Average distance a well hit deer will run

[jlbpa]

I've shoot two deer. One with a 30-30 at about 45 yards and it took a few steps and fell over dead. I shot another with an arrow double lung ran about 30 yards and fell over dead. With my 30-30 and 170 gr winchester superx powerpoint what if I put a shot in the chest vitals or tried to bust up the front shoulder at say 150 yards. If I make a good shot and it runs too far it will be beyond the property I'm allowed on.

Thanks

 

[Captcurt]

You never know. One deer may drop on the spot and the next may go 100 yds when hit in the same place. Depending on the angle of the animal, I like to take a shoulder out. That usually drops them in their tracks. I know a lot of guys that take neck shots but I don't care for them myself. I feel more confident shooting for the heart/lung area. At my age I need the biggest target that I can get.

 

[desidog]

If I make a good shot and it runs too far it will be beyond the property I'm allowed on.

Now that is the first good reason i've heard to invest in hunting camo.

Where are you hunting that they allow rifles on such small acreage? That sounds dangerous for the neighbors...I'd be much more worried about the deer that are not hit well. It happens.

 

[ssfeldjager]

Where did the OP state that he was hunting on "small acreage"? I missed that in his post.

 

[jlbpa]

The acreage is there as long as it doesn't run the wrong way. Since I've only shot a couple deer I'm just looking for the laws of average. On the tv shows they usaually show shooting and the deer runs and then waiting but I'm thinking that's just to make the show last longer. I'm wondering what happens in real life. Things I've shot alot that aren't quite easy to kill I know what I'm doing and where to place the shot and know what to expect. I just haven't shoot enough deer to have a idea of what to expect.

 

[W.E.G.]

I had a four-pointer run 50 yards into a thicket after a close-range through-and-through shot, pulverizing the heart with Remington 30-06 Core-Lokt ammo.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

You never know. One deer may drop on the spot and the next may go 100 yds when hit in the same place.

This is exactly right! I've had deer run over 100 yards with a it's heart shot out. I've also had double lungs shot deer fall stone dead. Caliber is a non-factor. I've used 30.06 mostly but have also used 7mm/08 and.308win. Those shot with the .308 ran off,having to be tracked up(double lung) while the 7mm/08 had DRTs as well as run offs to be tracked up. A CNS hit is the ONLY garanteed DRT shot.

 

[JEB]

its really hard to say. with a 30-30 ive seen one deer with half its heart blown off run a full 70 yards before diving up. ive also seen them go down like they were hit by a amc truck with a high lung hit (not spine). if i had to make a guess i would say around 30 yards. lots of them drop on the spot or after only a few steps, but then again a lot of them bolt off after being hit. depends on what is going through the deer's mind at the time of the shot.....btw, if it happens to be a 12ga slug that is going through its mind, they almost always eat the dirt right there!

 

[slicksleeve]

I've shot deer with a .243 win., 7mm-08, .270 win., .44 mag. pistol, .41 mag. pistol, .444 marlin, compound bow, and 12 gauge shotgun. Several of 'em. The only deer that I've had not run off to die was one that I hit in the head with 12 gauge 00 buckshot. At this point, I have accepted that most well hit deer, (through the heart), will go 30-100 yards, running dead. I enjoy tracking deer myself.

 

[brandon_mcg]

The only deer ive dropped was with a .243. Ive shot a few with .308 that have meandered 40-80 yards and have killed one with buckshot that ran 50 yards. however, every deer my brother has shot with his .308 has dropped dead. so who knows. just have to shoot them and see

 

[AKElroy]

I've never had a deer take a step with a center-shoulder broadside hit. I have probably taken 20+ with that shot; not a stellar placement for meat retention, but on reduction game-management cull hunts it prevents having to waist time chasing them down. If I had my freezer full & had a good trophy in my sites, the shoulder is where I am aiming.

I might see a 50 yard run after a solid boiler room shot, but that is rare. A few yards, a stagger, and flop is more typical. I am now hunting with Remmy corelokt exclusively & it really opens up & shreads the vitals. It's also cheap, allowing a lot of practice with the hunting load.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

Remmy corelokt

My favorites as well. I have only lost one well hit deer using core-lokts. It was a VERY large buck with great mass. I shot it at bayonet range(actually about 30 feet) broadside with a 7mm/08(Remington Model 7)through the lungs. As the deer ran off,I was distracted by a larger buck that almost stood on me trying to figure what just happened. When I was able to start tracking my buck all I could find was tracks and lost them after about 80 yards. I searched for over 4 hours and never found a blood trail. My brother found what was left by the coyotes about 2 weeks later over 250 yards from the shot.

 

[slicksleeve]

For heaven's sake don't get mad at your 30-30 and go buy a .300 super nitro express short ultra buzz light year magnum, so you won't have to track a deer.

 

[AKElroy]

For heaven's sake don't get mad at your 30-30

Good advice. Some of the fastest DRT dust raising flops were from my tried & true 94's launching 170 gr corelokts. Hits em' like a truck if you do your part.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

AKElroy's mention of the 170gr core-lokts reminded me of the 2 bucks I got with 8x57 mm Mauser using 170gr core-lokts. No tracking of those.

