Strong Deer (Deer that get away after a solid hit)

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DuckHunt
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Strong Deer (Deer that get away after a solid hit)

Post by DuckHunt »

I was watching one of the sportsman channels on the TV the other day and caught an episode of 'The Bone Collector' where Michael Wadell and crew were hunting in Mexico. If you saw the episode, you'll know what I'm about to mention.

Travis (T-Bone) shot a really nice 11 point and just drilled him. The shot hit just a couple inches behind the shoulder and was about centered top-to-bottom. In my eyes, that's just about a perfect hit. You should take out both lungs. The deer was perfectly broadsided and he was shooting from the ground. A little lower may have helped in the blood trail department, but I wouldn't expect the deer to be dead any quicker.

More than an hour and a half later and more than 2000 yards away (their measurement, not mine), this same 11 point buck came by Michael's setup. He, and everyone watching, could see that the deer had already been hit. Not only hit, but hit really good. The buck was hit, but was moving around fine. He proceeded to put another arrow in the buck and it went down fairly close.

The only reason I mention this is that I hear quite a few folks blame everything under the sun when a well hit deer gets away. It must have been the broadhead. Maybe it was the scope. Maybe the deer jumped the string due to the sound. It must be the bow. I think in some cases we hit exactly where we were aiming and our aiming point is just not as lethal as we think. I'm certainly guilty of assuming dead center of the lungs is a bulls-eye. Unfortunately dead center top to bottom on a deer is not dead center of the lungs. The lungs typically lie in the lower 1/2 to 2/3 of the body. A ground level shot in the top of the rib cage has plenty of room to go under the spine and over the lungs. I've done it.

I want to think that Travis's shot was a lethal hit. After seeing how far that deer traveled and how he was getting around an hour and a half later, I feel confident in saying that he never would have recovered that deer if not for the lucky circumstances. If you hunt long enough, you're bound to have one of these instances of your own. You are very confident your shot was lethal, but the deer is just no where to be found. It happens.

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Re: Strong Deer (Deer that get away after a solid hit)

Post by cevans »

Many years ago, I was hunting a monster 14 pter, and finally got a shot at him,,I hit him perfect with bow shot, to make a long story short, I tracked him 2 nites and 3 days, never came home and stayed in the woods I wanted him that bad, I saw him soak in a spring fed creek, found where he had layed in mud pile, found where he had leaned against mossy covered limestone rock wall, and I never found that deer as I spend the entire season hunting for him. Big woods, large wooded hills, river ran threw it, beautiful rough country full of large oaks. It was a learning lesson as to what deer knew and did to survive a wound. it was early 70s hunting with a bear recurve bow and aluminum arrows. I still think about that one. :cry:
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Re: Strong Deer (Deer that get away after a solid hit)

Post by masboy »

i,ve ran in to some of them strong deer in my many years of bow hunting .iv.e watched my arrow hit where i wanted it to and thought hes not going far.wrong iv,e had some long recoverys and some never found over the years.still don,t know why. just hard to believe sometimes.had some not hit so good not go far.some on here say they have never not recovered a deer well i don,t happen to be one of them.iv,e had some strange things happen when shooting deer.if it could be done wrong when shooting at deer with bow iv,e probley done it.learned a lot the hard way. had no one to learn me when i started.one thing i alway tell my sons is aim for the heart because most of the time i always hit high.
bob1961
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Re: Strong Deer (Deer that get away after a solid hit)

Post by bob1961 »

i think they said he used a rage BH that didn't open, that would put a target tip hole through that deer....yes a pass through but a round holed pass through and the deer might have lived or died a few more hours later....they lucked out for sure on that deer....glad i used fixed BH's and know the deer are getting harvasted with clean shots :wink: ........bob

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Re: Strong Deer (Deer that get away after a solid hit)

Post by okdeerslayer »

on archery talk they have been discussing this the video is on youtube u can clearly see the bh opend up he has a huge hole in him im just thinkin his vitals was pulled forawrd cause waddell hit hit almost same spot on entry just at a diff angle an downd him in a few yards bout the bh he was useing a t3 t-bone an michael both have posted about what happend it was just a deer that refused to die
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Re: Strong Deer (Deer that get away after a solid hit)

Post by Doe Master »

Me and Dad one time tracked a deer I had shot for a mile and a half that was bleeding . Thank goodness for snow . When we walked up on her she had NOTHING left in her but the will to live . :shock:
sidenote as to why we tracked her that aggressive . There was a storm coming we would have lost the trail .
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Re: Strong Deer (Deer that get away after a solid hit)

Post by MADMAX2 »

I have had it happen to me in our shotgun hunt I lost a deer that was hit solid with a slug at 50yds we even went the next day with the dogs to track him found huge blood but no deer :shock:
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Re: Strong Deer (Deer that get away after a solid hit)

Post by Rich »

I thought this was a perfect shot on this buck 2 years ago. It was shot with a Mathews Drenalin set at 70lbs and a 4 blade Muzzy. The buck jumped up 2 hours later and had to be recovered the next day. The shot was a double lunger, however it was slightly forward in the lungs but through both of them. They are an amazing animal.

