Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Critters on the road - hit or avoid?

Little stuff I do nothing. Just yesterday I braked with a slight swerve to dodge a fawn.

I try to avoid hitting all critters if I can do it safely . I hit a 7-8 foot gator one night and knocked my front end out of alignment on my truck.

Bingo.

When I first started catching coons in the live trap, I took one out to "relocate" it in the countryside. I let it go and it took off like a shot. No big deal. got back in the truck, drove around the corner, and ran over another coon on the ride home. After that, I decided I might as well kill them myself, and do so.

Don’t swerve, run off the road and hit a tree in an attempt to miss a deer.
The wife of a guy I know did just that and it killed her passenger.

Impact energy increases by the square of the velocity so brake hard to minimize impact velocity and maintain control.

This, My cousins husband was killed dodging a dog.

Too many variables to consider on West Virginia roads.
However, I find that if you drive with some sense, stay alert and scan way ahead for glowing eyes, you can avoid over 90%, closer to 99%, of animal hits without putting yourself at risk.

On my road, there's a scumbag or two that go out of their way to hit good animals. One of them brags about driving 80 mph where the safe speed is 30.
One of these days he's going to total his face with a deer.

You asked about coyotes? It might be someone's pet dog. Always positive ID EVERYTHING before pulling the trigger.
Snakes? They are the farmer's friend. I rescue them and put them on my land to rid it of mice. This keeps the mice out of my house and buildings in the winter. Foolish to kill snakes. Some, like rat snakes, seek out copperheads and rattlers.
Possums? God made them for a good reason. Pair them up with a good black snake or two, and your property has no rodent problems. So they take a little fallen fruit once in a while. Small price to pay for such good service. Just another old wives tale prejudice like the big scary snakes.


“A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.”
Proverbs 12:10

This is what I taught my kids as well

My grandson recently moved up here to NW South Dakota after being raised in Sioux City, Iowa. Having no experience driving on gravel roads, last night he swerved to miss a racoon, and rolled and totaled his pickup. Fortunately, he was just banged up and bruised, but it just as easily could have been a fatality from the looks of his truck. Many prayers said last night thanking the Lord that he was spared. I seriously doubt he will try to dodge another critter, and also drive a little slower from now on.

Near Polo Missouri a man was on a curvy and flat out dangerous hilly road swerved to miss a dog and ran off the road, killing himself. Since reading about that I no longer swerve for animal unless as big as a horse or cow. From the state of Misery, Be Well C-I-K, Rustyzipper.

I'll never swerve so much that I'll leave the roadway. With that said, I drive like I've got sense, especially during the rut. If I see a deer crossing up ahead, I slow down because there's probably some more on their way.

Squirrels: If a tree rat runs out in front of me, he's on his own. I just hold course and speed.

Box Turtles: If I'm on a back road and can stop safely, I'll stop and get him off the road.

Snapping Turtles: These bastards can do some real damage. Even though I hate them, I try to miss them.

Rabbits: Same as squirrels, they're on their own.

Dogs: I would hate it if I ever hit a dog.

Cats: Try to miss, but I'm not going overboard.

Foxes: I give them a pass if I can.

Coyotes: Speed up and do my best to hit it. These bastards are becoming a real problem here.

Snakes: If it's a black snake, I'll try to miss it. Anything else gets Michelin tread design.

Possums: I try to miss them.

Coons: Same as possums.

Deer: I've hit 4 with damage ranging from $1000.00 to $4000.00. I'll try my damnest to miss them, but I'm not going to kill myself to do so.

This was the $4000.00 deal. I was doing 40 MPH in broad daylight. Came around a corner and it was a wall of deer. Luckily I only hit one.

My dad swerved to hit a woodchuck on the shoulder of the road one day and instantly regretted it. He told me it cost him $75 in 1982 dollars to fix the damage. Never tried it again. He used to say he’d not leave the road to avoid a critter, human life is more important. I adopted that philosophy early on...

I will not wreck a $30+k truck to save a 15 cent cat. I also have a roo guard on the rig, so larger critters will get the same treatment. Bumper link Rig was center punched by a van a couple years back putting the van's radiator just beneath its windshield. Bent my bumper a bit but never touched the truck itself. Got a new bumper out of the deal.

