How did they fall?
General Topic
I started a thread quite awhile ago but couldn’t find it so I’ll post it again.
How did your animal - deer/elk - fall after it was shot? Did it fall on the same side the arrow entered? Or opposite side?
My bull elk fell on the same side the arrow entered.
Dang, Brad, you shouldn’t make me try to remember something that happened almost 3 months ago! After much thought, mine fell on the opposite side.
Cnelk.
What does the side that the animal falls on indicate or mean. Old Native American thing ??
RK - the other thread I mentioned it was obvious that most animals fell on the side they were shot.
Just curious if the data stayed the same.
This one fell entrance side up.
This one fell entrance side up.
Exit side up.
Exit side up.
Neither, it was a frontal
This is going to be 50/50 on side shots if you have a big enough sample.
My buck this year fell on exit side. My bull last was shot with a frontal shot so he died upside down.
Last one fell onto the entry side, which almost got hairy in bad light, because the arrow passed almost entirely through, which left a still very sharp broadhead sticking up in the air.
I don’t think I got anywhere close to it, but when I did notice it, it seemed WAY too close for comfort.
Beyond that, I’d say 50:50, but if you damage one shoulder more than the other, they may well fall toward that worse- injured side.
I’ve noticed that a broadhead lodged in the off shoulder can cause an animal to run in an arc, rather than a straight line... Pretty sure I’m going to need to recall that at some point when an animal tears off and leaves sparse sign....
Scrappy that pic is pretty awesome man!
Mine fell on the exit side this year.
Also exit side up.
Also exit side up.
Fell on the intake. Only remember 'cause it just happened and I have an "as he lay" pic.
Cow elk exit side and buck antelope on exit side.
Whitetail buck fell on entry side, you can see the arrow sticking through. Definitely have made better shots than this one but it was a short recovery.
Muley buck fell on entry side but no pass through
Called in this guy for my brother and he killed his first bull ever. The bull fell on the entry side
That’s 2 entry sides and 2 exit sides for me, and one entry side for my brother.
The trend here is enlightening
My bull fell on the entry side.
Doe down on her entry side, exit side is up.
I think Ive only had one deer die on the entrance side interesting topic
Not to complicate CN's research, but should the wind direction and speed be considered? Not to mention slope...
On a side note. Do you think if this study was conducted south of the equator the results would be opposite.
Maybe some guys that have hunted Africa, New Zealand, OZ could chime in
Two deer this season, and both fell entrance side up.
I don't think that there is any reason for which side the deer fall.
50/50 chance..
If the arrow is still hanging out is there a propensity to fall on it In Order to dislodge it.
The basis of the question is to detemine if the entrance side is weakened faster than the exit side.
But thanks to the smart ass replies! Thumbs up!
neither i did not get shot this year.
"On a side note. Do you think if this study was conducted south of the equator the results would be opposite."
Toilets swirl the opposite direction in Australia, so a reasonable and scientific mind would conclude that animals would fall opposite too.
Ambush. That's what I was thinking too
Entrance side, entrance side.
I think it depends on the broadhead. An animal shot with a mechanical will usually fall on the entry side, due to the imbalance caused by the arrow slicking out of only that side. It's 50/50 with fixed blades because there's usually equal sized holes on both sides, and no imbalance. ;-)
Cnelk must be really bored..... ;-)
Matt
Respectfully I’m not sure that I agree with that theory Grey Ghost although I’m not saying that you’re wrong. I shoot one of those dreaded mechanicals that everyone hates but I had mixed results this year, 2 fell on the entry side and 2 fell on the exit side. all using the same BH. I’m not saying that those 4 animals that I killed is enough research to determine anything. Just not sure if I see enough evidence to see any real trend yet but I did not see Brads original thread either.
Surely you knew I was joking, Ghost425.
I think the side that an animal falls on is mostly random, and probably has more to do with the terrain that he falls in more than anything else. I know that when I stumble and fall in the woods gravity usually dictates that I fall downhill. The notion that the entry or exit wounds have any influence on what side an animal falls on is rather silly to me.
Matt
I’ve been taking some “feedback” for being too pointed lately, so reading Ghost425’s post cracked me up....
“Respectfully”..,, I don’t have time to sound that respectful!
Definitely, I can agree with that Grey Ghost. I think terrain plays a part and maybe the momentum that they have when falling. I shot a cow elk this year and she went about 30 yards, stopped and started swaying back and forth until she fell over dead. I don’t think the placement of the arrow had anything to do with which side she fell on. It coulda went either way, she just swayed until to weak to hold her own weight anymore and then fell. I’d be interested to see what Brads research determines.
Well that lack of respect GF is probably why you get no respect on this site. I’m not going to get into it with you as others have on the Michigan Baiting thread though.
Ron that’s a cool pic. Would love to know the story behind that bull covered in snow.
@ Grey Ghost
No Im not bored. Just a topic I thought was a bit interesting.
Poaching every thread on Bowsite, questioning the size of Kodiak bucks and other's shooting ability..... now thats bored. Ol' T'Roy shut ya down pretty hard on that one didnt he?
"Almost" every double lung shot of mine has taken a hard left turn while expiring. When bloodtrailing at night, when the trail turns left, the deer is right there. Sometimes they are laying on their left side, sometimes on their right, but almost always they took a left turn as they blacked out.
Cnelk,
I actually found T'roy's response to me on the Kodiak thread comical. I didn't read that whole thread, I started at BigEasyGator's recap. He wounded and didn't recover 2 deer with 55 yard shots, before finally connecting at a more reasonable range. The next guy to recap hit one in the rump at 61 yards, requiring a closer follow up killing shot. Clearly they were pushing the limits of their shooting abilities, hence my question.
As for this thread, have you realized any significant pattern? It appears about 50/50 to me, which is consistent with my experience. My buck fell in plain sight at 15 yards this year. When he fell, his front legs gave away first, and he basically face-planted, then rolled over onto the downhill side. That was typical of many animals that I've double lunged. Which side they came to rest on was simply a function of which way they were facing in relation to the terrain.
Matt
2 whitetail doe shot within feet of each other, opposite sides, both pass through. Funny part both left on identical paths and died in the same hole under the same Bush. Shots were weeks apart and deer were laying identically
Very weird
On the side the arrow entered
I started thinking back in the animals I've killed. If they are dead on their feet they fall randomly when their legs give out. If not, ie.. liver shot, gut shot, they almost always lie down with the entry wound side facing up until they expire.
I shot my Aussie red stag twice, right side passthrough at 25 yards, left side quartering away at about 55. Considering he was below the equator and the direction of my helicals, he wasn't sure which side to fall on so he went down with his legs folded under him.
THIS ONE FELL DOWN AND DOWN AND DOWN
I've tried to think back. I think it's definitely a mix. Some fall one way, some the other.
As far as south of the equator, I've killed 4 animals in south Africa. 2 fell on the entrance, and 2 fell on the exit. . . . .
Grant Goat will do that if they have they can get to a cliff
Depends what side of the Divide you are on. East of the Divide fall toward Atlantic or Gulf of Mexico. To the west fall toward Pacific. If you are up on the Divide they face plant or tip over backwards. I'm not familiar below the equator.
Both my elk and deer fell onto the exit side of the shot. I must admit I never gave it a thought, until this thread.
Both my elk fell on the entrance side, interesting topic. I’ve shot so many whitetial I can’t hardly recall that would be too much work
