So... my father killed a deer with a pellet gun

[Jessesky]

Sitting around the TV talking about the pellet gun and all the chimpmunks eating up the garden.
Dad asks if he told me how last year he killed a deer with a pellet gun. I said No.

Dad says, (now winter) there was a doe grazing in the yard eating the blueberry bushes and wanted to scare her off as not to eat any of the bush. Grabbed the Benjamin pump .20cal air rifle and took a shot. She stayed there for a moment, kind of stumbled and sat down there in the snow. Looked at her “that’s odd” and yelled to shoo her away. He stayed and went inside. Hours later he looked to see her still there. A full day had passed and finally she was dead in the same spot.

He assessed the situation and realized the pellet punctured her Lung. The gun was not over pumped. Be careful with your air rifles boys. I felt terrible for the deer to go in such a slow way. Interesting story I thought I’d share.

 

[TheDr]

They are taken all the time with .22 and .25 PCP air rifles. Head shots are bang flop on the spot.

 

[LoonWulf]

Sitting around the TV talking about the pellet gun and all the chimpmunks eating up the garden.
Dad asks if he told me how last year he killed a deer with a pellet gun. I said No.

Dad says, (now winter) there was a doe grazing in the yard eating the blueberry bushes and wanted to scare her off as not to eat any of the bush. Grabbed the Benjamin pump .20cal air rifle and took a shot. She stayed there for a moment, kind of stumbled and sat down there in the snow. Looked at her “that’s odd” and yelled to shoo her away. He stayed and went inside. Hours later he looked to see her still there. A full day had passed and finally she was dead in the same spot.

He assessed the situation and realized the pellet punctured her Lung. The gun was not over pumped. Be careful with your air rifles boys. I felt terrible for the deer to go in such a slow way. Interesting story I thought I’d share.

I've heard a similar story recently.

Lung shot, deer dosent do anything but go lay down and is dead in an hour or two.

Not something I'd try, but it makes sense.

I used to use a daisy 880 to shoo a brangus cow out of our shrimp ponds as a kid. Finally got tired of her and killed her, there were some pellets under the skin of her butt.
that gun was a 177 at only about 600fps, and I don't think I ever shot her with it pumped over 3 or 4. No BBs tho, which I did use as well.

 

[H&Hhunter]

This is apparently not that uncommon. I’ve got a buddy who’s a game warden, he told me similar story of a guy killing one with a pellet gun.

 

[Godsgunman]

One reason why I was taught to never shoot at anything you don't want to kill. I know for your dad probably thought there was no way a BB could take out a deer, so definitely don't blame him. It obviously had to have missed the ribs to make it to the lung. Hence the reason we use the highest caliber we can shoot accurately while hunting to quickly put the animal down. Sad to see an animal suffer like that but again who woulda thought that would actually take the deer out. I'm sure he wasn't aiming to kill, just to scare off.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

They are taken all the time with .22 and .25 PCP air rifles. Head shots are bang flop on the spot

Properly placed head shots are bang-flop. Smack the deer forward of the brain in the sinus cavity and all you have is a wounded deer.
The old men that took them with .22 Long cartridges when they were boys in the depression, told me (when I was a youngster) that they'd go through one of the eyes, but the deer had to be looking a little to one side, so the bullet would go though the very thin bone at the back of the socket, to reach the brain.

LD

 

[TheDr]

Yep. Within 50 yards and either a straight top of the head,or if sideways imagine a line tween the ear and eye,and place the pellet there.
The marauder pcp is dead nuts accurate.
5 shot group less than half inch at 50 yards is super ez.