I shot a nice mature buck . He was at 100 yards, I shot him with a 44mag rifle with 225 hornady lever Ammo. At the shot he jumped up in the air kinda arching his back the ran straight forward into a thicket. I found no blood at the point of contact but found a slight amount of blood on the trail he took after about 30 yards. The blood trail only lasted 30 yards then stopped completely, again it was only a spot here and there. I searched high and low but never found any other sign or the deer. I shot the gun and found the scope had moved to shooting about 4 inches low at 85 yards . But side to side was good , hoping I hit him in the lower part of the leg and he’s still around. What do y’all think?

Just my thoughts but a leg shot from a 44mag should have shown something at the impact site. Jumping up and arching his back sounds more like a gut shot to me. That 225 Lever ammo will really open up if it hits anything solid. I use the 150 in my 30/30 and it does a number when it hits bone.

I was afraid of a guy shot due to the reaction of the deer myself but I know I was holding steadily on the front shoulder. However I may have pulled at the last moment. The blood I found was bright red and I never found any hair.

Arched back with little blood is a gut shot from my experience. It should still die with a solid hit. Give it some time.

Agree, sounds more like a gut shot. Most of the tracks my dog and I have had that ended up being a leg shot, the shooter said the deer went down before getting up and running off. Find a tracking dog, most gut shots have very little blood but are easy for a dog to track.

Gut shot. Call in a dog.

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Bright red blood that goes to pin drops sounds exactly like a brisket, muscle, or leg shot deer to me. Usually gut shot deer would have some kind of sign at the impact site.

Usually never find those(the muscle/leg shots) but it won't hurt to put a dog on it to confirm.

Any updates?

No. The deer had to cross a small creek or one of two roads. I look up and down the creek for a possible crossing and both rds . Plus everything in between with no luck. Our property is surrounded by a thicket and I mean I true thicket. Can't even walk through it in lots of places. I am going to contact the owner and see if I can get a ok on looking around in it. I have no idea where to start so it will be a blessing from God if I get lucky enough to find him in there. I am hoping he Is still alive but I may never find out. I got 3 trail cams up so maybe if he is ii will get a pic to proof it. Thanks for the input guys.

An arched back usually is a gut shot in my experience.

Get a dog now

Quit wasting time and call a dog

This and PLEASE..trust me. Call a dog guy.

You hit a good buck. There are guys on here who WILL DEFINITELY FIND YOU DEER> BURN UP THE PHONE LINES!

well worth it IMHO!

Good job yall. Any doubt..get a dog out there!

Makes the difference between SHOOTING a mature buck, and RECOVERING ONE!

Sounds like a gut shot to me

Sooo?