I have never hit a deer. But, last week was driving home my place, it was just about dark. Saw a blur run towards my passenger side headlight. It stopped on a dime and turned around and ran. Got within inches.

It was a small 4pt. I drive a tundra, which has some Bilsteins to give me 2.5 inches more.l height.

Just curious about the impact, what y’all have experienced for the ones who have hit a deer on the road. Or Hog.

I hit one several years ago at night that stepped out right after I crossed a bridge on a two lane FM road. I T-boned the deer right in the middle of the grill, and only doing about 40 mph.
It shoved the grill and radiator into the fan and it wasn't pretty.
The deer flew through the air like in slow motion.

Have hit 5, only 1 caused damage. Busted a headlight and grill in my 98 Ram 3500 2wd

I have hit three deer, but have had 4 deer hit me. One hit my 16ft trailer as I was going 65 mph. It landed in the trailer, stood up and jumped out, crashed on the road, jumped up and kept going. I expect that it did not survive that.

I hit a doe about a month ago. We were only doing about 20 mph and I still didn't see her until it was too late. Bent my license plate.

I’ve tattooed 4. Grille guard or front end replacement paid for itself each time. One more and I become an ace!

I have had 2 bucks hit me when they ran into the side of the grill guard on a truck on the first buck, without any damage to the truck. The second one was on Hwy 624 east of Cotulla at last light one evening. It was in late summer and I was just about to cross over Quintana Creek when he ran up out of the ditch and hit the extended cab door on drivers side of the truck. Did about $2400 damage back in 1997. Been close on a ton of others over the years.

My daughter hit a 6 point buck Christmas morning less than a mile from my house. Her sports car sustained right at 9,000 dollars worth of damage.

I have hit at least 3. One bounced off, one went under and one did about $1500 damage. My wife has hit 2...one did $800 damage the other $2000. She also hit a turkey...about $400 damage. I can sorta handle the deer...it is the black cows at night that really give me concern. My neighbors have black cows and bad fences!!!

I was running about 75 one night when a 4pt streaked out in front of me about a mile east of Crews. Thankfully the airbag didn’t go off but it did $3700 in damage to my SportTrac. The four cars I passed between Wingate and the impact site all declined to stop and see if everything was ok.

A friend in Nevada hit a burro with a Saturn Skye. Fortunately it was to the right side. Totaled.
Came over a hill and a herd was in the road. He had installed special racing brakes and tires, probably saved his life.
Needed a new Skye,

A long time ago my dad and I were just arriving in Llano and his 1973 Gran Torino Sport had mechanical problems. We stopped the Game Warden to determine if there was anywhere we could take it that late at night. He recognized my dad because he had flown in with one of his partners for a dove hunt that was organized by the same Game Warden. His partner had performed surgery on his daughter's knee. So the Game Warden says follow me to my house and you can use my old truck and he would see that the dealer took care of it.

So I'm sure you know by now that as we were driving in the fog on RR 152 a young buck jumped out and hit the Game Warden's truck! So two cars to fix in one trip!

Hit one on an ATV going way to fast at about 2am. Thankfully I was young and drunk so it didn’t hurt to bad. Rolled me off the back of the ATV

Nice 10 pt hit ran into me right by lease but no damage to either of us luckily. Thought he was going to get creamed but turned last second and only hit back with his chest and antlers and ran off. We destroyed a hog last week though. Felt like a road bump. Only damaged wheel well a little. He was destroyed though with a 3/4 ton. All I can say is never swerve. Guy on our lease did and flipped a F350 several times since wife yelled doe. Luckily no injuries.

Mule deer doe last year doing 75. Front passenger side and perfect broadside shot.
Every airbag blew and totalled the truck that only had 30k miles on it.
Felt like hitting a barrel full of wet concrete.
Exciting but alas: no doe tag

I slammed on the brakes a while back to avoid a group trying to cross a road and managed to miss them all...but a doe ran out and hit my truck in the side. She got up, shook her head and ran back the way she came. Left a dent about a foot wide in the front part of my bed...but luckily it was my old "run around the woods" truck and it really didn't matter anyway.

My son and I were going to our ranch in llano county one rainy dark morning when a doe ran out in front of us. Could not slam on the brakes because we where towing a trailer carrying a jeep. Driving a F-250 with a ranch hand bumper, did nothing to the truck but the doe didn't fair to well.

Driving from Victoria to SA airport at about 60 mph at sunset had a doe run in front that I proudly avoided just as the 2nd doe slammed into into my left front fender and 2500.00 damage. Thankful I could still drive to airport.

I have creamed a few when I had my old 67 F150, just hit them and step on the gas, tough old bumpers.
My friend hit a Buffalo in Yellowstone on his snowmobile and barely lived. He has hearing aids because his head was hit so hard even with top of the line helmet. Those Bison follow the snowmobile trails in winter for easy walking and the new sleds go about million miles an hour....bad combination.

I’ve hit two. One old doe ran out in front of me and lost her footing going down in front of a Jeep I had. No damage to the Jeep. Eight point took out the fender of an Olds Cutlas I had in college. I traded it in with that deer dent still there after I got my first post college job. As I recall from the salesman “ we can’t give you anything for it but we won’t charge you to haul it off”.

Hit a big doe last weds at noon on 183 up by Lampasas. She came out of thin air and I nailed her with my GMC 1500. barely left a mark on the truck but left a lot of hair and blood. First deer I have ever hit.

I’ve lost count of the deer I’ve hit...

Full replacement RanchHand bumpers have saved me several times, including a nice 8 point in Kerr Co.

My old beater farm truck has a grill guard only, not full replacement. Hit a doe so hard and at the right angle that she busted a headlight, bent the grill guard into the hood, and her head slapped around to dent the quarter panel. It was quite the wake up call at 5am.

Last year, a doe did $3500 in damage when she ran into the side of my F150 outside of Zephyr. Started at the driver door and rolled down the side of the truck.

I had RanchHand steps on my old F-250. Doe ran into the side of me and the steps stuck out just far enough to take her legs out to soften the blow to the body of the truck. Just snot on the truck, no other damage!

Thankfully haven’t hit a large hog at high speed yet. Someone did just in front of me this week on the FM road to my house. 3 of them in the road. I dodged 2 of the 3. Thankfully only some blood and guts on my company Ford Explorer.

Probably at least 10. Now I don't do a lot of driving in the dark so I haven't hit any in a few years.

Yes and no! I hit a mule deer in Colorado about 4:30 on morning on the hwy. Fortunately I was only going about 30 miles an hour as I had just seen some deer cross the road. Did $3,500 worth of damage, but no one was hurt.
Coming back from a south Texas hunt, I saw a very nice buck on the side of the road. As I drove pass it, the buck turned and ran full speed into the back quarter panel of my truck. That's the one I said no,I did not hit it, it hit me.

I forgot unlike my first deer, the second one I hit with my old truck that had a grill guard did no damage.
What is interesting to read in the posts, is how some have escaped with little to no damage, and others either totaled or sustained thousands of dollars in damage.
I guess if you are the former, then you are blessed.
I've had plenty of close calls seems every year, but I try to stay vigilant.
Speaking of close calls a several years ago I was hunting in LaSalle County and between Charlotte and Fowlerton, and I was on my way to the lease around 4 a.m. and people knowing the area pre oil boom it was a lonely road with very little traffic.
I had my brights on but still didn't see the huge hog standing with his front feet on the middle stripe.
I didn't see that huge black hog until it was almost too late, and managed to pass close enough that I probably wiped it's snout with the door handle of my Jeep.
I still don't know how I missed hitting that hog, and wouldn't have had he took one half step forward.