my go-to-shot. Very seldom do I take any other shot with a handgun.

The shoulder shot is my FAVORITE shot! I've never lost an animal yet with this shot. 99% of the time, lung material = blood & lots of it 😉 at least in my experience

I killed my big bull elk with a shoulder shot from the .475 L; aimed there purposely to anchor him; I did not want him to run down into the gulley as packing him out would have been much more difficult. It not only anchored him but killed him dead.

Something doesn't sound right, probably shot too low and only hit leg.

I trust the shoulder shot completely when placed properly.

Quote: "Ya'll can have it."

I'll take it. Every time. (WTRB)

Up hill shot depending on the angle could hit leg bone on near side through a farside lung on exit . A single lung hit deer could run a long long ways. Tracked a deer shot like that down in the catts a few years back i wouldnt have found that deer for the guy if it wasnt for my dog. Good luck i bet you will find him

Still out here looking. Been here since sun up. Gotta take a break. Yeah, I said ya'll can have it, and I meant it. You want it, great. Glad it works for some of ya. Fact is, had I done my normal heart lung shot, I most likely wouldn't be in this situation. Rod and I figure I missed proper placement by 4 to 6" low. Had I missed by that much on my normal shot, I'd either have a dead deer, or a clean miss. In 20+ years of hunting big game, this is my first animal not to be recovered within 30 to 45 minutes.

Animals don't deserve this, and if the margin of error is that small, ya'll can have it. I hit exactly where I was aiming, but apparently wasn't aiming high enough. Lesson learned, and I'll never take that shot again. If it anchors animals for you guys, or if ya feel like ya don't want to do the work to pack them out, great. I'm glad it works for ya. I've passed on shots because I don't want to pack them out of certain areas, and I will continue to do so. I'm going back to what I feel comfortable with, and there isn't a damn thing wrong with that.

We all know my ability/knowledge isn't up to most of yours. But at least I'm honest. When's the last time you told everyone on here you didn't find an animal, but rather told him, "ah your shot just sucked"?

Back to looking for my deer...

A couple years ago I posted about a gut shot I made on a deer due to a free handed shot I made. I found the deer, still alive; it got away and I never recovered it.
I'm not ashamed to post about my bad shots. I thinks it a good learning experience.

I don't care who you are, if you hunt long enough and are good enough to get multiple shot opportunities; sooner or later you're gonna miss and it doesn't matter what the weapon of choice is. That's just the reality of hunting.

Well, time for another break. Been walking my butt off up and down the mountain looking under every single tree. No more tracks or blood. Found where he bedded down last night, and just a little bit of blood there. Followed his tracks for about 50 yards or so, then lost it in the rocks.

I'll be searching all day today instead of hunting. Might get back to hunting tomorrow, but not if I feel like I haven't covered everything.

To the mods, or more specifically, to Gary: I know this thread is probably something that some guys on here would rather not have posted for the world to see. A guy injures a deer, and can't recover it.... But its life. It happens to every hunter. If it hasn't happened to you, you're either lying, or you haven't hunted long enough. Took 20+ years to happen to me, and it sucks. If this thread needs deleted, I completely understand.

The internet is full of experts, but very few share their learning curve.

Back to searching....

As much as I don't like hearing about losing animals, it's a fact of life as a hunter. Hunt a lot and it is bound to happen at some point. It's never a nice thought to live with, but it is a reality sometimes. You missed, but that doesn't mean it isn't a viable shot. Like anything, one must be intimate with the anatomy of the animals they are hunting, but even the best shots miss their intended target at times. Sorry to hear that you are still searching for that deer, but it does happen.

My initial thought was the bullet type was to blame. I'm not trying to start a debate or a bullet war, but shoulder shots are the bread and butter of WFN HC bullets. Deer flesh and bones are easy to penetrate, and in my opinion, and only my opinion 😉 an expanding bullet creates more damage and leaves much better blood trails. I know I use a lot of single shots, but the deer I've shot with 44 revolvers and expanding bullets bled like hell. Shot placement is much more important than bullet type though. I say this all the time, but testing bullets on your own game animals is soooo much more telling than info that you would read. Sh*t happens though..keep at it👍

As much as we want to have every shot to result in a DRT with no suffering on the part of the animal, to expect that every time is unreasonable. There are sooo many variables that can come into play. I believe that being unfamiliar with exactly how high you need to hold on a deer to execute a high shoulder shot, after a lifetime of targeting the vitals, is one of those variables in this case. The fact that this is your first time to experience this says a lot of good things, Paul, so don't lose faith.

Also, to echo the remarks of brother Franchise and also not wanting to start a bullet battle, but I think an expanding bullet would have been more effective in this case. I feel they offer more room for error on thin skinned game and is all I use for them. A WFN hard cast placed high in the shoulder would have anchored him, and likely would have made mush out of his internals had it been place there. But, there is an area high in the chest cavity that I call "no man's land" and I think an XTP or other expanding slug would have had better effect in this case.

We live and learn from our experiences, and nobody's perfect.

Rod, my friend, you said it better than I could 👌 you're the man buddy 👍

I know how it feels when you can't find one that you've hit. A gut shot on what would have been my first buck way back in '07 meant we never found him.

Hate to hear that you can't find him. I'd say if you found lung material, you have a dead deer near by.

Three years ago, I lost the biggest buck I have ever pulled the trigger on. 200 yards with a 7 mag; low shoulder high leg shot. I looked for that deer for three straight days, and never recovered him. Sometimes it doesn't matter what gun or bullet you use. It all comes down to where it lands. Those suckers have a strong will to live too.

It happens, it sucks for sure. I hope you find him.

Brenden

Lots of hind sight here on this thread.

