Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Need help with deer reaction to shot

Shot a buck tonight at 150 yards. I heard the bullet hit him and at the shot he reared straight up on his hind legs almost flipping over. When he came down took off running dragging left leg. Ran into a nasty CRP patch no blood. Going back in the morning. What do you think of the shot ?

Sounds like you should go get it tonight.

We did look for a little while. The CRP he ran into is about 5 ft tall and with lights and such in the dark cant see crap .

what gun did you shoot him with? was it a muzzle loader?

I'm used to them kicking the rear legs.

No blood sucks. I like a trail Stevie Wonder could follow.

That said, I'd be out right now looking. Coyotes gotta eat, but not my deer.

What is a CRP patch?? raising up on his hind legs sounds like a heart shot,, I have done many and they were always about 50 yds away..but never recalled any dragging their hing leg..I am sorry you dident say which leg he was dragging...

Sorry dragging his left front leg. CRP is ground that is planted switch grass. Conservation Reserve Program.

Smokeless muzzleloader.

I had the same shot on a Doe with a muzzle loader.. it was a heart shot that broke her right leg, through the heart and lodged under the skin on the far side.. on entry the bullet entered at the elbow broke her leg but went in where the skin was loose and no blood lost , then passed through the heart. all the blood stayed under the skin.. I tracked her for about 150 yds and found her dead.. mark each spot you found his track to establish a straight line for about 50 yds and follow that line and you will probably fall over him.. they run as straight as possible when heart shot .. I learned my tracking skills from an uncle that was part Indian trust me on this..

Doesn't take an Indian to know these very basic tracking skills but good advice nonetheless....

I haven't got as much experience as some
Started hunting whitetail deer 45 years ago.
I've used gun and bow and muzzle loader.
In my experience, a human can't say for sure
what they'll do or where they'll go if they have
that keyed up adrenaline shot. I've had some
run 15 20 yards with their lungs turned to red
jello and a heart in pieces. I've shot em through
and through with an arrow,and they barely flinched
and walked about 4 more steps and just sank
to the ground. The ones I've had experience
with are totally unpredictable.
I'll say this- if I've got any blood I'll follow up
until I find it or I run out of daylight or flashlight
batteries or energy to carry on. I'm not feeding
the varmints any venison

Maybe you'll find it with no problems

Damn that was funny!

Was uncles name, 'Walking Eagle'?

Until they don't. 2nd buck shot this year was straight through the heart, he went straight for about 30 yards, then made a 90 degree right turn for 40 yards, then a hard left for 10 yards.

I've seen them do so many silly things the I refuse to have a staunch view on which way they should go. What I do know is if you know the shot is true, you will find them, but it can take some time.

To me it does sound like a heart shot as well. You’ll find it. I’ve seen a lot of deer shot with a muzzle loader not leave much blood.

I’ve had the rear up when I’ve hit them high in the shoulder but under the spine, broken front leg and they lift it to run off, they normally don’t go far and die. Also shot one in the leg below the chest cavity and she reared up, I got another one in her and saw I’d essentially only broker her leg and that’s why she drug it. The answer is, you won’t know what happened till you find him. And every deer is different and reactions differ greatly from deer to deer

Hard to tell, most hit hard will mule kick imo, although not the vast majority so could be a solid hit and you'll find it quickly. Could be a low hit as well and clipped the leg, those can go for miles. Hard telling but I'm hoping you find him quickly and easily and we see pics here in a little bit. Good luck!

And again, a perfect double lung 50 cal buck this year ran a perfect straight line for 100 yards and the only blood was the last 40 feet.

bp72, Where's the pics?

I shot a whitetail buck that was quartering away at about 80 yards that did the rear up on its hind legs and tip over backwards reaction thing. After about 5 seconds it jumped up and took off in the direction it had originally come from like nothing was wrong with it. I’m in the habit of reloading immediately after a shot just in case so I was prepared and hit him again and it dropped at the shot. 140 .277 Accubond @ 3k+. Both shots connected on heart/lung so #2 was likely unnecessary. I have no idea why that buck would rear up like a horse on a shot that came from a 210 degree angle behind it. My case study of one similar reaction says you heart shot it and will hopefully recover in daylight.