Some recent threads have got me thinking, when shooting a deer with a bow have you noticed that the deer seem to go back towards where they came from or head in the direction they were traveling? Or went in a total different direction. Just curious and though maybe this would add to the tracking threads that have popped up a lot lately. Out of the 7 deer I've shot with a now this is how it goes: 2: direction they came from (1 never found) (only buck) 3: direction they were heading 2: total opposite direction And does anybody think this has any relevant meaning or just a random occurrence?
A lot of times, especially in the evenings, the deer seem to head back in the direction they came from. Probably toward their bedding area where they felt safe.
It seems to me that at least 50 percent of the time, probably more like 60-70, they sem to head back from where they came. That may be a feature of my hunting near bedding areas a lot.
my deer rarely run more than 30-50yrds. Couple of them donkey kicked and stood there bewildered until they fell over. In October I can see that, in Nov it's all over the place because I don't think the deer know where they came from.
Deer I've shot it's 50/50, it seems they head in the path of least resistance. Deer that have not been shot and either winded, seen me or just plain got spooky tend to head back where they came from.
been pretty random for me near as I can recall, except when hit hard/good placement they prefer to go downhill towards cover...the poorer shots(and nearly all the gut shot deer I have helped track) that lead to a longer pursuit of a wounded animal almost always seem to end by water.
My deer typically get hit and just say ouch and stand there thinking "Holy deer tick what the **** was that? Man i feel funny" and then they fall over dead without a clew that a Ninja just dispatched them with his advanced Ninja skill, Jussayn! Or they typicaly run towards the closest exit route.
Lots of variables that determine where they run after hit. Probably the most signicifcant is how startleds they are at the hit & where the closest secure area is.
Shot 3 and all have headed in the same direction they were heading. The first of the three was a low shot and she circled all the way back around to the general area she was shot and we lost the blood trail at that point. So the two that I have killed ran in the direction they were heading - one was shot in the day and the other in the evening.
Nearly every deer I've ever shot well (IE heart or double lung) run about 50-100 yards in the direction they're facing when they are shot and fall over. I can't say I've had many deer spin around and run back where they came from, morning or evening. Deer that are not shot well tend to make a big loop and in many cases come within feet of where they were shot while heading back in the opposite direction. However, this only happens if you leave them alone. If you push them, there's no telling where they'll go in my experience.
My experience is they mostly head back to where they were coming from... something about the safety of the previous location. However last year, it was split - one went backwards and the other ran forwards. I think it's random in the sense that deer will go to security cover consistently, but where that is tends to be random by stand set up.
I have had them go any and every direction. No pattern. Same with cover. I have seen them run right out in the open away from any cover about as often as not. When tracking a deer, I never assume anything. That is when I get impatient and give up finding the next drop of blood because I dont look hard enough in all directions because you KNOW it wouldnt go there or do that,etc.etc. I have been fooled and surprised many many times in what their ultimate route becomes vs. my pre-conceived assumptions.
