Hit a deer

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Tom NJ

Tom NJ

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Hit a deer last night, or should I say he hit us. Wife was driving just after dark when we caught a split-second glimpse of a large buck charging across the road and right into the driver's side of our Altima. Looked like his rack hit the driver's side mirror, knocking out the glass mirror and bending the housing, but otherwise no damage! We looked this morning but no dead deer, so it appears he survived and ran off, but undoubtedly with a nasty headache! If we were just a tenth of a second slower we would have hit him dead center at 60 mph and he would have rolled over the hood and through the windshield. Lady luck was smiling upon us!

Tom NJ/VA
 
Originally Posted By: Tom NJ
Hit a deer last night, or should I say he hit us. Wife was driving just after dark when we caught a split-second glimpse of a large buck charging across the road and right into the driver's side of our Altima. Looked like his rack hit the driver's side mirror, knocking out the glass mirror and bending the housing, but otherwise no damage! We looked this morning but no dead deer, so it appears he survived and ran off, but undoubtedly with a nasty headache! If we were just a tenth of a second slower we would have hit him dead center at 60 mph and he would have rolled over the hood and through the windshield. Lady luck was smiling upon us!

Tom NJ/VA


Almost exactly how mine hit me except he was charging down a hillside into my passenger side. Knocked the mirror off and then his horns scratched up my window and he proceeded to roll the entire rest of the way down the side of my car. He was up and running before I could get out of the car. Tough buggers, but not very smart.
 
Glad you were fortunate with the event. That seems like manageable damage...

Ive heard often that deer hit cars, in such a manner. Someone in PA once told me that they were hit in the rear quarter by deer multiple times!
 
A few years ago a deer hit my dad's Camry in the front fender going 65 mph on the Ohio Turnpike. When I came to pick up my parents I saw the dead deer laying next to the center divider. The Trooper couldn't have been any nicer to my parents and told the tow truck driver to be nice to them since they were pretty shaken up from the incident.
 
It's a bad time of year for deer + vehicles for sure. Glad all is well for the most part for you Tom. I just got done replacing our mailbox due to a dear hit. I woke up to some noise and flashing lights at 0430 this AM. A guy in a pickup blasted a dear in front of my house and sent it smashing through my mailbox. Sheared off just the top. Deer was a goner.
 
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Another tip is that if you see one cross ahead, still slow down as there maybe more coming. We have avoided a couple so far that would've been tricky to avoid at 60mph.
 
I've been hit by a deer twice.

The first time was in Saskatchewan, right before Xmas almost 40 years ago. A couple of deer came running across a field and swerved at the very last second, one of them leaving a hoof print on the lower part of the front fender of my Chevy II. It must have been some hit to dent that car. We let the local police know, though I doubt the deer was injured.

The second time, I was driving on a main highway in North Dakota and a deer ran out of a deep ditch right into the side of my Honda Accord. I never saw it coming. It dented every panel on that side of the car (over $4,000 in damage). Fortunately for us, the doors still opened and closed as did the fuel cover door, so our car was drivable. Unfortunately for the deer it broke its leg. When last seen the highway patrol officer was walking into the corn field with a shotgun.
 
Originally Posted By: Tom NJ
If we were just a tenth of a second slower we would have hit him dead center at 60 mph and he would have rolled over the hood and through the windshield. Lady luck was smiling upon us!

Tom NJ/VA


And had you been a tenth faster he would have missed you!

Where I grew up in NW Pa the question wasn't if you'd hit a deer, it was how bad would the damage be this time... especially this time of year.. they got love on their minds.
 
Sounds like you shoulda stayed in NJ, Tom...
grin2.gif
 
The "best" I've experienced was 2 years ago when my friends met a deer with
Dopey beasts. People ALWAYS give them credit for thinking when they really don't. They react to stuff.
 
Originally Posted By: AZjeff
Originally Posted By: Tom NJ
If we were just a tenth of a second slower we would have hit him dead center at 60 mph and he would have rolled over the hood and through the windshield. Lady luck was smiling upon us!

Tom NJ/VA


And had you been a tenth faster he would have missed you!

Where I grew up in NW Pa the question wasn't if you'd hit a deer, it was how bad would the damage be this time... especially this time of year.. they got love on their minds.



I'm here to tell you- it's not love that's on their minds!
 
My dad was hit by a horse head on in a 1960's mid-sized Dodge seday. Horse was charging, my dad doing about 20MPH around a bend. Horse died, car had a bit of a dent on the headlight frame.
 
Originally Posted By: Tom NJ
Hit a deer last night, or should I say he hit us. Wife was driving just after dark when we caught a split-second glimpse of a large buck charging across the road and right into the driver's side of our Altima. Looked like his rack hit the driver's side mirror, knocking out the glass mirror and bending the housing, but otherwise no damage! We looked this morning but no dead deer, so it appears he survived and ran off, but undoubtedly with a nasty headache! If we were just a tenth of a second slower we would have hit him dead center at 60 mph and he would have rolled over the hood and through the windshield. Lady luck was smiling upon us!

Tom NJ/VA


It is very common for deer to get hit by a vehicle and run off seemingly okay only to die later. Very similar to how a deer that is shot can run for many miles before laying down and eventually expiring. Just because you didn't find it where you hit it doesn't mean it is okay or even survived. Deer are extremely tough.

Give your local Fish & Game office a call and let them know where it happened so they can do a better search to try and find it. They may or may not go look but at least do the right thing and call. Our local F&G will do a search if you call with good location info.

Glad you and the wife were okay.
 
I came with in 5 feet of hitting one this morning! I had to hit the brakes and squawked the tires, lucky i was only doing 45-50 at the time as I live in a very rural area.

Had just been thinking a few seconds before about how I needed to be looking out for deer because it is their mating season time of year.
 
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