I got my 1st deer !

[Wifeofdano]

Well, after 33 years of driving country roads, I finally got my 1st deer!
Wasn't as bad as I always thought it might be. Left the house this morning,
got about a mile down the road when she bolted straight across from Danos side of the Mustang.
I caught her left back leg with the car's left front corner. She kept on going. So did I.
Pulled over in a apartment parking lot another mile down the road to check things out.
Busted the headlight, but the light still works. Small indention on the very edge of the hood,
little bit of hair. There was no blood, but she did s**t down the side of my door--yuck!
A split second either way I would have either missed her or she would have given Dano a big fat kiss!
I'm just thanking the Lord that it wasn't any worse than it was.

[capn chris]

Glad it wasn't any worse. Got one w/the truck/TV a few years ago. She wasn't so lucky, but truck fared OK.

[Dustytuu]

Glad it wasn't too bad. We have lots of deer where we live. Have been lucky so far and not hit any. Watch closely in mornings and evenings. But they can be out anytime of day around here.

[simonsrf]

I've seen those deer whistle dealies that you put on the bumper to scare the deer, do they work?

My thought is that they might make deer jump instead of staying put.

Any one know?

[Exnavydiver]

That is why I love those brush guards that can push a locomotive off the tracks. If you smuck a dear you just wash the truck off and keep going. We live in far northern Wisconsin on the WI/MI line. If you live there 5 years and don't hit or have a close call you aren't driving enough. In the last 7 years my wife has smucked 2 and so far I haven't had the pleasure. When we got the new truck I was going to get the same brush guard that the local sheriff and HP use but as it ended up I didn't have the 650.00 that it cost. So I have been Super vigilant and super lucky. The cost of the guard is 150 more than the deductible and I should have gotten it. Maybe after we sell the stick home we will get one. The last time my wife hit one it was just a little damage to the headlite and a small dent in the fender of our Suburban. That "little" damage was worth 1300.00 so the guard would have saved us 800.00 paying for itself in the first deer strike... Dave and Betsy

[ggranch]

The deer whistles do work. Nothing is 100% though and one got through to my new truck this fall. When they are running blind scared, nothing will stop them. If driving at night, yellow fog lights also help. Keeps them from being blinded by the head lights. The whistles are a $5 add-on that can and will save you $1000's. Bob

[boylanag]

Glad you made it ok. We have hit three in the last several years. Fall is the time in Michigan to see the deer all over the place, including across the road. There was a fatality down the road from us a couple of weeks ago when a buck was struck by a car and knocked through the windshield of an oncoming car. I have heard both ways on the deer whistles and so do not have them, at this time. - Jim

[stiles watson]

Here's hoping your first experience with deer is your last.

[HughM]

A good friend of mine was a Sheriff in Ark. He got a new cruiser and put on the deer whistles so he wouldn't hit a deer with his new car.
By the end of the week he had hit a deer and totaled out his cruiser. My memory is better than his because he tries to forget it but I keep reminding him!!!
Hugh

[Ozz]

Glad you were not hurt.

[Okie Guy]

I am glad you both are ok. There are deer carcuses everywhere down here. I am wondering if the hunters have nay left to shoot at after seeing so many on the side of the road over the past week.

[Driftwoodgal]

Lisa,

Sorry to hear that you had the misfortune of hitting a deer. I have hit three, or let me rephrase that I have hit two and one climbed on top of my car. Not much you can do to keep them from darting in front of you. During hunting/rutting season they don't seem to stop when spooked. Better a little damage than having one in the car with Dano giving him a kiss with hoofs.

My kennel managers husband has been in the body repair business for 25 years. He says the brush guards work great for the deer, but will actually do more damage if you are in a higher impact accident. They will push into the motor and cause additional damage that might not have happened if the bumper etc was allowed to collapse by the design of the manufacturer. Just a thought from a person in the business.

We have tons of deer here in our area. I can look at an eight point buck just about every morning. Our son just dropped off some processed meat and picked up a freezer that we didn't have room for after our move into the new house.

Colleen

[richfaa]

This is the first year in 4 years that I did not wack a deer with my school bus. During rutt they are everywhere.Leaving the school grounds in the morning we have to chase them off the driveway to get out. My daughter got two last year.Both with the Suburban.She hates deer and calls them overgrown rats.

[Wifeofdano]

Okay, I can't get that picture of the deer my brain took this morning outa my head!!
I don't even have to close my eyes to see it!
I have got to quit thinking about it or I won't be able to sleep tonight! LOL
I'm dropping the Stang off at the body shop in the morning.
All I have to pay is my $100 deductable and State Farm will cover the rest.
Thanks for your responses. It's always good to know that you're not alone in this crazy world.

[bsmeaton]

Glad you won that battle. Not sure that is always the case in a stanger!

[LonnieB]

That ugly black thing hanging off the front of my truck aint there just to keep the front wheels on the ground, I nearly got 2 at the same time yesterday morning. Lucky for them my lightening fast reflexes, and my superb driving skills came into play, and I managed to get by them without ruffeling a hair. Yea right!! Truth be told, I didn't even see them until I was almost on top of them, but I did manage to miss them .

On a serious note Lisa, I'm glad you and Dan were unharmed. As Brad said, the 'stang ain't no match for a deer.

[John Bowers]

Cathy and I live just up the road from you, in Newnan. She bagged a deer once at the top of our driveway.

Last month, a neighbor of ours had a family fest with deer. Tow of the family's vehicles hit deer on two separate days. I guess the deer are getting too numerous around here. I might have to take down my corn feeder.

John

[John Bowers]

Sorry. A mis-spelling. I typed "Tow", when I should have typed "Two". I hoop you all understud anywhey.

[BB_TX]

You can do a search on the web and find a number of studies on deer whistles. Some seem to show they work, some seem to show they don't work, and on one I read the vehicles with the whistles hit more deer than those without. Seems the results are inconclusive.
A hunting buddy claims they work because he has them and has never hit a deer in over 35 years of driving in deer country. But I have to keep reminding him the other 3 of us who hunt with him do not have whistles and have never hit one either in that same time period.

[blarkman]

WE put therm on our car and truck 5 years ago and I find it interesting when I see one on the road they run the other way and jump off the road. I know there are people who say they are worthless, but I am a believer
bob