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

 

[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.