A wounded deer will head towards _______?
 

If a deer is wounded what are your expereinces in the direction they tend to run? Towards water, food, a thick cover, bedding areas, etc?

IME cover is the answer. Almost any animal Ive ever seen wounded will head for the thickest accesible cover for obvious reasons.

A wounded deer will head towards Water__.
If there is open water any where close.
Thats where deer will go.
All the deer I have seen shot close to water, thats where you find them floating.
Even in the hunting shows, when deer is shot close to open water, they show the hunter wading in the water to get the deer.

JMHO

All the ones that I have seen have headed for thick cover and they bed down till things calm down then they will head for water.

I gues its, which ever the deer is closest to at the time.

JMHO

I really don't think a deer has the ability to reason where it is heading after it has been seriously wounded. I think they simply run like hell...and cover may well be where they are headed because that's where they run when confused.

As far as towards water, it stands to reason that water will be the lowest point around and a wounded animal will likely take the path of least resistance; which is normally downhill.

Just my observations.

yes i agree with the previous...when trackin blood with the dog, it seems as though the deer are headed in the path of least resistance..
usually the lane you see from afar, is where they went..
the bigger openin in the tree's
and the path thats easier to see on the run, if you will.

Seems that they always stick to a deer trail of some sort from the start but when they know something just isn't good, they hit some thick/gnarly cover to bed up and lay low... also, I'd say water.

Just went back and read this post.. I'd agree with you.

I think alot of time they try to get back to their core area after being shot. Which is their place of security. They will drag you right into their bedding area. Lot of times you find rubs in the areas that they go. I have found a few deer right next to the water or in the water.

down hill and towards water. Rarely do I ever see one head up. Usually around water is heavy cover. So they usually coincide.

Exactly what I was going to say. Ultimately, thick cover.

which way will they go?
 

In my experience they go downhill (ease of movement) and to think cover.

Same thing you would do if you were shot.

:rock:
new name?

In my experiences, Cover or downhill.

I have to agree....they usually look for cover,running down-hill or water if they are hurt bad enough....I have also seen Deer run back the direction from which they came because they know it was safe back that direction and I have seen Deer circle back around too!

All the deer I've shot head toward the ground and no matter where I hunt, their always just a couple feet from it.

depends on what is near by: water, thick cover, also if your near a hill they will go down hill 99% of the time

Down Here in the South ,they always head for water.

Bingo....exactly what I was going to say downhill first then into something thick.



Mitch

The only time a deer will go to water is if they are gut shot. They will get a high fever and will go to the water. A deer hit hard is thinking one thing... go somewhere for protection so that means cover. There may be water near by but they aren't heading to the water but the cover.

The butcher shop.

Depends on where they are shot where they end up. A vital shot such as liver or other organ will result in death faster thus they are usually found in an area where they feel safer just to escape the immediate danger. A deer who has been gut shot will do the same but alot of times doesn't die within hours. With a belly ache they would likely go to a water source to drink to soothe the upset stomach and fight dehydration much like we would. Then they could hold tight until death because of the pain caused by every step they take. I believe any deer with the time to make it toward water will eventually get there and most likely die there.

NaPPY13
 

I am a one shot one kill kind of guy, so i dont need any tracking experiences

expect hunter

Apparently you haven't been hunting long

Exactly what I was thinking. Depending on the wound and how close to death they are will depend on it. If heavy cover is close and the wound is fatal in the close future (Liver and such) they will head straight to the heavy cover. I have to say I have found more than one deer skeleton with a arrow in it in thick cover when I have been rabbit and pheasant hunting. Seems like they know to escape iminent danger by heading to the thick stuff. If it is a wound that might not kill them immediately or even at all, I think they will head to water (if close enough) with some sort of good cover around it. I have to think that more often than not, the heavy cover will win for a deer. Put that near water and you most likely have a good spot for dying deer. Cattails near a swamp would be the first place I'd search for a wounded deer or even a drainage ditch in ag areas. I know of a few guys that have lost bucks in the fall after endless searching and once the spring rolls around they search all the heavy cover and ditches in the area and have found a few skulls of with antlers still attached whether there's or not.

