healed wounds poll

[CajunBass]

I don't know about deer or other big game, but I've caught many a bass that had a hook in it's guts, a lot of times with line hanging out of their mouths. Some looked sort of sickly, but for the most part they looked healthy. A lot of times the hook has rusted to the point where it pulls out quite easily.

On the other hand, I've seen a lot of them gut hooked and released that died later too. Some chance is better than none.

 

[desidog]

On critters I've taken: I've seen .22's in deer butts...fully healed, but buried in the meat,
Broken legs with the bone fused together like an 'N',
1/2 an ounce of #9 shot under the skin of a rabbit's neck, healed,
And 14 flies in the back and fins of one salmon in the Lake Ontario tributaries.

And i've shot more than a few coyotes who got hit/went down hard, and vanished in the tall grass before i walked over....like the Viet Cong....no trace they were ever there. They are tough critters with remarkable healing abilities.

 

[Rodeo4joe]

My brother in law got a 3 legged (knee down) deer this year. The Good part was that he shot the legg off last year and spent 3 days trying to track him down.

 

[DeepSouth]

Rodeo4joe, you reminded me of a guy that was in our hunting club when I was a kid, he would "hunt" deer before season and shoot small bucks through an ear then he would try to kill them later on in season, I guess he was trying to find another aspect of a challenging hunt.

 

[Encoreman]

I killed a 9 point in '84 that had a 00 buckshot in it's hindquarter that was encapsulated in a membrane and the hide healed over. This year a 7 point was killed at our club that had what looked like a 22 magnum bullet just under the skin of its belly, no bullet holes so we figured it from last year. I weighed the bullet amd it was like 47 grains. Yes many deer die with gunshot and archery wounds too. I found a nice 8 point skull and antlers last year that was probably an archery or poached shot deer. The bottom line is if you shot at it, go and give a good look for the animal. I have recovered 2 or 3 deer that we had no blood trail, but the shooter which was me one time had thought it a good hit. Keep looking then look some more. If you can get a dog, a good lab or couch pooch can find one you would never find.

 

[RDA 226sig]

Over the years I have taken a number of deer that were previously wounded. Some years back I took a nice 8 point that had a large scab on his hind quarter that appeared to be from a gunshot wound. It was a large wound but had healed nicely and if he hadn't paused in a shooting lane he would have been fine. More recently I was skinning a deer and found part satalite broadhead wedged in his shoulder. The wound was healed over and he did not have a noticable limp. I have also skinned several deer that other people shot and found healed-over buckshot under the hide.

 

[Navy_Guns]

The two bones are the same foreleg bone from an injured/healed 5-point buck and the smaller one from a yearling buck. The 5-point had a couple OO pellets under the skin on the off side of the shoulder, a couple under the skin outside the chest cavity on the same side, and the one pellet fused into the bone of the leg. It was a very big-bodied buck but a very humble rack, injury related??? In my area, hunting with dogs and buckshot is somewhat popular. Not for me, though.

 

[eastbank]

here is a small doe i shot this year,i saw it was limping and though it was shot earlier in the day but after i shot her i found out her left front leg was missing high up, and it was healed over with a small scab in the middle of the stump, like she rammed a stick or branch into it. she was healthy and weighted 109lbs. if i had know that she was healthy i would not have shot her. eastbank.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

The 5-point had a couple OO pellets under the skin on the off side of the shoulder, a couple under the skin outside the chest cavity on the same side, and the one pellet fused into the bone of the leg. It was a very big-bodied buck but a very humble rack, injury related???

Could be injury related, but also age related. Your injured buck appears to be less than 2 years of age based on the fusion of the epiphyses.

 

[d2wing]

One of my pet peeves are bow hunters including an old friend who wound deer and can't track them or make a good kill.

 

[swampboss]

I have a first hand account of a 3.5yr old 8pt buck shot in the neck just above the spine on opening day of the 08 deer season with a 270 cal. rifle ,150gr. bullet. The buck dropped at the shot and kicked 2or3 times when the deer was approached 15 min. later it jumped up and ran off! The hunter did not see the exact hit upon approach.Blood trail was followed for 100yards and just stopped. The same deer was killed from the same stand chasing does 4 weeks later!( no doubt it was the same deer, we had trail cam pics from summer of the deer, it had a double main beam on one side) It had a large chunk missing from the top of the neck where it meets the shoulders. From your poll , it happens more than you think, so go ahead and shoot that elk with your bow! just dont take a bad shot

 

[kanook]

While skinning an 8pt buck I shot at the end of general gun season I found a Muzzy Broadhead all festered over. I got the Muzzy sitting on the mount and when people ask if that's the tip I used I tell the story of how I found it in it.

 

[schlockinz]

Shot a buck that looked like it had a .50 cal slug hit his neck earlier in life (fom head to ass direction). Was only superficial, but left a wicked scar, only deer that I kick myself for not getting a cape of.

Anyways, I think a lot of the lost game are lost due to people not waiting long enough to track the game. I had a friend lose a buck this year cause he went after 15minutes after hitting it with a muzzle loader. It got up and ran off the property, huge pool of bled where he had been bedded. If people just didn't pressure animals and waited an hour or so before starting to pursue, there might be more recovered, or at the least, present them with a second shot to put the thing down.

 

[Cranky CJ]

Two years ago I found two dead deer in the woods. One had been shot and gust curled up on the ground and died. the other you could tell he kicked and wreathed around on the ground before he died. He did not go peacefully. that was a fairly sad sight.

If you shoot them, put your best effort into finding them.

 

[RumRunner]

as a taxidermist i see this quite often. everyother animal i skin out and mount has a scar for something and i have dug out bullets of a few critters. i even found a field tip in a coon.

 

[Rembrandt]

Here are some examples of wounded or injured animals that survived.


This one got a hole punched in his ear and part of the antler blown away....nothing life threatening.


Left rear hoof injury....didn't stop him from chasing doe's.


Left front leg injury, healed and still going strong.


This doe got caught in fence, broke rear leg. We released it and saw her several months later.