Death Runs

[Mike Belt]

At the shot it's always interesting to watch the death run of a deer. Some of them can be really neat to watch. Let's hear some of the more interesting ones experienced by you guys and gals. Here's a couple for starters that ended up the same...

I was hunting in Ms one morning and set up in a fairly open woods situated next to a 1 year old clear cut that was real thick already. A buck came by at close range between me and the thick stuff. I fired. The buck took off running from my left to right but swinging away from me getting farther out as he ran. He ended up running a big circle and headed straight back to my tree. He died doing a nose slide into the tree I was sitting in. When I climbed down I had to step on him getting out of my stand. On a similar hunt I had a buck crossing through the timber. He stopped above a small hollow and was wind checking for does. I fired. He took off away from me but almost immediately turned back my direction. Didn't look like he was hit so I fired again. He kept coming. I fired again almost at point blank range and he died sliding into the tree I was sitting in. All 3 shots were killing shots. I've had deer drop close by but those are the only 2 I can remember that literally piled up in the same tree I was in.

 

[Bone Collector]

I shot one with a bow once at 10 yds. She jumped a pile of old cedars i had piled up when i cleared shooting lanes 3-4 years ago, ran into the cedar thicket and I think she is heading for the power line easement. I'm thinking this should be a fun track... All the sudden a deer comes running in behind me and I turn wondering where she came from and as I am watching her, she just face plants right there. She did a big circle to get back to me. No tracking necessary :D

 

[A/M/G]

I too have had one run to the tree i was in. Doe crossing a sage field, shot her she bolted at a dead run. She ran straight in to the tree i was in, at wide open throttle. Dropped never flinched again.

One of the craziest I ever saw, shot a doe she ran about 20 yards wide open then did a somersault, butt straight over her head, hit the ground never moved again.

 

[gatodoc]

I shot a nice buck right at dusk a few years ago. He was in a big open field and I felt I had a good shot. He ran full out into a thicket. I'm thinking about a tough flashlight track when all of a sudden he bolts back out of the thicket, runs 30 yards and piles up almost exactly where I shot him. On field dressing, it was a heart shot. How he ran that far that fast with no heart is a testimony to the toughness of the beast. My theory is that as long as they have oxygenated blood to operate the muscles, they can run. When the oxygen in the tissues is gone, so are they.

 

[DaveB]

I shot a buck that when hit stood straight up on his hind legs for what seemed like 15 or 20 seconds. He fell over dead, broke an antler.

Shot a piggie on Catalina Island that ran in circles for about 30 seconds and then jumped up in the air and landed on his back with all 4 feet stuck up in the air stone dead.
The piggie was screaming the entire time he was running in circles.

I was in about a foot of wet snow walking back to my truck through a sagebrush flat with my rifle at port arms. A buck jumps up not 20 feet from me, I woke him up. Rifle came up and I shot- the buck ran about 40 yards and fell down. About 10 seconds later he let out this noise, like OWWWWWWWW. Death rattle. One and only time I ever heard it. It was actually kind of creepy.

 

[JKC]

I was watching 4 doe out of the barn one time last year. They were about 300 yards away in an open field. All of sudden they ran to about 100 yards of me. Looked up to see what spooked them and it was a yote but he was about 350 yards away so shot at the biggest doe ( biggest I've ever shot) and they all run by me as fast as they could. Not the doe I shot she died and fell about 10 feet from the barn.

 

[lightsareout]

I have always heard guys say, a shot deer will run back where it came from as it knows this is a safe area. I can only think of one instance where this held true; all the others have ran in the direction they were heading.

 

[RUGER]

The most amazing one I can think of was a doe I shot back years ago.
Heart shot, on purpose, at about 100 yards through the woods with a .300 win mag.
Literally blew the top half of her heart apart.

