Thwoop after impact

[Deleted member 107796]

I've been hunting for 55 years and killed over 50 deer. In my experience, that sound means nothing except a hit. It is the sound of a bullet hitting flesh. The pitch of the sound is more related to the caliber than it is to the nature of the hit.

A pellet gun makes a whack sound when it hits a startling. A varmint rifle makes a whump sound when it hits a gopher or a coyote. A deer rifle makes thwaruck when it hits a deer or a coyote, and so on. I've never seen or noticed any correlation between the hit location on the game and the sound.

Just my two cents for whatever it's worth.

I would completely agree with this and also, some low dirt shots into mounds can sound just like the hit thump. For the elk below, it was a distinct "clunk" that I've never heard before. I hit her at 456 yards and had plenty of time to soak in the bullet travel and impact. Win 70 in 7WSM with 160gn TB Bear Claw.

 

[skipglo]

I would completely agree with this and also, some low dirt shots into mounds can sound just like the hit thump. For the elk below, it was a distinct "clunk" that I've never heard before. I hit her at 456 yards and had plenty of time to soak in the bullet travel and impact. Win 70 in 7WSM with 160gn TB Bear Claw.
View attachment 152549

Never sounds the same hitting dirt or rock or trees....!

 

[smokepoler]

Different body location hits give different sounds. After you've shot a good amount, you can tell where your bullet landed.

 

[Bret GRAVELINE Graveline]

I'd say keep looking for the kid, sometimes animals just don't die when we think they should, I've been hunting since the 60's harvested well 300 big game animals and been witness to several times that, served a little time as a guide here and abroad, a multi hunter safari can equal a lifetime of info on one trip, I've seen animals crumple from a less than lethal hit, and seen animals absorb lead like a sponge, a hit to the liver results in instant loss of blood pressure, a hit here usually drops the animal in its tracks, but that animal is likely to get up again and can go hundreds of yards, if the bullet didnt exit there is a good chance the animal bled out externally, entrance wounds do not bleed well, perhaps scavengers will help locate the animal, the sound of the bullet on impact is just that, a indicated that something was hit, good luck i hope your search ends in success.

 

[wapitiaddict]

....if they drop like a bag of potatoes I hate it, I'll sit a long time with a round ready and if I see so much as an ear twitch there a second round in the air. I hate it when they drop, especially elk, I want to see the oil pressure drop before they roll over so I know their dead!

This exact thing happened to me last year with a very large 7x6 bull elk. I shot the bull from about 275 yards. He dropped like a sack of rocks. I thought game over, but I noticed him kicking some. I tried to get another bullet in him but because of my angle and vegetation, I didn't have a shot. I thought maybe he was dying out because he would go still for a little bit and then start thrashing again. As I was trying to work around the hill to get another shot, I happened to glance away at my buddy who was chasing off after the other elk, when I looked back my bull stood up like nothing happened and bolted off. I took a running shot but missed as he dove into some thick aspens. Never saw him again. Not a single drop of blood anywhere. Searched for two days and my dad searched for another two days after I went back to work. Nothing.

After playing the scenario out in my head for days and researching around on the internet and talking to some other experienced hunters and an elk guide, I'm pretty confident I hit him somewhere right below the spine where it temporarily paralyzed him but didn't break it. Some people have indicated animals can live after such a hit. I can only hope because it makes me sick about it every time I think about it. In fact, I couldn't watch any elk hunting youtube videos for months afterwards.

I know how the OP feels!

 

[animalpest]

A "thock" sound is usually a hit to the chest or a good hit. A longer more mushy, wet sound, such as whop is more likely a hit to the stomach. Hard to describe but clearly tell the difference.

 

[Bret GRAVELINE Graveline]

There really is no way to tell by sound, to many factors to consinder, different ranges verse different topography, hitting a animal on the open plains reports differently than one shot in the Pacific northwest verse one shot in the granite peaks of the Sierra nevadas, a hit between the will ribs report differently than a shoulder shot, hitting a front shoulder a little different than the off shoulder

 

[johnish]

If you've heard it then I'm sure you know what I mean. In your experience where was the animal hit to create this sound? Is it an indication of a solid well placed hit or not? I have/had my thoughts but they may not hold after a recent experience.

In my experience (many hundreds of deer) A good 'thock' normally indicates a decent hit.
Agree with previous answer that a sharp crack indicates a bone hit, normally lower leg.
A drum like 'whop' is often a sign of a gut hit, although liver hits can sound similar.
No matter whether you here a thock, crack, whop or nothing at all, you released the shot, it is YOUR responsibility to follow up and check for blood, bone, hair. Animals can be hit hard and you might not have heard it or see sign of it. It happens. Follow up and check. You don't want to lose that meat and it should be part of your covenant with the game you hunt.

