So on any given day they'll be some Critter on the road that I need to either smack with the truck... or avoid.
F
Would you run down a possum?

How about a snake?

Coyote?

I try to avoid, as long as I don’t wreck or cause a wreck
I have a weakness. If possible I try and rescue turtles and snakes.

Same here.

I've stopped and turned on flashers, got out and ushered baby coons across the road.
Rescued turtles too,

I am watchful of squirrels and other critters.

But a possum gets converted to speed bump.

Did swerve to hit a squirrel once, but after somebody coming the other way smashed his back end flat, he was still thrashing so I finished him off.
Poor bastard.

I suppose the rather upset lady behind me didn't see the initial problem.

I'll hit the brakes, but I will not swerve for animals. My life and the lives of my passengers are far more important than any animal's life.

Kids principal swerved to miss a deer, hit a tree.
Never made it out of the hospital.

Dude lived across from my hunting spot did the same thing down the road a ways.

No other cars hit in their evasive maneuvers.

Was hunting and heard a crash on the road nearby. Others stopped. Gal swerved and took it head on into embankment.
While cops and ambulance were there, more deer ran right through em.

I was in a treeline 150 yards straight down from the wreck. I let the does pass. Coulda shot one but figured the people would freak.

Fugg the deer. I can always buy another car,
I don't swerve.

Told my kids the same thing.
Brake and maintain control.

Pops got a new engine in his Blazer because he bought it new and it was in good shape.
Young gal swerved to miss a cat and trashed three cars (plus hers) in front of my dads house.

Totalled his Blazer,

Aint that the way it works LOL

I hit the gas AND aim for squirrels

if they’re dead, already hit by someone else, I’ll run over the lump again. Nature’s little speed bumps


If I have my tandem trailer, I usually have someone on my six, I’ll hit a greasy dead possum and sometimes it will flip it up airborne, just for them


I’ll stop, and put myself at peril to rescue a box turtle. And relocate them to our farm. (Springs, creeks, mature forest)

If its something you can eat, hammer down.

When I am driving I always keep an eye out for animals in front of me ,oncoming vehicles and vehicles behind me in case I would need to swerve .
I respect all animals whether they are Snakes or Possums,cats dogs ,rabbits ,coons anything.

I grew up in the country and used to either shoot any snakes crossing the gravel road on the farm or occasionally if feeling real brave would get out and stomp a cotton mouth.
That was stupid of me for a couple of reasons.
First I was damn lucky I did not get bit and second they posed no harm to me nor to anyone else.
Now if there was a Cotton Mouth in the yard where people walk that is a different story.

Now ,the way I see things is that I wont kill any animal unless I am going to eat it or it poses an Immediate right now threat to me.
To Kill an animal just because I can is stupid to me anymore.

I have hit a couple of Possums accidently and will stop if traffic conditions will safely allow me to and if they are not dead and suffering will get out and shoot them in the head to put an end to their suffering.

If there is a turtle crossing the road and a vehicle is not in front of me of behind me will pull my truck over off the road and pick the turtle up and put it on the side of the road it wants to go to.

Again this all depends on the conditions and traffic.

I never swerve. Haven't had that many animals jump out in front of me but I just hit the brakes as a general rule, except for possums - I hate possums and they are small enough to avoid damage to my vehicle, so are fair game. I ran over a cat when I had a motorbike - didn't see it in time to do anything so I just ran over it. It went under the front wheel and hit the sump guard (I was on a trail bike - KLR600) and then ran off.

If it's a critter of the Commie, BLM, or ANTIFA variety, you should accelerate and mow it down - especially if you're in a truck with a stout bull bar.

if it's a regular critter, try to avoid it if you can safely do so. Barreling into a tree, ditch or another motorist to avoid a squirrel is not advisable.

Sometimes you have to drive through wire fences to hit them

Why do you hate possums?

They eat fleas and Ticks by the thousands.

