They don't always behave they way they should!!

[Teknys]

One of your hunting buddies shot a 4x4 Whitetail with a 35 Whelen w/ 250PT at 40yds. It was a golf ball size hole breaking ribs in and same going out. This deer got back up and was heading for timber. Other buddy because of position was safer to shoot and after two more shots put it down.

It goes to show that no matter what size caliber / bullet and how good of a hit even the classic tight behind shoulder with top of heart missing. An animal can get up and take off. Bullet performance on game is not an EXACT science. We can expect certain performance but it doesn't always happen that way. This was the exception of course. Seen too may deer and elk go bang flop with larger caliber 33 - 35 cal hits.

 

[DrMike]

Excellent point, Teknys. Two comments occur to me. One, the whitetail is a tenacious beast; they can absorb incredible punishment and still keep on going. Two, the only certain drop-at-the-shot hit is a hit that disrupts the nervous system (brain/spine).

 

[sask boy]

That is for sure WT might be just a tough as Elk when come to putting them down.
They can absorb a lot of energy!

Blessings,
Dan

 

[Elkman]

I have not had one get up from such a shot, but had a doe run over 200 yards one day, after being hit with a 300 Win Mag in the same spot. I am used to walking over and finding my animal within a few yards. Sometimes they surprise you, as yours did. Bet he would not have gone very far? Sometimes with the larger deer, having them move at all is a real pain.

 

[FOTIS]

A lot tougher than muleys that is for sure.

 

[SJB358]

Man, that is something. I don't imagine he would have gone too far. Had to be alot of blood on the deck.

 

[Teknys]

Yea his chest had the classic blood pool / clot.

 

[Ridge_Runner]

had that happen once
shot a small 8 pt. at around 380 yards I believe, quartering too, bullet hit just at the seam between the onside shoulder and sternum, he hit the ground got up and took off, tracked him over 1/2 a mile from blood, then another 300 yards by his tracks finaly found him stone dead, he was shot with a 140 game king hollowpoint from a 270 Bee, the oneside shoulder was completely detached except for a 5" strip of hide, completely bled out, and in one helluva rough place to get him out of, dragged him 1.3 miles to my truck. next morning same place same rifle shot a monster 9 pt that just tipped over!
RR

 

[6mm Remington]

I shot this guy the afternoon prior to this picture being taken. I shot him at just about 500 yards and did not quite compensate enough for the bullet drop. I was using my Remington 700 Mtn Rifle in .280 Remington shooting handloads with 140 gr. Partitions. I hit him good and could tell it. He ran down the hill not about 100 yards and I was trying to get another bullet in him. Just before I could shoot he went up over the top and out of sight. There was about 4 inches of snow on the ground, and I had no doubt he was hit good. I waited for about an hour for my buddy to get around to me before I took off on him. I went directly to where he had been and there was a good blood trail. I went up over the knob he ran over and I just knew he was going to be laying there someplace. I was looking, but not looking good enough. He saw me and got out of his bed which was just about 100 yards over the top right in the next tree line.

I waited at this spot where he had been bedded and there was a good pool of blood in his bed. It took me about 20 minutes to get down the draw and up the other side to where I last had seen him. When I found the bed and realized I had bumped him I waited until my friend got there, which was about another 20 minutes. So he had almost two hours from when I shot him to lay down and bleed out but he didn't.

It was getting really grey and starting to spit snow so I told Don to watch in front of us and I would follow the tracks. By this time we only had a couple hours of daylight left and it was starting to snow harder. I just knew I couldn't let him lay someplace as we would never find the sign in the morning so I made the decision to push him hard. I had hit him in the right front leg just ever so slightly below his chest. The bullet grazed the bottom of his chest and then exited out his left front leg. It never hit any bone but did hit or cut artery in the leg. He would go 50 yards and there would be another bed, and then he would get up and go again. He always stayed just in front of us and after almost two hours we finally say him. My friend tried to put an end to matters when we jumped him but he missed, and the buck took off running. He jumped a fence in this condition and then went straight up a hill. Once he got about 3/4 of the way to the top he angled with the hill on a game trail. By now it was almost dark and we had just the few minutes of light remaining. I marked the trail with red flagging and we just had to leave him. I figured he would not be too much farther on this trail and although in the morning he would be covered over with snow, I felt we could find him although I was sick to my stomach that night and did not get much sleep if any! From where I shot him he had gone about 1.5 miles to this point.

We came back in the morning and it was snowing and there was about 6 inches on top of what had already been there. We walked in to where I had last flagged it. My friend walked the game trail slowly while I dropped down below him about 50 yards and side-hill'd below my friend. There were groups of pines on this ridge and lone huge pine trees, but it was fairly open and steep. I would guess it was 60-70% grade. We were about 400 yards up the hill from the creek in the bottom. We had gone only about 100 yards from where we left the tracks to where I could see my buck lodged up against a pine tree. It appears as if he kept going and was walking and just tipped off the game trail when he died and slid down the hill until the tree stopped him. He was about another 50 yards below my position.

I sure felt a huge sense of relief when I found him finally. It was too steep to dress him out on the hillside so we just slid him to the creek in the bottom. When I opened him up I don't think there was a cup of blood if that left in his chest cavity. His ribs inside were completely clean like a deer that has been gutted and then sprayed clean with a hose or something and wiped out. I could not believe that deer had lived for about 4 hours and had traveled roughly 1.5 miles before he died!

It was not the rifles fault or the bullets, they all worked as expected. It was my fault completely and I was sure glad when it was over. He sure was a pretty buck and the toughest deer I have ever taken I believe.

David

 

[DrMike]

David,

He is a lovely buck, and the determination to live makes for a memorable hunt. He certainly showed his stamina.

 

[FOTIS]

Very nice deer.

 

[SJB358]

Awesome buck David! Way to persevere buddy. That buck is a great one!

 

[Palouser]

What a great deer and a great story! Thanks for sharing!