So disappointed!

This evening I had the opportunity to sneak out early with high hopes of getting between buck beds and food. Plan worked out great as I had a beast 5 year old busted 8 come walking through the woods @ 4pm. With muzzleloader in hand I placed the cross hairs on what I thought was behind the shoulder at 60 yards broadside. Pulled the trigger and watched him drop and roll. Thrashing around I knew it was over. I watched him try and get up 3-4 times before calling it quits. He laid there looking around as if he were just bedded. I even called my wife to tell her BBD. She told me to reload and shoot again but figured it was a done deal. Couple minutes later the sucker stands up and runs off but was obviously hit in the shoulder area. I went to look for blood and of course where he was laying I had blood. One spot of blood was decent red blood with what appeared to be soft pieces in it and another spot with watery blood. After that there was nothing. Literally no blood trail!!! What the heck just happened???? I backed out after walking about 50 yards checking for sign and going back in the am. Please somebody give me some hope as I’m about ready to hang it up for the season after all the ups and downs this year.

Were you shooting powerbelt bullets? And what was the charge? Powder or pellets?

Shooting Hornady 200gr with 100g of powder. Grouping has always been impressive out to 100 yards.

Get a tracking dog. Did you break his shoulder ie was it dangling/floppy when he ran off?

He ran opposite of me and could never see if it was broke for sure. Once he regain composure and gotmon his feet he almost went down again but got to moving and disappeared. Tail was down and you could tell his run seemed off.

You did the right thing by backing off and waiting for the morning. Good luck!

Are tracking dogs legal in MN?

Just speculating here
Your hit may have been forward on the shoulder. There is a void spot above the heart and forward of the lungs. About the size of a baseball or less. I’ve punched this spot a couple times and had some long rwcoveries.
Had two bucks do exactly what yours did.
Amazing, i’ve had a buck i kept jumping up and it went over a mile. When i finally caught up and finished it off, i was dazed at what I found. There was blood everywhere it laid down, then nothing on the run. Nothing!
He was almost complete bled out and still alive. Crazy. When I looked at the entry and exit hole, I couldn’t believe that I didn’t take the arteries off of the heart. Regardless, it was still a vital hit and it would have died over night.
Second time I just backed out. He ran about 150 yards and laid down for the second time. Doa when I came back.

I’m sure he’s dead. Just need to put in the time, effort t find him. Good luck

You now have learned to put another round into any deer that is not laying flat on it’s side lifeless. Hope you find it

Searched all morning and didn’t find any blood other than where he laid. Went the direction he went and walked up and down both sides of the valley and even through the middle. Nothing to be found. Unreal!!! Still can’t believe this. Definitely learned some lessons even though half of them I already knew but didn’t implement. Hard to swallow this one. Been hunting hard with bow in hand all year and decided to pick up the muzzy yesterday and now I wish I hadn’t. Thanks for the reply’s and listening to me sob.

If he dropped like you said, he’s out there. A few friends and a larger search circle. Sounds like a really trophy to you and a recovery is still pissible

I’m gonna give it a go tomorrow evening to end the search. Every deer I pull the trigger on is a trophy in my eyes as I’m only after mature deer. Passed several 3-3.5 year olds this year and hadn’t seen one mature buck until yesterday. I hunt bluffs in Winona so the search is crazy walking and the old man was with me and struggling. He will be beyond ruined by tomorrow but can hardly handle knowing a mature buck is dead in those woods. Thanks again to everyone for the input.

You’re doing the right thing by keeping after it.

Pay special attention to any noise made by crows or ravens or any groups of these birds flying and circling in a particular area. Also, in your area, watch for eagles and other birds of prey. These can often give away the location of a dead deer.

Also, don’t forget to look “high” for blood sign. Not all blood drips to the ground, it’s easy to miss blood rubbed off at your thigh level or higher on branches or tall grass.

Finally, don’t shy away from blind searches of cover that looks probable. Thick, nasty bramble patches, overgrown creek bottom cover, head high grass, etc. A deer that has had the time to realize he’s wounded will seek out the thickest, nastiest cover available and it’s there he may expire without leaving a trace of his entry. I reco

Obviously, you realize and have learned your mistake, so I am not stating the following for the original poster, but rather for the benefit of anyone else reading.

IMO we have FAR too much faith in the power and accuracy of our weaponry these days.

Any deer (or any other animal) that has enough sense about them to lift or keep their head upright, MUST be shot again. “Pay the insurance” as they say in African hunting. Big game animals die from blood loss and tissue damage. If the animal can lift its head, the damage is not severe enough to cause quick and certain death. Shoot again while you can.

Nothing is certain until the animal is stone dead. If it’s moving, we should be shooting. Even if only to pay the insurance and end any suffering quickly.

Grouse

Oh yeah I’ve learned several lessons from this experience even though it pains me to say. Probably 4-5 different lessons learned to be exact and more to develop as I continue to think about the hunt. Obviously, I should have placed another round in him but at one point he placed his head on the ground as to say he’s done. It was at that point I decided he wasnt going anywhere. I’ll never make this mistake again and once he picked his head up after that there is no reason I should have let him suffer or as it turns out get up and run! Good advice from all

Good luck with your search. If you have water nearby, I learned the hard way a long time ago, wounded deer go to water.

If you or a buddy has a good dog, go grouse hunting. Amazing what dogs can find that we can’t.

Never did find him! Gave it all I could. Thanks for the input