Odd deer injury (with pics)

[JoeM]

Great photos and story telling thaks for taking the time to share.  bamboo, I'm with you all the way we do our best to kill clean but things happpen, I've been on blood trails with very experienced hunters have had shots go terribly bad (myself included), archery will always come back around to knock us to our knees and keep us humble.  Joe

[Dan Chamberlain]

Man, I'd leave that as a European mount just for the artifact value.

Dan

[Howard S.]

It's amazing how much trauma a deer can recover from.  I once shot nice 7pt. on opening day of gun season as he was chasing a doe.  When I was trying to remove a hind quarter I kept hitting something hard where there should only have been meat.  I found 3 blade expandable attached to 5" of alluminum shaft penetrating the spine.  This deer was perfectly healthy and showed no outward sign of the injury.

That piece of spine was a great artifact for my IBEP classes until my dog found it one day.  He managed to eat that bone around the BH and never cut himself.  Guess that's why I call him BoneHead so often.

Howard.

[RGK]

This portion of the skull will be mounted.

[Eastern fisher]

I think that we should all stand back and salute that deer for its toughness and abilitie to keep on surviving.

[robslifts]

wow just amazing what a deer can survive.   dr ashby would like to see the penetration on that with the chisel tip it has on it!!  

not much penetration  so much for speed and light arrow weight!!

[insttech1]

Originally posted by robslifts:
wow just amazing what a deer can survive.   dr ashby would like to see the penetration on that with the chisel tip it has on it!!  

not much penetration  so much for speed and light arrow weight!!

From a probability standpoint, you may be correct, however, it is also feasible that head was the forefront of a 600gr shaft from a stickbow...there is no way to tell.

Nice photos and post, by the way...!

Take Care,
Marc

[Steertalker]

Don't know why you would automatically assume that someone would make a shot like that on purpose.  There are a number of explanations for that. It could happen to best of us.

Brett

[Tom]

I shot a 3 legged buck several years ago,lower foreleg, don't know how he lost it but was healed and walked fine. A buddy killed a bear with a 2 blade BH in it forehead, bone healed around it. Amazing that animals can survive the trauma they do sometimes.

[Gene Roberts]

I wonder how much pain the poor thing was in?

[buckshot95]

WOW that is crazy!! that it did kill him. i figured that it would of killed him being in his brain!!  

[TSP]

Geez, that makes me cringe just thinking about what that critter must have felt like for, oh, about a year or so, or maybe more.  

From the angle of the broadhead it looks like a treestand shot.  Either a bad shot or bad shot selection, but whichever it was...DANG, thats nasty!

Thanks for sharing the pics.  Can always use a good reminder to shoot well and shoot smart.

Geez...

[Matty]

That seriously is truly Amazing,  One thing to remember about the brain:  Different portions of it control Different functions.  Just because the Cranium was penetrated Doesnt always mean necessary DEATH, I'm more suprised the deer didnt die of infection Or SWELLING which would cause pressure. the deer would be in pain become disoriented and eventually die. Ore Starvation, due to the inability of the TM Joint to function.   If the Brain Was completely Destroyed thats one thing. But this is just one for the keeping...WOW!

[JDinPA]

Originally posted by TSP:
Geez, that makes me cringe just thinking about what that critter must have felt like for, oh, about a year or so, or maybe more.  

From the angle of the broadhead it looks like a treestand shot.  Either a bad shot or bad shot selection, but whichever it was...DANG, thats nasty!

Thanks for sharing the pics.  Can always use a good reminder to shoot well and shoot smart.

Geez...

I'll have to disagree on the treestand shot - unless the deer was bedded with his chin on his chest.

Bad shots happen in hunting. It's an ethical hunter who feels bad about them.

Thanks for sharing the pics.

[Bonebuster]

Nothing short of amazing.

I agree with Killinstuff, a two blade would have made it in far enough to disrupt brain function, and down he would have went.

[bsh_jr]

I'd say there are three likely possibilities:  First, that it was an intentional head shot (in which case the shooter was a moron), second, the hunter was looking at those antlers, or, third, the deer was alert and whirled either to get away or to face the sound.  

In a related story, when I was a little kid I accidentally made the same shot on my first archery buck.  I'd killed a couple of does with a bow, perfect shots, but I just couldn't quit looking at those antlers.  I was luckier, though, my old Bear Razorhead greenie did a better job than that Wasp, even off an old Bear Polar II compound set at 40# that I shot fingers w/o sights.  What is really amazing is that I made that terrible of a shot from just four yards.

Brannon

[Aeronut]

Those are amazing pictures but I wouldn't just think that the archer who shot that arrow was aiming for a head shot.

I have, on two occasions, been so focused on picking a spot that I failed to see the twig that was directly in the way.  The first time the arrow caromed off the buck's left antler.  The second time, at less than ten yards, I managed to bank shot an arrow right into a buck's right flank.  I saw that buck chasing another doe three days later and he may still be carrying that Zwickey.

Dennis