Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Exit wounds and more blood trail

Hear a lot about if you have an exit wound, there is more of a blood trail.
I shot a smaller buck yesterday,130 gr AB, 6.5 Swede Mauser, about 2800fps, distance was about 150 yards.

Caliber hole going in, about 1"-1 1/4" hole going out. Heart was almost cut in two, inside lungs was jello. Barely clipped off shoulder. Lot of blood clotting between that shoulder and rib cage, very little in shoulder. He went about 30 yards,no blood trail at all,even where he fell. It has been my experience that one or two holes ,usually there is very little blood to begin with. I guess you really have to blow a big hole in them to get it.

Shown is the exit.

I say that two holes increases your odds of a blood trail, and a bigger exit increases them even more, but nothing is absolute. I've also seen a few good exits fail to leak much, if any. I figure something clogged up the hole or slid in front of it.

How much of a blood trail can you have once the heart is taken out? Not much once the pump is gone. Good shooting.

I have noticed less of a trail of the heart has been taken out. Pure lungs or arteries leading to/from heart and blood everywhere.

I hit a doe once in front of the legs at the front of the brisket. I don't know which arteries lay in there an go towards the neck but to say she left a blood trail would be an understatement. Heart was still pumping so blood was still flowing.

Good shooting - congrats on the deer!

Agree with the previous comments. I like 2 holes as well - better chance of a good blood trail. Most deer I've shot through the heart go on a short death run with very little blood like yours did.

I think you proved again, that with the bullet in the correct spot, you don’t need a blood trail.

I would say no blood trail because you cut the pump in 1/2.

Too stiff a bullet at less than 2600fps impact velocity. Softer or faster is better on deer. 120gr NBT may be what you want.

Textbook shooting and bullet performance.

Congrats, Saddlesore looks like some fine eating not lost by placement of your shot. I think I'll put that bullet on my list to try in my 6.5's
Well done. Mb

My experience with the deer at our camp in Kentucky is that blood trails are fickle. Most of my shots are just like yours: both lungs and heart. However, I seldom have much of a blood trail for the first 50 yards or so. It takes that long for the the blood to fill up the chest cavity to the height of the exit wound. The blood trail depends on other things as well:

How low on the chest is the exit wound? If you shoot from a raised stand the exit wound is lower and so the blood starts spilling out sooner
Is the animal running on a bias? On the flat, or downhill, I'll see less of a blood trail. On an uphill track, usually the blood trail is effusive and really short.

This time of year I see deer shot almost every day,, the so called exit wound 2 hole blood trail, sucks, DRT is the only way to go, Schitt happens, but DRT beats blood every time. Rio7

Gotta love "DRT" !

Boom. Walk over, tag buck.

Guy

Looks like it performed perfectly in my opinion



Bob. I shoot an 6.5 sportarized mauser. I bought it when they were $69 with shipping. I don't think it had ever been fired. Not a scratch on the rails,bolt, etc. Std C&C like a Sierra GK, it won't shoot very well if I go below 140 grs. With the AB' s they are one of the longest, lighter bullets and it seems to really match the twist rate seeing how well it shoots them. (They are actually 129gr)

6x Leupod fixed, Timney trigger, Bhueler safety, LaForge cocking conversion, Richards Micro fit stock.Original military barrel cut of and crowned at the first step in the barrel, I cut and welded the bolt to turn it down.

IMO, perfect deer and antelope round/rifle.

I used to shoot the 130 AB, 127 LRX, and 130 TSX in my 6.5x55 around 2800. I didn't get much blood trail either. The 130 Sierra HPBT or 140 Sierra BT does much better at the 6.5x55 speeds. I've only tried them on whitetails.

So you're fine with the performance you got. Great. Why the post then? This seems like typical 'fire trollery.

The pics you posted don't show the kind of cover where you're likely to learn much about the need for a heavy blood trail anyhow. It's neither nor and blissful ignorance. If you ever do have a need to learn, don't take my word for it. Check the SC DNR website for the study they did on cartridges and shot placement vs recovery.

Why do you say the Accubond isn't soft enough?

Quote "no blood trail at all, even where he fell. " - please look at the picture. If that deer bled enough to paste down the hair under the wound there was a blood trail. For absolute, certain sure, there was a blood trail. Saddlesore, you are a very experienced hunter. I'm pretty sure you know that you're doing! No personal aspersion on your skills, but you didn't, or couldn't see the blood trail. Congratulations on a successful hunt. But even though I'm not the best tracker in anyone's opinion, I'd advise that you reconsider your tracking skills. The blood was there. Perhaps conditions made it difficult to see. But that wound definitely leaked blood.

No troll ,just showing that two holes do not always equate to more blood as many on here profess. I am mostly an elk hunter and only kill a few deer every once in awhile when I draw an eastern plains deer tag for something to do. To me they are only long legged rats.I have shot deer with 6.5 , 140 gr GK.Not impressed . If I was really into shooting big deer I could shoot ones like this from my deck.

[img]https://i.imgur.com/NYAHHlF.jpg?1[/img][img]https://i.imgur.com/NYAHHlF.jpg?1[/img]

If my post disturbs you so much, you are welcome to scroll on by or even put me on ignore. Really, you opinion does not even move the needle off zero of my Give a Damn gage.

No really C&B , the only blood was under it.It was smeared because when I rolled it over ,I had to drag it a bit. The deer went about 20 yards, down a dirt bank (no grass, no blood ). Across a 2 ft wide stream and made it about 10 yards into the cotton woods in that little patch of grass. No blood at all and I did look. As others have posted they have witnessed similar scenarios. I figure the entrance/exit wounds were about 1/2 way up the body. There was a lot of volume for the blood to fill before it starts to leak out. I have had my share of nasty tracking jobs with elk. It has been my experience, at least with elk , that no blood for some times 50-75 yards is common.