Friend of mine had a Pet possum that he raised from a baby,Kept in his house and was a very loving animal that laid in his lap when he sat in the recliner.
The Possum played with the dogs and cats outside .
They liked her too .
She died of old age and my friend cried like a baby.

He was ex Military and one of the roughest toughest men I ever knew in a fight and a hunter who lived in the country and he and his family lived almost exclusively off of game he killed or fish he caught and what he grew in his garden.

He knew the difference between killing to eat or in defense of family and Country and Just wanton senseless killing,taught his boys the same from an early age.

When I was a Kid I would just kill them for no reason ,same with Snakes and birds even songbirds whose only transgression was to live and sing.

I am 60 now and no longer kill just for a target or just because I can and ashamed of myself that I ever did.

Box turtle makes excellent soup.

Antifa makes excellent bear chow... ravens can be picky.

The situation kind of dictates for me. Interstate, county highway, country road, time of day, high probability of game crossing, etc. I drive slow when possible, at night always. I will go out of my way to allow animals passage, if I am alone on road and can do so safely.

Don’t swerve...controlled brake for me. If the animal evades, it lives another day.

Son and I were headed out deer hunting one afternoon and witnessed a car in front of us swerve hard to miss a squirrel...a squirrel. Lady lost control flipped car. Two year old infant was ejected from the car seat somehow and obviously died. All this over a damn squirrel. Our son was probably twelve at the time and sadly, learned a big lesson that day. I can still see it in my mind.

When I first started driving, the first piece of advice my father gave me was to never swerve to avoid hitting an animal. He had a friend that had swerved to avoid hitting a dog, and lost control, wrecked and was killed. I told the same thing to my kids, and now to my grandkids. I brake or slow down when I can, otherwise, I just let what happens happen...........except for squirrels, as I never give those destructive little critters a pass.

Miss them if you can. Body work is expensive

I live in the suburbs and I'm fairly sure they don't give me any benefits. Numbers have increased over the years for some reason. The worst thing about them is that they get into the roof spaces and make horrendous noises at any time during the day and night.

They are heavy footed for such small creatures. I have a tin roof over the patio next to my bedroom and I get woken up by then stomping across it most nights. They did lift some tiles and get into the roof at one stage but I fixed that. While they were there they'd stomp around any time - if you'd heard them you'd swear that someone had broken into the house and was moving around furniture.

They harrassed and scared my elderly mother in her home too.

They are native so we can't kill them. I can only get lucky and run them over by accident.

Worked with a gal whose brother was a State Trooper, he missed the DOG, dog survived, Trooper didn't.

I will not leave the road to miss an animal, but then I don't live in moose/elk country either, I will not brake hard to miss an animal unless it's deer sized or larger.........

Squirrels???? I don't do anything.............. hell THEY don't even know which way they are going to run!!!

There is something oddly satisfying when you straddle an armodillo and he jumps just in time to catch the rear axle on my truck.....

'...buzzards gotta eat, same as worms...'

I'll slow down and try to avoid an animal, but I'm not going to do anything that might cause me to lose control of the truck. If they would just stay still, I'd probably miss them all. If they decide to run...well, that is on them.

A family in our church was driving in a rain storm. Driver swerved to miss a family of coons. One daughter dead and one paralized. I knew those two kids. This for a freaking coon.

Critter rule: Below the hood hit it. Above the hood try not to hit it.

I try to avoid running over anything but poisonous snakes, armadillos and coyotes. But I'm not against running over horses, donkeys and dogs if their known trouble makers. At times I think my kids and wife kill more deer with vehicles than I have with guns.

I am not swerving .

No swerving to miss any stupid animal on the road, although I might wreck a truck trying to hit a cat.

I'd love to hit a few squirrels. Not gonna swerve to hit'em but I never slow down and the damn things sure can move quick. Bigger stuff like raccoons and possum I'll slow down for but not swerve. Skunks are to be avoided at all costs of course. Don't do any extreme swerving for deer; mostly just a heavy application of brakes.

