I decided to hunt with my Creedmoor this year and shot a buck a few days ago but didn’t recover it. It was standing in sone brush that my bullet may have clipped. I followed the blood trail bug it petered out over a few hundred yards.
It doesn't sound like it was the cartridges fault. If you hit brush, don't expect the .338 Fed to perform much better.
I know that is what is suggested by the experiments people have done. However, I have had different experiences. I know it is not all about the size of the bullet (toughness matters too) but some do better than others. Hunting thickets of brush and saplings is almost inevitable in The northeast. A few years ago I killed a nice buck after my bullet punched through a forearm-sized sapling with a 308 and a 165 grain Accubond. (It was unintentional and the shot was rushed due to a dud/misfire right before). I have had other experiences as well. It’s possible a tougher 6.5 bullet would have punched through better.
I am talking about vegetation the deer is passing through, not vegetation close to me. If a deer is right in the brush, it would take a major change in trajectory to miss. I think the bigger issue is enough of the bullet remaining intact to hit with sufficient mass. In the incident with the 308 the buck was killed cleanly.
Fwiw, I don’t intentionally shoot through vegetation. Sometimes I am unable to thread the needle or Get tunnel vision.
