DRT Percentage Poll

[leadaddict]

I am intrigued by the DRT thread started by gspn and think the topic needs a poll. For the purpose of this poll DRT (Drop/Dead Right There) will be defined as the animal collapsing immediately upon being shot and expiring in short order.

There seems to be a wide array of experiences. The question is simple:

What percentage of deer (white or muley) that you have personally shot with a firearm resulted in a DRT deer?

 

[Louca]

The title of the poll makes it sound like you want to know how many people used firearms to shoot deer! Maybe the "resulted in a DRT deer" part somehow got truncated, but it's an important part. I would change the title to something that fit, maybe "What % of deer you have shot were DRT shots?" Just a suggestion.

I am not a big deer hunter these days, and have only gotten 2 deer so far in my life. The first was with a 7mm TCU handgun 2 shots (because I was naive); the second years later with a 30-06 at 150 yds, one shot DRT.

So my 50% is based on a small number.

Lou

 

[leadaddict]

Ah, thanks for pointing that out. Apparently the field didn't accept my entire copy/paste. I can't edit it though. Perhaps a moderator can fix it for me???

 

[MCgunner]

I consider anchored as DRT. My percentage would drop a notch of I had to rule out the ones with broken shoulders that couldn't move, but I had to finish with a shot to the head, but only by one notch.

 

[CarJunkieLS1]

I am new to deer hunting I shot my first ever deer last year. I have seen and heard terms like Dead Right There, Dropped Right There, and Dead Deer Running. The one deer that I have personally shot was a DDR. It took a 130gr Nosler Accubond (3019fps) .270 Win right in the brisket destroyed the top half of the heart and went ~30yards before piling up. The deer died in short order there after. Shot was 80 yards

The deer my brother shot was a textbook double lung with 120gr Core-Lokt .25-06 it was also a DDR ran ~50yards and fell over and expired quickly after it piled up. Shot was 65 yards.

The only other deer I have personally seen shot was with my hunting "mentor" he shot a deer with a double lung shot with a 150gr Core-Lokt 30-06. It was a DRT deer (dropped right there) it kicked its feet trying to stand back up and run but couldn't it died quickly also. Shot was 60 yards.

In short I have seen 66.666% DDR and 33.333% DRT (dropped right there)

 

[Arkansas Paul]

My percentage was easy to figure.

I have killed 10 deer and 7 have dropped on the spot. The other 3 didn't run far, with the farthest being about 50 yds.

If I have a broadside shot, I go for the high shoulder shot. Yes it ruins a little meat on the off shoulder but eliminates the chance of losing a deer because I can't find it. You put a 165 grain bullet high up on the shoulder and there's no tracking involved.

 

[Legionnaire]

Less than half of the deer I have shot with a firearm dropped where they stood. Most went less than 50 yards, but I don't consider that "DRT." Should be noted that I always aim for the heart/lungs, not a shoulder, neck, or spine. I have every expectation that I will have to follow a short blood trail.

 

[OptimusPrime]

+1 to Legionnaire. Most ran a very short bit, just 10-20 yards, but darn few have dropped in their tracks. Darn few.

Now, ducks are a different story altogether. I would put my DRT % for ducks at about 95%. I wonder what the difference is between those 2 animals in their physiological reactions and why they are so different. Birds are more frail I guess.

 

[H&Hhunter]

I can't edit it though. Perhaps a moderator can fix it for me???

I think I fixed it for you, let me know if you want to change it.

 

[leadaddict]

Thank you H&H, that's fine.

 

[d2wing]

Shot dozens of deer. I voted 20 percent but not sure that is accurate. I used to remember every deer and had a list. Lost track a few years back. Depends on how you define DRT as well.
I only remember losing one deer from a poor hit. Maybe my memory is being kind to me. But most take a few steps or jumps. Some drop RT but could be identical shot.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

Depends on how you define DRT as well.

I think most of us mean "drops right there". Its from the shock of the bullet or damage to the spinal column. They likely won't be "dead right there".

Even on a DRT I wait a while before I approach the deer just in case.

 

[WestKentucky]

I voted 20-40 because I have had a bunch go 20 yards or less. I have seen nearly every deer fall. I even had an archery kill drt...ran in a circle for about 3 seconds then fell on top of the arrow. Suprisingly enough I have more drt kills with a handgun than a rifle. The 44 mag is pretty much an anchor. .357 is nearly as good (15" buntline...no clue on velocity, showing pressure signs with aa7) and the 9mm works too...but not so much 40sw... That was a long tracking job. With rifles there's no standout favorite for drt chances as.i have done it with .256winmag, 30-30, .270win, and .308...but the deer stumbling and falling within earshot of a belly growl would probably be about 30%

 

[Patocazador]

I've killed about 150 deer in my life but wasn't good enough in the beginning to take neck shots. I still don't neck shoot them all because of the angle they present in some cases. Last year I shot 7 deer. 4 were neck shots and dropped, 2 were heart shots and the deer went ~ 30 yards. One was a neck shot but it missed the spinal column and the deer went ~70 yards.

