WTH happened?

[soberups]

I was deer hunting yesterday on a late-season 600-series Willamette unit tag. I have access to private property (a vineyard) on the condition that I use a shotgun. I am using a Remington 870 with a rifled barrel and sabot slugs that are accurate out to about 100 yards.

I attempted a 50 yard head shot on a doe that was lying behind a small rise which hid the rest of its body. Its not a shot I would normally attempt with iron sights, but I figured I would either miss cleanly or kill immediately.

I pulled the trigger, and the deer flipped over on its back, kicking its legs in the air as deer often do after being shot. It then laid motionless. I assumed that I had made a direct hit. As I approached the deer.....it got up and ran away, displaying no sign of injury. I could see it bounding away thru the vineyard, it wasnt limping or hunched over as if gutshot. I found no blood or hair anywhere. I followed it around the vineyard for over an hour, unable to get within range for another shot, and it was apparent that the deer had not been hit by a 524 grain slug moving at 1200fps. It even resumed feeding after awhile. I was glad that I had missed cleanly and not wounded the animal, but I am at a loss to understand why it flipped on its back and acted dead. Is it possible that the slug made some sort of "shock wave" in the air that stunned the deer? There is no conceivable way that the deer could have survived a head shot from a slug at 50 yards. Opinions?

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[Barney]

Is seems to me there were two deer - not one. The untouched one ran off and the wounded one ?

 

[soberups]

Is seems to me there were two deer - not one. The untouched one ran off and the wounded one ?

I was 50 yards away with an unobstructed view, in a vineyard between a row of grapes. The deer never left my sight after I fired. There was only one deer.

 

[RVTECH]

Long shot but maybe the one out of a million you just slightly grazed the head and there was enough energy to cause a slight stun and the reaction but not enough to result in any large amount of blood or hair loss.

 

[longcolt]

Long shot but maybe the one out of a million you just slightly grazed the head and there was enough energy to cause a slight stun and the reaction but not enough to result in any large amount of blood or hair loss.

Yep, would agree with that theory, or the doe was like those goats that faint when scared and your shot just scared her silly and she passed out from fear.

 

[Mark W.]

My dad once shot a Blacktail forked horn through the bedroom window screen standing in his underware (he lives in the country and it was a legal shot) the deer went down like a ton of bricks he said.

So he goes in finds his hunting knife tunes it up a little and makes a cup of coffee. He walks back to the bedroom to check on the deer and sure enough still on the ground still as a board.

So he walks around the house knife in hand gets 10 ft from the little buck and up it jumps landing on its feet and takes off running.

Dad has a half full coffee cup in one hand and his hunting knife in the other with a couple of baggies for the heart and liver.

Rifle well that is leaning against the inside of the bedroom wall right below the window.

He said he spotted it about a mile and a half away 2 hours later. But couldn't get close enough to put another round in it.

Oh when it got up dad said it was missing the antler on the left side.

He had gone for a head shot (afterall it was all of 20 yards away) and he over compensated for the hieght of the sights and the distance and the round must have hit the buck somewhere in the lower antler. Ringing its bell really good but not killing it.

I assume you did the Doe version of the story.

 

[deadeye]

She faked it and you were satisfied for a minute and then she went on with her life, sound familiar?

 

[jonn5335]

I would assume you did hit it but not a head shot. It sounds like you were shooting a rifled slug in a shotgun designed for sabots, but maybe someone does put out a 524 grain 12 gauge sabot? It'll probably live if an infection or predator does'nt get it. I've pulled old bullets/broadheads/buckshot out of deer and elk they are tough critters. Go back put a paper plate up where the deer was go stand where you were standing when you shot at the deer do 20 jumping jacks and with the same gun and ammo shoot at the plate.

 

[SICARIO]

I've heard this happen before. You scared the living snot out of her.

 

[Throckmorton]

actually,the doe was cracking up laughing her azz off and couldn't catch her breat !!

or she was just grazed by a big azz bullet. if that slug skimmed my head i'd be kicking up a fuss too.

 

[mike28w]

My bet is that you "parted her hair' with that slug....grazed her just enough to knock her unconscious for a moment. Bet she had a heck of a headache, though.....

A friend's wife hit a buck in the antler. He dropped like a rock. My friend went up with knife in hand and was just about to slit his throat when jumped up and ran off. Friend said it scared him so bad his hands shook for half an hour !!

 

[OregonPlinker]

Did you find where the slug hit the ground or anything? Shooting uphill or down. Im assuming the vineyard is on a hill... Id have to agree with everybody else, You scared the poop out of her.lol.

 

[MechanicWithAGlock]

here what happened you shot and missed completely and then the doe ROFL'ed and ran away knowing you would chase it.

 

[WilliamIV]

My dad once shot a Blacktail forked horn through the bedroom window screen standing in his underware (he lives in the country and it was a legal shot) the deer went down like a ton of bricks he said.

So he goes in finds his hunting knife tunes it up a little and makes a cup of coffee. He walks back to the bedroom to check on the deer and sure enough still on the ground still as a board.

So he walks around the house knife in hand gets 10 ft from the little buck and up it jumps landing on its feet and takes off running.

Dad has a half full coffee cup in one hand and his hunting knife in the other with a couple of baggies for the heart and liver.

Rifle well that is leaning against the inside of the bedroom wall right below the window.

He said he spotted it about a mile and a half away 2 hours later. But couldn't get close enough to put another round in it.

Oh when it got up dad said it was missing the antler on the left side.

He had gone for a head shot (afterall it was all of 20 yards away) and he over compensated for the hieght of the sights and the distance and the round must have hit the buck somewhere in the lower antler. Ringing its bell really good but not killing it.

I assume you did the Doe version of the story.

Sounds like my dad. He shot a deer at 400 yards down hill with my 300wm. I told him to hold a little high to comp for the distance. The deer was slightly facing us. He shot and the deer dropped. Then while we were loading up our gear we see a deer standing in the same exact spot. We look closely and he ended up shooting its' right horn off. So he shot again and dropped it. This time hitting the neck. It's too bad we never found the part of horn he blew off.

 

[jbett98]

Maybe you whacked her in the head with the plastic wad?

 

[Brutus57]

Might have been a time where you tried a bit of stalking. Perhaps you hit the berm in front,
the slug went through and knocked her down but didn't penetrate. I'd go back with a metal detector.
Brutus Out

 

[cookie]

She faked it and you were satisfied for a minute and then she went on with her life, sound familiar?

More than I would like to acknowledge.

 

[semperfi68to70]

My dad once shot a Blacktail forked horn through the bedroom window screen standing in his underware (he lives in the country and it was a legal shot) the deer went down like a ton of bricks he said.

Were you ever able to figure out how the deer got into your dad's underwear?

 

[Will_Power]