The above mentioned 3 I would hit them.
I try to avoid turtles, deer and dogs. Brake, try the move in to the other lane, but never swerved!

How many dumb fuggs die each year trying to advoid the Geico squirrels in the road or other small creatures.
Trying to save their precious little life???
Wind up in a tree smashed the fugg up and dead.

All for a squirrel.....




Here lies Cpt Planet/ Mr or Mrs. Panicked Concern
Dead because of a tree rat.....
The lower mammalian order wins again and cant even realize it, except for these 2 in the clip.

This.....

Bad idea.

A distant relative of mine rear ended a woman who was stopped in the road and out of her car to move a turtle. He killed her one year old kid in the accident.

He’s a dumbass and I have no doubt he was probably texting or doing something else stupid but that doesn’t change the fact that the child is still dead.

Stopping in a road like that is just asking to get hit by some idiot.

Turtles are about the only thing I stop for and then help 'em get across the road. About the only time they cross a road is when it's time to go lay eggs. It's weird how they go so far from the marshes where they live around here to lay eggs. I was reading about that once and it stated it's mother natures survival of the fittest thing where only the strongest hatchlings make it back to the marsh, unless they get run over. I've seen plenty of other folks stop and carry turtles across the road in the direction they were headed, even the little young ones.

Riding around with slumlord.
I have gotten out to move Timmy the box turtle many times.
" Hey man can you get out and move him off the road in the direction he is going"


Have found myself traffic permitting doing it since....

Geesh..........
LOL!!!@Slowmovingdumbass,zgetahand.com.....

I try not to hit any animals w/my vehicles. Speed and surroundings determine how evasive I'll be. I once clunked 3-4 3/4 grown Canada Geese. I had a trailer with some lumber on, in a construction zone on the Interstate with at least a dozen cars behind me. Momma decided to move them from the center median to the E ditch as I approached @ 65-70MPH. I don't think I even tapped the brakes for them. I've moved to the shoulder for deer, horses, and cattle. @ dawn and dusk I try REALLY hard to give myself lots of room. Tailgaters @ those times irritate me to no end.

I'll avoid hitting whatever, whenever I can. There are some fuucked up people in this world that just have to try to kill something for the sake of killing.

I'll do what I can to avoid hitting anything but I won't wreck the car to do it.

Keep the vehicle straight.


Apply brakes as vigorously as possible.

Do not swerve.........unless speeds are so slow that you could not possibly lose control.

Or antifa a$$hole...

Lots of different roads, vehicles and critters. Depends.

Swerving to hit something is as stupid as swerving to miss. I take no evasive action at all if it's a critter smaller than a deer and mobile. (You can never predict what they'll do, anyway.) Skunks are the exception, for obvious reasons - I will try to miss them if it doesn't mean huge swerving.

Deer or larger I'll brake straight ahead. Again, it is not possible to predict which way they'll go at the last moment anyway. I have hit two deer (both within a five-mile stretch one morning!) One I chose to dispatch humanely and the other one I could not find. How hard I brake is directly proportional to the size of the animal. I do NOT want a moose or elk coming through the windshield.

I taught both of my daughters the same strategy.

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....

This hardly happens to me..i think i ran over a squirrel one time.

Cashisking: Where I live I am constantly avoiding "critters" on the road!
I am talking from small birds and Ground Squirrels to Elk and Moose.
In the past year I have had to avoid many dozens of creatures including Antelope, Mule Deer and Whitetailed Deer - I had to wait for a Skunk to get out of the middle of my drive earlier this week - arrogant little pest would not yield the right of way as I wanted to get by.
There is a stretch of I-15 very near my home here in SW Montana where the Deer cross so heavily in the fall/early winter that they bring in solar powered electronic billboard signs warning drivers of their crossings.
I have seen as many as a dozen carcass's in a two mile stretch here - and the D.O.T. comes and removes the carcass's rather often!
Sad that so many creatures get crushed by vehicles.
I choose to drive much slower than the speed limits and other drivers especially at night!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

In my fusion, I try to avoid critters, even bugs. Smoked a possum a couple weeks ago and felt like my ass end jumped a foot in the air.

