# Elk shot with nosler ballistic tip no blood trail



## viperassasin (Oct 28, 2005)

This elk season shot a mid sized six point at 50 yards with a ballistic tip out of my 300 weatherby mag. the elk hit the dirt right after i shot but got up and ran off trailed him for two hundred yards no blood trail. is there a possiblity that he may not have bled until 500 or 600 yrds later :sniper: 
A reply would be helpfull


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## mallard (Mar 27, 2002)

Depends on where you hit it.The bullet could of:blown up on impact,or never exited the animal.


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## viperassasin (Oct 28, 2005)

i believe i shot it right behind the shoulder or in the shoulder and would a 180 grain ballistic tip actually explode on contact. And if the bullet did penatrate then explode inside and never exit than it is possible the elk would not have left a blood trail for sometime. I have shot jugs full of packed sand at 100 yards that the bullet almost completely penatrated through.


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## Chuck Smith (Feb 22, 2005)

Did you find hair or other sign of a hit? (bone, blood, hair, animal tissue of some sort) Just because an animal hit the ground does not mean a hit. I have video taped a friend who shot at a deer and it dropped and then took off....just like you. We tried to find a sign of a hit....no hair, bone pieces, blood, organ tissue or other. Then we watched the tape....the bullet hit near the deer and it just folded for some reason.

But if you found hair or other sign of a hit....it could have not popped for a while. I hit a deer with a .50 cal muzzleloader 295 grain bullet....it was a quartering at me shot.....Bullet stopped on a rib. But the deer did not bleed for about 100 yards. Then it started to flow and dropped in 30 feet.
The bullet hit one lung and the major artieries. The deer was running dead and just did not know it.

So if the bullet did not travel through it could have ran aways and then started to bleed.

But If you are sure you were dead on and found no sign...Maybe check your rifle...Just an idea. That is just my .02 cents.


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## wirehairman (Oct 31, 2005)

At 50 yards, a 180 grain bullet from a .300 could've zipped right through the bugger without expanding much at all. I've never seen it happen with anything as large as an elk but have with deer. Buddy piled a mulie buck with his .300, and the entry and exit holes were perfect little holes with no visible bleeding.


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## mallard (Mar 27, 2002)

wirehairman said:


> At 50 yards, a 180 grain bullet from a .300 could've zipped right through the bugger without expanding much at all. I've never seen it happen with anything as large as an elk but have with deer. Buddy piled a mulie buck with his .300, and the entry and exit holes were perfect little holes with no visible bleeding.


The balistic tip is what I would consider a varmint to deer size bullet(for deer the bullet might blow up on the shoulder blade.I have allways thought of it as a very poor choice for elk size animals.Did you see the front leg flopping as it ran away?


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## Alamosa (Mar 25, 2005)

I've seldom had any blood trails on elk.

In recent years I bring my dogs to the elk camp. The dogs can find a down elk better than I ever could. They help pack it out too.


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## Greg_4242 (Feb 21, 2005)

Both of my elk bleed like crazy, but those where double lung and heart shots. My dads elk was a different story. It came in and stoped at 380 and he took to reluctant shots (a little long) The bull acted like nothing happend and just walked into the brush. A minute latter the bull walked back out at about 280 and he shot twice more. The bull didn't flinch even alittle. I hade the spotting scope on him the whole time. We figured dads scope must have gotten bumped. Then the bull to one step and rolled. 3 of the 4 shots where kill shots. The last one broke his frount leg. No blood trail form the first spot. I think at the noslers just didn't expand. They went right on through. Man, they are just really tuff animals.


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