This past Saturday, I shot an average size buck (about 200 pounds) with my Kimber 84 using WW 150 grain; it was a 50 yard chip shot for this rifle. After the discharge, the deer ran at full blast directly away from me - it ran so hard and steady that I thought that I had missed. After about a 50 yard run across the cut bean field, his front end folded, he pushed a bit with his hind legs, collapsed, kicked a few times and then expired. At the autopsy, I saw that the shot had destroyed his heart - blew it up into several pieces. I was amazed that this animal had the ability to run that far and that hard without a heart - amazing stamina and strength. It may seem counterintuitive to respect an animal that you just killed, but I did - amazing to me.
Deer Tough
- Thread starter Steve S.
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Fine Figure of a Man
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The majority of the deer I have shot in the heart and or lungs have ran at least 50 yards.
DM~
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Same here, 50 to 80 yards, including the buck I shot today...
DM
DM
DM~
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double post
"I blow em over wit muh MAGNUM!"
Im always mildly surprised when deer drop on the shot, and i usually dont trust them to stay down unless i know ive broken both shoulders. Heart and lungs, even with my mags, tend to atleast have them run a few yards and sometimes really far.
I havent found axis deer terribly hard to kill, but i have found them pretty hard to convince they were dead.
Im always mildly surprised when deer drop on the shot, and i usually dont trust them to stay down unless i know ive broken both shoulders. Heart and lungs, even with my mags, tend to atleast have them run a few yards and sometimes really far.
I havent found axis deer terribly hard to kill, but i have found them pretty hard to convince they were dead.
Chuck R.
Member
Same here, pretty much the only ones I've had drop in their tracks were the ones I messed up the shot and hit spine.
Chuck
Chuck R.
Member
Same here, pretty much the only ones I've had drop in their tracks were the ones I messed up the shot and hit spine.
Chuck
MTMilitiaman
Member
It's not like on the movies, that's for sure. Critters are tenacious. And most mammals can continue to function for at least half a minute with the oxygen already in the blood. My dad shot a young doe with a .338 Rem Ultra Mag pushing a 250 gr Sierra Matchking out of a 30 inch Lilja at around 3100 fps. The shot was quartering from about 50 yards. The bullet broke onside shoulder, every rib in the chest cavity, and the exit wound looked like a jagged slash behind the last offside rib--about two inches wide and eight inches long. The deer turned and took off. We found a massive splotch of blood followed by the entrails. The deer had piled about fifty yards from where it was shot, but there was nothing left to field dress--just a pile of hide and bones. It was disgusting. But we were all impressed how a 150 pound animal took over 6000 pounds of energy, and even with entire chest cavity reduced to bloody mush and after being disemboweled, the deer still managed to make 50 yards.
Never underestimate life.
Never underestimate life.
MTMilitiaman
Member
It's not like on the movies, that's for sure. Critters are tenacious. And most mammals can continue to function for at least half a minute with the oxygen already in the blood. My dad shot a young doe with a .338 Rem Ultra Mag pushing a 250 gr Sierra Matchking out of a 30 inch Lilja at around 3100 fps. The shot was quartering from about 50 yards. The bullet broke onside shoulder, every rib in the chest cavity, and the exit wound looked like a jagged slash behind the last offside rib--about two inches wide and eight inches long. The deer turned and took off. We found a massive splotch of blood followed by the entrails. The deer had piled about fifty yards from where it was shot, but there was nothing left to field dress--just a pile of hide and bones. It was disgusting. But we were all impressed how a 150 pound animal took over 6000 pounds of energy, and even with entire chest cavity reduced to bloody mush and after being disemboweled, the deer still managed to make 50 yards.
Never underestimate life.
Never underestimate life.
stiab
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In general, if you take out both lungs they will run about 50 yards, If one lung then 100 yards. If you only hit some other major organ (like the liver) then about 300 to 350 yards. If you want to plant them where they stood, then do the High Shoulder Shot, and they will fall straight down.
entropy
Member
It depends on the deer's level of alertness-of the amount of adrenaline in it's system. The first deer (Spike buck) I killed was one shot through the Aorta. It flopped over, possibly pulled down in part by the bullet hitting the far leg and lodging in it. The second (Forkhorn) I hit it in the same place- but it took off like a rocket and went 75 yards and hid under a fallen tree. The difference;the first one never knew I was there. The second had just been followed through a swamp by a (poor) hunter, and was alert, though not alert enough to check the logging road I was on when he came out on it. 
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Riomouse911
Member
Deer, hogs, elk, bear..just about any decent-sized wild animal will try to hold onto life until it just can't anymore....heck, the raccoon stories guys were telling on other posts shows how those feisty little critters will take a beating and continue to fight 'till the death. Like MTM said above, "never underestimate life".