 

[Buster Hemlock]

In my experience (many hundreds of deer) A good 'thock' normally indicates a decent hit.
Agree with previous answer that a sharp crack indicates a bone hit, normally lower leg.
A drum like 'whop' is often a sign of a gut hit, although liver hits can sound similar.
No matter whether you here a thock, crack, whop or nothing at all, you released the shot, it is YOUR responsibility to follow up and check for blood, bone, hair. Animals can be hit hard and you might not have heard it or see sign of it. It happens. Follow up and check. You don't want to lose that meat and it should be part of your covenant with the game you hunt.

I hope no one took this as is it worth looking or trying to recover. This animal was shot multiple days ago and I'm still looking. The amount of time spent searching was 6 hours day of into the night, all the next day by myself and another very experienced hunter, the third day another serious hunter and myself spent another 4 hours and I've spent an hour or two the last few. There was zero blood or hair found, an initial direction of travel isn't certain and as far as following tracks or trails we have been down them all and the place is littered with deer sign. At this point the meat is certainly spoiled but trying to come up with the rack for the kid would still be a win and I would like to see where it was hit and also checkout terminal performance, probably need a mask cutting into that thing now because it's going to be a stinky one.

 

[Susquatch]

Now it's been nearly 24 hours, been all over the place and can't find a thing but there is a lot of tall vegetation around that unless you step on it you might not see it. Is it still worth looking for?

6.5 creedmoor Berger 135 classic hunter at 203 yards muzzle velocity is 2680 very conservative load but extremely accurate. Impact velocity should have been right at 2385 and 1705 lbs/ft.

I am truly impressed. You are the very first honest creed owner I've ever heard from. Usually creed owners brag about clean kills at 6 miles In a blizzard. Point gun, close eyes, pull trigger, dead deer every time. 0.002 inch groups too.

My hat is off to you sir!

I feel really bad about losing the deer. But I'm impressed at your perseverance.

Nice to see members like you in this forum.

 

[DavidleeCole]

From my experience it has been a chest shoot or a gut shoot but they have a slight difference in sound. The chest has a slightly hollow sound. But a shoulder has a sharp pop to it. This is what I hear from whitetails and hogs.

 

[Buck1970]

Y'all got some super power hearing.
I never heard a thing other than the ringing in my ear a little louder than normal.

I'm with el Pollero. I don't generally hear
This SOUND unless the animal being shot is a considerable distance (200 yards or more) away.
I've shot distant yotes with 223 and can hear an impact sound.
I remember as a kid hunting in The woods and
Hearing gunshots followed by a sound that my dad always said he could tell if it was a good hit or not.
I even remember once shooting at a deer and when he came to me shortly after he said " you missed didn't you?"
We looked and never saw any evidence of a hit.
What's always amazed me is how you hear distant shots (bang) that clearly make the SOUND indicating a hit. And shots that just go bang with no sound.
Every bullet hits something.
But I'm certain that seasoned hunters can tell a good hit by the second SOUND.
And even estimate distance from the time between the two.
I'm still learning.
Thanks for this thread!

 

[Buster Hemlock]

Well myself and one of the guys I previously looked with spent another 3 hours today searching areas we hadn't before well past where we previously had and still came up with nothing and then re walked some areas that are real high and thick without any luck. Found a button buck skull and a small 3x3 skull while looking and some other prospective spots worth possibly looking into more so it hasn't been a total loss. As far as finding the deer though this one is going to be chalked up to a loss unless we see he survived later in the season or we smell him decaying when we're out. At this point I'm hoping it was a superficial wound and he is ok, maybe a bit sore but survived. I'd love to see him later in the season or on a game cam doing well. Plus he was a dandy and I would love to take him myself. I'll let you all know if he turns up. Biggest lesson relearned for me is to keep an eye on them even if they drop, for the kid he learned that one and the tough lesson that sometimes you do lose an animal. Thanks for your input, good luck this year fellas!

 

[johnish]

I hope no one took this as is it worth looking or trying to recover. This animal was shot multiple days ago and I'm still looking. The amount of time spent searching was 6 hours day of into the night, all the next day by myself and another very experienced hunter, the third day another serious hunter and myself spent another 4 hours and I've spent an hour or two the last few. There was zero blood or hair found, an initial direction of travel isn't certain and as far as following tracks or trails we have been down them all and the place is littered with deer sign. At this point the meat is certainly spoiled but trying to come up with the rack for the kid would still be a win and I would like to see where it was hit and also checkout terminal performance, probably need a mask cutting into that thing now because it's going to be a stinky one.

I didn't take it that way, and respect your mindset. Sometimes, even when we try our best and go way beyond what can be expected under normal circumstances things just don't work out. That's life and that's hunting. Hopefully you will be rewarded with better fortune and a monster rack in future.