talondale mentioned a link i posted LAST year...it was a link explaining deer anatomy, the "void", high hits....everything. good pics..lots of info. long...but detailed and good if you read it...

i read it last year trying to figure out where i hit a buck that was alert and started ducking to run when i shot. lesson learned...and learned the void does not exsist....just most hunters, including myself, think the vitals come up higher than they do...and think the back bone and spine sit right ontop of their backs...which isnt the case around the vital region...the backbone is huge and reaches pretty far down and is lower than alot of guys think.

alot of guys hit the backbone and swear it was a "between the lungs and spine hit"

heres the link for all interested...took me the last half hour searching for it....

http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimate...7344;p=5%C2%A0

There was a good segment on this on Deer & Deer Hunting TV last week. They did an autopsy of a deer and took it down layer by layer showing where the vitals are and how the chest cavity is situated. They also mentioned that in the pics the lungs were deflated (as it was a dead deer) and when inflated are 3 times the size shown in the pics.

Just as you said there is no dead zone between the spine and the vitals but an area that can be a non-lethal spine hit.

Good post.

You hit high they die...you hit low they go!

would liked to see that show huntingbry...hope others follow the link and spend a little time reading...good pic on the first page of the thread...


geronimo [&:] i heard that about turkeys with a bow....but most everyone here knows that aint true about deer.

It was a pretty informative deer and deer hunting segement, but they did say that black hole/no mans land does exist. They never said it was a complete myth. What they did say was that it is very very small gap between the lungs and spine, and that the chances of hitting that spot without taking out the lungs or spine from a "treestand" were next to impossible. They never said anything about doing it with a level shot. One thing I did find interesting when they showed the vitals was that they mentioned that when a deers lungs are inflated that they are 3 times larger but they didnt bother to mention that when that dead deer was laying on its side that the lungs and everything else were all spread out and flat. They tried to make it sound like they were all shriveled up and tiny. Ofcourse all this is coming from the same show that told everyone that bowhunts not to shoot a deer anywhere near the shoulder that its better to shoot them right in the middle of the body.

I saw that show as well. I really enjoyed that segment. Personally, I've never believed in the void.

There's no chance of hitting anything vital low except flesh. I think any hit from hip forward mid body to upper body given enough time they will die!

I saw the segment on DNDH and thought it was very informitive. On another post today someone had mentioned the book by john trout jr and he refered to the black hole or void a couple of times. I have a copy of the book and will be looking it over again for that section. I have read it and don't recall seeing it.

I personlly think it would be almost impossible to hit a deer high and not catch something.