Also, good post question. Good to hear what people's opinions are on this.

water or thick cover, whichever is closest. I've found a many of them in both. Normally with dogs on their butt they head to water. Pulled 3 bucks last yr out of thigh-deep water. Our land is flat as a pancake so I'm not sure about the uphill/downhill arguement..

X2...thats what i would have answerd, also seen them run back in the direction they came in and same trail.

Not only are you demonstrating poor grammar, you're also a pretty crappy hunter. Ignorance is bliss.

If you can't respond to post with a semi-educated response, then please don't bother posting at all. I don't find you to be amusing at all.

All the deer I have shot have either gone into a thicket or into water.

I was on a committee for a controlled hunt and got called out many times each season to search for wonded deer.We recovered 100% of the gut shot deer that we went after as long as the deer weren't pushed.If someone gut shot a deer and immediately left the area until morning,we found the deer every single time and it was always almost within 100 yards of where they lost sight of it from their stand.Usually it was within 50 to 60 yards from where they last saw it. Two years ago,I helped recover 5 different gut shot deer that were left overnight and three of them were still alive the next morning.None of the gut shot deer I've ever recovered,and there's been dozens of them ever went to water.If they aren't spooked to bad and not pressured,they usually lay down as soon as they can and generally don't get back up unless someone pushed them.The opposite side of the story also holds true.Every year,we get loads of calls from guys who gut shoot deer and immediately decide to go after them.I can't remember a single one that we recovered that was pushed soon after being shot.This is archery season I speaking of.

From my experience,the whole water theory is over rated.Deer run to where they feel safe and in many cases,there's no figuring that out.I've seen mortaly wounded deer go up steep ravines and pass right through or over water.

Patience is the best tool any hunter can use to find marginally hit deer.Most mortaly wounded deer will lay down in a very short distance.If they don't get pushed,you'll usually find them right there.If I shoot a deer before dark and I don't see it go down or hear it crash,I wait til morning.I've tracked way too many deer after dark that others hunters claimed were hit perfect to take any chances.

Severe blood loss and or internal organ damage can trick the body into thinking it is dehydrated, hence the water theory. I'm sure if a deer knows that no significant water sourse is around it's heading for deep cover. I'm also pretty sure that deer are like people in the fact that each one will react differently.

every hunt iv gone with my dad they always seem to run towards the river

[quote=DougE;3638547]None of the gut shot deer I've ever recovered,and there's been dozens of them ever went to water.

From my experience,the whole water theory is over rated.Deer run to where they feel safe and in many cases,there's no figuring that out.I've seen mortaly wounded deer go up steep ravines and pass right through or over water.
quote]

I agree with your method of waiting, but I have to wonder how it is you never found a deer near water. I too have tracked many deer and if there was any significant water anywhere within the vicinity many times it was in that direction or right at the water where we found the deer the next day. Maybe my experiences are the exception but I would definitely not overlook the water if I was searching for a deer.

From my experinence, a deer that has been hit hard will look for thick cover right away. We have found deer in places a rabbit would go. In time, that deer may begin to get dehydrated due to loss of blood and may attempt to get to water if it is close enough.

Also, deer usually take the path of least resistance but have been know to run uphill if needed. It all depends on the severity of the shot.

[quote=4evrhtn;3638798]I don't know what to say.I've tracked and recovered more deer than I can count offhand and never had one die near water.In most cases,there was water nearby but the deer never made any effort to go to it.I'm not saying it's worthless to check water but it's not even close to as sure of a bet as many claim.

I have been lucky as far as having to track deer. I shot and lost one with a gun once and it crossed the same creek a couple times. I believe it knew I was following him. It was the first day and the woods was full of hunters so it held tight to that area. I never got him and as I tracked him I could see he was not mortally hit.
Another time I helped my buddy trail one he hit with a gun, and it actually laid down at a small stream. That one was not a kill hit either. I don't know if it lay in the mud to stop the bleeding, or because the bullet was hot. Either way, when it got up and left, the blood trail had stopped. I guess it depends how much other disturbance is in the area as to how they react.

easy answer....where it feels safe...safehaven

Water and heavy cover

I was told water because the deer's body is getting overheated from the loss of blood and is feeling the burning desire to cool down.