How far can they go?

[BAK]

Just wondering how far you have SEEN a deer go when shot through the heart?  We all tend to think the heart shot is the perfect shot, and it no doubt is a killing shot, but how far have you witnessed a deer run after the hit?

I made a dead center heart shot on a large doe three years back and watched her charge off through the corn field for right at 245 paces before she fell over.  How about yours?

[bigbadjon]

I shot a doe that cut and ran at least 90ish yards and fell over completely expired. She was 60 yrds from me when she died but I could tell she cut over at least another 30 yrds becaude of where I found my arrow.

[Shedrock]

I had a big bull elk go only 40 yards with a 3 blade through his heart. Deer the same, 40-50 yards. I like 3 blades.

I'm sure it all depends on how spooky the deer is. Years back I zipped an arrow through the lungs of a mature doe. She only went 5 yards, looked back at the arrow sticking out of the ground, then fell over.

[Zradix]

pure heart shots can be a long track.
I had one go about 80yds with a 1 1/8" 3 blade hole right thru the heart and nothing else important.
Happened to be with a compound, but equipment in this case doesn't matter.

For that reason my favorite shot is a low double lung missing the heart entirely.

Nice low (fast acting) drain holes and a working pump to make the trail. Not to mention lungs don't work well with holes in them.

[Paul Shirek]

In my experience heart shot deer don't seem to bolt and run with the same determination that lung shot deer do. Several of my heart shot deer just walked a few steps and fell over. One fell over right where I shot him. I thought I missed and shot another arrow, just when the arrow was nearing him, he fell down making my second shot high. Last years buck had an X through his heart from a Eclipse four blade. He ran about 40 yards and then stopped and fell over a few seconds later...

[Stumpkiller]

Furthest I have had was about 120 yards with heart and one lung perforated.

Here's a thought.  Say a deer is hit and takes to flight.  Deer can move at 30 mph, but from zero and in the woods we'll take half that and figure 15mph effective.  15M/hr x 1 hr/60min x 1 min/60sec x 5,280ft/M = 22 feet per second.  So, 220 feet in 10 seconds.  To cover 120 yards only takes a wounded deer 16 seconds.

After I take a shot I mentally count off the seconds.  My limited survey seems to be that after a double lung shot the crashing usually stops in seven to ten seconds.  I have also had deer take a single leap and stand; only to keel over in place (THAT is a great event).

[dtarbell]

I had  a doe I shot low in the heart go roughly 130 yrds wasnt a dead center heart shot and the trail was not what you would expect but for the last 30 or 40yds she was bleeding like a stuck hog.

[Bill Carlsen]

Shot a deer in the heart and he ran 40 yards, stopped, looked around like he was wondering what had just happened and then he sank to the ground. Shot a moose in the heart....3 steps later she was down. The deer was shot with a four blade Phantom, the moose with a 3 blade Razorcap.

[ChuckC]

I have had the other extreme, that the heart shot runs like heck.  Remember, a hard running deer can do the 100 yard dash in seconds flat.

ChuckC

[Tom]

My longest trail was a heart shot doe and even though I knew where she went down it was still at least 120 yards from where I shot her. Much prefer double lung when possible.

I shot a doe through the heart with a 4 blade head (2 blade with bleeders) and watched her run off about 150yds and jump a fence. I was really worried that maybe the shot placement was not where I thought it was. I waited a while, got down and began tracking a GREAT blood trail the whole way. She laid dead about 20yds over the fence in to woods. She was in an open field when I shot her and I guess she just really wanted the security of the forest around her before she would quit!

So, about 170yds for me.

Bisch

[Hoyt]

I've had them run from about 40yds..lots of zig, zaging..to about 120yds. Most I've shot kinda throw a front foot up and run wide open about 60yds.

[JamesKerr]

I have never shot a deer in the heart that I didn't get both lungs as well. All the deer that I have made a heart and double lung hit on didn't go over 30 yards. However the farthest I have had one run is only about 65 yards and that was with a pure gut hit. It just ran out there and laid down.

[BOWMARKS]

Only heart shot for me went about 5 yards from where the arrow was and fell over.

Kinda funny it was dark,I found my arrow then decided I needed my tracker son. Got him he looked over the arrow stuck in the ground and shook his head.

Dumb Old Man.  

[BOHO]

my first bow kill ever was a 5 point that weighed around 135 if I remember right. shot him with a Green Mtn Longbow and Wensel Woodsman right in the heart at 22 steps quartering away. He ran an estimated 200 yards. Not much blood and found him in a dry creekbed

[S.C. Hunter]

I had one that was calm when I hit it. I shot it right through the heart and it took two steps looked around and fell over. I had another one that went almost 100 yards. Most that were heart shot were between 25-50 yards.

[Rob W.]

I had one make about a hundred yard dash across a snowy field (easy track job) and one that dead centered a tree on a full steam downhill run(30 yrds).

[Cwilder]

I have had heart shot deer go two steps and fall over but I have also had heart shot deer run over 100 yards.

[Sixby]

About 100 yards is as far as I have had one go and that was a buck and full tilt run till piled up. I have seen a cow elk that a partner shot go several hundred and pile. That was also at a dead flat out run.

God bless and Merry Christmas, Steve

[overbo]

How ever far they can get in under 10 seconds