Rhino259

I'm just wondering how far you would think a doe that weighed 100lbs dressed would go after being double lunged by a 20 gauge slug at 50yds. Thats about how far I was last year when I shot the deer. And she ended up running over 300yds before she crashed. She bedded once then took off again. How can a deer go that far when basicly it has no lungs.

Hotburn76

When faced with death they can run for there life!!! I shot a dear with a fifty cal muzzle loader last year and it ran almost 100 yards with a complete pass through and the heart was blown up and only found one small piece of it in the cavity. They can do crazy things in those last moments. That is why it is important to not push them and give them a chance to lay down and die.

skeeter 7MM

I agree they can do some amazing stuff. Though with the lungs it can also depend on the hit, if high they go a lot further with less blood on the ground due to the cavity filling up with bloodbefore leaking, plus it cantaking a while for the lungs to be depleted with this shot as damage is not as extensive as the centre or lower regions. IME the high lunghasthe longest/poorest track job possiblitiesyou'll find with the vitals region,especially with a slug or ML projectile. Rifle due to velocity impact distributes more shock and larger wound channel so the animals are less likely tothese super long dead on their feet dashes.

As such I like to aim in the bottom 1/3 basically where the top of the heart and lungs meet, good blood trail and rarily 50 yards covered IME.

lethalconnection

My dad had shot a bull moose one time 75yds away 30.06 180 grain bullet. Blew half its heart right out and some of its lungs it was laying right where he had shot the moose but he gave it 45 mins then followed the blood trial and for about 2 miles he could see where the moose would bed down and leave a huge poll of blood then get back up and take off again and the moose did this about 5 times but finally died.

uncle matt

A 20 gauge at 50 yards is a different animal than a 12 gauge at 50 yards. The 20 delivers far less energy than a 12 so that doe running off doesn't suprise me a bit. It can run all it can, but in the end it is dead before it realizes it is.

And I agree some with skeet - aim for the heart.

Steve F.in MD

Here is my theory on double lung shots...how far do you think a deer can run while holding it's breath? Let's say 20 seconds or so. Thats what has to happen when you take out both lungs. If you ever get to watch a frightened deer run across a large expanse of land start countingand you will be amazed how much distance they can cover in 15 - 20 seconds. There are many variables and I would say that MOST deer do not cover much over 50 - 75 yards, but I believe they CAN go much farther even with both lungs pierced.