Who has...?

[MUP]

We all know about checking to see if a deer has expired by poking/prodding in the haunch, or poking the eye. But, has anyone ever found a deer to be still alive? About in 1997, best I can remember, I killed a little 6pt. I shot it, it hit the ground, and I went to check out my kill. I put my rifle against the tree close by, went to grab him up by the antlers and WHAM! He jumped wildly, but only one time then he was dead. I'm not sure if this was a nerve reaction or the last gasp, but I can tell ya I needed some clean underwear after that! Anybody else got a story to tell along this line?

 

[102]

Yep,
I won't go in to details because it is a VERY long story. But a couple years ago I made a double on does. The second was a spine shot that the arrow broke off.

After dragging the first to the truck, I went back for the second and strapped her legs and head and began to drag.
When I got to the truck, I took off the strap and lifted her by all fours. The tailgate was backed up to the bank so it wasn't much of a lift as she was pretty heavy. (especially un-gutted as we gut off site).

As I got her in mid-air she began to violently kick. Scared the breath out of me. My friends all thought I'D stepped on a SNAKE. They were a half mile down the road and heard me.

 

[Trapper John]

A few times. So far there has been no damage, but I hate being that close to living hooves. Last season I got within about 5 feet of a doe I shot and she blinked. That made me back off really quick.

 

[reloadxx]

Me and a buddy of mine walked up on a doe that i shot and she was still breathing and he was going to finish her with a knife as he begins to cut her she jumps up and done some kind of grawl in his face because it happen so fast he didnt have time to run and i think he messed on him self

 

[Bayou Buck]

Never happened to me but my grandfather got cut up pretty bad a good many years ago. He started dragging out a buck by the horns and about a minute later the deer woke up and horned him up pretty good.

 

[easy45]

Happened to me with a doe one time, shot a doe and she dropped like a rock. I started walking out there to get her and I was just about to her and she jumped up and took off, luckily I put another one in her before she hit the woods and dropped her for good

 

[bowriter]

Several times. They sure can kick.

 

[BAMA BOW MERKER]

I took a hoof to the mid thigh once, thought she broke my leg. Never again

 

[JCDEERMAN]

Never had one surprise me like that. I have had to chase them down several times before after being shot

 

[Boone 58]

I shot a nice 8 pt about 6 years ago and i watched it run 30 yards up a creek bank and drop on the ground outstretched and lay there. I watched it a few minutes and then proceeded to come down from my climbing stand 30 ft up a tree. i got down on the ground, reloaded and slowly walked down the ridge to it and at about 20 yards from it i stopped and the buck raised its head and balled real loud and dropped its head back down on the ground....i aimed at it and almost pulled the trigger but figured it was down for the count and didnt want to mess up any part of it with another bullet. i took one careful step and that buck catapulted up from the ground and ran straight up hill and quarted away from me to my left so fast i couldnt even get on him and pull the trigger. i distinctly saw dark colored blood coming from the liver hit area and just knew i would find him but i looked and looked and looked and the blood trail played out in rough cutover and i NEVER saw him again. I have beat myself up sooooo many times since then over the thought of not shooting because i would mess him up a little more. never again, shoot away if in doubt .......

 

[TNGunsmoke]

Shot one last year with muzzle loader and knocked it straight down. Saw it try to get up so I shot it a second time to make sure it was out and not gonna suffer.

 

[Andy S.]

never again, shoot away if in doubt

Yes indeed.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

never again, shoot away if in doubt

Yes indeed.

I have had that happen as well, camoman. It's the worst feeling in the world. Since then, if the buck is in sight when the fall occurs, my crosshairs are on him for 5-10 minutes after last movement.

 

[trealtree]

I saw a buck get hit driving to work one morning. He looked DRT in the middle of the road after half his rack got knocked off and was laying in the middle of the road.

I jumped out and went to grab the horn and just before I touched him the buck stood up and came running at me, I jumped out of the way and he came within a few steps of getting me before he fell off the embankment on the side of the road and ran into the woods.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

We had a youth hunter 2 years ago shoot a 6 pt and dropped him in his tracks. After 10 minutes, my dad got down out of the shooting house with the kid and his dad, got 30 yards from it, and the buck got up and ran off. My dad searched for 2 days and over 1/2 a mile and only found one drop of blood. My guess is that the kid grazed the bucks head, slightly knocking it out, then he came to.

 

[timberjack86]

Thanksgiving morning 2009 I shot a nice 6pt and he dropped. I reloaded walked over to him and decided that he was dead and dropped my pack.I was going for my knife but all of a sudden something told me to check the deer for sure. I kicked the buck and to my suprise he jumped up and bleated real loud and took a dive towards me. I clicked the saftey off my bolt action rifle and pointed the gun at the deer from my hip and fired.Hitting him square in the heart fell backwards into a creek a the water turned red. To say I was shaking would be an understatement. I always poke em or kick em now :grin:

 

[spoon]

Never had any issues until this past muzzleloader season.

A nice 7 point walked out at 115 yds., whichever dropped in its tracks after the shot. Thought wow, that's never happen before. Took my time packing everything up for the climb down while checking on the buck to make sure he was still down. Upon arrival at the deer, I noticed he was still breathing and me with an unloaded gun, made the great decision to stab him. ( Never stab anything before) the buck never raised his head to look at me so I figured spine shot. Took my out and stood over him with a hard stab to the heart, he came unglued. He sprain straight up knocking me backwards. He ran about 40 yds before piling up, but still alive. Quickly reloaded and finished him.

I will say, stabbing the deer almost made me sick, as that was one of the nastiest feeling I've ever had

 

[Mike Belt]

I shot my first 120+ incher 8 pointer years ago and I ran over to him. He was laying there stone cold still and I thought he was dead. I reached down and grabbed a hand full of antlers about the same time he did his death shake. He was shaking so violently that I couldn't let go. It was kind of like grabbing an electrical cord.

 

[fairchaser]

Ammo is the cheapest component of a hunter's arsenal. I never get to shoot my gun as much as I like so you will generally find two holes in every deer, sometimes three if he's still moving.

 

[oldmanelrod]

The first and only deer my wife has shoot- she stopped hunting after this. She shot a doe on ML hunt. It was dead on the ground, no movement no kicking, no sound, no nothing, just grave yard dead. It was only 25 yds away. We were sitting on the ground I turned to her and said "lets get up and reload and cheeck her out." As I was reloading the doe jumped up and ran off never to be seen. Never found the first drop of blood, hair or bone.