You Wounded a Buck. Will He Come Back? (2024)

FAQs

You Wounded a Buck. Will He Come Back? ›

Many will recover from their wounds, but the hunter doesn't know that. And some mortally wounded deer will never be found. Nothing goes to waste in the wild, but it's a tragedy nonetheless. However, you can significantly increase the odds of recovering your deer if you take the right steps after the shot.

After a wounding shot, a buck will associate the area with danger for a few days to a few weeks, he says. But if the reason the deer was there in the first place doesn't change — it is still a quality food source or a major travel corridor or whatever — a buck will return to the area.

A: It might or might not. Some deer do return, although it might take a few minutes, hours, days, weeks, or months to do so. Other deer never return at all.

Even deer that blow from a site after seeing and smelling a threat might tolerate intrusion, but it might be awhile before they return.

One thing I have learned after being on hundreds of wounded-deer trails – they almost always “head home” if they suffer a wound that's not immediately fatal. In this case, a buck will almost always head toward his primary bedding area. Scouting, trail cameras and knowing the buck you're hunting obviously helps here.

“Yes, a mature buck will come back to the area where he was injured,” says Kip Adams of the Quality Deer Management Association.

Typically, once a hit deer reaches some kind of cover it will bed down and die in minutes or hours, depending on the quality of the shot.

He will be back, maybe even later that day. However, if that scare occurs in a place and in a fashion that is foreign to the buck, he will not be so forgiving.

A buck will often make a random scrape whenever he comes upon an attractive licking branch and is “moved” to work the site. Seldom will they be reused and in most cases are not serious candidates for a hunting set up.

If you find a deer that is severely injured and unable to stand or walk outside our rescue hours, please call your local Police Department, California Highway Patrol, Sheriff's Department, or Department of Fish and Wildlife for assistance.

Do wounded deer circle back? ›

Deer will circle back to the area where they were wounded because it's their home. Come back later the next day and do another sweep.

In theory, The 7-Day Rule works like as follows. A good buck walks along a certain trail and visits a scrape, and you either see him or get him on trail camera. One year from that date, he should be visiting the same scrape and walking along the same trail. That's the premise.

If it's the best grub around, chances are good that deer will return. It might not be in daylight for a few days, but if the food is peaking, it will be back. Spooking a deer over a water source is much the same, especially out in the open.

Deer are capable of recovering from severe injury, even broken bones. An adult deer, even one with a leg injury as you described, can survive on its own as long as it has access to food, water, and shelter.

If you are familiar with any bedding areas around your hunting location, those are good locations to check to see if the deer has made its way there. Wounded deer like to head where they feel safe, and bedding areas are a sure bet for that.

A wounded deer usually tucks its tail between its legs. If you miss, the tail usually stays raised after the shot. If you notice a buck is acting shy, you're able to completely change your game plan and choose better strategies to fit his behavior.

Granted, if a deer smells, sees and hears you, it might be a day or more before it returns, maybe longer. It might even relocate. But if a deer only hears you, or maybe sees some movement it doesn't like, it's much more apt to return sooner.

If you hit a deer, or witness one being hit, always report it! If a deer has been struck, please call our Helpline to report it and call your local animal control agency.