One Shot, One Kill

[Mike Belt]

Directed at rifle hunters only since that is the only weapon capable of fast follow up shots...

I'm curious as to how many have to fire over 1 shot to kill a deer.

 

[TheLBLman]

I haven't in approximately 20 years, and even then, it's debatable as to whether the 2nd shot was necessary.

As long as one takes only very high-probability shots, will be rare that more than one shot is needed.

 

[MUP]

I actually can't remember ever having to fire a second shot to kill a deer with my rifle(that actually ended up dead anyway). Oddly enough tho, I've had to reload to put down two spine shot deer with my ML, and just this past season, got an unbelievable chance to reload after a hangfire, and get a second shot at the buck, killing him where be stood.

 

[mathews338]

I have killed around 100 deer give or take and 90% of the time it is 1 shot, I have had to follow up with a shot several times and a 3rd once or twice. sometimes it wasn't needed but if they are still moving, even just a little, I follow up just in case and with a gun so far it has served me well cause I haven't lost one yet. if you hunt much and have killed several I don't see how it would be possible to always have 1 shot 1 kill.

 

[HuntFish714]

This year was 4 shots 4 kills with muzzleloader but as far as rifle as u asked... I will in certain circumstances, especially if its in an extremely steep area miles in, ill try and get an elk or deer down before it becomes impossible to track or recover. We generally dont wait for hours like yall do down here to start trailing, we start pretty much right away. So if we jump one up thats not quite dead then definitely another shot will be taken. Ive also killed 2 does with a knife, one I spine shot and the other was a neck shot (slit jugulars be cause they were both laying on rock piles and an attempted head shot would have had possible ricochets. Also didnt want a body shot cause we were trying to maximize meat for elders freezers.)

 

[knightrider]

out of need to, very few probably 3 or 4 in 25 years ive shot more than once. I carry a bolt action or a lever for a reason, if there still moving im still shooting. im not letting one get up if I can help it.

 

[ROUGH COUNTRY HUNTER]

i shot one with a 7mm mag one time that just kept eating acorns.thought i missed,shot again and the holes almost touched.yes it does happen.i dont see how it cant happen if you really hunt alot.

 

[7mminatree]

1 time in 70+ rifle kills, and it really wasn't needed. The deer was double lung shot but just would not fall down.

 

[Hunter 257W]

Shot one 3 times to finish it off with a 30-30 but tht was because the 1st shot was a bad hit in the rear leg. 2nd right behind the shoulder. 3rd in neck. Deer didn't go down at all until after 2nd shot.

Shot one 3 times with 460 Weatherby (300grain bullet 2,800fps). 1st hit right behind last rib broadside. (Again a bad hit on 1st shot) Deer never dropped so hit again behind shoulder. Deer stumbled but never fell. 3rd hit just behind shoulder, deer dropped then staggered to it's feet and fell again as I was getting ready to shoot a 4th time.

Shot another 3 times with 25-06. 1st shot broke spine but the deer was very much alive with head held up. 2nd shot only hit front leg(nice buck and I got rattled). 3rd shot broke neck - instant death.

Needed a finishing off shot with 460 Weatherby on one deer that was still breathing when I got to it. Incapable of moving but not dead so I hit it through the neck again.

Can't recall any more. Basically if it's still alive and moving, I'm going to shoot. I'm not going to let an animal suffer to protect my macho image.

 

[Lost Lake]

Very few times, usually if a deer was down and I thought he might get back up.

 

[TheLBLman]

out of need to, very few probably 3 or 4 in 25 years ive shot more than once. I carry a bolt action or a lever for a reason, if there still moving im still shooting. im not letting one get up if I can help it.

And I would like to believe that is the experience of most ethical deer hunters who don't take low-probability shots.

Some of you have heard the story about my favorite "deer call", and how I kinda "stumbled" upon it early in my deer hunting career. I've told the story about killing what was then the biggest buck of my life, and correlating the sound of pee hitting the ground to the deer running to that sound ---- best deer call there is. Well, that was back in 1983, and there's a little more to the story.

This buck came running to my deer call (actually splashing, since I was hunting in a swamp and the water was about knee to thigh deep, and I was wearing chest waders in my tree stand). I won't go thru the whole story again, but when I shot, he didn't move, never mind he was less than 15 yards away, and I wasn't very high up. I was shooting a 30/06 Remington autoloader, so I quickly pulled the trigger again, and again the buck still hadn't moved. I emptied my rifle, and then the buck ran off.

I saw the buck fall, and quickly went to him. There were 5 bullet holes you could cover with a grapefruit, all near the top of that buck's heart, some of them being heart shots if not all of them. Shortly later, my hunting buddy "splashes" up to admire my buck. His very first question was, "Why did you shoot him FIVE times?!?!"

My answer, "That was all I had."

But one shot was still all that was necessary.

 

[benellivol]

I can think of one on spine shot deer with a 30-06

I did slit one's throat after spine shooting with a muzzleloader. I fell in a creek walking to it, soaked everything and the muzzleloader wouldn't fire. That was hard to do.