If I'm in my truck....I got full coverage.

UR in AK ?

and drive a Fusion ?

WTF ?

DO NOT SWERVE...

Daughter and grand daughter witnessed an accident last weekend. Father swerved to avoid a dog. Still hit and killed the dog. Vehicle overturned. Father died on the scene from his injuries even tho he was able to exit the vehicle. Fortunately, two year son was properly strapped into his car seat and survived. Albeit, now without his father. All for a dog that died anyway...

When I was an EMT in Pennsylvania, PA had approx 40,000 deer/vehicle collisions per year. Approximately 40 human fatalities as a result. Predominantly from swerving to avoid the deer.

DO NOT SWERVE...

I'm probably the reigning king of deer collisions. I'm on a first name basis with the guys at my body shop and they give you a coffee mug every time they fix your car, I now have one section of my kitchen cabinet full of them. I live in an area with the highest deer densities in the country and am often coming home at around 4 am, the prime active time for them.

What I've started doing that has helped immensely is as soon as I see evidence of a deer anywhere along the road is to lay into the horn, multiple staccato blasts seem to do better than a constant one. Usually that gets their attention enough to jolt them into action, they'll either wheel and run the other direction or if they're slowly walking across the road they'll kick it into high gear and get out of the road.

Since I've been doing that my deer hits have gone way down. It's an instinctive reaction for me now, as soon as I even think there's a deer around I lay into the horn.

GET OFF MY ROAD......



OK, bring 'em on now....

When John Denver wrote a song about our roads, he was taking artistic liberty to leave out the reality of the typical country road.
Many curves on the windy roads would be considered swerving. Thats why I found the game "Pole Position" easy as a 14 year old.

We get plenty of practice dodging critters by dodging Pot holes constantly. You guys are talking about whether to swerve or wreck. Sometimes you have to wack a mole with tires. Most of the time, well, you do what you can and complain about the high taxes and bad roads.

We don't have all that many roads where you don't have to swerve on a daily basis. I used to have to replace wheel bearings and other front end components every year after the parts warranty ran out . It's a necessity to drive something that has heavy duty ground control components, especially the front end.

Our country roads follow creeks. So, you practice missing potholes that might eat your car, without going into the other lane where there's usually a truck coming around the blind curve dodging his own string of holes.
On the right are some trees to stop you from plunging into the stream if you over compensate.

Animals are further down on the list of hazards, but definitely a major reason of our high insurance costs no doubt.

I do not swerve to miss an animal on the road - might try well-controlled braking - but best to understand and act on the basis of relative importance. Much of this determination comes from having lived for a long time in BIG elk country with some big bears as well - edges of the day can be deadly - dark is not much better.

So, bought and installed the biggest/strongest animal plow (Ranch Hand) I could find and try to drive the general area in survival mode - little critters do not get any help from steering action and the big ones seem to sense the odds - most of the time. But, recently while I was driving a heavy trailer load of stuff down from the mountains to the new place a mature elk ran onto the road less than 40 yards in front of me and stopped - spanning the center line - leaving almost no reaction time. I managed to get some braking action but far from enough - hit the front shoulder and head - instant dead elk in the middle of the road. It was a heavy hit, and loud - but zero damage to my vehicle and the guard.

Like most things in life, common sense.

For me:

25 MPH leaving the cul-de-sac? Hit the brakes and steer around a rabbit or squirrel.

80 MPH on the interstate? Brake **in a straight line** if there is enough warning, otherwise, just brace for impact. If braking, let up just before impact to raise the front of the vehicle so your deer tartar is not sitting on your center console. Ask me how I know......

