35 Whelen
Handloader
- Dec 22, 2011
- 2,237
- 516
How tough is a Whitetail Buck?
- Thread starter 35 Whelen
- Start date
- Nov 4, 2004
- 25,342
- 8,903
They are tough.
JD338
JD338
DrMike
Ballistician
- Nov 8, 2006
- 37,402
- 6,213
No guarantee how far he made it, however. That was a pretty good hit. There could be considerable internal damage. Still, you are correct that those bucks can be tough. Many hunters report finding bucks (and bull elk, bull moose and bears) with embedded arrow heads or old bullet wounds that have healed over. Such things are amazing, to be sure.
I shot a whitetail doe in northern Idaho with my .416 at 50yds and the thing still ran 50+yds. It look like you poured a 5 gallon bucket of blood along the path, so tracking was pretty easy, but I was amazed at the distance she traveled with a good solid lung hit. I've seen elk and bears with broadheads still inside of them act like they were totally normal. Animals are pretty tough.
A
Anonymous
Guest
Animals are amazingly tough. One of the caribou I shot this year had 4 broken ribs that had healed. Not really sure how that happened since these animals aren't really exposed to many vehicles but it was interesting.
I also tracked a moose once that had been hit by a truck hard enough to total the truck. After a 3 mile tracking job we never found the moose.
Tenacious critters for sure.
I also tracked a moose once that had been hit by a truck hard enough to total the truck. After a 3 mile tracking job we never found the moose.
Tenacious critters for sure.
- Thread starter
- #8
35 Whelen
Handloader
- Dec 22, 2011
- 2,237
- 516
We had a friend shot a big buck one time at midnite under a light ( illegal) and he hit it thru the
Neck with a .308 and 180gr bullet, knocked it right down he ran over to check it out and it appeared dead, so he puts his finger in the entrance hole and shows my uncle that he shot it right thru the neck, there was also a doe with him so they throw the light down next to the woodline, and she is standing there, so he flattens her, they go down and dressed her off, when they cane back the buck was GONE!
That was on a friday nite, 3 days later and 2.5 miles away on Monday a lady looks out under her apple trees and a buck is chasing a doe around out in her field, she tells her husband to come quick and he
Shoots the buck, you guessed it , turned out to be the same one my friend shot thru the neck on Friday nite !!!
Neck with a .308 and 180gr bullet, knocked it right down he ran over to check it out and it appeared dead, so he puts his finger in the entrance hole and shows my uncle that he shot it right thru the neck, there was also a doe with him so they throw the light down next to the woodline, and she is standing there, so he flattens her, they go down and dressed her off, when they cane back the buck was GONE!
That was on a friday nite, 3 days later and 2.5 miles away on Monday a lady looks out under her apple trees and a buck is chasing a doe around out in her field, she tells her husband to come quick and he
Shoots the buck, you guessed it , turned out to be the same one my friend shot thru the neck on Friday nite !!!
Yes, deer are very tough. A lot tougher than people give them credit for, hence my insistence on pass-through performance from my bullets and arrows. Sometimes even a solid hit with a lot of Ft lbs doesn't anchor them in place and trailing is required.
Hit a doe this fall with a 2 ton truck hauling a directional drill at 45 mph. She skipped along the ground then ran off. Probably died later, but made it into heavy cover.
Several years ago I put 3 154gr SSTs from a 280 rem into a buck at relatively close range. All were body cavity, lung area hits. 3rd shot anchored the deer by breaking the far side shoulder after it ran 80 yards. Buck still put it's head up and tried to crawl downhill until I split the antlers with one more.
Wife hit one through the heart with a 150 gr SP from a .308. 150 yard blood trail into the heaviest cover in the area. Heart and bottom of lungs were shredded, so no failure of bullet to act as intended. Trail would have been brutal without an exit hole.
Hit a doe this fall with a 2 ton truck hauling a directional drill at 45 mph. She skipped along the ground then ran off. Probably died later, but made it into heavy cover.
Several years ago I put 3 154gr SSTs from a 280 rem into a buck at relatively close range. All were body cavity, lung area hits. 3rd shot anchored the deer by breaking the far side shoulder after it ran 80 yards. Buck still put it's head up and tried to crawl downhill until I split the antlers with one more.
Wife hit one through the heart with a 150 gr SP from a .308. 150 yard blood trail into the heaviest cover in the area. Heart and bottom of lungs were shredded, so no failure of bullet to act as intended. Trail would have been brutal without an exit hole.
