Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Still kicking, but DRT?

My last two deer have me puzzled as to why they can still kick with a lights out cns shot? I've usually taken a behind the shoulder shot and the deer run a bit, but are doa when I get there. These last two however presented me with an over head spine shot between the shoulders and another one with a broadside neck shot. Both went down immediately, but what has me curious is how a deer can continue to kick it's back leg for a bit with it's spine or neck broken?

ever hear of reflexes?.....

Ever hear of "flopping around like a chicken with it's head cut off"?

Only place they won't kick after being shot is the medulla oblongota. Base of the brain. They won't twitch if hit there.

Systemic Shock?

I have seen deer look for all the world like they are running for a stride or two with an evacuated brain box. I have seen deer lash around and kick like hell after a head shot. I have seen deer make a strong after to get back up after a spine shot. I have seen deer with a spin shot lose all front leg control and yet the back legs try to drive the deer forward 6-10 feet

After a brain stem shot the only part of the deer I have ever seen move is legs, and them only very slowly and that after a couple minutes which I took to be a muscles losing oxygen thing and not something nerve driven. Muscles deprived of oxygen become irritated and will try to contract, but it is not something with power and poorly coordinated because not all muscle fibers act together.

I shot this buck in the spine with a Federal Power-Shok 30-30 170 grain SPRN while bedded, he hopped once and came down just behind his bed. No legs kicking.



This buck was walking across a hay field and I put 87 grain Speer Hot-Cor in the spine. Poleaxed, never kicked, but did see his tail twitch a couple of times.





So, because deer are not shot in precision laboratory environments, it is difficult to predict how they will react.

There's a solid rule of thumb....
The more quick an animals reflexes are the longer the muscles act after death.
Snakes for instance continue to react to touch hours after decapitated.
Shot a doe last night dead in the brain and she kicked for 3-4 minutes.

Lol horse, that's exactly what I thought of 🤣

I asked an MD that question and they said that the body does not die all at the same time. My rule of thumb is to shoot again if the head goes up, but I sure would not have wanted to be in range of some of those death throw kicks that I've seen. Probably right on with that medulla oblongata post because the back of the neck is where they hit the calves with a two electrode high voltage electrical probe to put them down in the packing house. I can't say that I ever saw cows kick once they were knocked in the forehead and their throats cut hanging on the rail.

Every deer is different. Dad shot a buck in the neck a couple weeks back that fell, got up, ran about 30yds, and fell dead as a hammer.

I've shot some big deer at close range in the base of the neck just in front of the shoulder point and they kicked for a bit. Heck, I've shot plenty behind the shoulder that fell right on the spot without much of a wiggle, while the same shot on dozens of others resulted in a run like a scalded dog.

I've killed over 200 deer in my life and every one has a different death dance. I've seen a few do that kicking thing before, almost like they're still trying to run. That's why I stay the hell away from them for at least 15 minutes, or until they stop moving.

I had one dead, lungs and heart out on the ground along with most of the guts. As I was cutting the meat along the atch bone getting to split hips the legs started kicking. That was a bit weird but like others have said lots of variables in the way things die when shot.

The Crappie Flop.

My weirdest deer kill, was a doe that I took with a neck shot that took out the top half of the spine. The front legs were paralyzed, the back legs had coordinated movement and the deer was able to scoot along on its chest. The doe got about 30 yards before I could get a head shot and end the excitement.

When I skinned the top half of the spinal cord was gone, taken out by the 270 bullet. I am amazed that the spinal cord did not receive enough trauma to fully shut down and nerve traffic to the hind legs.