I have shot three deer in the last few days with 165gr WInchester CXP2 165gr 30/06 ammo. It is pretty accurate out of my 24" encore barrel but its terminal performance has been pretty poor.
I shot the first deer a 2.5yr old 8pt at just over 300 yards, behind the shoulder and exited out the last rib on far side. Deer ran about 80 yards and piled up in a large sumac bush. There was no blood or hair at the spot of the shot, and no blood trail until the last 20 yards or so before the deer piled up, if I hadn't have heard him crash in the bush I might not have found him.
Second deer was a large doe at about 90 yards quartering away. Bullet hit behind the on side shoulder and exited out in front of other shoulder, she ran 80-90 yards and piled up in some very tall thick grass. There was no evidence of a hit at the spot of the shot, no blood, no hair, I walked circles around where she was hit and never found any blood. I looked for 15-20 minutes walking all around the scene of the shot but couldn't find anything, sat back up in my tree, then again later that morning I looked again for another half hour, no sign. Finally figured I must have missed. Three days later we found her while walking out of the field, she had bloated enough that her white belly fur was vissible from a higher elevation.
The third deer I shot a day after the lost doe. She was 350 yards out in a winter wheat feild. Shot was perfect behind the shoulder exited out the off shoulder. Very dramatic reaction to the shot and she ran into some woods about 40 yards from where she was shot. Again, no blood or hair at the spot of the shot. I knew I hit her so I kept following where she was headed. finally about 50 yards from the spot of the shot I found one small drop of blood. Then a little further I found a little spray of blood and within another 20 yards was a decent blood trail, she hopped over a fence and fell down a ditch, dieing in the bottom of the ditch about 75-80 yards from where she was shot. Again without all of that follow up and my confidence in the shot I probably wouldn't have found that deer. These are the first deer I have shot with the 30/06 and I'm not too impressed. I have shot a lot of deer with the .243 winchester and never had this much trouble with finding deer. Deer I have shot with the .243 all of them either were laying right at the shot or left a decent ammount of blood trail to follow. I have also shot a handfull with 25/06 and 7mm Rem with similar results.
It really kills me to have wasted that large doe. I won't be using this ammo any more. I can't say it failed because all of the deer where dead in short order but very idssapointed in the blood trails. Any one else had this kind of expereince with winchester 30/06 ammo?