- Thread starter
- #12
35 Whelen
Handloader
- Dec 22, 2011
- 2,237
- 516
I looked a brown bear over once that 3 Indians had
Killed in Non Dalton, Ak. The animal was nearly a 9fter,
The story took 10 mins to tell, included one a them, bitten on the butt, and one of them knocked down and missing
A tooth, and had his pants mostly ripped off him, he was hit
17 times just about everywhere you should not shoot a bear by a .223 a 32 Special, and a 30 Carbine. They claimed
They fired over 30 rounds between them, so there were ALOT, of misses.......... One of the fellas old Virgil Delkettie
Told me, Earle he dam near got us!!!! That bear was like steel, it seamed like the bullets were bouncing right off him.........lol
They were dam lucky he didn't kill a couple of them..... He charged the guy and ran right over the top of the guy
Shooting the 32 special, knocking the gun right outta his hands!!! Lol
Killed in Non Dalton, Ak. The animal was nearly a 9fter,
The story took 10 mins to tell, included one a them, bitten on the butt, and one of them knocked down and missing
A tooth, and had his pants mostly ripped off him, he was hit
17 times just about everywhere you should not shoot a bear by a .223 a 32 Special, and a 30 Carbine. They claimed
They fired over 30 rounds between them, so there were ALOT, of misses.......... One of the fellas old Virgil Delkettie
Told me, Earle he dam near got us!!!! That bear was like steel, it seamed like the bullets were bouncing right off him.........lol
They were dam lucky he didn't kill a couple of them..... He charged the guy and ran right over the top of the guy
Shooting the 32 special, knocking the gun right outta his hands!!! Lol
truck driver
Ammo Smith
- Mar 11, 2013
- 7,342
- 924
The will to live drives all animals like nothing else except maybe love and that gets more male animals killed than anything else or is it hormones :?: :roll: :lol:
When hunting I try to hit them in the shoulder, I may loose a little meat but they won't run far with a broken shoulder or two and both lungs deflated.
When hunting I try to hit them in the shoulder, I may loose a little meat but they won't run far with a broken shoulder or two and both lungs deflated.
DrMike
Ballistician
- Nov 8, 2006
- 37,402
- 6,213
The first black bear I ever shot was one inch shy of squaring seven feet. One shot dropped that big boar like a sack of potatoes. My thought at that time was, "These animals aren't so tough." That afternoon I shot a small sow thinking she would provide meat since we would be leaving for home the next morning. In both instances I was shooting 175 grain TBBC from my 7 RM. Muzzle velocity was around 2850 fps. The first shot on the little sow was somewhat high, breaking her back and anchoring her. She roared and looked at me with a malevolent look that communicated rage such as I'd never seen at that time. I shot her a total of four more times, with two shots passing through the lungs, one taking out the heart and the final shot to the head as I walked up on her. The entire time, which seemed an eternity at the time, likely only took a few seconds. However, during the entire episode she thrashed and repeatedly attempted to turn toward me. All I could think was, "What sort of animals are these?" Since that time, I can assure you that I have had the utmost respect for bears--all bears. A large black bear conveys confidence and power, but there is such awesome power in a mountain grizzly that one can only marvel at the strength and potential for violence they convey when one is in their territory. Whenever viewing grizzlies, I find myself offering thanks to God for permitting me to see his mighty creation and marveling at the power I am witnessing. Whitetails and mulies appear to me to soak up a lot of punishment, just as do bears. Elk, however, seem to absorb incredible punishment on occasion. Lovesick bulls have received multiple shots, refusing to drop on many occasions. I can only marvel at the tenacity of animals--both ungulates and large predators.
Guy Miner
Master Loader
- Apr 6, 2006
- 17,789
- 6,036
Mike - you really ought to write a book...
Guy
Guy
I have only shot 2 bears in my life and I was able to anchor them with one shot kills this was over top of bait so shots were around the 50 yard mark. But hearing the stories I have over the years I have a great amount of respect for bears and in fact all big game animals as it has been said many times their will to live is amazing.
I am know that I have been blessed to be able to hunt them in their natural habitat and harvest this wonderful bounty.
Blessings,
Dan
I am know that I have been blessed to be able to hunt them in their natural habitat and harvest this wonderful bounty.
Blessings,
Dan
possum
Beginner
- Jan 17, 2016
- 95
- 83
If I had to rate the game we have here in SK the white tail would be second. The only animal that is tougher than that up here is an elk.
I have witnessed a white tail being shot with a 30-06 150gr, and hit perfect, and take off like nothing happened. But it did drop within about 75 yards.
I have witnessed a white tail being shot with a 30-06 150gr, and hit perfect, and take off like nothing happened. But it did drop within about 75 yards.
Guy Miner":3prg82xe said:
I agree. I'll start working on the Foreword for you buddy!
I agree though, bear and elk can take some punishment. Elk just blow my mind. Seen a 338 flatten them only to have them bounce back up. Dead, but still continuing on till they expired.