But generally, I will not roll my vehicle, risk a head on collision, and endanger lives to miss an animal to save it's life or the cost of an insurance deductible.

Come from a rural farm background.
There were animals we killed on sight, year round.

I will run over most of them, swerve to do it.

Turtles, I will stop and carry.

Others, I will try to avoid. But I'm not wrecking to do it.

Squirrels
groundhogs,
coon,
Possum,
rabbit,
Turkey, (wild and tame)
chickens,
Goose,
Pigeon.
snakes,
skunk,
Frog,
turtle,
rat,
Mice,
chipmunk,.

Darn, didnt realize it was th
at big a list. Can't think of much I haven't hit except a bear.

Most have been accidents, just spend a lot of time driving.

Well, if you are lucky, the odds are that moose won't go over the top of that and through your windshield, but it's been known to happen..

Seems about right, a $4500+ rifle to kill yard birds and a $45,000 truck to kill a deer.

Late 70's heading south to Lake Powell from SLC about 2 am in the morning on a hilly section of road south of Hanksville, UT. Came over a rise doing about 60 or 70 mph and saw in front of me about 40 yards was a momma cow in the right lane and a calf in the left lane without enough room in between them to miss one.
I had three other people in the car with me so it was an easy choice. Slammed on the brakes and hit the calf with the left front fender. The calf went flying and I screeched to a stop with the fender bent into my left front tire. The calf was still alive but in no shape to survive so I slit it's throat. About 1/2 hour of work bending the fender back and changing the tire and we were on our way again, somewhat worse for the wear. If I'd have hit the bigger cow we'd have been in serious trouble.

Well, you know those cute little cottontails when they are about 5" long? Yep. Tonight.. Sorry, had no out.

If they are protesting speed up.

This is good advice...............

When I am approaching a traffic light I am constantly making a decision as to whether I can safely stop, or not........ Approaching the light, if it turns red, I can stop, I can stop, I can stop, at some point I switch to.....I am going through, I am going through..... so there will be NO panic decision if/when it does turn....................

When driving in Seattle, Minneapolis, etal. maybe the decision process should go like this..... It's a squirrel, it's a squirrel, it's a squirrel................................

it's kind of on topic.... Critters on the road and such....

Exactly...

"Your Honor... I have avoided hitting hundreds of animals by this very method. And animals are obviously far smarter then antifas because generally they try to avoid the road. Furthermore, it is common knowledge that stock car drivers will attempt to drive through an accident instead of brake or go around it. Logic being the accident is in motion and will probably be somewhere else by the time you get there."

Some of you are hitting some BIG Game, like Elk in the head, and moose. Do you guys field dress and take them home? I'm thinking, if they cost you big bucks and time, might as well get something out of it for the freezer.......
It can't be all damaged meat. those are large beasts.

Btw, it reminds me of one reason why maybe its not such a good idea for the DNR to introduce elk into my area. I'm interested in hunting them, sure.....just not hitting them. Our white tail already are trying to play Frogger to get across the road in some areas.

The consequences of hitting pedestrians, even stupid libtard ones, may include the penitentiary. No thanks.

My daily driver is a Ford Focus and hitting even a small coon [bleep] up the front bumper so I brake, now my work vehicle is a 315,000 lb locomotive the possums are always walking on the rail and the dum [bleep] turn around and run down the other way hand over hand on the rail but usually don't get down until they are turned into marmalade.

Watched a possum get flattened by a truck one night it was cool.

Other truck was in the slow lane, I was passing.
Up hill, in benches (I-70 East of Hancock)

I could see under the trucvk, this possum coming from the right,
between the steers, right in the path of the trailer tires.
Destroyed him.

Doesn't take much to amuse a sleepy, bored truck driver!


Always wanted tgfat view of one of those deer you see on the road.
You know the ones.
Blood and fat smeared across a lane 20 feet long. Rolled up hide with the
head attached 50 down the road.


