Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Ever had a deer come back to life or refuse to die

I shot a nice 9 pt couple years ago with a 25-06 at about 20yds at the shot he rolled down the mountain got on his feet and ran.After about an hour I picked up the blood trail and found him stone cold dead or so I thought.I poked his eyes nothing grabbed the rack and pulled him to a spot to gut him.I rolled him over on his back and grabbed my knife when he started blinking and turning his head.Next thing I know he was on his feet I had to shoot him two more times never forget it.

My dog just trailed a buck that finally got 5 rounds of 270 in it before it died... thankfully we had Tiger to find him as he was not bleeding much and it was pouring rain....

I've never had an issue. I can count on one had the times I had to fire two shots at a deer.

Another time I was hunting with my muzzle loader and grunted in a big 8 pt.When I saw horns coming up the ridge about 50yds I brought up the gun and put the cross hairs on his shoulder. About the same time I pulled the trigger he dropped his head and fell backwards at the shot.He never moved so I walked up to him he was breathing heavy blinking his eyes.I reloaded the gun and shot point blank behind his shoulder at the shot he tried to stand and rolled about 10 feet down the hill thrashing his horns.Another shot sealed the deal upon inspection the first shot put a 300 gr xtp hit the base of his horn and glanced around the side of the skull.

Never happened to me, nor have I seen it first hand.

This video always cracks me up though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xum24z2R7qM

I've hit two with high spine shots that lay there paralyzed and looking dead until I approached. One twitched and pawed like the spine was broken and the other just looked dead. I didn't collect either of them, although both were tracked over 600 yards before they stopped bleeding.

I shot an 8-point once that didn't blink when I touched the barrel of the rifle to his eye. Then I grabbed an antler to pick up his head. He shook his head, twisted the antler out of my hand, and got up running. I put another in him that entered his neck and came out below his eye. Then he was dead.

I don't remember any others playing dead, or dying with stubbornness.

Steve.

Hit a buck with a crown VIC that took 1 shoulder shot, 2 neck shots one face hit and a final contact distance behind the ear with a short barreled ruger 45LC corbons.

Was hunting New York public land years ago when a doe was shot close to where I was hunting. The doe staggered and fell about 50 yards from me and I watched as the shooter aproached his "dead doe" put down his Browning BAR and pulled out his knife (a medium machete). At that point that poor little doe jumped up and took off running. I saw it later that day, limping pretty bad, and put one in her ribs to end her suffering. Last time for me in New York.

LMAO.


http://video.foxnews.com/v/46421381...sh-into-buck-/?intcmp=hpff#sp=show-clips

I once had to give a doe 3 shots, 5 beers, and bottle of Mad Dog and three Kamikaze's to get her off her feet. Man, those Sisconnie girls can DRINK!

Just had it happen, actually (refuse to die).

I shot a mule deer buck laying in his bed at 215 yards. I was shooting a 264 Winchester Magnum, running 140gr Nosler Accubonds at 3300 at the muzzle (don't try that at home, that load was a little on the "warm" side).

At the shot, he didn't move. Not a twitch, flop, nothing. Just laid there as he had been.

I cranked in another shell and let another one fly. That one made his head flop and he started what I figured was the fairly normal thrashing at death. Except it didn't stop.

So, I walked down the canyon I'd shot across and when I was about 60-70 yards from him, he got pretty serious about his thrashing and carrying on, so I put a third into his ribs.

When I walked up to him, he went at it AGAIN thrashing around trying to get up. I shot him at the muzzle (in the chest), and it was still probably 30 seconds till he'd fully expired.

His left side (impact side) was pretty much pre-made hamburger. Three shots hit about an inch below the spine, through the shoulder, angled down through the chest to exit between 3 and 4 inches below the spine on the exit side. The 4th was middle of the chest (done when I walked up to him). Lungs were basically in pieces, and gallons of blood poured out of him.

I cannot explain it, and would probably be skeptical it ever happened if it hadn't happened to me.

Wound channels/exit wounds all looked absolutely perfect....nickel sized exits or bigger on all of them, massive internal damage......the bugger just wouldn't give up.

The 9pt I shot was with winchester super x 120 gr positive expansion points the next day I traded that gun for a 30-06 and never looked back.

When I was in my teens and a pretty good shot with a bow I came to full draw on a scrubby 6 pt only to have him step behind a big hickory at 15 yds and look right at me.This went on for 2 or 3 minutes and 80lb let off was not enough I shot him thru the head I kid u not a broad head thru the brain. I still had to chase him down and cut his throat.The fletchings peeled off and went 6 ft in the air when thy went thru his head I've got the skull some where I'll find it.

Years ago on a very hot evening I shot a doe in a swamp during NYS gun season. At the shot the doe went right down in some cattails and did not move. Since it was so hot I decided to walk back out to my SUV and dump some of my clothes and shotgun before I gutted the doe and dragged her out.

After I humped back to the doe I quickly realized she was not dead and had no intention of dying without a fight. It was not pleasant but I ended up slitting her throat to kill her.

One of my dumber moves leaving my shotgun at the car.

An older friend shot a 6 pointer with a muzzleloader about 10 years ago. He radioed everyone to say he was the first to get a buck. He then placed a chest harness on the buck to drag it 30 yards to the ATV trail. Dickie was waiting for help and sat down on a log when the buck came back to life. The deer drug him a few yards before the rope broke on the harness. Another member of the group saw the buck running with the rope around it's neck. The deer was never found and we still kid Dickie about killing the deer before calling for help.

Or could have picked a better bullet...

A deer doesn't 'refuse' to die. If it's properly hit with a good bullet, it will die whether it wants to or not. If it doesn't, spend more time at the range or use a caliber/bullet that's up to the job. A wounded deer is hunter's error.

I don't chalk it up to anything more than just the old timers stories,but every since I remember I always heard tale of someone always knowing of some one shooting a buck,and setting their rifle on the rack to take a picture,and the deer runs off with their gun.

I don't know let me check the freezer.

I once shot a small doe 3 times, all to the chest at 25 yards with a 165 gr BT from a 30-06. I was sure the first round would have been fatal but she kept getting back up and was near the edge of a steep ravine that would have made recovery much more difficult.

Another time I shot a doe at less than 20 yards as she popped out of some brush onto a two track road. She hit the dirt on her side and didn't even twitch. I shucked in another round and turned back to the brush to see if there was a buck following. I heard a scuffling noise and looked back to the doe and she was gone! No blood, hair, nothing. I spent about an hour searching without any sign before giving it up. I'm pretty sure my shot was high and stunned her spinal cord temporarily. I've heard and read of many similar stories.

If I shoot a deer and it immediately collapses without any movement I now watch it like a hawk and approach it carefully with my rifle at the ready.