[Jack Gifford]

Driving my winter-beater '67 Falcon to bowling Thursday evening, a deer ran out of the woods with perfect timing to get hit dead-center in the front of the car. Since I've seen so many deer there I was only going about 45 mph, but didn't even have time to do any braking. Not that any car/deer collision is "lucky", but luck was on my side in a number of ways. First of all, to hit my first ever deer at age 78 ain't bad. And fortunately not with one of my "nice" vehicles. Hitting in the middle of the front end was good- no fender damage, minor turn-down of front hood corners. Most fortunate was having the mint condition grill stored safely in the barn as I'm getting the car ready for body & paint work (new rear quarters, etc.). It didn't take me long to push the core support back out and straighten the hood latch mounting strut. The radiator did a good job of impact-absorption- water pump is fine and fan blades were easily unbent. Ordered a new original-fit radiator from Parts Geek for $140- and, truth is, I wanted to replace the old one that had a small leak at the top tank! Bowling friends stopped (with warm cars!), a trooper arrived quickly, rollback truck didn't take long and gave me a cash discount- $162 for the 13 mile ride home- it even ran long enough to drive it into my heated garage.

I can't complain. I was "luckier" than the deer.

[Greg Reid]

I know the feeling. I've hit three. The first ruined the expensive and hard to find aluminum grille and headlight doors on my '70 Ranger.
The second was just a little tyke and did no damage. I braked hard and he was able to get up and shake it off before running away.
The third did quite a bit of damage to my '68 Beetle. Required a hood, front bumper, one fender and a lot of time.
That was about 10 years ago so I'm on a good streak.
By the way, my wife has been hit BY three. All three of hers ran into the side of the car.

[Sirrotica]

You are lucky Jack, growing up and living in Erie PA for 50 years, and then moving to Ohio I couldn't even tell you how many deer car incidents I've had. Easily half a dozen I'd guess. When I drove semi for about 5 years I used to have one a year it seemed. Never had any damage to the tractor with those incidents.

[694.1]

Around here, we carry a huntin' knife in the car. never can tell when a free pair of back straps come along

[West Coast GTO]

What weight did the deer dress out and how many venison steaks did you get?

[Simple Man]

A newer car probably would have been totaled.

[Judge-1969]

I've got two deer under my belt. The last one I hit was with my '03 Silverado. Hit him square in the middle of my bumper. Had slowed down enough to avoid any major damage and hit him just enough that he never got back up. Bent up my license plate and pushed my bumper down ever so slightly. Ironically, both deer I hit were within a mile from my house.

[hurryinhoosier62]

I’ve not hit one yet but Lord knows I’ve come incredibly close numerous times.

[poncho-mike]

I've hit one deer, it did very little damage.

About 15 years ago, I had a 81 Suburban 4x4 we called Crusty Rusty. It was two tone gray and blue and all of the paint on the hood and roof had come off, leaving a uniform sheet of surface rust.

I was on a country road rolling along about 55 mph when I saw two deer run across the road. I slowed slightly, then out of nowhere came a third deer. It almost made it across the road. I hit him in the rear hip, with the corner of my bumper, and I watched him spun it around and roll. It got up and was a little shaky, but it run off into the woods.

The bumper looked OK, might have been pushed in a little, but the truck was a little on the rough side anyway.

[wheelspin]

My first deer strike was in Colorado just south of Steamboat Sprgs. in 1987 on my new BMW K100RS. I ruptured my spleen and had blue lips (I'm told) when I arrived at the Steamboat hospital. After a complete blood change-out required by the internal bleed out, I flew home with Sharren 5 days later. The bike was totaled.

The second encounter was in my wife's new '90 Miata on the local Angeles Crest Hwy. The sun was almost down and I had just turned the headlights on when we were struck in the right front corner by a deer. We had the top down and the gutted deer stink was immediately apparent to both of us. The small pop-up headlight assembly saves us from taking the impact on the windshield, causing serious injuries. We were uninjured, but her new $20K car sustained $6,500 in damages.

The third strike was in 2000 near Cedar Breaks UT on a '97 K1100RS BMW which broke all of my ribs and my shoulder on the left side, as well as, serious arm & hand abrasions after my gloves were pulled off by the ragged texture of the recycled glass top coat on Hwy 12. The bike was totaled.

Unfortunately, the deer population has soared thanks to curtailed hunting and many folks that have not suffered accidents from contact such as mine, fondly remember Bambi stories/movies, picturing what these critters are really like. All three of my encounters were with 100-110# does, about the size of a Great Dane.

[Judge-1969]

Originally Posted by wheelspin

My first deer strike was in Colorado just south of Steamboat Sprgs. in 1987 on my new BMW K100RS. I ruptured my spleen and had blue lips (I'm told) when I arrived at the Steamboat hospital. After a complete blood change-out required by the internal bleed out, I flew home with Sharren 5 days later. The bike was totaled.

The second encounter was in my wife's new '90 Miata on the local Angeles Crest Hwy. The sun was almost down and I had just turned the headlights on when we were struck in the right front corner by a deer. We had the top down and the gutted deer stink was immediately apparent to both of us. The small pop-up headlight assembly saves us from taking the impact on the windshield, causing serious injuries. We were uninjured, but her new $20K car sustained $6,500 in damages.