Question. Seriously.
Anyone ever notice the dead possums?
When it's dry out, you see carcasses.
On a rainy night, they come apart.
Looks like they swallowed a bomb.
Why?

Dillon maybe they come apart on rainy nites because the visibility is poor and they are getting pulverised .

Saw the aftermath of a woman hitting an elk with a Ford Explorer. The elk went through the windshield and was in the rear cargo area. So was part of the driver.
I've killed a few deer and had some close calls on elk. What I considered to be one of my best bits of driving happened on night in a snow storm when I swerved my way through a herd of about twenty elk with no damage; although my mirror was folded in (that one was close ). Once had an elk come in from the side and jump over the hood! We were on our driveway and only going about 15 mph.
I don't run over anything on purpose but there are some people who might slow my reflexes down a bit. GD

coming home from work one night, had a covey of quail fly up from next to the road, i ducked , and the cross bar on my lumber rack started ringing. got home and had a limit of quail in the bed of the pickup.
have hit one deer, one bear, and bumped one moose.
came close to elk many times but no hits. on our roads you steer straight, brake as needed and carry a low deductible.

I ran over a chicken once, holy crap it was like running over a bowling ball.

Brake, don't turn.

Depends how big it is!

I'm 43 years old and have driven back and forth across MT for years and years and up until 2 weeks ago had never hit a deer.


Heading out to move cows at dark, early morning. Motoring along about 65-70 mph down a wide open highway and I see 3 mule deer bucks crossing the road in front of me.

It was like slow motion because I spotted them early and had I not been pulling a stock trailer with a saddle horse inside I might have been able to come to a complete stop by the time the third buck slowly took his time crossing.

Had the horn blasting for at least 10 seconds. Deer were in lala land. Hit the buck going maybe 20-30mph(speedo doesn't work in that pickup).


Knocked him straight down and I drove over him with the F350 and trailer tires.


Felt bad as I do not like even running over a bird but sure as hell wasn't going swerve and risk screwing up my new horse.


Didn't even leave a scratch on the mega bumper grill guard.

I'll never leave my lane.....

but try to avoid any critter.........

except coyote....$50 head bounty.........

Our two DD's are equipped......one deer strike will pay for a real bumper

Back in June(?) I ordered a Ranch Hand Legend for the latest feed pickup(F350).


Finally showed up last week. Not sure if Covid created an issue or what but we'll be glad to get it bolted on.



The only thing I don't like about those bumper/grill guards is that they stick out so damn far and more than once we've dug into dirt when going over a dip, crossing a little creek, etc..

I’ve never purposely tried to kill an animal with a vehicle. Since I got the pups in 2014, I haven’t killed anything in the woods. Three birds have met their death since then, two this year in the Camry.

yep...very true.....just measured the Tacoma w/ARB

sticks out 10" from the upper edge of grill

the bumper alone weighs 135#...plus the 80# winch

Yes...had to swap out the front coils to more beefy ones to support the weight

These bumpers are built in Austraila...Ironman too on the Lexus

They know how to build 4x4 stuff

The hold up wasn't covid. 2 years ago I clubbed a buck, went with a ranch hand bumper for obvious reason. Not to mention it was cheaper than the factory bumper set up. The bumper was ordered the day the truck went in the body shop, there was an 8 week lead time on it pre-covid. They are very popular with everyone besides farmers/ranchers.

I try not to hit elk.

I hit a smallish pig in Texas with a rented Kia Forte...virtually totaled it...

Brother hit an antelope, truck had a Ranch Hand grille guard.

Antelope went under, tore up the plastic.
It was cheaper to buy a full bumper than the plastic!

So far, I've hit a 750 lb steer, a mule deer, and a horse - missed a cow elk by ~ 3 inches. DAM, I'm glad nothing came through the windshield !!!
"The Warden" ran over 2 badgers - 1 got away, but she caught the other, and dispatched it with my framing hammer !
I brake for snakes - pending ID. If it's a bullsnake, it goes it's merry way - if it's a rattler, it dies .