Does it matter?? As long as the shot is a good kill shot, what difference does it make if it goes zero yards or 30 yards? It's still venison.

 

[Roadkill]

Does it matter?? As long as the shot is a good kill shot, what difference does it make if it goes zero yards or 30 yards? It's still venison.

It does up here in the mountains when they run of a bluff.

 

[jmr40]

I think most of us mean "drops right there". Its from the shock of the bullet or damage to the spinal column. They likely won't be "dead right there".

Well if it "drops right there" and never gets up, it is also "dead right there". I thought we established in the other thread that dead right there is the more accurate terminology.

 

[MCgunner]

Some of mine dropped right there, but they required a .22 to the brain to die right there. I counted those as DRTs. I've only had a handful go morn a step. Most of mine were shoulder shots and they can't go far with their under-carriage shot out from under them, whether they're dead or not.

 

[AKElroy]

I'm with MC. Most of mine are shoulder shot and drop right there. Our place is so thick, a run off can be a lost animal, so shoulder shots are my preferred method of not-tracking.

 

[newfalguy101]

Course the number of deer killed in total will obviously horribly taint the results.

 

[buck460XVR]

Well if it "drops right there" and never gets up, it is also "dead right there". I thought we established in the other thread that dead right there is the more accurate terminology.

Apparently you've never shot a deer in the spine with bow, eh? They drop like a rock, but many times unless you hit the main arteries that run alongside the spine or some other internal organ as well, they can live for days until they die of starvation/dehydration. IOWs, "drops right there" and "dead right there" are not synonymous. In the hunting world, DRT is meant that someone makes a superior shot, pinning a animal down with a perfect hit. Spine shots, most times are poor shots that got lucky. For me, it would be hard to brag about a DRT, when I made a pizz-poor shot.

 

[MCgunner]

Course the number of deer killed in total will obviously horribly taint the results.

Probably should quantify, too, I guess. I've killed between 40 and 50, don't really keep a count, in my lifetime, not the hundreds some are able to rack up. There was a period in my life, 20s to early 30s, where i didn't have land to hunt and had to rely on day leasing, not the most productive. And, I recall only one year killing more than two in a season, was three. And, I've always kinda preferred bird hunting to deer and duck season runs about the same days deer season does for me. But, deer hunting has a better return for the freezer.

 

[MCgunner]

Another thing that could make a difference in shot presentation is how you hunt. MOST, not all, of my deer hunting has been with a feeder. Sometimes they actually come to eat at the feeder, sometimes not, but I often have the luxury of waiting for the shot I want. Shooting at running game or just game you see while still hunting, usually it's been running for me, you take what shot is presented. I really prefer a standing animal broadside so I can place one on his shoulder. You have a better chance of such a shot if you're using a feeder. Therefore, you owe it to the animal to make a clean kill, so you should be using a feeder.....J/K Tweaking the "baiting game is a mortal sin" ethics nazi crowd from mostly the NW states it seems.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

Does it matter?? As long as the shot is a good kill shot, what difference does it make if it goes zero yards or 30 yards? It's still venison.

It does up here in the mountains when they run of a bluff.

And I would add that it matters when they run away into the briar, poison ivy, ravines, or other places where you may not be able to access them. It matters when they run far enough that you can't find them before the meat spoils or the coyotes get them.

In the spirit of the thread and building on the previous thread noted in the OP, it matters in regard to hunter claims. People often paint a self-glorifying idealistic view of what hunting involved and that just isn't accurate. If you are trying to learn from another hunter who claims DRT with X gear or hitting X spot on the deer and you think you might want to follow suit, it might be good to know if his claimed record is realistic or not.

People are often selectively forgetful of poor results. It may not even be intentional. Or, they may discount poor results as invalid due to some sort of perceived mitigating circumstance. It really doesn't matter why they present skewed information, the hope, I think, is to be able to recognize it if you are trying to learn from them or need to trust what they are claiming.

 

[Ankeny]

Another thing that could make a difference in shot presentation is how you hunt.

True enough. I would imagine of all of the deer combined the clients of the outfitter that I guide for have taken through the years, less than 5% have dropped in their tracks. I am talking many hundreds of deer.

 

[Patocazador]

And I would add that it matters when they run away into the briar, poison ivy, ravines, or other places where you may not be able to access them. It matters when they run far enough that you can't find them before the meat spoils or the coyotes get them.

All I have to say is, if you can't find a deer within 30 yards, you shouldn't be hunting them.

And Texas does NOT have thicker , more impenetrable places than Florida. Maybe French Guiana or Cameroon does but not Texas.