I don't know what I'm doing wrong with the 130 TTSX in my 308. Shot my 5th or 6th deer with them the other day and I just can't get blood trails. they shoot great in my Montana, tear up the insides, always pass through, but very little if any blood. if deer always fell like yours did I wouldn't worry about it, but i'm afraid i'm going to leave one in the woods at some point. I shot one the other day and wasn't entirely sure of the shot. It was a quick off hand shot on a buck I walked up on. I couldn't find blood at all. when I did find the deer, he had only gone 40 yards, but into some thick stuff. He was quartering to me and the bullet entered barely in front of the shoulder, just clipping the blade. It exited about the back of his lungs and tore him all up on the inside. Just no blood on the ground.
I hate tracking in the thick thorn brush where I hunt.
The thorns are very unpleasant and the rattlesnakes are even more unpleasant. Even worse, the rattlers can crawl up into the brush and trees well off the ground.
So, I pick and choose shots to try for DRT. It is not magic, just some basic anatomy.
Some years ago, I had the opportunity to shoot lots of does, shooting up to 30 in a single day.
That experience revealed some very reliable shot placement points to reliably drop animals where they stand.
Shots high into the thorax typically have blood draining into the chest cavity and they can run 50 - 100 yards.
Shots low, such as low behind the front leg will allow blood to drain out, but again allow them to run for 7 or 8 seconds and they can cover quite a bit of ground in that short time.
Shots that cut an artery or major vein, such as placement to the base of the neck, will produce blood, and better yet, cut the CNS, which is the guaranteed way to drop them where they stand.
I'll put together a new thread with shot placement soon with photos showing the placement I use and have found to work.