Are we talking field mice or caribou?

I once hit a groundhog while riding a Harley. I do not recommend it.

Not sure how many critters I've hit. Sometimes was damage, sometimes not. If it's an empty road and I'm not going too fast I'll swerve for dogs/deer. Outside of that it's straight line braking unless it's a moose or bovine. But the big aluminum bumper I have on my Power Wagon has been awesome. Wife hit a deer with her pickup couple years ago, while in the shop had a steel bumper put on (Ranch Hand started making 1/2 ton specific). While it was in the shop she was driving my truck and the transmission went out. Fast forward 3 years or so, here we are again. New (to us) truck, deer strike, it's currently in the shop. Hope to get it in a day or two, and it also is getting a steel Ranch Hand. Last one worked on a couple deer after it was put on. Fingers crossed my truck survives her bad luck till I get it back. The $$$ to repair anything made within the last few years is fugging mind boggling.

I'm told to hit either end of a moose. Go under, and it comes in the cab.

Dude!

Last time I bought a Ranch Hand I had the local Murdoch's order it in. Since they sold and stocked them figured it'd be easier. This time I called since I didn't see them on their website. The manager said "we don't sell them, but I can order you one". To which I said "do you sell them or not? If you can fugking order one that means you sell them". To which HE replied, "well we don't stock them". I asked for a price and he told me, then said it'd me minimum 6-8 week wait. MINIMUM.

So I let my fingers do the walking, ordered the same bumper from BumperSuperstore, had it within a couple days. Only catch was it came freight on a semi, and I had to meet him to get it off the truck since a trip to the house with a semi would be one way lol.

Torqued, Gruffles, hell if I know what up with the delay.


I ordered through my buddy who owns the Ford dealership here in town just to not have to deal with shipping and I'm gonna have them bolt it on, that and running boards.
(please don't make fun of the boards, I can no longer jump on a flatbed...like a kid...)

Neat thing about them Ranch Hands )besides the ugly welds and paint that starts flaking off after a year) is they bolt right the fugg on. And kill the fugg outta deer and speed goats.

I'd not mock a man for getting running boards. Driving a Ford, yes. But running boards are appreciated by wives and children.

Dude, are you telling me the RH are chitty?


I honestly don't know.


We have a similar lunker on ol' Red that is not a RH and it is gtg(can't remember the name..).



The boards shall be appreciated by all.....who wish to get on the flatbed with ease and grace....

In my honest experience, they are stout, and hold up well to deer strikes, et al. But whatever they paint them with flakes off rather swiftly and the exposed metal of course rusts. Most often complaints I've heard was that they are heavy. Well, ain't no free lunch (unless you want to fork over at least double the price for aluminium).

I'm literally picturing you doing a Bo Duke slide across the flatbed.

Well buddy, I will give an honest review of how it holds up on the latest grocery getter.


At least the 6.7 diesel is supposed to be 600lbs lighter than the ol' 6.0.

Aluminum block?


Hell if I know, just drive 'em until they break down!

i'd throw a few beads on it besides the bolts.

How do you get the rest of the way home from the dealership?

The RH haters mainly bitch about the rust, diamond plate,m and weight. I have zero bitches about the ones I've had or driven. Ugly is subjective. I give zero fuggs if my diamond plate rusty steel bumper gives somebody tetanus. I give many fuggs if it saves the truck and occupants when it hits things.

Tons of drivers that are dropping serious coin on really neat bumpers. There's an outfit out of Lewistown that makes awesome ones, and another one here in Kalispell, but I'm just not willing to spend the coin.

I bet 99% of the 'hard core' off roaders are a bunch of dorks who spend way more worrying about looks than function.


Immaculate 'off-road' rigs all dolled up and shiny.


Weekend warrior types who strut around town......lol

In skinny jeans and extra-medium t-shirts, smelling like a french whore.