Was with my old man last week. He drove me to and from my nerve block, which I appreciated.

but....he bout threw us both through the windshield, braking for a dove picking gravel that took flight at the last second

Same journey home, crossed over the center line with a car coming onward to avoid a tree limb diameter of a pencil laying on the white line near the shoulder.

My mother told me before she passed, give him what-for if he does any kind of stupid shît. I think both qualified. I was like dude...you used to fly $10,20...??million aircraft??? WTF

My wife would cross 4 lanes of rush hour traffic to hit a possum. She just plain hates them, but can't give a reason why.

Don't swerve to miss a whitetail. You can't do it. You jerk the wheel to the right, meanwhile, the deer has zigged, and zagged, and zigged again. Lay on the brakes and steer straight.
Don't bother with flashing the headlights. But you can run the deer off with blowing the horn. Short intermittant blasts.

I worked hundreds of deer/car wrecks as a paramedic in central Ga. Never saw anyone killed in a deer wreck* but saw several killed, who swerved and hit an oak tree.


*Probably not applicable to moose. Never saw a moose wreck we don't have 'em in Georgia.

If it is going to damage my vehicle, I try to avoid, otherwise, it's huntin' season.

The best way I know of to [bleep] up a pizen snake is to not merely run over it, but to lock the brakes and slide over it. Mixes up their insides with their outsides and smears both down the road, gravel or paved.

Coyotes .. I have not hit one, but I chased one almost 3 miles where the road was on a dike crossing a shallow lake. So I was trying to shoot him, but by the time I could get from 50-ish to stopped, he'd get out of range of my headlights so I'd have to haul ass to catch up again. As we were running out of lake, I put the coal to it and ran past him. He ducked off the side, then turned and went back the other direction so I chased his ass for 3 more miles. He got away but I betcha that was a tired mother [bleep] by the end of that night.

Jackrabbits, digger squirrels. I've run down a couple squirrels with a dirt bike. Huh .. this spring I ran one down on foot then beat it to death with a claw hammer. A little psycho perhaps but not bad for an old fat man.

I've hit a couple deer ... don't like that. Couple times it worked out ok, once it went badly. Oh, yeah, and one time I hit a bear with my dad's truck. He'd bought a new truck and was driving it home with mom, I was driving the old truck home. Just barely grazed it. In town .. uh, "town". Well, it had a name on a sign by the road. No stop lights, no cross walk, but some buildings.

I personally have a 'don't kill what i don't eat' policy. So if i am not deliberately killing any animal to feed. then i will have to pass.

Me first, animal way down the list.
Lesson one:
Was involved in a multi-car pileup involving a dog as a passenger. Nobody hurt, but thousands in damage to seven vehicles. Dog was just fine, at least he was as I watched him run into the fence line on the far side of the field.
Lesson two:
Neighborhood dog, I'm putting along on my shiny, unscratched KZ750E. I see him, finger the brakes, then grab a handful as he pops out from behind a parked car. He goes under the front tire, on which the bike is now balanced, and boink, I'm on my can, the dog is broken, the bike is scratched on all four sides.

Rule one:
Never overdrive your headlights.
Rule two:
Mount a big, gnarly aftermarket bumper on your expensive rig. It will save you big bucks.
Rule three:
Never steer AND brake to miss anything. Brake first, and only after you've bled almost all your speed, THEN steer behind if behind means the ditch, NEVER the opposing lane.

One thing I always do when I know (or suspect) there are animals is, check your mirror. If someone is on your @$$, slow down more and LET THEM PASS and run interference for you. I've done that twice where the guy zooms along and takes the hit for me! At dusk, it's great to use THEIR headlights to spot critters way down the road....

In general, I'll gently brake unless there's someone behind me (and I always track my six) but when it comes to trying to change direction, almost never, with horses, cows and moose being the exception. I have killed numerous birds, deer, dogs, pheasants, turkeys, almost all of them were moving fast from the roadside onto pavement, and I'm not interested in guessing what they might do next. Stationary animals, I've always been able to stop before I hit them. The exception was a fricking MOOSE, and I decked him pretty good. He did get up and run away pretty straight, I just hope it hurt bad enough to teach him a lesson.

Deer.....dogs.......coyote etc.......

stay in my lane & hope for the best

Elk ? make other arrangements..............

These frame mounted bars should help with most collisions....

I ran over an armadillo when I was in FT Hood, TX. Thought I ran over a tool box....