How Likely Are You To Hit A Deer

[Buck Conner1]

SUBJECT: How Likely Are You To Hit A Deer

Saw this map and thought this may be of interest to you folks. I thought some of the eastern and southern states would have had higher percentages from the what the insurance companies reported?

​

 

[Marty1]

A few years back a buck slammed into the side of my 4x4 Blazer. MASSACHUSETTS is labeled Low Risk. I had LOTS of "close-calls" though in Pennsylvania which is labeled High Risk.

 

[Renegadehunter]

I've had several close calls over my 31 years of driving here in Idaho, but did finally hit one two years ago in my pickup. I was headed out turkey hunting so it was before daylight, and even with high beams on I just didn't see it until I couldn't slow down enough. 3 of them were running full tilt like something else had spooked them, I barely was on the brakes for one second before I hit one of them. Amazing how much damage they do, I was probably doing 45mph when I hit it. New front bumper, grill, one headlight bracket, marker light and bracket, plus other hardware.

 

[Hanshi]

I know to keep a close lookout for them on the highway. I've witnessed deer being hit by an automobile; it looked like the car exploded. My wife hit one with my truck and it had to be towed. The deer? He jumped up and ran off.

 

[Buck Conner1]

In Pennsylvania I have stopped and helped State Troopers put down deer that had been hit by vehicles. In those days all they had were .38 Spl. for a side arm. That round didn't do the job on an animal with all its juices pumping. I would use either a digging bar or sledge hammer between the ears to stop the suffering. Tried to stick one with a hunting knife in the neck, that didn't work as well as you would think.

 

[dbowling2]

Ive lived where I live for 20 yrs and Ive hit 6(3 of them ran into me) deer within 5 miles of my house in that time.. lived 25 miles farther east/north and hit 1 there in 3 yrs.. used to be a ton of deer around here but EHD and liberal bag limits have cut down on pop. a lot.
I hit one deer in a Olds Cutlass diesel doing 65 mph, knocked deer in ditch thought it was dead. Got out looked at damaged which amounted to busted grill, buckled hood, mirror knocked of drivers door, door with big dent etc.. heard a noise and the buck got up and ran across field for 3/4 mile with a hole in its side the size of a basket ball, you could see its guts, they are tough.. pretty sure it died as soon as it hit the woods.

 

[muzzleloader48]

Lived in Steamboat Springs, Co. for many years. Coming over Rabbit Ears Pass, cow elk jumped off side of mountain, buckled hood and fenders, smashed window, 1986 Acura integra. I got out to check damage on both, elk got up and looked at me and took off running.
Encountered a herd of elk almost every evening on my my to the mines in Axle Basin, near Meeker, Co. - would have to sit there and wait until the herd cleared the road....knew the area very well so was always cautious.

 

[Buck Conner1]

same experience in that area muzzleloader48 and in northern Colorado near Estes Park. If a road kill was still warm I would take home and butcher them that evening. Got lots of good meat without pulling a trigger .... :cheers:

 

[Buck Conner1]

Hey guys $20.00 bucks a year isn't going to kill you, help Jonathan keep this site going - become a "FML Supporter"

For only $19.95 a year that's good money put to a good use.

Help Support Frontier Muzzle Loading: BECOME A SUPPORTING MEMBER

 

[RonRC]

same experience in that area muzzleloader48 and in northern Colorado near Estes Park. If a road kill was still warm I would take home and butcher them that evening. Got lots of good meat without pulling a trigger .... :cheers:

Again, in Colorado: I was driving to work in Golden, CO when a mule deer jumped out in front of me. My hood looked like an agitated ocean, with ripples and waves. The deer's head swung around and hit the side of the car near the front wheel well. The deer was DRT - dead right there.
On the way to Estes Park, CO I drove by a Moose - Subaru incident. The moose was dead and so was the Subaru. The Outback's roof was flattened down to the top of the car seats. The driver must have driven right through the tall legs of the Moose and the Moose body hit the roof.
Ron

 

[afishhunter]

I'm very unlikely to hit a deer.
I be car free, so the only critters I'm likely to hit while riding my bicycle are ants, flys, gnats, and mosquitoes.

 

[muzzleloader48]

1.) This was back in the '90's. My 2 son's were driving back from Grand Junction in a Ford Taurus, on I-25 heading home.
Deer jumped in front of them at 65 mph. Freaked them out as the deer head went flying by the drivers side window.
2.) October 2001: Wife was an x-ray tech at Minors Colfax in Raton, NM. After 9/11 there were no flights for a very long time, so they paid her to drive the radiology film to Amarillo, Tx. I would go with here as it was quite a long drive both ways. Driving 1996 Isuzu Trooper: Outside of Dalhart, Tx. cranking about 65-70 mph, near dusk. Isaw the deer coming across the field toward me out of the corner of my eye, to late! Got out to access the damage. Half of deer was gone. Wrinkled hood and fender, had one blade of the cooling fan broke off. Had a slight vibration,but that damned Trooper got us to Amarillo to deliver that radiology film and back to Colorado. $7000+ damage but that Trooper had to be the toughest vehicle I ever owned!

 

[bobbythehunter]

I've got one in CT and one hit me in Maine. Maine deer put a dent in quarter panel of my Camaro and ct deer slightly damaged (3000 grand ) my Toyota Yaris commuter car. Just glad it didn't end up in my lap. Writing this from treestand sitting with crossbow on a beautiful morning from pachaug SF. 33 and calm.

 

[bobbythehunter]

Neither deer was retrieved.

 

[Hanshi]

I love that photo, by the way.

 

[bobbythehunter]

thanks. had a doe come by shortly after i posted that. was indecisive on whether i wanted to shoot her and she made her way in directly behind my tree and laid down for a nap and to chew her cud and groom. ended up having to scare her off to get out of the tree about two hours later. not an easy task.

 

[triggerman303]

My latest count between NY & PA, I've hit or been run into by 13 deer. There's been lots of close calls too.

 

[JonE]

The most dangerous mammal in North America is…Bambi. The U.S. Department of Transportation estimates that white-tailed deer kill around 130 Americans each year simply by causing car accidents. In 1994, these predator deer had a banner year, causing 211 human deaths in car wrecks.

 

[muzzleloader48]

I've got one in CT and one hit me in Maine. Maine deer put a dent in quarter panel of my Camaro and ct deer slightly damaged (3000 grand ) my Toyota Yaris commuter car. Just glad it didn't end up in my lap. Writing this from treestand sitting with crossbow on a beautiful morning from pachaug SF. 33 and calm.

Hope you get a good one. Good fortune to you.

 

[Old and grumpy]

How likely are you to hit a deer? Not very if, you slow down in heavy deer population areas, back off of the rear bumper of the car in front of you (it's called maintaining a reactionary gap) and put your blank, blank, blank phone down and pay attention. But what do I know I'm kinda new to all this with only 1.8 million miles on motorcycles, 2.4 million miles in a patrol car and who knows how many miles in my truck. Total deer contact, ZERO. And yes I do and have always lived in a so called high risk state.

Avoid rectal cranial inversion and avoid deer. It really is just that simple.