I was on the way to work this morning at 5am and had a buck run into me. Looks like about $3000 in damage to my less than a year old truck and cost the buck his life. Not the way I wanted to take a deer.

Ouch, sorry to hear that.

As Lone Wolf said "OUCH". I feel your pain. I've hit 5 (so far). Wasn't any fun the first time. Wasn't any fun the last time. Keeping my fingers crossed that I'm done.

I feel your pain, I hit a hawk soaring across the highway, smashed the snot out of my grill, my truck had 2 k on it.

Only thing I killed with my vehicle was a pigeon that flew into the front windshield. It bounced off across the road and fell at a foot of a women waiting for a bus. I am sure she thought I threw it at her. Still makes me laugh to this day.

Gotta get those bars on the front of your vehicles. I killed 5 deer with lots of damage years ago. Put bars on everything. Now I've killed another 35+ with ZERO damage. Bars on all my vehicles.
I don't even slow down now Just take my foot off the gas. Killed 2 with an F-250 at 65 mph. 0 damage. Two this year with Bronco and Expedition. 0 damage. Get the picture? They work.

Ditto! Well worth it.

I got one last year with my truck as my son and I were on our way to go DEER hunting $5300.00 damage totaled the truck. Looks like truck season is starting early this year.

Incidentally, how much does a set of bars cost?

TN,

No way to quote a price, as they can range from the super cool looking flimsy chrome plated affairs, all the way to the Mad Max type made up at the local welding shop. Out west, the ranchers usually go for the Mad Max push bar types, as we have big deer, elk on cows on the highways.

The ones that look super cool, with designs that wrap around the lights, and are aerodynamic (usually on new rigs) are more brush guards as when they hit big critters the bars just push back and do almost as much damage. You'll have to do a little research on the web for your vehicle, and my recommendation visit your local welding shops.....;^)

Craig

Ranch Hand makes real grill guards for trucks. I highly recommend them. This is the unit I had on a truck I used to own. It will take a deer impact at speed and shrug it off.

just got the quote back from the body shop. $3300

Ouch, sorry.

A few years ago I had just taken off from an airport in NC was given a climb clearance and started to climb out of 7000 feet when I hit an osprey. It hit the tail of the jet I was flying. It's amazing what happens when a smallish bird 4lbs does to an airplane at 250knots. Did $30k in damage to the plane. Made me spill my coffee too.

Wow. Good thing it didn't hit the engine. What plane were you flying?

With out a pic it didn't happen.

sorry couldn't resist.

Lol, it did happen. It was a Lear 45.

cfish, I was waiting for you to say you hit a reindeer, glad you landed safe.

Lol, I don't think I would have. Although years ago when I flew freight at night I use to fly into very rural airports. I've actually hit deer on the runway at low speeds. They were clipped by the landing gear. For a while I had permission to shoot deer at one airport late at night if I saw them out. I took out a bunch over a one year period. Several airplanes had severe damage to them due to deer strikes.

I'd hate to see a jet strike a deer while taking off or landing. If a bird did $30K, there's no telling what a deer would do.

The wife killed her first deer last week, over $9000.00 damage.

Ouch!

ouch. my repairs ballooned to $5840 after they found all the hidden damage. Finally got the truck back late last week.

Ouch, indeed. The sad thing is this is going to become more common as the rut begins and the deer start moving around more.