She came in from behind me and over my right shoulder. I was looking that direction because someone had shot on the adjoining property a few seconds earlier.
She ran 100 yards, straight ahead and at a slight angle away from me, and up a VERY steep bluff. I mean steep enough you had to use saplings and trees to pull yourself up it and couldn't stand there without holding onto something.
Then when she got to the top of it she turned to her left and ran 150 yards down a logging road straight towards me. I was in a ladderstand right where the logging road met a small field.
About 40 yards before she got to me she hit a tree, wasn't head on but more on the front of her right shoulder, and flipped off to one side.
Got back on her feet and ran another 35 yards and hit another, larger tree, head on.
She crumpled into a pile literally 5 yards from my ladderstand.

Well over 200 yards in a matter of SECONDS with half her heart gone.
Second most impressive blood trail I have ever seen also.

 

[RUGER]

I have always heard guys say, a shot deer will run back where it came from as it knows this is a safe area. I can only think of one instance where this held true; all the others have ran in the direction they were heading.

I have never seen a deer that was hit turn and run.
From what I have seen that means "you missed" :)

 

[Dbllunger]

Shot a 8 pt buck at 5 yards from a treestand once with my bow. He was standing facing a fence about 5 feet high. The arrow zipped right through him and startled him I guess and he hopped the fence and just stood there for about 10 seconds. Blood was pouring out of him like water. He took about three steps and fell over grave yard dead. I don't think he ever felt a thing.

 

[GRIT]

This wasn't a Death Run but one time during bow season i shot a doe she was about 20 to 25 yards away there was a big old ceder tree that had been down for years she was maybe 5 yards from it.I pulled my bow back let it go and hit her in the spine she fell hard to the ground.I could see my arrow sticking out of her spine but she never moved they usually they will try to crawl or something but nothing out of her she never budged when she hit the ground.So i looked and watched her for a few then got down and went to her.When she fell she fell on a stob that was on the ceder and in went through her ribs and heart.

 

[John.M]

Me and a buddy of mine shot a doe at the exact same time last weekend. Our shots were hundredths of a second apart (I wasn't aware he was going to shoot, and we were sitting about 10 feet apart ground hunting). The deer flipped. Ran about 10 yards and crashed. It was down for 10 seconds or so, and then got up and ran he opposite direction for 20 yards or so before going down for good. On inspection, one of us had a kill shot in the lungs. The deer clearly jumped when hit, and the second shot grazed the brisket and took out the far front leg.


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[lightsareout]

I have always heard guys say, a shot deer will run back where it came from as it knows this is a safe area. I can only think of one instance where this held true; all the others have ran in the direction they were heading.

I have never seen a deer that was hit turn and run.
From what I have seen that means "you missed" :)

My first archery kill is the only one who did a 180 and dropped after 80 yards.

 

[muddyboots]

I shot a doe one time with a bow. Went out into a big cut over. I was thinking oh this is gonna suck. The time I climbed down and started to trail I heard something and here comes a deer wobbling badly and falls about 10 yards from me. Got lucky there. Next one with a bow quartering away 20 yards. 12 ring shot. The deer never flinched. Kept eating. Took steps fell over. Another one also with a bow right when I shot it took 2 steps to the right and I hit it right square in the ham. It tore out towards that same cutover and started across a gravel road and fell right in the middle of it. All very easy. Lol

 

[Urban_Hunter]

Craziest one I've ever had was ground hunting due to weather. This was back when if you saw a deer you shot it. I was in a bottom trying to get out the wind and a spike came up right beside me from behind me. It was so close I thought it was my buddy walking up on me. It stopped when I raised my rifle, a 7mm Rem Mag, at about 10ft just looking at me. I pulled the trigger and the deer didn't even flinch. Just stood there staring at me pouring like a faucet. After 10-15 seconds it started to stumble, looked ahead, took about 3 steps, and fell dead. I was so shocked I never chambered another round. Couldn't decide if it was guilting me for shooting it or about to gore me.

