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Blackhat
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| Joined: | 2 January 2006 |
| Location: | New Braunfels, Texas USA |
| Posts: | 151 |
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Posted: 25 April 2007 03:16 AM |
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| Hey Doc, why is a liver shot so deadly? I have made several shots to the liver, by accident of course, since the liver is so close to the guts. These shots were on deer , elk, hogs and a few months ago, on a havalina. Each time the game would go down within feet of the hit and die. The havalina did not even kick. It fell down as if it went to sleep, which it did permanently. The bullet did go through the spine first. My observation is that a liver hit is quicker killing than a head or neck shot. Any comment? Last edited on 25 April 2007 03:16 AM by Blackhat
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Timberghozt
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| Joined: | 11 February 2005 |
| Location: | Plaza De Los Armas, Mexico |
| Posts: | 5339 |
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Posted: 27 April 2007 03:34 AM |
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I would be interested in this too.I have hit liver shots in off quartering shots.Though not the principal organ damaged often.It does kill quickly.
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khtrent
addicted handloader
| Joined: | 16 January 2007 |
| Location: | Idaho USA |
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Posted: 27 April 2007 04:52 PM |
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I also would like to know the answer to this one. Back when I bow hunted alot i would often get liver shots from the deer "jumping the arrow" When hit in the liver they never went far.
Could be that the liver is very vascular organ and a wound to it would cause the animal to bleed out very quickly?
Let us know Docs
Kev
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Charley
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| Joined: | 9 September 2005 |
| Location: | San Antonio, Texas USA |
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Posted: 27 April 2007 04:57 PM |
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| Arthropods don't have livers, so maybe I'm not qualified to answer, but I think Kev is right. Major arteries and veins going to and from the liver. Punch a hole in one or more, and you get some big time leakage.
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bea175
Board Founder
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Posted: 27 April 2007 09:34 PM |
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All the blood pasts through the liver for filtration and thus if the liver is damaged the animal bleed out very quickly. The liver shot is always fatal even if the animal can't be found. 
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khtrent
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Posted: 29 April 2007 04:36 AM |
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thats what i thought... even an autopsy on a human take a liver sample blood seems to "leak" out more than other organs, after being deceased for several hours or even a full day. Look at a liver section under the microscope you can see LOTS AND LOTS of bloos vessels and arteries.
Kev
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Blackhat
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| Joined: | 2 January 2006 |
| Location: | New Braunfels, Texas USA |
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Posted: 29 April 2007 03:34 PM |
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| I have hit deer in the heart and had them run nearly a 100 yards or better. What could possibly spill more blood than the heart. I think the liver shots may have more to do with shock/insuline/adrenaline as well as bleeding out quickly. I don't know, that is why I would like the Doc to comment.
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The_Mountaineer
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| Joined: | 4 February 2005 |
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Posted: 30 April 2007 02:32 PM |
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Bea got it right from my perspective.
Physiology was never my favorite subject or a strong point but one I took nonetheless.
The liver is the circulatory system filter. I seem to recall that a rather significant % of blood resides in the liver at any given time. Makes sense not only due to the size of the liver itself as an organ but because of the processes going on inside of it. Lots of stuff going on there with ion gradients throughout the various layers. Additionally, it's order in the circulatory cycle might be key. Not really sure, I'd have to look it up.
Personally, I don't know that it is such a quick killing shot. Rather, the few deer I've shot in the liver haven't reacted in a violent, running off manner. They've always tended to hunch up and trot off perhaps thinking they can "shake off" their condition. By comparison, hit a deer in the heart with something and you're likely to get a polarized response - dropped in their tracks dead or the classic death run.
Doc will probably give a better answer.
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Timberghozt
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| Joined: | 11 February 2005 |
| Location: | Plaza De Los Armas, Mexico |
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Posted: 1 May 2007 01:52 PM |
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That makes sense Mountaineer.I appreciate the perspective of a wildlife biologist about this.
BTW, Doc has been pretty bad off for a while and recovering from a heart condition.Hopefully he will get well soon and be back on the board as much as he used to be..
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"He who fights with monsters might take care, lest he thereby become a monster; For if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - F.Nietzche
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khtrent
addicted handloader
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Posted: 5 May 2007 05:22 AM |
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Doc take your time getting back ..... got a few opinions building ..... but take your time.
Kev
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Texasdoc
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| Joined: | 5 April 2005 |
| Location: | LaGrange, Texas USA |
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Posted: 21 May 2007 03:51 PM |
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Ok the liver is a Filter that all the bllod goes thru so a liver shot causes a mass blood loss but its mostly inside the deer and its hard to track.
on a nother note most liver hit deer are also gut shot and will run for awhile.
I will try to get a better answer when I got a few more minutes .
Doc
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