I gut shot a deer in the rain one time, it ran in circles trying to find which way to go.Guess since water was all around she got confused........hee hee.

I think they head for rivers creeks ect. for saftey. How many never made it out of the creek bed or up the river bank on the other side? I supose they run till they are to week to run any more. In the deer woods ive seen, water is not far away.

Over the years I've tracked allot of deer. In allot of the cases where the shots that weren't so good the deer allot of the times headed to a big source of water if it was available. I've found a good share of deer in rivers, small lakes and ponds.

Found more than one in the Water!

If there not dead when you see them, you can just grab ahold of their Antlers and drown them

Dan

Dang you folks have a lot tracking jobs. Most deer should be dead within 75 yards. Sounds like some of you have a tough tracking job after every arrow.

IMO, deer do not run towards water as a primary defense. Their first instinct when shot is to run towards heavy cover. Afterall, they do not know what has happened to them, they just know something is wrong and they are seeking security. A deer that is shot in the lungs or heart fortunately should never make it there, often dieing seconds from impact.
A gut shot deer is a different story, but has similiar tendancies. Just likea heart or lung shot deer, a gutshot deer knows somthing is wrong and will immediately seek cover. Since it normally takes hours to up to a full day in some cases for a gutshot to die, once the deer reaches cover and gains its composure, they then try to take care of themselves. Like it was mentioned before, if you got punched in the stomach, are you going to immediately run to grab a glass of water? No you are going to want to sit down and regroup. This is why when you track a gutshot, you will find a bed or beds where they have laid down to rest and regain strength. After a while of being gutshot, the bile and bacteria in the stomach and intestines of the deer will start to infect the area around the wound and the deer will gain a fever. To stay cool, the deer will seek out water to lay in. So in short, a gutshot deer will seek out water, but only if it doesnt die in one if its beds first.

A heart or lung shot deer usually doesn't have much time to think, at least the ones I've shot. Most of the gut shot ones will lie down with in 75 yards in my experience,I've shot two and tracked around five others for friends. Found most of them right on a trail.

What do you want anyone to say here? Ok, everyone who has ever made a bad shot on an animal stand up and apologize to David.80+ deer and not one gut shot is an amazing feat. I hope it continues forever for you.

For everyone who does screw up and gut shoot one, yes they tend to head for water thanks to an unquenchable thirst that develops. Read your war history. It happens to humans too. http://www.civilwarhome.com/Kirkland.htm
EDIT: BTW, that was just the first link that came up, it isn't the greatest version of that story, but it gets the point across.

I didn't ask anyone to say anything. I simply made a statement. Read the replies. All these people finding deer in water and long tracking jobs. Realize too that there is only a couple handfuls of people on here with more than single digit bow kills. And yes, I've missed but I never gut shot a deer with a bow. I've had some tracking jobs, but only a handful. It astounds me that so many people have "Found their deer in Water". A decent shot with a bow will put a deer down too quickly for him to think about going to water.

I never said it was a long tracking job[8D]When you hunt River bottoms the water is always close, and yes the Deer do use crossing the river as a defense against danger

I doubt they were looking for a drink when they hit the River!

Dan

x2!