 

[jlbpa]

I'm sticking with the 30-30. I like my marlin 336 bought new at kmart for $79.00 back in the good ole days. Trouble is using the 30-30 I've shot more ground hogs, coons, and chickens [in the head for butchering - I like shooting ] than deer. I'm just trying to make sure I make the most of it on the deer and do right by the deer. I'll get some cor lokts tomorrow.

 

[41magsnub]

My experience has been if you catch the deer unaware before any adrenalin builds up, a boiler room shot drops it right there or within 10 yards. Just bang.. flop.

If you get one that has the fight/flight response going a non-CNS or non-structural hit will let them run for a short distance.

A poorly placed shot in either case can result in some tracking.

 

[juk]

I have shot a small buck with an 06 (core-lokt) and thought it vanished. Turned out it literally fell over. The deer I hit with a 308 (AMAX) I never found. Made a solid hit, and followed a gnarly blood trail for a few hundred yards. I am now a believer of proper bullet selection and shot placement.

 

[Daniel Boone]

Most times I shoot my deer in the neck.
Makes it a lot easier to gut out - not a lot of blood in the chest cavity and no spilled guts to worry about.
If I shoot one in the neck they usually drop 3 feet - straight down!

I don't think I had to track more then 20 deer in my whole life and I have shot 200 deer so far.

 

[AKElroy]

I never found. Made a solid hit, and followed a gnarly blood trail for a few hundred yards.

Last time I had that happen I looked for hours & finally gave up only to find the animal verticle in a forked tree as I walked out. Never thought to look up, even a foot or two. I bet your animal was within 10 feet of where the blood trail ended & just figured a way to hide itself.

 

[wombat13]

Nearly all of the deer I've taken have been with heart/lung shots. Some ran, some didn't. I'm finally getting used to the idea that just because the deer ran doesn't mean I blew the shot. I got two deer opening weekend this year, both with rifles more than sufficient for the task. I think they are good examples of how important shot placement is.

The first was taken with a .300WM at about 80 yards and the shot destroyed the aorta and left two good holes in the deer. That deer tried to run but only made it about five yards before it lost all blood pressure and collapsed. It looked like something out of CSI with the trees covered in blood spray. I wish I made that exact shot every time. Btw, there was no meat loss even with an "overkill" magnum because there is no useful meat on the rib cage.

The second deer was taken with an M1 Garand shooting 150 gr. Win ballistic silvertips. The deer appeared about 20 yards from me right at dawn. It knew I was there so I had to make a quick shot and am not experienced using the peep sight in low light. I fired and the deer took of running. I thought for sure I missed, but my BIL helped me track it down. I had hit it through the liver and it ran about 50 yards before collapsing.

I've had a number of DRT deer over the past few years as well. Some taken with slugs, one with a .338WM.

 

[TexasPatriot.308]

I drop big hogs in their tracks with a .17hmr. only kick a few times, put the bullet in the right spot. I have had them hit good with a .308 and not find them..just a hog so aint gonna lose no sleep trying to find them, deer are a different story, I will look for them as long as I have to.

 

[LeverGunJunkie]

Not to kick a dead horse, but I concur with 41magsnub. I think the adreneline in the deer and the deer's emotional disposition have a lot to do with it. Obviously shot placement has a say; breaking weight bearing bones never hurts either. The two deer I shot last year w/ my .308 died within 25 yrds of impact, but neither left a blood trail (both had exit wounds; lung/heart).

This year, I shot a very aware 8 pointer at 75 yrds I had just spooked. I was using a 300 WSM with 180gr PSP (Winchester Super-X). The deer was quartering toward me exposing his left side. I aimed for the front shoulder, but between the horrible trigger on the BLR and buck fever, I think I pulled the shot slightly right, entering at the lung, but traveling thru the length of the body cross-ways with no exit. No blood trail and the deer acted like I missed. Searching for an hour I gave up thinking a miss. :banghead: The farmer who's property I was hunting drove up to me as I was walking back to the truck, with my nice 8 pointer in back of his truck. I would've lost that deer for sure if not for him. That 180gr bullet did ridiculous internal damage, but that deer still ran about 250 yrds without showing a sign in blood, hair or the way it reacted. Sorry for the story but it seemed relevant to the conversation

It seems to be a crap shoot sometimes.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

I shot a very small doe running directly away from me with a 30.06,150gr Win.Silver Tips. I shot it directly under the "flag" at about 30 yards. This was at dusk and by the time I found any blood it was dark. Three of us hunted the deer by flashlight until it started raining. We had found some intestines draped across a patch of briars but nothing else. We left and came back the next day. After searching the area(rain had washed away ALL sign) I finally found the deer about noon 150 yards away from the shot. The deer had been completely eviscerated and the chest cavit was devoid of any organs(probably from predation). The deer was so small I lifted it by it's hooves and set it over the barbed wire fence.

 

[Art Eatman]

I've had a couple of chest-hit deer drop to their knees and then jump up and run maybe fifty yards before quitting. Almost all the others fell where they were standing when hit.

I lost one buck to a chest shot; never did find him. My father and I worked for over an hour. Odd deal: I saw blood fly from the off side as it arced toward the ground under his belly line. Some blood on the ground, but not much. He went down, got up, and boogied.

Outside of that one buck, though, I've never had to do any chousing around after the shot. Granted, the majority were neck shots...

Second-hand hearsay, of course, I've heard beaucoup stories along the lines of, "I hit him in the heart, but that danged deer musta run a mile!"