[{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/is-there-a-dead-zone\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/is-there-a-dead-zone\/","headline":"Is There a “Dead-Zone”?","name":"Is There a “Dead-Zone”?","description":"Is there a \u201cDead Zone\u201d or \u201cNo-man\u2019s Land\u201d in a deer? This question has been the topic of ongoing debates...","datePublished":"2016-11-04","dateModified":"2018-12-04","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/author\/hagosto\/#Person","name":"Hector Agosto","url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/author\/hagosto\/","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7bfedbdc5ef3ed8f8df91eb37e1ffbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7bfedbdc5ef3ed8f8df91eb37e1ffbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Legendary Whitetails","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"http:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/logo-legendary-whitetails.png","url":"http:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/logo-legendary-whitetails.png","width":522,"height":226}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Featured-e1478276079703.png","url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Featured-e1478276079703.png","height":763,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/is-there-a-dead-zone\/","about":["Hunting"],"wordCount":1039,"keywords":["Deer","Hunting","Tips"],"articleBody":"Is there a \u201cDead Zone\u201d or \u201cNo-man\u2019s Land\u201d in a deer? This question has been the topic of ongoing debates since Sacagawea lead Lewis and Clark across the western frontier.\u00a0 Fact is, hunters continue to agree-to-disagree about high hits in the \u201cdead zone\u201d.\u00a0 From the looks of forum posts across the World Wide Web, it appears the answer to that question depends on who you ask and what their personal experiences have been.I have my own opinion, but I will leave it out until the end of the post.\u00a0 First, watch this video and then let me know which side of the spine you are on.\u00a0 This is the first video that I have seen that shows a dead, but live demo of inflated lungs within the thoracic cavity of a deer.Shop the shirt here.The evidence brought forth by this video clearly shows there is no \u201cdead zone\u201d between the spinal cord and the top of the lungs.\u00a0 In fact, the spinal cord is actually surrounded by the lungs on both sides by the way it sits lower than the top of the rib cage.\u00a0 So, if there is no \u201cdead zone\u201d, then how are deer able to live after these high hits?\u00a0 And they do, as many of us have stories of high hit deer that they have either killed later in the season or got trail cam pics of weeks\/months later.Enter my opinion.\u00a0 Remember, this is mine and does not necessarily reflect yours.\u00a0 I want to hear yours below.\u00a0 So here it goes, in my opinion there is a \u201cdead zone\u201d . . . just not where many hunters think it is.\u00a0 I believe that when hunters swear they hit the upper lungs, don\u2019t recover the animal, and claim they hit the \u201cdead zone\u201d, they actually hit higher than they thought and zipped an arrow through the upper back, above the lungs and spinal cord all together.\u00a0 From the anatomy picture below and the video above, it is entirely possible to shoot a deer here and it lives to be hunted another day.\u00a0 The spinal cord actually dips lower than most people think, especially above the shoulder region.There’s more space above the spinal cord than one might think, especially when you are up in a treestand and viewing more of the back. \u00a0Of course, the shot angle from a treestand should be in your favor on high hits, but sometimes the arrow will ricochet off the bone.The factors my opinion is based on are perception and anatomy. Perception is defined as follows: a way of seeing or interpreting something; making a mental impression.\u00a0 Perception varies greatly amongst all humans and hunters, this cannot be argued.\u00a0 Some see a perfectly placed arrow, while others see the same arrow hit high as the deer \u201cjumped the string.\u201d\u00a0 Having filmed many hunts, it\u2019s incredible what slow motion can show you.The second perception based factor coming into play on \u201cdead zone\u201d hits, is the angle you are viewing a deer from up in a tree.\u00a0 Compared to shooting at a deer or a 3D target from the ground, you see much more of a deer\u2019s back from up in a tree.\u00a0 I believe this tricks hunters into thinking their shot was closer to the center of the thoracic cavity, when in fact it was above the spine.\u00a0 I believe this, along with incredibly fast ducking deer, plays a part into how hunters often times misinterpret a shot, especially with a bow.Anatomy is the second factor that leads me to believe there is no \u201cdead zone\u201d between the lungs and spine.\u00a0 The video and images are all I need to see to believe this.\u00a0 My idea of a \u201cdead zone\u201d exists above the spine.One other quick point I wanted to mention is this topic is often discussed more heavily in bowhunting crowds. \u00a0There’s a couple obvious reasons as to why this is, the first being you can see where your arrow hits. \u00a0In addition to seeing your arrow, deer are often closer at the time of the shot for bowhunters, which also helps you see where you hit. \u00a0The last and perhaps not so obvious factor is that it simply doesn’t happen as much to gun hunters. \u00a0Reason being, the shock wave energy of a bullet hitting in that region is usually enough to disrupt the spinal cord, thus dropping him in it’s tracks. Another reason you might not find it as common around gun hunters is that they might simply chalk it up to a clean miss. \u00a0Chances are there’s very little blood to follow with the high hit.The yellow box outlines the typical “dead zone” or “no-man’s land” where hunters sometimes hit and the deer survive.All that said, deer are incredible animals and seem to survive the craziest stuff.\u00a0 Therefore, they can and do survive some good hits from time to time and recover perfectly.\u00a0 They are amazing and sometimes there\u2019s just no explanation.What\u2019s your opinion?\u00a0 Have you ever shot a deer in the \u201cdead zone?\u201d\u00a0 Did you recover it?\u00a0 Did it heal and live another day?\u00a0 The more evidence and experiences you share, the better hunters we all become!\u00a0 So, is there a \u201cdead zone\u201d?"},{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/#breadcrumbitem","name":"Legendary Whitetail's Blog"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/is-there-a-dead-zone\/#breadcrumbitem","name":"Is There a “Dead-Zone”?"}}]}]