Riomouse911
Member
Deer, hogs, elk, bear..just about any decent-sized wild animal will try to hold onto life until it just can't anymore....heck, the raccoon stories guys were telling on other posts shows how those feisty little critters will take a beating and continue to fight 'till the death. Like MTM said above, "never underestimate life".
someguy2800
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double post
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someguy2800
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With heart/lung shots it's about a 30% chance they fall over dead and a 70% chance the run between 50-150 yards. That's been my experience after tracking about 150 deer, 50 or so of them mine. Once they get on the move there is about a 20-30 second timer until they run out of oxygen and they pass out.
As MTMillitiaman's story above illustrates, a deer can only take so much killing, past a certain point your just blowing them apart. The biggest difference I have seen from one cartridge or bullet to another is the size of the entrance and exit holes in getting them to bleed enough that you can actually find them. I hunt in thick brushy sloughs where tracking a deer 100 yards can be a real challenge with no blood.
As MTMillitiaman's story above illustrates, a deer can only take so much killing, past a certain point your just blowing them apart. The biggest difference I have seen from one cartridge or bullet to another is the size of the entrance and exit holes in getting them to bleed enough that you can actually find them. I hunt in thick brushy sloughs where tracking a deer 100 yards can be a real challenge with no blood.
someguy2800
Member
And yes there instinct to survive is amazing. I'll never forget me and my brother in law tracking a big buck he liver shot in a blizzard through the sloughs. We tracked it for almost a mile following blood the whole way. We kicked it up multiple times and shot it 4 more times before it had nothing left, and we still had to put it down. By the time we got it we couldn't see 50 yards in the snow and were completely lost. We took turns dragging the deer while the other held the guns. Luckily we had our tracks in the snow to follow back. Got back well after dark soaked head to toe with boots full of water. Mama was worried sick. It was quite a bonding experience for the two of us.
I remember my father in law telling us that now you know that deer do not know how to feel sorry for themselves. They will not give up till they have no legs to stand on, they are driven to survive like no human.
I remember my father in law telling us that now you know that deer do not know how to feel sorry for themselves. They will not give up till they have no legs to stand on, they are driven to survive like no human.
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Glockula
Member
I have found a true heart shot will almost never produce a bang flop. Even worse if you destroy the heart it will not pump blood anymore and the cavity has to fill with blood before the animal makes a blood trail. This can be 20 to 40 yards. I find the lungs or high shoulder a much better shot for my area. In open country where you can see what direction they are running heart shots are great. Not the best when hunting the thick stuff
Glockula
Member
I have found a true heart shot will almost never produce a bang flop. Even worse if you destroy the heart it will not pump blood anymore and the cavity has to fill with blood before the animal makes a blood trail. This can be 20 to 40 yards. I find the lungs or high shoulder a much better shot for my area. In open country where you can see what direction they are running heart shots are great. Not the best when hunting the thick stuff
lastofthebreed
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I am never surprised to read about how hard it is kill a whitetail deer. I have shot hundreds over the years. I am surprised anytime I shoot a deer and it falls in it's tracks. Usually there is about a 30 -50 yard blood trail that needs following. That is one reason I rate them as the greatest game animal on earth.
Newtosavage
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Ditto.
I once liquified the heart of a mature doe with an '06 at about 80 yards. She ran nearly 100 yards before dropping. It really is amazing what they can do.
I'm a lifelong bowhunter, and it always amazes me how fast a sharp broadhead in the right place will anchor a deer compared to similar hits with a rifle. The buck I shot this year, a mature 10 pt. went less than 50 yards. I shot him with a 52# recurve and a traditional hand-sharpened steel broadhead. Come to think of it, the only deer I've shot with a rifle in the past 5 years that didn't go as far or further than those I've shot with my bow, was a doe I head shot at 80 yards last year. All the rest went at least 50 yards.
Orcon
Member
You should take a trip over to Ballistic Studies. Nathan Foster has a wealth of information that covers real world terminal ballistics, replete with pictures and cartridge history and data. I'd suggest reading his Effective Game Killing essay, it's a bit of a long read but definitely worth the time.
Sunray
Member
Most game animals are far tougher than people. They spend their entire life avoiding death. I've read stories about deer with magpies feeding on them while still alive. Others about deer with visibly broken legs(shot by rectal orifi). You name it.
This happened exactly to me too. Heart shot they can run 50 yd. But always fatal so a good target. Neck and mid- high shoulder shots can drop them right now. I try for a heart shot and sometimes hit double lung. Not much meat damage.
d2wing
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This year I heart shot a 8 pt buck and a doe. The buck at 100 yards took one step and was down. The doe at 150 yards after a good hit ran around so I thought I missed and I shot her again. Both were by a 7-08 and had good exit wounds and sprayed blood. She went about 20 yards after the second shot and dropped. Both were full of blood in the body cavity. I have noticed that sometimes older deer drop faster. Maybe young deer bodies have more give to them. Just the same once in awhile they drop right there, most of the time they go 20-80 yards, 100 once. Cartridge doesn't seem to matter much as I have shot deer with a wide variety of rifles, shotguns and a pistol. Shotgun slugs are slower killers if you just hit the lungs as they do less tissue damage and bleed slower, but on the other hand, a big doe I shot in the heart with a slug went down right there. It sure is interesting and unpredictable.
