Hey MRGD,
Good work on the funky-rack deer harvest!
Those funky racks need to be cleared out so they don't breed up a whole population of 'em. Sounds like you and the land owner have more cleaning to do. That sort of thing can ruin the rack potential in a local area for 10 years or more .
Cull them hard, (just don't talk too loud about it but...git-'er-done.)
2nd subject,
I'm sure you and your huntin'-buds did good with the unharvested doe but I can't help but wonder (like GB did) about how you determined a miss.
I'm not "beefin'" here, I do think you guys were probably correct in your assessment.
I just wanted to use the subject as a stepping stone to show how I see the escape of a shot-at deer and what it has come to mean to me.
It goes like this:
If the deer bounds away in classic whitetail fashion, with long jumps and head & tail held high, you can bet that was a clean miss, (though it is correct to look for blood or other obvious sign anyway.)
In over 40 years of deer hunting I've never seen a gun-shot-deer take off in that fashion. No exceptions.
When they have been hit, and especially with a lethal hit, They may [and often] jump straight up into the air and when they hit ground again they are running like a scalded dog.
The head is level with the backbone as is the tail and the manner of run is like a greyhound.
No bounding or jumping, (with possible exception of going over things like downed trees.)
To summarize, a high, bounding jump normally means it wasn't [was-not] hit.
The "scalded-dog" type of run means a dead deer that has to be found...after it runs out of gas.
Never saw it any different once I figured this out regardless of what was used to shoot the critter.
One other technical detail to share;
If they run off like a scalded dog, they sometimes lose consciousness while still running hard.
This often means the deer falls to the ground while still moving at over 20 MPH which [sometimes] causes ground litter (leaves, sticks and other natural debris) to be kicked up when they invariably slide across the ground [from forward momentum] to wherever they actually stop.
This ground litter often falls back onto the deer and covers it, sometimes very thoroughly.
I discovered this by bumping into a so-concealed deer and almost falling from the trip. The deer was struck broadside through both lungs and did the scalded-dog run (outlined above) and ran for about 80 yards (most of which was out of sight.) The blood trail was easy enough to follow but ran out within 20 yards of where the deer came to a stop but the deer could not be seen.
BTW, the blood trail often stops shortly before the deer drops, (a matter of blood-pressure loss, the thing that actually kills everything. )
A circular search pattern was executed (to look for blood or other sign of escape) but turned up nothing. As I turned to go [giving up because darkness was coming] my foot dug into the beast that lay at my feet completely covered in leaves. As I said above, I nearly fell from the trip.
Once I began to examine the sight more closely I could see the slide-mark on the forest floor.
That was the most-covered-up deer I've ever seen but I've seen lots of this sort of thing many times and I've begun to think it may account for the loss of many deer around the country.
I thought telling on myself like that might help others find their deer after the shot.
The character of the run tells me what happened more than anything else.
Even finding blood doesn't mean the deer was mortally wounded.
The scalded-dog run never lies.
Even if you need a hound to find the beast later, you can be sure it's "been killed" if you're seeing a scalded-dog type of run when they escape your sight.
Another BTW, I've learned [first hand] to agree with all the pundits that say the 357 requires surgical precision when hunting deer or larger game, (no matter what bullet is used.)
Fortunately most 357s I've ever seen could deliver the needed level of accuracy...if the shooter could.
Good thanksgiving to all.
