Which direction will a deer normally run after the shot?

[gar6]

Rub lines most of the time.

[BTLowry]

They will run right to where you don't want them to

Down in a canyon, out in a pond, into the nastiest briar patch for miles around and in your case over the fence onto the neighbors where you don't want them to go

I have heard they will turn toward the side they were shot on (entrance wound), they will always run down hill (seen that proved wrong), towards water (found one in a creek once but that is the only instance I can think of) and the list goes on and on. Everyone has an opinion of what they will do. I think it is just random depending on the circumstances

[bentlimbs]

I would say most all the time the shot deer is trying to get back into the wind. That is generally the way they come from and the way that they run back to. It is the wind direction that usually determines their travel path especially if the shot allows them travel that far. They also tend to go to low lying areas such as creek beds and low spots for cool temps. I understand that wounded deer have a temperature spike like high fever and go looking for water and cooler areas. Some are lethal shots (heart shots) at impact and these are the deer that tend to run blind into anything. It is all a great challenge to trail a shot deer but keep in mind the shot you made and whether it is a shot that will allow a deer to go down one of these travel paths.