 

[Biggun4214]

I shot a doe with a bow several years ago. When I started tracking she would walk about 10-15 feet then turn back. This zigzag continued over the hill until she fell about 30 feet into the lake. I had to crawl down and fish her from the water then climb the bank and pull her up.

 

[catman529]

I have always heard guys say, a shot deer will run back where it came from as it knows this is a safe area. I can only think of one instance where this held true; all the others have ran in the direction they were heading.

I have never seen a deer that was hit turn and run.
From what I have seen that means "you missed" :)

My first archery kill is the only one who did a 180 and dropped after 80 yards.

I have one spot where I've killed several deer with my bow and rifle. Every one of them turns and runs into the same part of the thicket next to the creek, where I assume they bed down often.


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[iowavf]

Wasn't a death run more like a what just happened look. Shot a doe with my ML about 75 yards broadside. She doesn't flinch, move, or even take a step, just stands there looking around at a couple other deer. I know I didn't miss because I could see the entrance hole, blood splattered in the snow and a good stream coming out of her. She never took a step all this time, I even reloaded which doesn't take that long using a speed loader, then she sorta wobbled a little and fell over like the wind would blow over a decoy, never kicked or moved a muscle.

 

[catman529]

I don't have anything too crazy. One doe I shot on video with my bow after she crossed a creek to my side. She would have made it to the other side but got into the pool of water and stopped and stood there before flopping around and falling dead in the creek.

One time I was stillhunting a fairly thick holler on a draw hunt. I had seen a buck and was trying to put the sneak on him, but ended up seeing his white tail as he ran off. While I was standing there deciding what to do, I hear footsteps, and here comes a spike headed straight for me. He got to 10 yards before he picked his head up and looked at me. I shot him and he took off almost straight toward me and veered to my right and passed a few feet away from me and then stopped about 25 yards out and wobbled and fell over.


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[Smoke]

Hunting with muzzleloader one year and saw some deer at the top of the ridge above me. Cranked scope up to 9 power to get a good look at them when they spooked and scattered. One doe runs off the ridge almost to the base of my ladder. It all happened so fast I forgot the scope was cranked up til I tried to get on her. I somehow found her leg and followed it up until I saw body and fired. Round hit her in the shoulder and almost removed it without entering chest cavity. She took off on a dead run back up the ridge with her head down. There was a big tree that had fell and she hit it head on full bore and rolled back dead. I don't know which one of us delivered the fatal blow.

 

[Snake]

Shot a small buck once in a dead run in midair and his next step he centered a tree busted his skull . Upon going to him I didn't see any antler and was feeling kinda sick thinking I may have mistook him for a doe but upon examining the deer one side had came out of his skull and was laying beyond the tree . The side he was laying on the antler was still intact but I couldn't see it for the leaves . Tried to drag him with the one antler but was afraid it was going to pull out also because his skull was mush .The tree itself wasn't the sole event that busted his skull upon further examination I had shot the buck in the head :roll: great shooting or luck ........... yep luck !!

 

[Jcalder]

It's not deer hunting but on a turkey hunt a few years ago I had a bird below wearing it out but wouldn't come. I decided finally to ease down the hill. Went 40 yards or so and would call. He's gobble closer. Then farther away. So I kept easing. Finally I called and he gobbled. Could tell he was committed and I was stuck standing there. So I stood as still as possible and he popped up to my right. I eased the safety off and decided to swing and shoot hoping he'd pop his head up before taking off. When I swung he ran back over the hill. I shot and tried to fly but couldn't. Knowing I'd wounded this bird I went after him. Couldn't find anything. Hill was fairly steep and the last 30 yards was nearly a bluff to a creek. I was on a trail and kept going back and forth. Finally decided I blew it and was gonna head somewhere else. Turned to head out and I see something coming. In amazement it's turkey badly hurt walking right to me. Took him at about 10 yards.


