Deer dropped in its tracks?
 

I have a rookie question...Today I saw a hunting show where a nice buck was shot with a bow and it dropped in its tracks. Is this rare or is there a good chance this will happen? I assume since there is no pure shock(like with a rifle slug) that you would have to hit the spine... and wouldnt that mean that you missed your intended target (vitals area)... or does a heart shot do this? Your experiences would be appreciated. Thanks!

RE: Deer dropped in its tracks?
 

There is no shot on a deer that is going to drop it in it' s tracks unless you have disrupted the central nervous system.........this would mean a head shot or spine shot and that' s it. Arrows do not kill the same way as bullets do, but the inadvertant arrow that causes a break in the spinal cord or directly to the brain can cause " Bullet Like" results.

If you hit one of these areas with a bow, it shouldn' t be intentional........especially the head. too much margin for error and a crippled animal.
The spine is most often hit because of a deer' s lightening quick reflexes, as they will drop down to load their muscles for quick flight (they aren' t ducking the arrow), and they are so quick that the result can turn a " perfect" lung shot into a spine shot in a blink.
I have heard of guys who will purposely shot at the spine but this is on straight down shots.....I personally don' t care for that shot either because of the margin for error. A little one way or the other and you have a single lung hit and possibly a long day/night ahead of you looking for a wounded animal.

RE: Deer dropped in its tracks?
 

A deer dropping in it' s track on a bow shot is rare indeed. Don' t expect that to ever happen. It may, but it is highly unlikely and is not the norm. I have shot quite a few deer with the bow and it has never happened to me nor do I expect it to happen. A deer needs time to bleed out.

RE: Deer dropped in its tracks?
 

Watched a guy do it to a caribou on T.V. also. He remarked how hard the mechanicals he was using hit. I remarked to my kids, to bad he shot about a foot high.

Kinda like the imfamous " nice femoral artery shot" comment on one of those shows.

RE: Deer dropped in its tracks?
 

I saw that show too. It looked like the animal toppled over or should I say knocked over like it was a target. I was hoping they replayed, it cause it looked mighty phoney.

RE: Deer dropped in its tracks?
 

I' ve seen Dan Fitzgerald shoot a buck right square in the front shoulder and he dropped in his tracks grave yard dead.

RE: Deer dropped in its tracks?
 

Belle....its because of what' s BEHIND the shoulder.
http://home.mn.rr.com/deerfever/Anatomy.html

HE call' s it the point of the shoulder shot, and all that it is is a spine shot. Most times he' s actually in front of the shoulder blade entirely and hitting ONLy the spine. A powerful bow with a tough broadhead can get thru both. Most of these " Fitzgerald" shoulder shots are at low angles or from the ground to involve the spine. Ol' Dan loves his spine shots.[:' (]
Stupid shot if you ask me.

There' s only one true GOOD shot in bowhunting and thats a shot in the vitals.......lung and or heart area. Most room for error, and the least possibility for crippling/wounding.

RE: Deer dropped in its tracks?
 

Matt, I' m not arguing with you, it has been 10+ yrs since I watched that video, but I could have sworn it was lower in shoulder that that required to hit spine. Anyway, I agree, the only shot to take is at vitals.

RE: Deer dropped in its tracks?
 

Belle,
Check out that link I put in the last post........the spine runs directly behind the center of the shoulder blade. The reason Gun hunters shoot for the shoulder to drop a deer in its tracks.....the impact on the shoulder blade even if it didn' t hit the spinal cord just shuts down the spine instantly.
I remember the video you are talking about as well. Back when Dan was shooting 95-100# bows and big ol aluminum arrows he thought he was shooting a Howitzer.

RE: Deer dropped in its tracks?
 

If it ever happens to you - you do need to know how to react............Its not a shot that you will soon forget, and its not as uncommon (especially for new bowhunters) as some might suggest, like Matt said, because of the " ducking" of the deer due to the sound of the shot.

If you hit one in such a way - use Every arrow you have if you have to - until you are sure you put one in the lungs. Some people think of this as overkill - I' ll bet they never had one get up and take off after such a shot.

The impact of a spine shot can sound like a 2x4 batted against a light pole - but unless it actually severs the spinal cord - the deer can, and will get up and run away - and is usually lost. Don' t be afraid to empty you quiver if you have to. If you actually do sever the cord, the deer will have NO reaction when hit again - if it jumps and/or rolls around - you' d better shoot again - QUICK!

RE: Deer dropped in its tracks?
 

On my elk trip to Wyoming, my hunting partner on that trip knocked a bull over on it' s back by squaring it in the shoulder at 20 yards...Hoyt bow, Beman arrows and Muzzy broadheads....bull' s legs in the air flairing around...he got up, run off over the mt never to be seen again....

RE: Deer dropped in its tracks?
 

Matt, I see your point now, I guess a lower shoulder hit could pinch the spinal cord. They probably edited the part with Ol' Dan pumping another arrow in the buck.

RE: Deer dropped in its tracks?
 

Last season I spine shot a six point buck:(. It layed there throwing its head back, trying to get the arrow out(not a pretty sight[:' (]). I had to shoot it in the front of the chest (not the best angle) to put it down[X(]. He had spun around to face me, and I didn' t want him to lay there watching me [:o]climb down( I was in a climber) and walk over to get a better angle.
In the videos, if it happens, they hurry up and turn the camera away so that we don' t see the result. All they show is the animal falling over. Nobody wants the the anti-hunters to see a spine shot animal thrashing its head around like that. I have heard of people giving up hunting after seeing this.

RE: Deer dropped in its tracks?
 

Ive hit one deer in the spine and hope to never see it again, it was awful and I luckily finished the job with another arrow within a few seconds. The vitals is the only way to responsibly take game, but accidents happen sometimes.

RE: Deer dropped in its tracks?
 

Happened to me last year.I could not believe it.It was a 7 yard shot from my 150LB crossbow.I thought I was dreaming.I thought maybe the shock caused a heart failure.

RE: Deer dropped in its tracks?
 

My first bowkill, a doe was a spine shot, she ducked/rocked back and the broadhead clipped the very tip of her shoulder blade and deflected into the spine and shattered it. It did sound just like what farm hunter said it was LOUD! She went down like I had shot her with a 30-30, there was no flipping around, but I had to put a second one through the heart to finish her quickly.

RE: Deer dropped in its tracks?
 

I tend to agree with Matt 100%. Two of my four deer last season pretty much dropped in their tracks but that was because of the very scenario that Matt illustrated so eloquently in his first post.

RE: Deer dropped in its tracks?
 

I dropped a buck in his tracks once. I hit him right behind the shoulder quartering away. The arrow hit dead center the spinal cord where it come between the shoulders. I couldn' t pull my arrow out until I cleaned the deer. I had to unscrew the shaft and pull the broadhead out with pliers.

I am glad he dropped, but that wasn' t the shot I was looking for. I hit him too far forward.