Between high school and the Navy, I hunted a lot of jackrabbits and developed the habit of swerving to hit them if it was just a little juke move. In a pickup, no problem and they were thick as flies in those days.

Fast forward four years, I brought a '76 TransAm home with my DD-214. It was four years old, but it was absolutely cherry. Back in those days, night cruising the rural areas and imbibing mass quantities of beer was a thing. Old habits die hard, and a guy can forget just how big jackrabbits can be in four years time.

I can still remember hearing the sound of the front air dam ripping loose and making the trip underneath the car. The sounds were kind of like it was all taking place in slow motion and that's the way I remember the event. *sigh*

I never did put a new front air dam on that car. Figured it was something that just wasn't going to last long.

Was in a car that hit a warthog at hwy speed in Zimbabwe. F'ed that car up and didn't quite kill the warty.

laughing




I bought some large Carhartt t-shirts and either I am getting bigger or they are getting smaller!

^^^This^^^

Thinking back I bet if I woulda punched it the pickup and trailer would have cleared the deer before they crossed.

Well, I have an old F150. Nailed a ‘dillo one afternoon. In reverse.

I smiled for a couple days.

I’ve been lucky Sam. Never hit a deer in my 45 years of “legal” driving. Hit a few coyotes though. 🤠

famous last words.....I, too, went 40 years without hitting a deer.....then hit seven in one year.....

Some crackhead ran over my beagle out here on a dang dead end read we live on.

It was a rainy day, I followed rainbow rings of transmission fluid for 18 miles to the parking lot of payday check cashing place. Bigger stain there but vehicle gone.

Ole girl took out their transcooler I guess. Serves the bastards right.

LOL !

Yep. Probably jinxed myself. 🤠

Andrew, I had a 1975 Model. With the 455 and Factory 4 speed. Good times!

With the price of a bumper that will actually prevent damage, it's often cheaper to get a lower deductible on your insurance and not worry about it.

That's highly subjective.

Small stuff your better off hitting than getting into an accident.

I was headed to South Florida from Virginia about 2000.

Found a shop somewhere in North Florida up against Georgia if I recall correctly. It was a fairly big shop with about 20 employees. I pulled in... they took measurements on my truck to verify (they had Master templates for all major truck types)... I then picked out what type of steel designed bumper I wanted... gave them a deposit and went on my way. A week later... heading back North they had it finished and installed it for me. Heck of a bumper I think it was around $200.

They also did me a frame-to-frame front Reese hitch assembly. Had two perfectly aligned Reese hitches for removable wench... cooler carrier etc.

I'll come back and add a picture if I can find one...

I had a little bird stuck in my grill a couple of weeks ago. Never saw it, but he must have been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

cash, that ain't a 'bumper', it's a frigging grille guard.

Of course you are correct sir.

What you are missing however is what you cannot see in the photograph. Cross mounted between the frame was a structural frame that houses two perfectly aligned Reese hitch females.

This allowed me to install an actual front bumper made from a railroad rail.

That truck has long been sold. Current versions involve a 5 inch round pipe sealed at both ends to serve as a air pressure tank from an on-board air compressor.

With two symmetrical Reese hitch females it is also possible to have a fishing rod rack or a cooler carrier. I'm also experimenting with a gin Pole on a 1986 Toyota I am playing with now. I will post pictures later if we are successful.

Old link... BUT IN PROCESS

https://photos.app.goo.gl/3sUFcGjC5ATqtwYw7

Took out a crow in the middle of town with my Goldwing passenger side mirror years ago, had a small bird wedged in my foot pegs another time.

The biggest thing you'll hit around here is a deer (unless a horse or cow would get loose from a farm, and that rarely happens) and I've killed a whole lot of deer with my pick ups. So many that although I don't have a RH bumper or anything but I do carry a 100 dollar deductible on my comp. I've always told my kids no swerving, if you hit a deer you hit a deer. I'd rather you be okay than the deer.