Do deer drop when you shoot them?

[ninepointer]

Bang/flops seem to happen about half the time.

I totally agree

When I think of the deer that bang flopped for me, they were usually found with busted shoulders. The ones that kept going were heart shots or lung shots. The buck I shot last month at 75 yards gave little indication of being hit; he did not miss a stride but he changed direction at the shot and ran away with his tail down. A 50 yard blood trail led me to him. The bullet from my .270 passed clean through the deer and did not expand (the exit hole was no bigger than the entry hole), despite the fact that I was using what I consider the ideal deer bullet: a lead soft point (Cor-Lokt). The post-mortem revealled that the bullet entered between 2 ribs, passed through both lungs and exited between 2 ribs. It did not break a single bone or encounter any tough tissue. It was basically like a bow shot deer; no wonder it went 50 more yards.

 

[the_big_mike]

Glad to hear these experiences. I didn't understand why when shot in the heart or lungs they didn't drop. It is not just me or my bullets, it is common. Thanks everyone! Another thing is when I did drop the one it was one of the furthest shots (200 yards roughly). When my dad droped the young bull elk it was 373 yards(range finder). Does the distance in relation to the speed of the bullet have anything to do with it? The deer at 50 to 100 yards look like they were blasted with a shot gun on the exiting side( bullet fragments like crazy) and they run a little bit. Is this coincedence?

That would be the downside of hitting one with a high velocity round so close.

This is where premium bullets factor in imo.