Steam affecting spotting hit/missess in low light

Learned something this last weekend. Got a shot at a nice buck in the last hour of light as the sky darkened with storm clouds.
Had specifically picked the rifle so I could spot hits being all alone and knowing itd be storming and so much harder to track and blood trail.
Lined up my crosshairs on him at 400 and touched it off. And looked like a muzzeloader went off. I had not figured that in.
I was dialed in to 16x for ID as there were a handful of deer, a few were bucks but shoulda dialed back out to 8x which is where i normall shoot as i can see soo much more.

did you go look for signs of a hit???

huntinfool18 said:

did you go look for signs of a hit???

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Of course!!! For couple hours that night n halg the next day.
When i got down there I didnt see any blood and there was soo much fresh deer sign that I was following every set of tracks watching for signs of a hit until i ruled out that deer wasnt hurt n then startin on next set. I came across 3 healthy deer in the dark but none were him.
The fog n rain moved in an wiped out visiblity which is dangerous in that alpine type ground so i went back to camp.

I was at my shooting spot before daylight the next mornin to get a new fix on things and replay everything in case something new popped in my head. But it was completely socked in so i dropped back down in and started looking again.
All tracks of deer and myself were gone, water just running over the ground, like a clean slate, so i started grid searching, larger n larger areas, got up on some high points to see down into the brush and broken ground... Hours later, i had to call it.

That's tough what were you shooting?

cajun said:

That's tough what were you shooting?

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Yeah it was a rough one. 6arc, 95lrx. Impact velocity 2050, barnes said 1700 for 1.7x expansion so exp should be normal at this speed.

This is why I'm against the laws banning thermal devices and electronic scopes for big game hunting. With a thermal monocular you could have grabbed it and scanned and seen the deer, whether it was still running or because it dropped. With a video recording capable scope you could review the film to look for a reaction.

I know guys who hunt solo in the mountains, who use a spotting scope with a magnetic holder for their mobile phone, set it up and use the phone camera to record the results of a shot. This works at longer ranges because you often have time. Of course, the 6 ARC is like a .243 200 yards further out in terms of energy, meaning it would have the energy of a .243 at 600 yards if you shot at 400. That's pushing it for a .243 (one of my favorite calibers).

Take comfort in the fact that you likely missed.

I've hunted alot by myself in areas where recovery was difficult if the deer runs. I preferred expanding bullets like ballistic tips that did maximum damage and resulted in drt or a very short trail. Never liked copper for that.

ObiJohn said:

This is why I'm against the laws banning thermal devices and electronic scopes for big game hunting. With a thermal monocular you could have grabbed it and scanned and seen the deer, whether it was still running or because it dropped. With a video recording capable scope you could review the film to look for a reaction.

I know guys who hunt solo in the mountains, who use a spotting scope with a magnetic holder for their mobile phone, set it up and use the phone camera to record the results of a shot. This works at longer ranges because you often have time. Of course, the 6 ARC is like a .243 200 yards further out in terms of energy, meaning it would have the energy of a .243 at 600 yards if you shot at 400. That's pushing it for a .243 (one of my favorite calibers).

Take comfort in the fact that you likely missed.

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They have their helpful use cases but I am glad they are not legal for big game.

cajun said:

I've hunted alot by myself in areas where recovery was difficult if the deer runs. I preferred expanding bullets like ballistic tips that did maximum damage and resulted in drt or a very short trail. Never liked copper for that.

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I prefer bullets with that style of performance too. I used to run 100gr gamekings in a 243, man that thing worked great near n far. Hornady SSTs did great for me too, and in copper times I used to use DRT bullets before they stopped shipping to california.

Im working up loads for cutting edge maximus bullets to get back some of that.

ObiJohn said:

This is why I'm against the laws banning thermal devices and electronic scopes for big game hunting. With a thermal monocular you could have grabbed it and scanned and seen the deer, whether it was still running or because it dropped. With a video recording capable scope you could review the film to look for a reaction.

I know guys who hunt solo in the mountains, who use a spotting scope with a magnetic holder for their mobile phone, set it up and use the phone camera to record the results of a shot. This works at longer ranges because you often have time. Of course, the 6 ARC is like a .243 200 yards further out in terms of energy, meaning it would have the energy of a .243 at 600 yards if you shot at 400. That's pushing it for a .243 (one of my favorite calibers).

Take comfort in the fact that you likely missed.

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Ive been thinking along those same lines too. Next year i will be packin a way to record shots. Provided I can set it up in time it will be invalauble. Nathan Fosters books turned me on that idea a few years back I bought the camera I just havent actually done it.

I have always been a believer in a good trailing dog and have trained some good ones. My good dog passed away too soon and I havent made a new one, but I will. With his help I woulda either had him found, or "known" he was healthy or at least not fatally wounded.

Wilderness Blacktail said:

Learned something this last weekend. Got a shot at a nice buck in the last hour of light as the sky darkened with storm clouds.
Had specifically picked the rifle so I could spot hits being all alone and knowing itd be storming and so much harder to track and blood trail.
Lined up my crosshairs on him at 400 and touched it off. And looked like a muzzeloader went off. I had not figured that in.
I was dialed in to 16x for ID as there were a handful of deer, a few were bucks but shoulda dialed back out to 8x which is where i normall shoot as i can see soo much more.

Click to expand...

A good blood tracking K/9 is all ways good to have, I did my Czech K/9 to track wounded game and to bird hunt and retrieve my upland birds. She has done moose that were wounded by other hunters last fall she found both bulls that hunters had lost andwould have become wolf food but both made the hunters table. She is also my wife's PP K/9

ObiJohn said:

This is why I'm against the laws banning thermal devices and electronic scopes for big game hunting. With a thermal monocular you could have grabbed it and scanned and seen the deer, whether it was still running or because it dropped. With a video recording capable scope you could review the film to look for a reaction.

I know guys who hunt solo in the mountains, who use a spotting scope with a magnetic holder for their mobile phone, set it up and use the phone camera to record the results of a shot. This works at longer ranges because you often have time. Of course, the 6 ARC is like a .243 200 yards further out in terms of energy, meaning it would have the energy of a .243 at 600 yards if you shot at 400. That's pushing it for a .243 (one of my favorite calibers).

Take comfort in the fact that you likely missed.

Click to expand...

Where are thermal binoculars or spotting scopes illegal. You can't shoot them

Personally I don't get the logic of shooting a small caliber so I can spot my shots in a situation where terrain or in this case weather makes tracking difficult. I would rather shoot a more powerful round with an expanding bullet that makes sure the critter won't go far. Not talking about an uber mag here but a 140-160 gr 7mm bullet going 3000-3200 fps with the right bullet is deadly at that range. Not throwing rocks here I just don't get it. If you're required to shoot cooper that is all the more reason to put some speed behind it. Make that one shot count.