[BuckFever101]

Last evening I took a shot on a large doe that I now wish I would have passed on. She was quartering to me pretty hard and just over a 100 yards. (I have my T/C Omega shot in 3/4" high at 100). I shot freehand (felt comfortable with the shot and was steady (I thought). Anyways I put the crosshairs on the center of her chest and slowly squeezed. Of course you get the typical smoke and can't see anything for a few seconds, but once the smoke cleared I watched her run across the open field with her tail tucked between her legs. She ran approx 300 yards before dissappearing out of my view. I called my dad and we searched for 2 hrs and found absolutely no sign of a hit. I was confident I hit her well when I squeezed the trigger, but after searching and finding no sign, I'm fairly certain it was a clean miss, but my question is do deer run away with their tail tucked sometimes when not wounded?

 

[corey22]

Yes they do, I had the same thing happen to me with the
inline 2 years ago. All the other deer did the typical
tail up heading for cover as fast as possible but the doe
I shot at ran with her tail down so I thought I hit her.
Looked for quite awhile before giving because I found no
sign of blood, hair or anything.

 

[Retiredusne8]

Yes they run with there tail down and they are not hit also had them run with there tail up and drop over dead on the run,I don't put much faith in the tail,but do look for signs of a hit where they stood when shot at.I have seen deer run up a hill too and drop dead on the run.

 

[tridaddy]

i shot at one on saturday with snow on the ground. it clamped it's tail no sign in the snow. i tracked for 400 yds and i really blew a gravy shot! i can never spend enough time at the range to suit myself.

 

[Woodywoodduck]

All of the deer I have shot, each 1 up ontil Saturday had tucked thier tails after the shot and I searched high and low till I found them if there was no blood..

The 1 on Saturday, at the shot, took off on a FAST Run, Faster then I have ever seen a deer run after being shot at...it's tail was straight up in the air like a deer does when it is scared from the area it is in....

I walked over to were she had crossed the tractor trail...saw no blood, my buddy then shot at the second doe I saw... I walked over to him, found the blood trail and his doe and then told him to come help me make sure I had missed...
When we walked back to were the doe I shot at, had crossed the Trator Trail...he and I both started looking, took us maybe 3 minutes to find blood on the other side of the tractor trail were I had not looked....


Always, look around, you did the right thing by getting your Dad involved.... my Buddies and I always use each other to help make sure it was a clean miss or a hit that did not leave blood till a few yards from the spot of the shot!

 

[broknaero]

Had this happen to me last year. Shot at a doe with my flintlock at the end of the day. I was in the pines so it got darker fast. I found where she was standing and after the shot when I looked under the smoke I saw her run off the logging road, left to right.

I found a few clipped hairs where she stood but no blood. I followed the deer trail I saw her run. Never found anymore sign. I combed all the brush back and forth but couldn't find anything. I figured the hair I found came from shaving her back.

Next morning (only 10 hrs later) I was making my way into the same stand from a different direction as the wind was different. About 200yards from my stand there she lies just to the side of the logging road. The shot was true, just a touch high. The patched round ball went through both lungs but high. Didn't hit any bones. I guess she was able to travel a ways before the blood filled her chest cavity to leave a blood trail. The doe I saw running left to right when I looked around the smoke had to be the second deer in the group.