Someone is missing their deer

[1965Jeff]

Our neighbor to the North reported a 3 legged buck laying in our pasture last night shortly after 5pm, he called to see if he could put him down which I told him was fine. When he went back it got up and tripodded away. We showed up shortly (Wife) and it was pretty dark by then- no luck. I hope to find him later this morning, I hate to think of an animal suffering unnecessarily . Gun deer season started here last Weds. No one else showed up to try and claim the wounded deer so he could have been hit by a car, but no one complained or was in the area when we drove around coming home.

[Weatherby]

A hunt an area where several of the deer I have taken have been hit by cars at some point.

That is what I gather from their previous healed injuries at least.

Hope someone finishes it off if necessary.

They can be pretty resilient too

[Varmintmist]

Deer can get along OK with 3 as long as there isnt internal damage. I had pics of a doe on a game cam that the front rt hoof was turned in, looks like she was hit by a car, she got around OK and showed up at the feeder whenever I put food in it.

[Fisheadgib]

A few years back, one of the guys on our lease had a buck directly under the tree that he was jacked up in and he took a shot straight down at it but being that he was about 50' up in a swaying tree, the shot he was trying to put between the shoulder blades was off to the side and he took the right front leg off completely.(.300win mag) He recovered the remains of the leg but we never found the deer. He said it ran off like it still had all four.

[bullsi1911]

Last year, we had someone near our lease that was wounding a bunch of deer. We had one that as sick after being shot in the rump, one with a blown off jaw, and an Axis deer that I harvested that had a scar from a bullet being skipped off it's forehead:

headwound.jpg

[Varmintmist]

Not saying it could not have been a Fudd "huntin ain't shootin" type. If you looked at the post about my oldest daughters deer, I had a butt shot buck limping through. His rear right cheek had a red blotch on it. Due to AR I couldn't take it.

[Varmintmist]

Last year, we had someone near our lease that was wounding a bunch of deer. We had one that as sick after being shot in the rump, one with a blown off jaw, and an Axis deer that I harvested that had a scar from a bullet being skipped off it's forehead:

Which IMHO a head shot is the worst shot to ever try for 99% of the hunters out there. You don't waste meat if you take them just behind the shoulder and you have a 9 inch circle of error that you can miss into and still take the deer.

[JerryBobCo]

I killed a 3 legged deer once. Actually, it still had all 4 of its legs, but could only use 3 of them. It's right shoulder was completely useless, and the muscle mass in it was totally atrophied. When I jumped it, its right front leg did not even touch the ground when it tried to run. My guess is that someone had shot it in the shoulder the year before.

Anyway, I agree with Varmintmist on this issue. Deer can manage on 3 legs.

[Teach]

I took a snap-shot at a running doe with a .35 Remington loaded with .357 jacketed softpoints and thought I saw hair fly through the scope just as it made a hard right turn into dense cover. I spent the next two hours in a drizzling rain trying to track it, with no luck- - - -not even a drop of blood anywhere. Fast forward to late summer of the following year- - - -my son told me about seeing a doe with twin fawns across the road from his house with a softball-sized bald spot along its ribs on one side! Same deer? Maybe!
Jerry

[bullsi1911]

Anyway, I agree with Varmintmist on this issue. Deer can manage on 3 legs.

Yep. I have seen several 3 legged deer managing just fine. One is bedding down in my mom's front yard along with a herd of 6-7 does. He was hit by a car in front of her house last year, recuperated between the two out buildings, and came back this year as a just MASSIVE buck with a nice (if asymmetrical and goofy looking) rack. Since my mom lives in the middle of town, he is safe from everything but cars.

And no, we did not help him. We just let nature take its course.

[1965Jeff]

I made two circles through the side of the pasture where he was spotted last night, one on foot a second on the 4-wheeler with no joy. I will watch for crows the next couple of days.

[NN]

Once when rabbit hunting, the dogs got on a deer and ran it out of the area and onto
a divided highway where it got hit and killed.

We kept the deer and upon skinning it out we found that it was probably the second
time that deer had been hit by a vehicle as one shoulder had been busted up and was then
fused together so as to not allow use of that leg.

[Linefinder]

When I was a kid I jump-shot a swamp rabbit that took off like most other rabbits. When I retrieved it, it's right rear leg was stretched out straight full length, and totally immovable from the hip joint down. Couldn't tell it when it was running, though.

I guess it was one I'd "dusted" the year before, judging by how it looked when I skinned it.

Mike

[bklysen]

A buddy who ran a butcher shop has shared a few stories over the years about what he finds in his customers' deer. Aside from the normal stuff you'd expect like bullet fragments, broadheads and carbon shivs, he'd name the year and make of headlight bezels from various trucks and autos (he also worked at NAPA ), strands of wire complete with the barbs and a few other weird things I've forgotten.

I'm amazed at what critters can endure.

Jeff - did you find that deer yet?

[bullsi1911]

Pulled the pics off my game camera this weekend, and saw what appeared to be one of our spike cull bucks with an apparent bullet wound to his hindquarters. The redneck neighbors strike again.

My thought is an attempted Texas Heart Shot. One of the guys on my lease thinks it must be a passthough shot.