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crazyfarmer
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Re: Strong Deer (Deer that get away after a solid hit)

Post by crazyfarmer »

they use the G5 expandables since they sponsor their show so it wasnt a rage head btw LOL :lol: But yes it opended and you can see one heck of a hole. He just missed all vitals by a inch or less. Perfect shot but just the luck of the deer that he was turned the right angle or something where it missed anything important.

I saw that show and couldnt believe it, but it happens. A friend killed a good buck last year and when skinning it he found a arrow shaft right behind the front shoulder inside the deer. Perfect hit but that deer kept going for 2-3 years afterwards!!!!

I think T bones deer probably would have made it. He was walking like nothing was wrong, heck I think he was even looking for doe. Bow or gun it can and will happen. Give them credit, they are tough tough animals!
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Re: Strong Deer (Deer that get away after a solid hit)

Post by the elf »

Well said-----B STOUT!!!!!
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Re: Strong Deer (Deer that get away after a solid hit)

Post by sumner4991 »

Good post . . .it's easy to find an excuse for a less than perfect shot. There are a ton of them. Missing the target is easy. It's a relatively small target. Throw in a few angles and you got trouble. Shoot from a different set-up(tree vs ground) and you have more issues.

I'll bet the majority of "misses" that look like "hits" happen at the top of the kill zone in the picture below. If you are hunting from an elevated position, that's the spot to hit. However, from the ground, it's a miss.

As archery hunters, we are constantly challanged to find the correct POI for a quick kill.

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crazyfarmer
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Re: Strong Deer (Deer that get away after a solid hit)

Post by crazyfarmer »

also keep in mind how far a deer can get in 3-10 seconds in a full all out death run! Even on a heart shot...

I think the T bone buck was shot slightly between the liver and lungs, right in that little slanted gap where it missed the vitals.
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Re: Strong Deer (Deer that get away after a solid hit)

Post by MADMAX2 »

bstout wrote:I have a basic approach to causing death while using archery equipment. I'm looking to take out any one of the three major systems that support life. The respiratory system, the circulatory system or the nervous system. If I stop any one of these three systems death will occur quickly.

Lungs (respiratory) are always filled with air like balloons (and thousands of tiny blood vessels), even when you fully exhale there is still a lot of air remaining in your lungs. When hit by an arrow (flying knife) they literally implode same as a balloon will do.

I've heard a deer's lungs implode as I've sliced through their lungs telling me I got a "good" hit. The animal will make a loud "huff" sound right as the arrow slices through. The blood comes flying out of their nose when this happens from lung collapse and the internal pressure escaping from the imploded lungs.

With no way to take in oxygen, the deer sufficates long before it can *bleed to death*. Try it sometime, fully exhale then start running without inhaling and see how far you can make it before passing out.

A heart shot will instantly stop the heart (disabled circulatory system). Again the animal will expire in a matter of seconds, not from bleeding to death but from lack of oxygen to the brain. The animal will simply pass out and expire. Even if hit in the heart with a target arrow. No circulatory system means near instant death.

Hit a deer in the spine and it's going down now (nervous system disabled). A shot in the brain (not an archery shot) does the same thing, stops mobility and life (causes death) with very little blood loss. An animal will bleed heavily when a major artery such as the femoral, aortic or jugular are hit. Then the deer can run until it all leaks out and the animal can no longer get oxygen to it's brain because the circulatory system is not working.

If one of the three major life support systems is not disabled, life can go on for quite a bit longer. If the animal is bleeding internally like from a liver hit it can take a lot longer for it to bleed to death. By taking out (stopping) any one of the three major life support systems the animal will die much quicker than waiting for it to bleed to death.

It isn't a matter of getting what appears to be a good hit on the outside of the animal as much as it is what gets hit/cut on the inside.
Fully agree with your post but one thing I think deer run on is adrenaline I have shot moose that fall over when hit,but the deer I have shot with the same gun and same load and hit(heart lung), and the deer seem to travel after the hit :?:
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Re: Strong Deer (Deer that get away after a solid hit)

Post by chris4570 »

crazyfarmer wrote:also keep in mind how far a deer can get in 3-10 seconds in a full all out death run! Even on a heart shot...
.

Yep. The buck I shot in 2009 had the arrow go through the heart, lungs, liver, and the top of the gut, exiting out the off side. Yet he still managed, after an initial belly flop, run full out through flooded timber for 100 yards. I imagine he was running full out when his plug was yanked.

On the other side of the spectrum I shot a doe in 2006 that bounded only twice before piling up. Less than 2 seconds from impact to death. Hitting the aorta(fastest) or vena cava causes an immediate, and drastic drop in blood pressure.
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Re: Strong Deer (Deer that get away after a solid hit)

Post by bob1961 »

crazyfarmer wrote:also keep in mind how far a deer can get in 3-10 seconds in a full all out death run! Even on a heart shot...
my doe i hit at 10 yards ran full throttle 450 yards, but died within 20 seconds....tracks in the snow showed her stride's were almost 20 feet apart from point of impact to beaver pond we found her in :shock: ........bob

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