FL-NC
Member
You just never know. I have had deer take perfect shot placement with 243 or 308 and run on me, and I have had them fall over dead with the same shot from a 223.
Loyalist Dave
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Yeah the vast majority of my deer have fallen within 20 yards of where they were hit, and I normally try for a double lung, in and out shot. The ones that dropped in their tracks..., shoulder shot quartering toward me, and the lead round-ball deflected both times into the spine. [FLOP] I like to eat the heart, so I don't go for that.
I've also noted this....All of the deer that went far enough away from where they were shot to require tracking..., were bucks hit in the lungs. One was a spike, one was a 6 pointer, so it wasn't an age or strength thing. The 6 pointer came over to where I was hunting, herding his "harem" of does in the process, because folks were fox-hunting on the adjacent farm. So horses, dogs, a dude with a hunting horn, made the buck agitated and full of adrenalin.
And he went a good 150 yards before falling down. Another fellow I know for the past two years has only taken shoulder shots, quarter toward him, and all of his deer, (about 8 now I think) collapsed where they stood. The only other deer I've had to track was one where my powder was partially contaminated from moisture so the bullet only penetrated to take out one lung, and that doe went almost 100 yards as well. Purely anecdotal, and I'm using a soft lead projectile vs. most of you folks who are using modern made, controlled expansion bullets at high velocities. Still, I'd expect the results to be very similar if not better.
LD
I’m really not surprised. When it comes to wild animals, almost anything is possible. The point made by someguy2800’s dad is pretty spot on.
A few years ago I made one of the worst shots in my life with my bow. Small buck, 25 yards quartering away. When I touched off my release, I was so focused on the spot I wanted to hit on the deer, I didn’t see the small limb right in front of me. Arrow hit the deer just to the side of the deer’s tail. Maybe got 2” of penetration. Deer ran off and disappeared, arrow in tow. I was disgusted. I knew he was gone forever and would probably suffer. I climbed down about 45 minutes later and walked to the last place I’d seen him hoping for any sign of blood. There were a few small drops. And about 5 yards away was the deer. Dead as a door nail. He ran a total of about 40 yards.
I also shot a nice doe with my 45-70 and 325gr LeverEvers at 15 yards quartering towards me. Shot her in the front shoulder and she bolted down into the bottoms from whence she came. I’d thought I’d missed as while she was down there, she blew at me. I didn’t miss. That LeverEver tore her to shreds. But she still made it well over a hundred yards.
You just never know unless you hit the spine.
A few years ago I made one of the worst shots in my life with my bow. Small buck, 25 yards quartering away. When I touched off my release, I was so focused on the spot I wanted to hit on the deer, I didn’t see the small limb right in front of me. Arrow hit the deer just to the side of the deer’s tail. Maybe got 2” of penetration. Deer ran off and disappeared, arrow in tow. I was disgusted. I knew he was gone forever and would probably suffer. I climbed down about 45 minutes later and walked to the last place I’d seen him hoping for any sign of blood. There were a few small drops. And about 5 yards away was the deer. Dead as a door nail. He ran a total of about 40 yards.
I also shot a nice doe with my 45-70 and 325gr LeverEvers at 15 yards quartering towards me. Shot her in the front shoulder and she bolted down into the bottoms from whence she came. I’d thought I’d missed as while she was down there, she blew at me. I didn’t miss. That LeverEver tore her to shreds. But she still made it well over a hundred yards.
You just never know unless you hit the spine.
someguy2800
Member
My father in law shot a buck about 5 years ago with the bow and never found it. Blood trail went cold after a 1/4 mile or so of tracking. He said he watched the arrow go right into the chest cavity. Two months later during rifle season his brother brought a buck up into the yard he shot with the rifle. He took one look at it and said thats the deer I shot with the bow. Sure enough we skinned it out and there was a perfect 3 pointed broadhead mark in and out of the skin. We went and looked at the gut pile and its right lung was shrunken and black. It was living perfectly healthy on one lung and still had fat on his haunches.
Same thing happened this year, my brother in law shot a doe with the bow three weeks before rifle season and never found it. Father in law shot it on opening morning with the 270. When we skinned it we noticed that there was blood under the skin way back in the rear of the rib cage even though the deer was shot in the shoulder. Closer examination showed a pass through from the arrow that was shot into it 3 weeks earlier just behind the diaphragm.
Same thing happened this year, my brother in law shot a doe with the bow three weeks before rifle season and never found it. Father in law shot it on opening morning with the 270. When we skinned it we noticed that there was blood under the skin way back in the rear of the rib cage even though the deer was shot in the shoulder. Closer examination showed a pass through from the arrow that was shot into it 3 weeks earlier just behind the diaphragm.
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