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[TN Larry]

I shot a doe years ago about 50 yards that hit a fence running wide open. It stopped her instantly, and she never moved a another muscle. I blew her heart out and is probably still the most impressive blood trail that I have ever seen. I have no idea how she lost that much blood running so fast.

 

[Mid-Tenn]

Hunting with my muzzleloader, first year for the Savage Smokeless.

I was in a brushy draw between two fields and shot a large 8 point. At the shot the deer kind of hunched up and ran towards the stand and stopped and just stood there confused. He looked like he was hurt but just kind of bowed up. Not sure about the shot or having a lot of confidence at the time in smokeless or the bullet combination I reloaded and put another round in him. The deer showed absolutely no indication of being hit and started speed walking towards me. As it passed about 5 yards from the stand I could see a pencil sized stream of blood pouring out the opposite side and a small tuft of hair in the middle of the ribs moving in and out with each breath. I thought, "Weird. That deer has a sucking chest wound." It kept walking and turned to go up the draw towards the field where I had parked my ATV. As it got closer to the field it started to slow to a steady walk, taking an occasional pause and dropping it's head. I yelled out, "KEEP GOING." Like it needed some kind of motivation. The deer then lifted it's head and walked maybe another fifteen yards before falling over dead almost directly next to the ATV.

 

[fairchaser]

Years ago I had a six pointer and two does walking along this small creek and when I shot the six point he fell stone dead into the creek and was completely covered with water which barely rippled. The two does looked around for their companion and couldn't find him. They stood there for 10 minutes. I started talking to them and waved my arms. Finally I had to climb completely down the tree and had to chase them off. If I hadn't been 30 yards and seen him fall in the creek, I doubt I would have ever found him.

 

[foodplot]

Shot an 8pt two years back in hardwoods..... when i shot him he ran about 30yds wide open into a 6" diameter oak.... broke one antler off.... he did a complete flip and fell into a steep hollow.... took me an hour to drag his arse out of that hole....!

 

[tahtah]

My most memorable "death run" was a buck I shot during rifle season, one year. I was hunting a field that wasn't over grown but grown up a bit. The field was almost a bowl and I was in a stand on the higher side. This buck came out of the woods straight across from me, about 125 yds. It was just before dark and there were already several other deer in the field. When I shot him, he ran about 30 yards into the field, straight toward me and then started what I would call a death spiral, his straight ahead run turned into a fairly wide circle that got smaller and smaller until he literally spun one last time and fell over.

 

[MUP]

I shot this buck in 2015 and he ran about 40 yds, angling toward me. I couldn't see him so well in some brush, but he was thrashing about for a min or so, then I saw him fall. When I got to him, he had apparently ran into, or fought with this tree. Heart shot as well.

 

[Winchester]

I was helping kill 50 does off a farm in Western KY few yrs ago. I was in a stand with a 50 acre thicket behind me and a finger of woods down one side of the Bean field. Over the course of about an hour I shot 3 different big mama does with my bow, each running off in different directions but all going back in security cover. I got down just before dark and started tracking, long story short all 3 does were literally laying within 10 yards of each other. I gutted them all and went for 4 wheeler and a buddy to to help. When we pulled up he said you should have waited I would have helped you drag them all together!! LOL I had a hard time convincing him of what happened!
Ive had some crazy ones as well, actually had a Doe try to get a buck up one day after I killed him tending her, she just kept nudging him trying to get him back up!!

 

[Mike Belt]

Winchester... It happens. I sat up on a point between 2 ridges that fed down through a narrow bottom. I shot a doe and she took off down the bottom. Thirty minutes later I shot another one and she took off the same direction. About an hour after that I had a good buck come through and I shot him...same direction. When I climbed down and started following blood I found them. The buck had fallen on top of one of the does and the other doe wasn't over 5 feet away from those two. All I had to do was maneuver my ATV down the side of the ridge and load them up. I wish all multiple kills were like that.