Everyone has a particular expereince with the ammo slash bullet.

I see the same debates or type threads on bow sights about how a broadheads failed and they lost the deer.

I always respond the same way you have no idea if the broadheads (or bullet) failed unless you recover the deer. Then and only then can determined the outcome of the shot placement and or components you are using.

You are giving it your best to recover the deer that's the important part. Do not speculate as the cause or reason just move on shoot and practice as much as you can to be the best shot you can be. Do not take marginal shots and always try and angle through the offset leg or boiler room. I hate destoyring meat so I always try and hit right behind the near leg on broadside shots. If I am shooting quarting away I use the off side leg to shoot through.

I have equal performance from hard cast and expanding not telling much difference in the damage to the lungs and heart on recovered deer. Both are effective bullets of placed in spot that does the terminal damage.

Hope you find the deer if not..........move on.

All of a sudden it sounds like confession time. OK, I lost an antelope when I first started handgun hunting, hit with a .30 Herret. Looked a long long time. Others have been looked for and finally found.

In guiding for 27+ years, handgun and rifle, I have seen a few lost animals: one elk and one mule deer come to mind. The others were all recovered, sometimes after looking lots.



Good Luck, Rap.

Goodness. Still nothing. Took a few minutes for a quick lunch, and about to get back to searching.

There are no excuses. It wasn't a bad choice in bullet. It wasn't a malfunction of anything. I wont be using anything different in my loads or equipment. I hit exactly where I aimed, but like whitworth said, I didn't know the correct anatomy placement for high shoulder shots. Thought I understood it, but obviously I didn't. That's all it comes down too.

Recovering this deer would be great. I plan on doing a full blown autopsy / disection if I recover him. If not, I will simulate the shot placement as I remember it from this buck on the next one I recover, and try to learn as much as I can.

It seems amazing that you can be out hunting and yet give us up to date info on your results by posting here.

But...that is technology...kinda crazy?

Keep us posted.

You are not alone. Sometimes the buzzards can be a great help.

It happens to everyone now or later. It also is very clear to see that you are a true hunter that shows his quarry much respect. If such a thing didn't bother you at all, the you should question your motives. I believe you'll be fine.

Predators gotta eat too. I know right now you may not want to hear that, but it's not wasted in the slightest. Sure, it's not what you had in mind of the outcome, but nature has a way of fixing our mistakes.

Good luck in your coming to grips with who you are as a true hunter. God Bless.

Rap, a high shoulder shot is just that; high shoulder. This shot usually always drops game in their tracks. Come down 4-6" from a high shoulder shot and it's a center shoulder shot; this sometimes drops them in their tracks. If it doesn't drop them, it's still heart arteries/lung shot. Come down another 4" and it's a low shoulder shot and centering the front of the heart/hearts main arteries. If it's a broad sided shot, come straight up the leg and the front of the heart and front portion of the lungs are behind the shoulder. This is why "l" like the shoulder shot; it's a high percentage shot. Broad side, behind the shoulder is also lung and back of the heart; quartering slightly away and it's heart/lung.

This is why I think it was a low leg hit; but I can't explain lung material found. I've never found bone on any shoulder shot I've done: high, center, or low. Lung material at the scene usually results in deer not to far; dead.

It's hard to diagnose a hit, not being there and seeing all the evidence left behind. I've been involved with a few trackings where bone was found and the deer wasn't retrieved. On some of the occasions, the deer were seen at later dates or on cameras with a broke front leg, but they survived.

Hope you find it, but don't let it get you down if you don't.

It would be nice if someone with experience with a high shoulder shot would do a video tutorial precisely explaining this kind of shot. Using a drawing, or 3-D archery target to visually demonstrate it. I have a bear hunt coming up this next weekend and would love the info for possible use......depending on the shot opportunity presented.

Mike, I have two bear being killed on video; from a hunt last year. Both were shot through the shoulders. One was a high shoulder shot and the other a low shoulder shot. It would be perfect for your references, but I don't have means to upload it. If the hunt wasn't coming up so quick, I could've made you a DVD and mailed it to you.

I guess none of this really helps 😁, but both bear are at the taxidermist😎

I'm not hunting or you wouldn't hear a word from me. I'm searching for hopefully a dead deer, taking breaks now and then. We don't get cell phone service everywhere on our property, but ridge tops usually work. Droid phones are like little computers, so not to hard to believe I can post on a website.

My wife, her uncle, and myself have been looking all day. No sign of the buck at all. I agree that nature has a way of fixing our mistakes. Just sucks when those mistakes need fixed. We will continue searching till dark, then will probably resume hunting tomorrow morning. If I see crows congregating I'll go see if its my buck. Otherwise, I hope a bear gets it as I like hunting bears too.

Still nothing and it is dark now. Gonna call it off for tonight. We did find another spot of blood about 300 yards from the last one, so will resume searching there tomorrow morning.

Keep at it Raptor...you will get him yet. Thanks KRal for the offer. I did find some stuff elsewhere.

As said before ,if you only got a piece of one lung that deer can go a long way and possibly survive. A very well know and respected tracker here in NY has seen deer with only one working lung when harvested. The other lung was scar tissue.

very true

Well, the rain has moved in pretty hard, so we have called off the search about an hour before dark. I feel like I gave it a 110%, but we still have not found any more blood, bone, or anything else. I will resume hunting tomorrow. Gotta get back up and get back in the saddle.

Still sucks, but I feel like I gave it all I could.

Lesson learned.

Win some. Lose some.

Life.

That's all that matters. Better luck next time.

I have been where you are and it feels really bad but all you can do now is learn from what happened and move on.

You gave it your best. My hat is off to you. Now go harvest one.