Stomach Pain

[Sock]

I had a buck walk out into shooting distance 313 yards from where I was glassing. I adjusted 3.5 MOA, placed the cross hairs mid shoulder and squeezed off a round.

He dropped like a sack of potatoes, I chambered another round and watched for a few more minutes before packing up my things to head over to him.

Once I had my pack on my back I glassed over at to where he dropped and he was gone.

I spent the next 4 hours circling where he had dropped, looking for any signs of blood but could only find a pool where he originally dropped.

I reviewed the video I took and it appears the round only glanced off his back. I thought for sure it was broken but there was no sign of blood or anything from the area in which he dropped.

When I was watching him after the shot I saw him moving, which I took as spasms and the last of life leaving his body. I contemplated putting another round in him but decided against it with the thought that I might ruin more meat with how he was laying.

I am kicking myself now and feel a pit in my stomach for having potentially caused him a life ending injury with the rut just beginning.

What are the chances he makes it through the winter? Any body know of bucks surviving a bullet glancing off their backs?

 

[amassi]

Sorry to hear that, it sucks alot.
If above the spine in the void he should be fine, bucks get gored there fighting all the time and make it. If you hit the artery above the spine he would be dead with alot more blood loss than that. When you saw him moving was his head up?

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

 

[Trumpkin The Dwarf]

I witnessed this happen with a mule deer doe when I was a kid. Dad shot her in the spine, and when we got over there she was just gone. You can stun them if you just graze a vertebrae, and they recover in a couple minutes before running off.

 

[SniperHunter]

Sorry about that, i do take some acid releasing drugs to the woods, just in case i eat something unpleasant.

 

[swordtine]

What caliber rifle are you shooting ?

 

[Sock]

I didn't see him move for 5 minutes, thought the round had broke his back. I took my eyes off him for perhaps 2 minutes when he got up, never saw him again though.

I am shooting 270, Barnes Vor-tx 130 grain ( California).

Should have done the trick, next time I will be giving him 15+ and perhaps another round to make sure he doesn't wake up and disappear again.