RE: Question on marginal hit, Spinal?
 

BC...In a human, the spinal cord runs through the entire spine and ends in the coccyx, or tailbone...So to answer your question, if a deer's spine is like a human's spine, the cord will run down to within about 3-4" of the tail.

BTW...Whenever you hit a deer in the spine, and the cord is severed or severly damaged, the deer will lose serious function of everything from there back.

As a kid, I shot a small doe with a smokepole. I dang near blew its tail off, and it dropped on the spot. I must have had enough shock to damage the spinal cord bad enough so that it was down...Not a pretty story, but sometimes hunting just isn't pretty.

RE: Question on marginal hit, Spinal?
 

The backbone is the spine, and inside the spine is the spinal cord containing the nervous system. If you hit the spine anywhere from the base of the skull to where it connects or intercepts with their hips it will cause paralysis.

RE: Question on marginal hit, Spinal?
 

Thanks guys for the replys.