.454 Casull Encore strikes again!

[Selmer]

It's been a couple years since I've had time to stand hunt with my pistol during Iowa's shotgun season, but oddly enough, I found time during this year's finals week...
I went out this morning and at around 8:45 a pair of whitetails, a 3x3 and what appeared to be a 4x4 came up through the trees.  If I'd have sat in my other chosen spot I could have thrown my Encore and killed them, but as it was, I had a bunch of brush between them and I.  I had a small window to shoot the larger deer, so I pulled up with a branch for a side rest and fired when they stopped, facing me at about 25 yds.  They both took off like a shot, neither looked wounded, and a branch lay on the ground about 3 feet from me that wasn't there before I shot.  I followed up, found their tracks, no blood, followed for about 15-20 yds, no blood, so I decided it was a clean miss deflected by the previously mentioned branch.  I went in to town, went to church and had a message from the landowner to "call him right away"  I did, and it turned out that his neighbor was down the line about 200 yds from me and saw the two deer running in the trees after I shot, but only one made it to the cornfield in front of him.  He went down to look in the field edge at about 10 a.m. and found my deer, shot through the heart and lungs, no blood trail behind him, all the blood was pooled on the ground where he lay and in between the muscle tissue and skin.  He gutted it, got his 4-wheeler and hauled it out, skinned it, then called the landowner to tell me to come get my deer!  I turned out to be a 5x7, my first 5x5+ whitetail ever, and with a handgun!  I feel pretty stupid that I didn't find anything, but felt better after he said there was NO blood trail.  What I can't figure out is how a bullet fired at a deer facing me head on took a bullet in the side of the chest...I haven't butchered it yet, still have to finish finals, but I can't wait to find the wound channel and figure out what happened.  Any thoughts?  It was a 320 gr. LFNGC cast by Lloyd Smale with a charge of 27 gr. H110 behind it that runs out at around 1700 fps, give or take a few fps.  I've never seen anything like it, would love to know what you think.  I'll post pics if I can ever figure out how...
Selmer

[swampthing]

Sounds like your shot was either deflected to the side a little, or, may-be you pulled the trigger as you touched off. Bullet probably exited a little further back and was plugged by some fat and guts. 1700 sounds a little fast for that "style" of bullet, especially at that range. According to LBT's DV formula, 1600fps will kill faster, as wound size is at, or slightly less than, 1.25". AA#9 would probably be fast enough of a powder to get that speed.
Anyway...  good shot, congratulations. 

[myronman3]

it could be too that the animal moved just as you touched the trigger.  it is hard to say from what you said.  peculiar about no blood; i have seen deer hit in the brisket die without bleeding,  it seems the brisket closes after the bullet and keeps the blood inside.

[Redhawk1]

I am glad to hear that another hunter was out there to recover your buck.  Whenever I take a shot and see no blood I track the area I hunted and seen the deer last. I go about 200 to 300 yards past the area where the deer was last seen. If I think I made a good shot, I don't give up looking.  I have killed a lot of animals that have not left any blood trail or so slight that I was on my hands and knees looking for any sign.  Sometimes you can see the direction an animal goes by the leaves and brush that they went through.  That is when true hunting and tracking skills pays off.

Congratulations on getting your buck.

[slave]

I shot a buck in the brisket with a 12ga at 20yds or so. He did a 180 ran 263 paces and droped. Walked his trail three times the only blood to be found was what ran out of his nose were he laid. Now a 12ga starts out making a good size hole and at 20yds has a good punch. Till that buck crashed down I would have never thought he was hit. 250 yds or beter is a long way to go with 1/2 a heart.     

[Selmer]

Well, after butchering the deer, it was definitely either a deflection hit, or the deer moved when I pulled the trigger, which is entirely possible, as he had spotted me and was on the alert.  It entered in behind the right shoulder, completely penetrated and exited the left hind quarter without hitting any bones other than one rib.  That's what I know and I'll chalk it up to another credit hour in the school of hard knocks.

Selmer