deer with broken legs
Contributors to this thread:Equipment
From: JesseD
06-Jan-08
This deer was seen walking through a golf corse and into a creek. The guy watched the deer fall as it entered the creek. Then it got up and walked into some thick brush. He later found the deer dead. A coworker and I skinned the deer and found no other marks on it. What do yall think happened do this deers legs? There is a interstate and a railroad about 400 to 500 yards away from where this took place.
From: LoneStarArcher
06-Jan-08
HOLY $HIT!!!!!
From: Coastie John
06-Jan-08
Looks like they have been broke for some time. Both ends of the bones look identical. The hoove part looks awfully swollen. Almost like an infection has set in.
Back in Michigan once, a coworker bought in a nice buck he had shot. One of the rear legs looked like this. He said it did not slow down the deer at all.
From: dreamcatcher
06-Jan-08
A few years ago, my brother and I were dragging a 4pt he just took with his Muzzleloader towards the car. I happened to notice blood and tracks leading to the car. We were still at least 600 yards away. I followed the tracks which lead to the hiking patch. All of a sudden this doe gets up on her back legs not 30 yards away. I dropped her and noticed she had one front leg blown off and the other was hanging by skin. Some a** hole shot her with round ball and never followed up. With snow on the ground it would have been so easy. They are amazing animals!!
From: LH
06-Jan-08
I rifle shot a cow elk and hit it too far back. Tracked it down and when I shot it again it ran down a steep rocky hill with crevices. It died and when I walked up to it, she had broken both front legs just below the knee. I assume she had driven them into a crack and her momentum snapped them off. Something like that obviously happened to the doe.
From: INbowdude
06-Jan-08
LH might be on to something. Perhaps it got it hooves stuck in-between rails (like when one set can shift to take a railcar to a spur) My initial thought was that somebody had shot low and broken both legs but the more I look at it and the idea about the tracks, the more plausible it sounds. Mike
From: elmer
06-Jan-08
aany chance it got caught and escaped from a trap of some sort.
From: LH
06-Jan-08
Hard for an animal deer sized to get both hooves in a foothold trap (traps are too small) and they wouldn't break her leg. Deer don't stay in the foot hold traps even with one leg since their strength and foot shape doesn't give the trap enough hold on them.
From: HerdManager
06-Jan-08
It doesn't really look like those bones are broken. Those look like the ends of the bones, like the joint itself came apart rather than bones breaking.
Very strange.
From: LH
06-Jan-08
I've never tried to break that joint but I bet it would take some serious force. Guess its one of those things we can wonder about but never be sure of.
From: catkinson
06-Jan-08
don't know, can't say, but that's what always bothered me about traps. ??? who's to say though?
From: PAGuardian
06-Jan-08
I have seen this happen. The deer was running out in front of a car and hit the side by the front wheel, the front tire ran over the front legs and broke them both off just like this. The body went up against the car, the legs went under tire. I watched the deer go off with both front legs broke off just like this. Called the game commission and they went out and put the deer out of its sufforing.
From: LH
06-Jan-08
You wouldn't think a deer would get up from a hit like that, but I watched a car in front of us hit a buck in CA. It jumped up and disappeared into the dark. I had a pistol and we went to see if it needed to be put down. Found it in the bottom of the ditch. Dead, with all four legs broke. How in the world did it get up.
PAGuardian's explanation provides some insight into why they found the deer in this discussion dead.
From: frogger
06-Jan-08
damn, bet that was painful walking on leg bones
From: FULLDRW
06-Jan-08
FULLDRW's Link
When you skinned it out, how much hemoraging was in the front legs? How far up did it go on the leg? Just trying to figure out if it was a slow strugle or fast break.
From: fuzzy
07-Jan-08
woven-wire fence,I've found then dead i them, feet the same way
From: tonyo6302
07-Jan-08
This is an example of a 00 buckshot wound. VA this year allowed unplugged shotguns for deer hunting, and now the gunners just unload all the hail mary shots they can. I was going to pass this guy up as it was a small 7 point, but when I saw his broken hind leg, I put him down.
Tony
From: Shuteye
07-Jan-08
I have seen deer with broken legs like that. They were broken by gunfire. My cousin killed one a couple of years ago with his flint lock that had a front foot missing. He wasn't going to shoot it since it was a small deer but he actually felt sorry for it and put it out of it's misery.
From: JesseD
07-Jan-08
Full draw
there were no other marks on the deer, no hemorging, no other broken bones, or anything like that. just the BACK legs broken like in the picture.
From: JesseD
07-Jan-08
This is a picture of the same deer. I had seen him a few times during hunting season and passed on him.(I was waiting for a bigger one) he would have been a good deer in my area in a few years, he was young.Kind of disapointing that I don't get to hunt him, but we did get the meat and the guy who found the deer is going to get him mounted. thanks yall for the input.
From: Shootyeah
07-Jan-08
I found one stuck in a barb wire fence last week that looked exactly like that. I cut the wires and got him out, but it was too late. Somehow it had jumped between the strands and then caught his legs flipping him completely over the top wire and wrapping both legs. I was going to take a pic but just as I was about to snap it he started thrashing around. I thought he was dead already......gave me a little jump. Anyway I put down the camera and went to getting him out.
From: Badger
07-Jan-08
Was there an ice layer over the top of snow? I've heard about this this year in Wisconsin. in certain parts of the state the deer can hardly walk on on the snow because of the ice - they slip and fall. This is the first I've ever seen a picture tho.
From: fuzzy
08-Jan-08
I disagree, about the gunshot wound, since there is no sign of shattered bone, and BOTH legs have identical injury
From: LoneStarArcher
09-Jan-08
Its that damn big foot!!!
From: Salagi
09-Jan-08
I'm leaning towards the fence idea. If you've never seen one caught in a fence you can't imagine how it could happen. I found an elk tangled up several years ago (smelled him actually, it was a little too late!) He had tried to jump the fence got both hind legs stuck between the top 2 wires and flipped over tangling him up good.
From: split_toe
09-Jan-08
definatly the fence or trail tracks last year bird hunting we cut a little guy out of a fence after he rested awhile he got up and moved on on 3 leggs if we wouldnt have freed him he would have probly broke both legs to get loose and died
From: bull balls
09-Jan-08
I believe it is the ice theory. I have heard of deer doing this in the last few weeks. they can run on top of the snow and ice and will break through while running. The momentum will carry the deer over the top snapping both front legs. I have not seen any evidence of this but have heard several stories of it. Either way it is too bad, that would've been a nice buck in a year or two.
From: Nooner
10-Jan-08
A car hit him when his feet were planted, just like a football injury. A doe ended up in my yard with the same thing a couple of years ago. One of her quarters was very bruised, I salvaged the rest though.
From: bull balls
10-Jan-08
"A coworker and I skinned the deer and found no other marks on it."
Not real consistant of a car hit.
