Interesting theory as to why sometimes they fall right there and sometimes they run
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Ultimately a heart/lung shot is fatal. Doesn't matter if the animal runs 100 yards or 3 feet. Clocks don't operate when cogs and gears are missing or broken.
I've seen arrows drop deer in their tracks and they weren't spined.
My theory is that some deer are tougher. Kinda like dudes. Some are just tougher than others. Some can take it, some can't. Deer that drop in their tracks are wimps. The one's that run a long distance after being shot are are the tough guys.
Hows that for an uneducated theory? ;D
My theory is that some deer are tougher. Kinda like dudes. Some are just tougher than others. Some can take it, some can't. Deer that drop in their tracks are wimps. The one's that run a long distance after being shot are are the tough guys.
Hows that for an uneducated theory? ;D
Breacher said:
I tend to agree.........I've only shot white-tail with a rifle and I know they're tough........I've been told they can carry more damage with bow or rifle than muleys and are tougher by guys that have killed many more than me......I'm sure some individual muleys can be tougher as well.
I can't say I've ever tested white tail toughness. When standing still, every white tail I ever shot has dropped in its tracks. But I've only used .30-06 or 7mm. Also I don't recall ever taking a shot where I wasn't sure I'd get a quick, humane kill on a deer. The hills of Pennsylvania and Virginia are a lot less rugged than out here, but the thickets can be impenetrable and properties are smaller so we don't want them going too far. The only one I ever saw take more than a step was already running. I hit him in the shoulder when his weight was on his front legs. I saw him stumble as the bullet broke his shoulder but he bounded 2-3 more times before toppling over and sliding down the hill.
These were all more or less broadside shots with heavy caliber lead ammo, all double lung and/or heart shots at less than 100 yards. I've never had a Muley in my sights so I have nothing to compare. Out here the hunting is much harder so a hunter is less likely to pass on a shot. That by itself will lead to more variation in shot placement. Add the greater range and all-copper ammo, and you have even more variables to test an animal's toughness.
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These were all more or less broadside shots with heavy caliber lead ammo, all double lung and/or heart shots at less than 100 yards. I've never had a Muley in my sights so I have nothing to compare. Out here the hunting is much harder so a hunter is less likely to pass on a shot. That by itself will lead to more variation in shot placement. Add the greater range and all-copper ammo, and you have even more variables to test an animal's toughness.
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Here is the theory...nutshelled. Hydrostatic shock through the circulatory system to the brain during a heartbeat.
The problem is, it doesn't give much explanation for why the may or may not drop with an arrow. Perhaps the "wimp" theory is best. ;D
The problem is, it doesn't give much explanation for why the may or may not drop with an arrow. Perhaps the "wimp" theory is best. ;D
Not that i am humble but IMHO.....
Adrenaline is the missing part of the equation here. Animals that are freaked out and in panic mode tend to do some crazy stuff
Notice something in all this Long Range Hunting crud that is on TV now. A lot of the Animals are DRT. Even when they miss they hear the crack of the bullet as it breaks the sound barrier going past them but the do not freak out on the report of the gun. So how does a critter 600 yards away die in seconds when the same critter shot at 40 yards runs like he has a hot poker in his back side. Adrenaline You take animal at rest relaxed with no idea you are there and dissect his heart or lungs or in the case of a gun liquefy the heart or lungs and that animal dies most times most places pretty damn quick. You take that same shot on a critter that is just about to run off and knows something is up and you are in for Mr Toads wild ride more times than not.
The physics of a pressure wave traveling up to the brain causing instant death is BS... sorry but there is no science behind that at all.
So what do you do to cut down on run off's when a animal is crazy close and hyped up? Precision shooting is not always a Long Range adventure. Sometimes its putting it exactly where you want it at 100 yards. Alternative angles or shot placement at 100 yards is a real and viable tactic even if the BOOK says NEVER shoot anything but a quartering heart lung shot
Adrenaline is the missing part of the equation here. Animals that are freaked out and in panic mode tend to do some crazy stuff
Notice something in all this Long Range Hunting crud that is on TV now. A lot of the Animals are DRT. Even when they miss they hear the crack of the bullet as it breaks the sound barrier going past them but the do not freak out on the report of the gun. So how does a critter 600 yards away die in seconds when the same critter shot at 40 yards runs like he has a hot poker in his back side. Adrenaline You take animal at rest relaxed with no idea you are there and dissect his heart or lungs or in the case of a gun liquefy the heart or lungs and that animal dies most times most places pretty damn quick. You take that same shot on a critter that is just about to run off and knows something is up and you are in for Mr Toads wild ride more times than not.
The physics of a pressure wave traveling up to the brain causing instant death is BS... sorry but there is no science behind that at all.
So what do you do to cut down on run off's when a animal is crazy close and hyped up? Precision shooting is not always a Long Range adventure. Sometimes its putting it exactly where you want it at 100 yards. Alternative angles or shot placement at 100 yards is a real and viable tactic even if the BOOK says NEVER shoot anything but a quartering heart lung shot
Bonejour said:Yeah, that and Newton's First Law as applied to game: "A body in motion tends to stay in motion, a body at rest tends to stay at rest."Aeon said:
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I like this one................... ;D
It's fun to kick around, but I think the only rule is that there are no rules, at least not hard and fast ones. Even the adrenaline theory doesn't always work though I'm sure it's a big factor most of the time.
I know a guy who was shot in the leg with a .22 pistol while being robbed. He said he just dropped and couldn't move. It was almost like being paralyzed. I kind of think that it must be something more like striking a nerve or not just right when you get an instant drop or it runs off a bit. No way something like that or a bow could deliver much shock. The not getting up is from the fatal shot.