Deer go to water????

Tbone1187 · 11-08-2007, 06:58 PM

My grandpa has been saying for years that deer when shoot look for water. If they get to water it will help them. I am starting to think this to be true because I had a blood trail up to a river and then stop. Have you guys ever hurd of deer trying to find some water to fixem up and then they live or is this just something the old timers said??

Rob/PA Bowyer · 11-08-2007, 07:05 PM

It's not because it will help them heal up as much as they become thirsty because of lack of blood etc...Also, I've seen them use a creek/water to hide their tracks etc.. a small doe walked a creek, and then back tracked the same creek. It was amazing what she did and we wouldn't have known it other than a fresh snow made it easy.

But yes, many deer will seek water.

snake123 · 11-08-2007, 07:38 PM

I've heard when they're gut shot they'll seek water. Never heard about much else

Matt/TN · 11-08-2007, 07:41 PM

I've also heard that if it's been a hot and dry summer/fall that water is a good place to hunt

A cattle pond claimed the lives of 4 does and 2 8pts at my new farm I can hunt so far this year.

supaflav · 11-08-2007, 09:07 PM

Aboslutly it's true. If you shoot a deer and he can make it to water, it's almost a guaruntee that's where you'll find him. I think that they will go and lay in the cold water to try and let the blood clot.

zmax hunter · 11-08-2007, 09:33 PM

the last 2 bucks i have shot made it to water and died there, prior to that my SIL shot a nice buck and they searched for him for 2 days, he left a slight blood trail, it was on a river and to my knowledge nobody ever looked in the river, the following spring while shed hunting her son found his skull in the water basically in the area where she had shot him. if you hunt near water and the buck runs that way, that is the first place to look,IMO

peakrut · 11-09-2007, 03:26 AM

Deer actually get fevers when wounded and will seek out water to cool themselves and the wound. Mine did.

Quote:

ORIGINAL: Rob/PA Bowyer

It's not because it will help them heal up as much as they become thirsty because of lack of blood etc...Also, I've seen them use a creek/water to hide their tracks etc.. a small doe walked a creek, and then back tracked the same creek. It was amazing what she did and we wouldn't have known it other than a fresh snow made it easy.

But yes, many deer will seek water.

wis_bow_huntr · 11-09-2007, 05:06 AM

I have seen this with every deer I have shot, they head for the nearest water supply. Not only does it help quench their thirst when wounded, if they can get to the source before they expire all they have to do is lay down in it. Doing this will clot the blood and restore lost blood. This is why so many hunters find their dead deer in ponds, creek bottoms, river edges and so forth.

GR8atta2d · 11-09-2007, 05:18 AM

Well I certainly understand the drinking of water, because of a sense of thirst, that is created by the volume loss of blood.

But this water clots blood ..hypothesis..is that a local Wisconsin thing? I've never, ever, heard that. So A deer knows how to treat a bleeding wound??

Tell me more..

Surprised they don't steal my truck and drive to the vet.

wis_bow_huntr · 11-09-2007, 05:38 AM

I wish i had the answer to this, butI would guess it wont work on a fatal shot. But a bad shot that is non life threatening. But wither way all the deer I have shot all headed for a water source. Like the one I shot last week. We found it no more than 2 feet from the water in our duck pond. I even pulled one out of the pond a couple years ago during gun season.