 

[stringtalker]

One shot is all you need, thats why i shoot a single shot in everything. I dont own a gun that holds more than one shot

 

[landman]

Starting hunt in the early 70's

My father lost the first deer he shot
So we we starting hunting he told my
brother and me as long as the deers trying to
get up KEEP SHOOTING

We LOVED TO SHOOT....lol
Back in the days they put your picture in the
local paper for even a doe

 

[Jcalder]

With a rifle I had to shoot a deer twice one time. Hit the deer approximately 100 yards out. Ran toward me and stopped. Using a 243 and not knowing what to expect when he stopped I let him have it again. Glad I did. Neither shot produced a blood trail. First ended up a little far back.


Big or small, kill em all

 

[Boll Weevil]

Dangit, broke my streak this year due to a pinky sized twig not 4ft from the end of my barrel. Sitting on a cut cornfield, I had to slip a bullet through a hedgerow to the next field over. Target at 203yds, hedgerow at about 80ish yds, twig close enough to touch. As soon as I squeezed the trigger, saw the cut twig a'bobbing from the tree I was sitting on and didn't cut a nary hair. Never even saw it because I was focusing so intently down range.

Second shot touched her though...probably thought she'd eaten a bad kernel of corn. Bang, flop. Actually bang, slight adjustment around the twig, bang, flop.

 

[megalomaniac]

Used to empty the mag on my semi auto at every deer when I was a kid. Prob in my mid 20's I realized that shot placement was more important than trying to turn the deer into swiss cheese. Since then, I've never required a follow up shot. In fact, the last 20 deer or so that I've shot have been bang-flops, DRT, not even a step for a tracking job.

 

[infoman jr.]

I shot a buck twice two years ago. It might have been dead after the first shot, but it was still moving.

 

[BSK]

Just a handful of times out of hundreds of deer killed.

 

[TX300mag]

Almost never with a rifle. The last time I can remember was shooting a doe in a field that slopes upward. Sometimes I get too confident in the high shoulder shot. In this case a deer below raised her head when I pulled the trigger and both dropped. Five minutes later she got up and ran off. I should have put another bullet through her but didn't because I thought it wasteful or unnecessary.

Reading the book "Dead On" by John Jeanneny explained a lot of things I have seen over the years and has caused me to rethink spine shots and return to vitals. Both bucks I killed this year (MZ) required follow up shots after high shoulder/spine shots.

 

[lpo1981]

I can only think I've maybe 3 times in the last 20yrs that I had to shoot a deer more than once with a firearm. I hunt mostly now with a single shot 308 an 2nd shots aren't really an option..

 

[catman529]

Only time I followed up with a rifle was when the area manager walked up as the deer lay down to die, and he told me to put another one in. That was 2012, haven't made a marginal rifle shot on a deer since then. All the rest either dropped or ran a short ways with pulverized vitals


Sent from the talk of tap

 

[TRIGGER]

If their still moving and I can still see them in still shooting.

 

[fairchaser]

I killed 5 deer this year and they were all one shot/one kill. Three were bang/flop and two were short track jobs. In saying that however, I have killed many a deer with the second shot or even the third on occasion. My goal is to have one shot one kill each time and that should be everyone's goal but the realities of hunting are that this is not always possible. In preparation for that eventuality, we should always be prepared to take as many follow up shots as it takes to finish the job quickly. We owe that to the animal. I measure my own hunting prowess at how efficiently I get the job done and when I must make several shots, I make mental notes to not allow that to happen again if at all possible. I have heard of some hunters who will only take one bullet in the field with them as some sort of test of manhood. To them I hope you are attacked by anything you wish you had a second bullet for.

 

[Gravey]

I'm sure I have used a second shot but I can't recall one at the moment. I rifle hunt with a single shot encore but can reload fairly quick if needed.

 

[102]

Directed at rifle hunters only since that is the only weapon capable of fast follow up shots...

I'm curious as to how many have to fire over 1 shot to kill a deer.

I have had to shoot several deer twice with my bow. In fact, the biggest buck I have ever killed I shot twice. Once at 17 yards, and again at 44 yards moments later, after the buck ran past and stopped at 44 yards.

But I agree, all things considered, second shots are rare with a bow.

 

[280longshot]

If you're hunting fields it's easy to make a bad judgement call on the distance especially if a buck is running a doe.
I do remember one buck I shot at 300 yds dropped instantly... only to get back up and run off into a thicket and never to be found.
It was shot and killed a week later... and upon looking at the deer, he had a wound that was high in the spine area.
I think everyone has been there a time or two.

 

[Hunter 257W]

I recalled another. I shot a buck several years ago with my 25-06 using the 115 grain Nosler Partition. Range was about 165 yards and hit it broadside in the shoulder. It broke the shoulder but the buck ran. I clearly recall the front leg flying up high and swinging in almost a full circle like a windmill as it ran. If fell and I hit it again in the chest and that did the job. It's been too many years to recall details about the 1st bullet as far as penetration, etc. Being that it was a Partition, I can't believe it didn't give full penetration at that range.

 

[DaveB]

Coupla times. Once a neck shot gone wrong. Another, heart shot and just would not die, not even flinch.

 

[348Winchester]

Offhand, I can think of three instances. Once with a 30-30, once with a 270, and once with a 38-55. None of the extra shots were really needed but just used as insurance.