The third strike was in 2000 near Cedar Breaks UT on a '97 K1100RS BMW which broke all of my ribs and my shoulder on the left side, as well as, serious arm & hand abrasions after my gloves were pulled off by the ragged texture of the recycled glass top coat on Hwy 12. The bike was totaled.

Unfortunately, the deer population has soared thanks to curtailed hunting and many folks that have not suffered accidents from contact such as mine, fondly remember Bambi stories/movies, picturing what these critters are really like. All three of my encounters were with 100-110# does, about the size of a Great Dane.

Wow! Your one lucky dude to take on two deer with a bike! When I first got my licence I got my insurance through American Family and this agent my buddy went through. About a year or two after, that agent struck a deer on his motorcycle and died. What a crazy freak accident.

[David Jones]

Never hit one. A couple of weeks ago I drove up US Hwy 231 from I-10, just south of Dothan Ala to I-85 in Montgomery. Between 11:30 pm and about 1am. Along the drive, If I didn’t see 50 deer grazing within 20 feet of the road, I saw 100. Some within arms length. A few dead ones too. Damned scary ride.

[nashcar]

Hit my first one two years ago with the SRX. Didn’t even have time to brake. Only minor damage at $8,000.00, bumper,grille,fender, seatbelts,and computer because the seatbelts locked. I guess not bad at 64.

[GT182]

I've only hit one live one. Just a love tap at 5mph. No damage but a bunch of hair to remove from the left side headlights on my 79 Formula.

I hit one dead one in the middle of my lane on I-79 in PA with the carhauler, back in the mid 80s while I was at Anchor Mtr Frt. Now that was a mess that would gag a maggot. The woman who checked in the car at the storage yard in Aliquippa, PA blew lunch when she saw the car. I gave her fair warning but she wouldn't listen. She said she'd seen worse before she looked. LOL

Luckily I miss one that jumped out in front of my Harley back in the 80s also. A friend riding on his Honda next to me was just as lucky.... he missed it too.

[olmanwinter]

I don't feel like a poster child for bad luck, but this has me thinking...

Our old 1998 Expedition with 300k is getting pretty tired. We shopped locally and online for 2 months before finding the right 2016 Yukon XL in Indy. Beautiful vehicle with a good record and just the right equipment. Flew to Indy and drove back to Kansas City. Drove a few times for the next two weeks, but not much. Drove to in-laws for the weekend. 3 miles from their house, hit Bambi at highway speed. I didn't even have the time to hit the brakes. Smashed the RF and deployed all of the airbags, except the steering wheel and dash. Nobody hurt, just shook up. Blood and poop all down the RH side. OnStar called, flashers turned on and engine killed immediately upon airbag deployment. Front end damage not too bad. Hacked off the broken parts and airbags, ziptied the loose parts, and drove it home.

Fast forward to the body shop, over 7 weeks and $20k insurance later. I looked it over when it was "ready" and found a number of issues. They kept it to make it right. Manager called a week later. Said all the things on my list were fixed, but... their porter damaged the RH quarter backing it out of the shop. Went to look at it. Not a bad issue; just a ripple in the quarter over the wheel opening. Seems he got up against an air hose sticking out from the wall. They pulled the rear bumper fascia and side glass to get a good blend on the paint, so they fixed it right.

A week later, picked it up at the body shop. All is good. Drove it home, then 15 minutes later, picked up my daughter at the bus stop to go to Walmart. Got 1/2 mile from the stop and was rear ended at a traffic light. Kid behind me wasn't paying attention when the light turned green and hit me. I pulled off to the right to exchange information - he kept going! I drove like a madman trying to catch up and keep him within eyesight. Finally caught up to him at the next 1/2 mile, when he was attempting a LH turn. I motioned to pull over, and he motioned that he was going straight ahead. I rolled down my window, gestured to get over and shouted "GET OVER NOW!". I guess he could tell I was serious. He was full of apologies and excuses. His brakes make a noise all the time, so that is what he thought the noise of hitting me was. I was so damned mad, I couldn't talk to him, so I let the police take the information. He was cited for following too closely, inattentive driving and failure to provide proof of insurance. I overheard the officer ask him "Do you drive with your eyes closed?". Now that I have the police report, I have no insurance company info to go back on, so I have my insurance company working on it.

For God's sake, is the third time the charm?

[Firedup6975]

Did the hit kill it? Sometimes they just bounce off and run away a driver hit one in front of our house did a lot of front end damage to his Charger we heard the hit, and caught his tail end running across our ten acre field the driver was not hurt but shaken up and car had to be towed. That was around 5pm still light out. Didn’t think much of it until the next morning saw the turkey buzzards circleing out back, hopped on the gator and drove to the back of the property and just beyond the woods line there he was 8 point buck dead. Guess he had internal injuries because there was very little blood on his fur. Buzzards were here a week cleaning that mess up.

[prd1955]

Jack, I love the fact that you are driving a 67 Falcon as your winter beater. You must have to warm that baby up for a while to get any heat in those New York winters!

[Jack Gifford]

Had to flush out the heater twice in the first year I had it, but throws plenty of heat now, with about 2/3 of the radiator covered with cardboard in the winter. And I have the luxury of a heated garage with remote door openers.