Posted on 09/14/2015 9:56:58 AM PDT by DUMBGRUNT
Its kind like an out of body experience to watch a deer hit your hood and sail your roof as it hits the road when you speed away from it.
Deer are damned tough. You’ll take more damage than them in a collision.
My first military assignment was in South Carolina; I had a semi-crazed roommate who was a native of the Palmetto State. He drove a beat-up Chevy Monza (remember those?) with a dented hood and fenders that would barely pass inspection. I asked him why he drove such a heap; he explained the Monza was his “deer hunting car.”
Before joining the Air Force (and while on leave after enlisting), he’d drive down the backroads near Walterboro with only his parking lights on and (if there was enough moon illumination), no lights at all. This technique netted three deer in less than 18 months, with corresponding damage to the Monza. Claimed it was a lot faster than sitting in a deer stand.
Last I heard he was still in the Low Country, but I’m not sure if he’s still hunting by auto.
Seriously, there are a lot of states that need to extend their deer seasons. Virtually no natural predators left in the wild, and the population is exploding.
Not far from where I now live, there’s a growing herd on a local USCG base. Naturally, everyone on the installation is unarmed (except for base security) and the deer have apparently learned they won’t get shot inside the perimeter. So, they hop the fence or simply walk through the gate.
There are probably more deer here in the coastal New Jersey suburbs than there were in 1776. Back then if one strayed into your yard at any season of the year, the musket came down from over the fireplace and venison went on the menu.
Luckily the road was just wet from rain. If there was snow it would have been a different story. I had a deer jump on the road about 100 yds. in front of me in a snowstorm in western NY. Managed to slow down just enough to avoid hitting it before it finally decided to jump into the snowbank on the other side.
My brother used to invite me to Ft. Knox, Ky. when they opened up parts of the artillary range to hunt deer. There were some HUUGE stags there. I killed a 13 point and the guy who checked them out said “Shoulda waited.”
That is exactly what a flying deer looks like.
In PA we call it sport. The Insurance Co.’s call it an epidemic. Why isn’t PETA training these things?
PA here, I hit my first one about two years back. I was going 40 MPH (on the nose and legal) and the flippin thing was on the bridge I was crossing. All I could do was slam on the brakes as there was on-coming traffic. I hit it going about 30 at that point and sent it sailing / grazing the on-coming vehicles hood.
All said and done, 3400 in damages; nothing to the the other vehicle (I’m also glad it didn’t launch over the side of the bridge and onto the freeway below (an Interstate).
Costly little buggers. I now hunt.
I could not believe the numbers of mule deer we passed that obviously had been hit by semi trucks........
One of my later assignments was at an Air Force base in southern Georgia. Down there, the problem wasn’t deer, it was wild hogs. Finally opened the area beyond the flight line to hunting while I was there. They killed some large hogs in that area and of course, an Air Force installation is much smaller than an Army post.
Many years ago while driving between Milwaukee and Madistan,
I witnessed the strangest deer Vs tractor trailer mash-up during an ice storm. 3 does slowly ambled across I94 right in front of a semi truck. He couldn’t do a thing about it them. Never hit the brakes. He took the first two out and the truck behind him took the third. Again no brake lights. Parts of them were scattered all over both lanes. Gruesome. I ended up with deer parts on my truck. Couldn’t slow down enough to swerve due to ice build up.
Had to explain to the boss why there were deer parts covering the front end of our 2 year old shop truck.
Not to mention, the deer overpopulation is probably related to increased cases of LYME disease cuased by deer ticks.
I was riding with my father in his pickup many years ago when a deer jumped out of the bushes along the road and ran into the side of the pickup. We did not run into it. It ran into us. The insurance guy could not believe that. He came out to look at it and saw that there was no front end damage of any kind. The damage was from between the doors (a stretch pickup) and back.
Speaking of truck hits........
In the early 80s an 18 wheeler on hiway 158 east of Garden City in west Texas killed NINE deer at once. It was a very foggy evening and they were standing in the road. The driver of a box truck following him told me of it a couple hours after the incident. They stopped and dragged all of the corpses from the roadway so no one else would hit them. I went down that road the next day and stopped and looked at them. He was not exaggerating—— there were nine-—no bucks, all does.
In the early 70s a column of LVT7 AMTRACS from Camp Lejeune were driving down a tank trail at Fort Gordon, Georgia when a big buck standing in the trail dropped his head and charged the leading 23 ton armored vehicle.This was during the rut.
Not much was left by the time the last one ran over him.
The biologist at the local forest preserve can tell you exactly how many it will support, and how it is over populated.
You better not even think about that, for the greenies will have court order before lunch.
Locally they do an annual deer count from a helicopter ($$$).
They demanded a spot on the helicopter that seats three, total. Pilot and two biologist that do this for a living, and maybe know what to look for.
After a struggle the county gave in.
In my opinion, chronic wasting disease, took out more than the Midwest deer herd.
I know I have not returned.
A co worker has a long commute across the corn fields of Illinois and the tollway is getting costly, so he side streets it, except in heavy snow.
He also gets a couple of deer each year.
Drives an old S-10, now I know why.
Knew of a couple, had it come through the windshield feet first.
Major and injuries to both.
Still have my airhead BMW, and some friend that have bad experiences with deer.
Once had a handful of them around me in slow traffic.
I did not what to do?
Still recall that event each time I pass that location.
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