Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting How many have you killed with a running shot?

I have taken 3 with a scoped rifle, 2 with a haw-ken rifle and 2 with a 44 mag pistol in 30 yrs of hunting. Some times your just lucky

I've been hunting for 27 years. Never taken a running shot on one that I hadn't already put at least one bullet in when not running. Shot two heart-shot bucks with second shots and broke them down. One through the neck, one through the hips. I could still see them running, so I was still shooting. Bolt actions both times.

I'm just not practiced up enough to warrant shooting an non-wounded running deer unless it was maybe buckshot in a shotgun.

65 plus years hunting in country where we needed hounds and jump dogs, I would say 80 % have been on moving or Running Deer.

this will be my 54th year hunting deer prob 60% running shots, No big deal been shooting running game since I was 5. This on whitetail, muleys a little different bit of an odd pattern to follow there just takes a little more time.

i have to admit, one of them with a pistol was on a wounded deer i had shot 1 hour before with a rifle that i had been tracking

I've never shot one running. Don't think I could keep them in the scope.


However, a few of the Deer where walking or moving along. Only a few were doing what I would call a run.

Maybe 3 or 4 in over 50 years hunting.. Most years I have gotten at least one deer..

One. Considering it was a decent sized buck, and ran right under me, I felt obligated.

Normally, the way I hunt, it isn't necessary. Kinda like asking a guy in wide-open country in North Dakota how many he's shot from a tree-stand during rifle season....

I popped one in the back of the head on a running shot. I was aiming at the neck.

I am certain I have never killed an animal while running

Only one attempt at running, unwounded game. This one was a whole 65 yards away with his head stuck in a juniper.From his standing start he didn't make it three steps...not a tough shot...





On critters that someone else had wounded, Ive rolled over quite a few on the run. Firm believer in I'll take any shot at any wounded critter I can get with anything I have in my hands at the time. Otherwise...not a fan of running shots.

Ya I don't like running hit a couple walking though. I still prefer to be stationary.

I was walking a tree row and creek and kicked up three deer. I shot one doe on the run with a 30.06 Savage 110. She was s hit her below the shoulder but above the "elbow" joint. Complete pass through that made her cartwheel over, I immediately put a finisher in her neck.

I shot my second running deer last year another doe that happened to run behind me, with a 30.06. It was placed farther back than I liked but stopped the deer. I put a finisher in it as well.

I prefer stationary over anything else but will take the shot depending on the circumstance.

I know a few hunters that do deer drives and the majority of their shots are on running game.

I've shot a few runners, never felt it was that hard of a shot under 100 yards or so. Of course I tend to throw lead at coyotes running full out at 400+ yards ( rarely with any success, but dang it's fun) so deer at 50 don't seem too challenging.

I grew up hunting in a family that made deer drives and for years running deer were all I had a chance to shoot. For a deer to run out of the woods and stop they had to have a death wish. I couldn't begin to guess how many I killed running. They most assuredly are easier than shooting birds though because leading them is so much easier with a rifle faster than a 30-30. Shot a number with shotgun and slugs, but as long as it's close like bird range and the shotgun is one you shoot birds with that is pretty easy too. When you have a deer running flat out, they don't bounce and are much easier as well.

As for scopes, I always keep them cranked down to 1 or 1.5x. I shoot like with a shotgun, both eyes open, and don't really notice a difference. The last running deer I killed were with a 30-30 and they were already wounded. Shot them in the head, one about fifty feet, one about fifty yards. That was the only two deer moving much in the last fifteen years or so.

I do it exactly how it's seen on TV - I wait for a standing, broadside shot, then range the animals even when they're under 200 yards, and finally, I wait until the next morning to recover them.

You guys kill them?

I usually just get drunk until it's time to tear down, and go back home.




Travis

I tried that many times, but we don't have enough coyotes here to eat them up completely by morning, and its usually cool enough that the meat wont spoil.
The TV guys don't seem to care if it spoils or not-even on elk- and Ive seen many just tag the antlers, and haul them out because the coyotes got the deer.
Couldn't frankly believe they had the ethics to use their tag...

I grew up hunting in ND when walking draws etc. was the preferred method so deer were usually on the move by the time they were seen. I can think of at least half a dozen that were on the run when I killed them. I'm sure it didn't do any wonders for the meat and I'm glad I learned how to use glassing to locate deer rather than boot leather. I haven't taken a running shot at a deer in years aside from one that jumped up and took off after being down for 30 seconds or so.

Sometimes it is hard to focus on making that perfect back-edge-of-the-lung shot when that heavy metal soundtrack is playing. Don't know how those guys do it.