Dead or Alive?

Situation - My cousin shoots at the biggest buck he has ever shot at and he has been hunting about 35 years. The buck came running when he grunted and he shot quick and it was free handed at about 18 yards. The buck was broadside and after his shot with a CVA blackpowder with 100 grains of powder and a 250 grain shockwave bullet the buck ran carrying his left front leg and stopped about 60 yards behind him and to the right of the stand. Buck started at the left of his stand so he went about 78 yards before bedding. My cousin stays in the stand for 30 minutes and reloads before going to look for the buck. When he starts going down the ladder the buck runs off, from where he last saw him standing. The buck disappeared when it laid down and there was just a little bit of blood In the buck’s bed. We never found the buck. Where do you think he was hit and do you think he is dead or alive? If you say the obvious that he was hit in the leg, why did he bed so quick and why wasn’t there more blood? I’ve been hunting about 40 years and shot deer with about every weapon including compound bows, crossbows, TC Hawken BP, Knight BP, CVA BP, shotguns and rifles. I’ve seen good shots and bad shots but this is one is a mystery to me.

There is really just no way to tell what exactly happened. The only way to resolve it is to find the buck, and I hope that you do.

Alive. 30 minutes, little blood, carrying front leg all point to a front leg hit but no vitals hit.

I agree with yes sir. I have seen deer shot that the bullet scrambled the shoulder but never got to the boiler room. Bad angle maybe?? I wouldn’t think lungs at all if it was alive 30 minutes later. Good luck

x3

leg you can about blow it off dangling and they can go and go

tracked one for a half mile before loosing it Saturday even with snow

deer was running down a ridge at him and a cousin shot it. it ran off back up the ridge leg flopping

waited probably 45 minutes to start tracking , we had snow and wanted it to just go lay down and bleed

had there not been snow I don't think we could have followed it that far, the bleeding was so sporadic a little mist here and there just to confirm hte prints in the snow were our deer when they crossed others

We lost it after a half mile it laid down here in the picture , that is not a lot of blood in the snow.
when it got up there was no more blood after a few feet , we tracked it to a field were it went into tall grass with lots of deer tracks in the snow

we shot 2 more deer dropped in their tracks.
in the searching for that one so not a total loss.


grandpa would say , buzzards and coyotes need to eat too.

Leg hit...slow moving big slug.
100grains of powder is fine bullet choice and shot placement .
https://thebiggamehuntingblog.com/10-of-the-best-muzzleloader-bullets-for-hunters/

Alive. Not a lethal hit. Could survive but more likely starve or coyotes will finish it off.

What is a mystery to me is why the buck bedded so quickly and the very little amount of blood ( 8 to 10 drops after 30 minutes). My first thought was the bullet didn’t exit and the entry hole was plugged. I would guess with a broken leg and the buck goes several 100 yards before slowing down and more than 10 drops of blood after 30 minutes bedded. I definitely don’t think the bullet made it in the boiler room. I also don’t believe the front shoulder would stop the bullet at 18 yards. I will never know unless I get a pic of him and can see the wound. With 12 cameras out and several others from friends on property close by I may get a pic. Thanks for the comments and replies. Feel free to reply some more, as I often learn new things from this forum. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Here's some Good performing ML bullets I've used for deer

As far as the buck bedding so quickly, I've seen a very wide range of reactions from deer that have been shot or shot at. So just chalk the bedding quickly as an individuals reaction. A leg hit can cause no more blood than a minor flesh wound and I've seen deer lick a wound like a dog if they can reach it which will decrease the amount of blood seen on the ground. The deer favoring a front leg clearly is an indication of leg or shoulder hit. A shoulder hit at that range and with that weapon should have hit some vitals too which should have dispatched the animal after 30 minutes unless it was a straight on shot. 30 minutes no death means no vitals. Little blood points to minor wound. Favoring leg points to a glancing shoulder or leg hit. To me the facts all point one way and why it bedded as soon as it did has no bearing in light of the evidence.