Guy Miner
Master Loader
- Apr 6, 2006
- 17,789
- 6,036
Whitetail story & elk story:
Whitetail buck - my youngest son had decided to try the .30-06 instead of his usual 6mm Rem for whitetail. We were in a ground blind. A young buck came into view, he waited for it to step clear of the brush and BANG went the good old Model of 1917, from maybe 20 yards. It was a 165 grain Nosler, I can't remember now if it was a Ballistic Tip or the old lead-tipped Solid Base bullet. Either way... I knew the buck was well hit. At the shot it ran, hard! John looked like he'd blown a great opportunity. Thought he'd missed. I cautioned him to silence and we heard the buck stumble/crash. I said "We'll find him easy." And we did. LOTS of blood in the snow, buckets of it! And there was the buck, maybe 30 yards from where he'd been hit, in a cold mountain stream of course...
If you'd seen that buck at the shot - there was NO indication that it had been hit...
He'd made a great hit, damaging the heart and taking out both lungs. But that buck showed no indication of a hit, and ran fast & hard until he was done.
Elk story - related to me by my buddy, an awesome elk hunter - I wasn't present for this one. He was hunting in Wyoming with a friend. Priority was on the friend getting a bull. They were on horseback and spotted a 5x5 bull moving away. They leaped off the horses and moved to a shooting position, the friend started hammering away with his .338 Win mag. Bull staggered but kept going. My buddy said he missed with most of the rest of his shots, then was out of ammo... The rest of the ammo was back with the horses, quite a ways away by now. Buddy draws out his Freedom Arms .454 Casull and sends one shot at a bit over 200 yards, breaking the bull's spine, dropping him instantly. Then they walked up and killed him with a finisher from the big handgun. I think he said the bull had taken two .338's - he didn't mention the bullet and I've forgotten where they hit.
Game can be tough, no doubt.
Guy
Whitetail buck - my youngest son had decided to try the .30-06 instead of his usual 6mm Rem for whitetail. We were in a ground blind. A young buck came into view, he waited for it to step clear of the brush and BANG went the good old Model of 1917, from maybe 20 yards. It was a 165 grain Nosler, I can't remember now if it was a Ballistic Tip or the old lead-tipped Solid Base bullet. Either way... I knew the buck was well hit. At the shot it ran, hard! John looked like he'd blown a great opportunity. Thought he'd missed. I cautioned him to silence and we heard the buck stumble/crash. I said "We'll find him easy." And we did. LOTS of blood in the snow, buckets of it! And there was the buck, maybe 30 yards from where he'd been hit, in a cold mountain stream of course...
If you'd seen that buck at the shot - there was NO indication that it had been hit... He'd made a great hit, damaging the heart and taking out both lungs. But that buck showed no indication of a hit, and ran fast & hard until he was done.
Elk story - related to me by my buddy, an awesome elk hunter - I wasn't present for this one. He was hunting in Wyoming with a friend. Priority was on the friend getting a bull. They were on horseback and spotted a 5x5 bull moving away. They leaped off the horses and moved to a shooting position, the friend started hammering away with his .338 Win mag. Bull staggered but kept going. My buddy said he missed with most of the rest of his shots, then was out of ammo... The rest of the ammo was back with the horses, quite a ways away by now. Buddy draws out his Freedom Arms .454 Casull and sends one shot at a bit over 200 yards, breaking the bull's spine, dropping him instantly. Then they walked up and killed him with a finisher from the big handgun. I think he said the bull had taken two .338's - he didn't mention the bullet and I've forgotten where they hit.
Game can be tough, no doubt.
Guy
cloverleaf
Handloader
- Sep 10, 2006
- 4,397
- 1,056
True story- A number of years ago I shot an average size WT Doe in southern Mn. The 12 ga slug hit in the ribs below the spine, (a little high-and maybe a little far back). Knocked her down, but with hind legs dragging she crawled 10 yards back into a draw. I got up out of the WC and started walking across the 80 yards of plowed ground between myself and her (this takes some time). Meanwhile a local friend comes up and I ask him to go finish her off. He walks to the edge of the draw and puts a shot into her boiler room as she is laying on the ground. Maybe 20 yards... He brings my gun back to me and we visit for a few minutes while I call a hunting partner to come help with the gutting. He says good bye and I wait for my hunting buddy. Meantime...I walk back to my wheelchair, sit down and wait for my buddy. As I watch, the doe picks her head up again and is looking around. So... I get up one more time, walk way to the edge of the draw and put another 12 ga slug through her neck while she watches. One tough doe with 5 12 ga holes all at les than 1oo yards. Nah the 12 ga doesn't impress me.... CL
