Another reason not to drive after dark. Lol
Deer and other animals continuously ramming my car
- Thread starter Rmay635703
- Start date
I know, was just having a bit of fun with it. I have friends that hunt, and they too have noticed the population increase. Hope that they get a few more hunters out there…..
They are out 4-9 am and pm, highway J I was almost hit at noon
My old Taurus had a penchant for birds. I was always hitting birds and having to pull them off of the cowl.
We have had deer sleeping in the yard across the street and they come over to our house and eat the shrubs and the pears off the pear tree. One came up to our glass front storm door and wanted to come inside. My son had a Ford econoline and took out 3 deer with his 6 cylinder.
Maybe some money to be made importing Ru Bars, as in Australia. Should work! 
- Joined
- Jul 15, 2023
- Messages
- 999
ARB makes a heckuva bumper.
I love animals but deer have to be some of the stupidest creatures on the planet. While going out to dinner one evening a family of deer crossed the road in front of us. I stopped to let them cross. Then - BOOM!!!! - I took a direct broadside hit from a big buck while sitting there stopped!
Destroyed the driver's side outside mirror, left rippled rib cage marks on the driver's door, left a small dent on the body line on the rear passenger door, left an 8 inch diameter dent on the rear quarter panel, and left a small dent in the A-pillar.
Cost me $2,800 to fix. The self inflicted impact killed the deer. I had no sympathy.
Scott
Destroyed the driver's side outside mirror, left rippled rib cage marks on the driver's door, left a small dent on the body line on the rear passenger door, left an 8 inch diameter dent on the rear quarter panel, and left a small dent in the A-pillar.
Cost me $2,800 to fix. The self inflicted impact killed the deer. I had no sympathy.
Scott
Did you call the game warden? Sometimes if you hit a deer you can get a salvage tag and take it home and eat it
I left it there to rot on the side of the road. And even if I wanted to eat it I'm not going to ask anyone for permission.
Scott
Neighbors were mad I didn’t insist on bringing the DNR to collect the bear, I guess I paid dearly for it but that was the last thing on my mind
Well, at the risk of stating the obvious, don't get a "brush guard" or anything that retains the stock bumper or valance. These are mostly worthless and really just to maybe fend off, well, brush while driving through the bush. Might save a headlight from oak brush, for instance. They're over-leveraged to reach around or under stock body pieces in an attempt to bolt to something solid.
You want a full aftermarket replacement bumper which employs 3/16" plate in critical places. Some of the less expensive offerings use 14ga and 1/8", which isn't really adequate.
Bumpers which are winch-capable may give you a better chance of heavier construction -- but not always. Bumpers built with diamond plate tend to be lesser offerings.
Also watch wall thickness on any tubing that comes up to support grille and headlamp protection -- mass manufactures may use thin wall tubing here because it's lighter, cheaper and easier to bend in production.
OP's problem is exactly why I built a custom bumper for this Subaru. She drives 120 miles of road 5/days week that is just riddled with deer. I knew putting stock components back on would make me feel stupid when it happens again.
That said, I only used 1" sch40 pipe (thus 1-5/16" OD) and I think it will still take damage at speed. The idea was just to improve her chances of being able to sustain less damage/limp it home after a deer encounter.
You want a full aftermarket replacement bumper which employs 3/16" plate in critical places. Some of the less expensive offerings use 14ga and 1/8", which isn't really adequate.
Bumpers which are winch-capable may give you a better chance of heavier construction -- but not always. Bumpers built with diamond plate tend to be lesser offerings.
Also watch wall thickness on any tubing that comes up to support grille and headlamp protection -- mass manufactures may use thin wall tubing here because it's lighter, cheaper and easier to bend in production.
OP's problem is exactly why I built a custom bumper for this Subaru. She drives 120 miles of road 5/days week that is just riddled with deer. I knew putting stock components back on would make me feel stupid when it happens again.
That said, I only used 1" sch40 pipe (thus 1-5/16" OD) and I think it will still take damage at speed. The idea was just to improve her chances of being able to sustain less damage/limp it home after a deer encounter.
Also -- and you've got me ranting because this is a pet-peeve of mine -- many "brush guards" use flat bar braces that run back to the core support/front clip. They'll either run through the grille or under the grille on top of the bumper valance (if grille lifts up with hood).
This is a Grade A stooopid idea because you guarantee any impact force is transferred back to your core support which is thin sheetmetal in 99% of vehicles. The core support is supposed to give the radiator a home, the hood a place to latch, and maybe kinda help retain a plastic grille. By running supports to it you guarantee core support damage and, most likely, severe show-stopping radiator damage in a collision.
The idea behind any true protection should be to preserve the radiator because this is probably the #1 cause vehicles are not driveable after an animal encounter. #2 is probably suspension/control arm/steering linkage damage -- I'm just guessing based upon personal observation.
These braces are meant to stop vibration and rattling from poorly engineered, over-leveraged designs, nothing more.
Rant off. Cheap bolt-on aftermarket junk just annoys me.
This is a Grade A stooopid idea because you guarantee any impact force is transferred back to your core support which is thin sheetmetal in 99% of vehicles. The core support is supposed to give the radiator a home, the hood a place to latch, and maybe kinda help retain a plastic grille. By running supports to it you guarantee core support damage and, most likely, severe show-stopping radiator damage in a collision.
The idea behind any true protection should be to preserve the radiator because this is probably the #1 cause vehicles are not driveable after an animal encounter. #2 is probably suspension/control arm/steering linkage damage -- I'm just guessing based upon personal observation.
These braces are meant to stop vibration and rattling from poorly engineered, over-leveraged designs, nothing more.
Rant off. Cheap bolt-on aftermarket junk just annoys me.
I did that once, permit from the DNR and all.
Talk about a mess of bloodshot meat! I was lucky to maybe salvage 10 LBS of meat, all said and done. Not worth the effort.
Depends. An already paid for rifle and a cartridge that costs $2 - if you have processing equipment you are then out only electricity and vac bags. I know several people who fill multiple freezers for the low low cost of 10-15 rounds of ammo. It takes about 3 hours to process a deer once you get it down. All you really really need is a grinder and some basic stuff you can buy at home depot.
I actually know one fella who raises and processes his own grass fed beef. That's not free but it's pretty close. He works a lot to do it (farmwork) but he lives pretty good on just his retirement.
4WD
$50 site donor 2024
All one can do is have enough vehicles to keep up
I had a white car that took a couple of hits from bucks running into it during the November rut. Deer don't see well, and I don't think the bucks could see it. I now own a bright red vehicle. They have limited color discernment too, but I'm hoping the color intensity helps them see me.
A beefed-up bumper isn't any help when the deer run into you. If I see them in front of me I lean on the horn, and they usually head into the brush.
The animals that are hard to avoid when they run out in front of you are raccoons.
A beefed-up bumper isn't any help when the deer run into you. If I see them in front of me I lean on the horn, and they usually head into the brush.
The animals that are hard to avoid when they run out in front of you are raccoons.
