I wonder what they would have said if you had replied...."Did it have its lower left leg hanging off"?

Methinks they would have answered "yes" to that, too....and maybe this could have gone in a different direction, totally.

There is a chance that the deer came by one of those guys who also noticced the jaw issue but never could get a clear shot at the vitals, so they kept after the deer trying to put it down. Anyone think about that scenario?

You know, that was actually a thought that was going on in my head as I was talking to them. It is entirely plausible that all they knew was that thisdeer(their deer)was hit and ran off to die. They probably would've said "yeah I think so"if I asked, did it have both its ears and tail shot off? For all we know, the one they're talking about and the one I put down are 2 totally different deer.

In which case this would've gone a different direction like you said. I'd now be feeling like dang, I should've offered them one of my deer. Some of those guys looked like father and son and it would've been a nice story to tell the family that a nice man from the woods shared his prize.

Oh well, gut still says no because I remember or at least seem to want to remember that this bb came stumbling disorientated not long after I heard a series of shots nearby. They disclosed the location of the hit and direction of travel their deer took. It matches this bb's scenario.

OK I may catch some grief for this but im going to give them the benifet of the doubt as well? I personally myself will take a NECK shot over a vital shot all day long if the shot is suitable. What I mean by suitable is standing still, 75yrds or less, neck exposed..... 30.06 rifle though! It could be possible that maybe they were aiming for the neck and pulled and shot the jaw?? If they were off that bad then if they were aiming vital area, who knows where they would have hit?? ?? It really could be a number of things that could have happened!!?? The best thing is that you did the right thing and was able to finish the deer off, kudos to you!!

I have one personal experience with a head shot and will never do it again!!! I was much younger and shot for the head and hit the deer in the back jaw!! The deer fell and flopped around for minutes, and was one of the sadest things I have EVER seen with a shot deer!! The reason it flopped for minutes is because I had to move closer to finish it off, I couldnt get a clean shot with the way it was flopping!!

Well I doubt that they tried a head shot with a slug gun. It was probably just an over-lead on a pushed deer.

But then I see many of our own members advocating head, and neck shots...and we are Bowhunters..Bowhunters who love to pile all the "Bad" that is hunting on the Gun Hunters. Apparently lethal shots change with the weapon?? What are ya gonna hit in 18 inches of neck? A 2" Spine or a 1" Artery? Sounds like a poor choice. How much meat are you gonna ruin with a Heart, Double Lung Shot?A little rib meat??

I shot what i though was a doe last year (ended up being a BB), and when we went to gut it we found its bottom jaw had almost been shot off. There was a bullet hole going in one side and out the other and it was just hanging. I dont really think its possible to miss that bad, unless like mentioned that it was a poor shot on a pushed deer.

I'm with you GR8. Better to have some ribs divided than a jaw un-united.

Guys, if you could see what this bb looked like and had half a heart you'd never take a head shot or condone taking one. It kept trying to sniff the ground for danger with the only blood filled nostril it had left. It looked like it was stumbling home after a heavy night at the bar. It kept bobbing its head up and down near the forest floor as if trying to shake it off when all it was shaking off was blood from a swinging lower jaw.

Think about the worst tooth ache pain you've ever had. I'm a grown man, and mine made me want to cry. Now... take that times the 20 or so teeth in that deer's lower jaw. Don't forget about half the snout that was missing and the teeth attached to it too.

So you never did let me know what you thought about this....

Ryan

i can say i have shot the jaw off a deer! you wanna talk about bleed.. holy cow!.. i was 12 or 13 .. open sighted side hammer muzzleloader... about 50-60 yds out shakin like a leaf when the smoke cleared i see the deer standin there jus shakin its head all around...it ran before i got reloaded tracked it for a while with no proablem an a guy huntin with us caught up with her an shoot her... was not a pretty sight... tryin to do it shoot her in the head nope.. aimin for the shoulder...it can happen

Man, you bowhunters really think alot of us gun hunters. Wow... I don't know what we ever did to you all but damn. I guess you all just get mad because we go into the woods and it "ruins" your bowhunting.

Personally, I have never taken a head shot, or even a neck shot. I have always gone for the vitals. But on an evening hunt, and the doe comes within 50 yards, and its getting too dark to track without a light, then I'm gonna go for the neck or head shot.

You all need to chill out.