tschaef

2nd week of gun season and we only had two hanging between a bunch of us, we all wanted more meat.
I walked out a point and jumped 2 mature does that hit the water, I had lots of time to watch them struggle through the marsh before taking the larger of the 2 when it climbed up onto the far shore.
Up here its illegal to shoot big game while swimming, but there where lots of chances to shoot when they climbed up onto a small rock island, and struggled over musckrat houses. My question is if I took one while standing on a bare rock sticking out of the water and it fell in the water would it be floating when I got the canoe out to it 20mins later, or would it sink out of reach?
I was happy with the harvest I made, but the other guys were pretty peeved that I didn't use the chance to take both and put more meat in our freezers.

"guns aren't for killing people, guns are for killing dangerous and delicious animals"
- Homer Simpson

James Vee

yes

SuperX

slight correction. Winter deer float, summer deer don't. The winter hair on deer is hollow and holds enough air to keep them afloat. In the summer that hair is not hollow and so deer will generally sink.

Caveat: This is in the north - not sure how this works in the warm country.

_________
SuperX

Russ otten

'Couple of years back a buck jumped in our lake which had it's lower jaw shot off by a hunter.(Never saw him). It swam about 20 feet and started to go under. The stepson jumped into his flat bottom boat and got there just as it was starting to sink. Total time, Approx. 5 minutes. This is in Mississippi. They don't float good here.

timbercruiser

The only ones I have ever seen was after about a week in warm water.

kodiakhuntmaster

I've seen a big boar hog swim. But when he got to the other side of the river and got shot, he rolled into the water and sank right to the bottom of the flint river never to be seen again. Biggest boar hog I ever saw. Biggest one mt buddy ever shot.

"Hey ya'll, watch this"

BrianDamage

check your game laws...it's illegal to take a deer in water herre in 'bama...might be where you live too
[*]NRA Annual Member www.nra.org[*]TNUSA Annual Member www.tnugent.com[*]NAHC[*]GOA[*]IDPA

Tazman

tschaef my only experience with deer and water was a sinking one for a buck my cousin shot, 4 loads of 00 buck out of a 20 gauge through the lungs, there was no way this deer should have ever made the river, little lone taken another step, but it ran about 100 yards down to the river, swam about 20-30 yards out and sank out of sight. With this many holes through its lungs I am sure this is why it sunk so quickly, I have no idea how long, or if a dead deer would float normally though.

The Tazman aka Martin Price
Founder and President of
Virginia Disabled Outdoorsmen Club

soarkrebel

They do not float!

Several years ago a friend shot a deer and it ran. they had been looking awhile when i got to them. there was a good blood trail until we got to a small creek,now the creek was about three feet deep. ,it had blood on the other side but stopped shortly after . they had looked and looked. i got to looking at the creek ,the visiblity of the water was very poor. so i picked up a large stick and stuck it in the water and felt around. and sure enough the deer was there. i reached in and pulled up a leg.
we got the deer out and figured he had jumped the creek but could no further and fell back into it.
they don't float.

SOUTH ARKANSAS REBEL

skeeter 7MM

If they have an approved and the right sized PFD, they'll float. Anything but that...they'll sink. The only animal i have seen float was a moose after being shot. Oh and yes it is legal to shoot game near, on or at water here.