Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Accidental deer kill

I didn't know where else to post this so here goes. Deer were munching on my landscaping last winter so I took to getting out my air rifle and popping them in the ass when seen in daylight hours. They would kick and then run maybe 100 ft and stop, it was kind of funny. Then I hit a large doe square in the rib cage and it dropped to the ground like it was my .30-06. It could never stand up and after about 3 hours I had to put it out of its misery with a ball bat. I'm baffled as to how a .177 pellet at about 50 feet could paralyze the hindquarters of a big, mature doe. Was it nerve damage?