Lost Deer

[RatherBRiding]

My brother came back from his hunting trip empty handed. He says he shot the deer, but it didn't die. He followed the blood trail for awhile, but then lost it. Is he for real, or is this a fish tale?

[CatsEye]

I've seen it happen a couple of times. It's possible the deer wasn't hit badly enough to cause death but was grazed enough that it bled freely. I wouldn't doubt him yet.

[HikerChick]

Could be true, could be false. I hope that the deer doesn't wind up suffering long term, though. Either a quick death or a healing process that leaves it able to live without pain, is what I'm wishing for the poor thing.

[dinosaur]

This happens more often than you think. Shot placement is very important. Generally, a deer won't run more than 50 or 60 yards before going down. A non-lethal wound will bleed freely because the deer is running. Once it stops, the blood wil clot and the deer will recover. Unfortunately, some wounds fracture legs or hit vital areas that will eventually be fatal.

[MR "T"]

ALSO, I have never seen a DEER in California Run straight away! They always do a "HOOK". Run 20 or 30 yds & HOOK left or right! If you don't know this,it is easy to lose the blood trail! I know, i have walked for hours to come back to a dead animal, 20 yds from were it was shot!

[greensteelforge]

Anyone who doubts this kind of story hasn't been around too much deer hunting. Deer are generally pretty easy to put down, but if you don't hit them hard, and their adrenaline gets going, even a solid shot can lead to a long trail. I've seen it with .300 WSM angling from the back of the ribs, straight through the chest cavity, and out in front of the shoulder. Lots of damage, but the animal still made it over 300 yards and had to be put down by another hunter in the party. I've seen a deer shot twice through the chest with a .270 almost a mile. With most popular deer cartridges, you either make a very good shot, or you don't. If you ever make what you thought was a solid hit, and have to follow a long blood trail, think about considering terminal ballistics as well as external ballistics next time you choose a round and a bullet. A good hunting bullet generally doesn't need to be supremely accurate at ranges much beyond a few hundred yards for big game. It does need to deliver whatever kinetic energy it has as effectively on target as possible. A blunt, heavy bullet will shed energy into a larger mass than an expanding spitzer round will. The spitzer may penetrate better, or even fragment and tear a large channel, but not much beyond the actual cavity. I'm getting a little long winded here, but the basic point is, yes it's possible, and it's likely the round was plenty to kill the deer (just not efficiently under the circumstances).

[dinosaur]

You're right, greensteel. You're even more longwinded than I am. But you are correct about ballistics.

[Seven]

I also agree that you should not doubt him at all. This has happened to almost everyone I have ever encountered deer hunting, including myself.

[CZ550hunter]

If your brother is a newer hunter it could be something as simple as he did not have the experience needed to determine the proper shot placement. It is a common mistake among newer hunters who have jsut been through hunter saftey but havent thought about all the directional shots that are usualy not covered in a general hunter saftey class. Typicaly you are taught to shoot right behind the front shoulder at the middle of the body (middle being half way from the gut to the back) assuming you are on the ground shooting flat at the deer. However if you think about the path the bullet will follow when the deer is turned or if your shooting down from a tree stand placing the shot behind the shoulder might not be the best option.

When i was hunting for my first time i was in a tree stand and the deer was only about 25 yards from me and was quartering towards me. I did what i was taught in hunter saftey and shot behind the shoulder at the middle of the body, this was a poor shot choice for the conditions i had. The bullet went in behind the shoulder but instead of passing through the lungs and possibly heart it instead (and luckily) went through the liver and then out the stomach, had the deer been turned the otehr way i would have probably missed its liver or other vitals and just spilled its guts leading to a painful and long death. Because i hit the liver it still died quickly but it was not a pretty scene.

After this ex[perience i did some research on shot placement for different angles which came in very handy in years to come. In the above scenario i should have aimed high on the front shoulder almost towards the chest of the animal causing the bullet to pass through the chest cavity properly to kill it quickly.

The point of this story, it IS very possible that your brother did infact shoot a deer but did so poorly causing the loss of the animal. I would reccomend that your brother try to get out to the range and practice his accuarcy as well as read up on proper shot placement to prevent this in the future and to ensure you have some venison to eat next year

[dhoyle]

I agree totally, I have seen deer that were supposedly hit hard disappear on the hunter after a short blood trail (a friend lost an elk this way last Thur). To help with bullet placement what I recommend to new hunters it to picture a ball placed betw.een the front legs and shoot for the middle of the ball. A bullet placed this way will pass thru the heart and lung area producing a quick clean kill.