I live in deer and elk country. On my VStrom I rounded a triple curve at 40+, only to see a herd of elk crossing the road in the middle of the third curve. I straightened the bike up, aimed at a big cow and emergency braked figured it would be better to hit an elk at 10mph and sliding into the herd at 40. Much to my amazement, I did not lock the rear wheel and I stopped 12" from the hind quarter of this big cow elk. It did not even flinch. I joked later that I could see the ticks jumping off the elk as I was absolutely sure I was going to t-bone it. Happened so fast I did not have time to think about it until after I pulled over.
On my Harley I missed a big doe by inches on I-90 at 11:30 PM headed home. No traffic, all of a sudden this big doe appeared in my lane. I was able to swerve right then back and went right around he rump. Since I practice emergency braking and swerve up to 40 mph in a parking lot, I usually have to stop right after the serve, so that was my instinct. I was so happy I made the swerve that I let go the throttle...and my rear tire broke loose. It was ugly, but I managed to keep the bike upright. That scared me more that the doe. I now practice swerves by on a longer parking lot or road so I can slow down slowly.

While I have only practiced swerves and emergency stops up to 40 mph, the swerve instincts worked for me at 70+. I practice these and slow speed figure eights for a hour or so each spring as my riding time in the winter is often cut short my snow, ice and pouring cold rain. Once I have refreshed my skills, they seem normal and natural all the rest of the summer. If I don't, I notice I feel awkward when turning around in my lane the first time.

I love to get up early, before dawn and ride and I often ride late into the evening. I find being aware of possible deer, elk, raccoons, bear, turkeys make for a good ride. Sure I don't push the speed limits, but I don't stop riding just because there are critters. I just try to make the extra awareness required part of the joy of riding.

Added: I also realize that I was lucky and that I came close to writing a different post. Skill is only 1/2 the equation. Had I seen the doe a second later and not reacted by instinct and training, I would have hit it. I was lucky and my practice helped give me some of that luck.

 

FWIW, those deer whistles.. yea, they don't work. There was a huge write up about it in Easy Rider years ago and it showed that they didn't work.

I have a buddy that has them mounted to his frame, he swears by them because deer run away when he rides past them...... I just looked at him and thought, '"are you high"? Just what you want, to make deer run because their so predictable which way they're gonna run... DUMB

They probably run because he's running shotguns on a shovel, you can hear the bike a mile away... Probably more the reason the run than anything else.

 

I too have had a couple close calls.... I would say I could go back through this list and point them out!! I always figure where there's one, there's two.... or more. If I see deer along the road it is instant brake and horn. I have the Custom Dynamic Mini-Beast and it is loud. I think more than anything they become mesmerized by the light of your oncoming bike and stand there. Hitting the horn seems to startle them back to reality.
I also come in 6ish in the mornings, and find there are more in town now than before. Not sure why, especially in some of the areas I see them. So in the dark/dusk I'm always on a swivel and expect the unexpected. Knock on wood....

 

I t-boned a deer back in September 2013. Came around a bend, deer jumped out of woods and next thing I know I'm sliding down the road with the bike. Luckily, I got away with a few sprains and some road rash on the knees. On top of that, the friggin cop didn't believe me that I hit a deer.

 

3 for me. All in the last 4 years. 2 in my pickup. Major damage with the first one. Bent bumper and broken fog light with the second. Neither deer walked away.
On motorcycle (650 V-Strom): Early June. 10pm. On county road. I just left a friends house. We had been making vacation ride plans. Deer came fast from my right. Bike goes down on the left. I roll over the bike and land in front of it. Hit left shoulder hard and both knees. I'm sliding down the road on my back, my helmet against the saddlebag, thinking I'm on the wrong side of the slide. I was wearing an armored riding jacket, so my shoulder was OK. My knees were bummed up for 6 weeks.

This is from 2015.
State Farm reports that the chance of a driver hitting a deer is one in 169 nationally, about the same as in 2014.
There is, however, significant regional variation. Motorists should take special care when driving through West Virginia, for instance, where the chance of hitting a deer is one in 44 drivers. Odds are also high in Montana, Iowa, Pennsylvania and South Dakota.
To compile its report, State Farm makes projections for the industry as a whole based on its own claims records and uses data on state licensed-driver counts from the Federal Highway Administration. The analysis is based on claims filed from July 1, 2014, to June 30, 2015, in all states and the District of Columbia. Nearly 1.3 million claims were filed industrywide, State Farm estimates. The numbers include claims from hitting elk and moose, as well as deer.


From Wikipedia: In the United States an estimated 1.23 million deer related accidents occurred in a one-year period ending June 2012 (a 7.7 percent increase from the previous year), resulting in $3,305 in average property damage.



That's over four billion dollars in auto damage in a year.

 

I think I would've need to change my shorts after that one!

To the OP: If you're seeing and dealing with THAT many deer sightings, I might be considering installing extra lighting for the sides of the bike (spotlights turned a little more outward than straight ahead) AND the truck, and/or any kind of deer "warning" signals, like those whistles, to keep them from coming out when you're there.

 

Close call!! What camera are you using?

 

I had a turkey fly into me. I was going about 30 mph on a small paved county road. I was over as far as I could go due to a barb wire fence running about two feet away from the pavement. Turkey flew right into the engine guard and lower fairing. No damage. I bet is was a sight to see, I had my left leg raised up as far as I could, I wanted it to hit the bike and not me in the leg.

 

Well...as has been said or indicated in previous posts; the deer you'll hit is the one you never see coming. Deer are...after all...naturally camouflaged and hard to see. They're even harder to see in low light and when standing still. They have the nasty habit of standing still until you get close and then they make a break for the opposite side of the road. You can do everything right and a deer will almost seem to ambush and target you, running right into the side of your vehicle or ride. As populations increase, daytime activity becomes more common. Deer are seen feeding along roadsides in broad daylight.


I shudder to think about the injuries the rider suffered last summer...the one who hit a deer at 2pm. His bike was nothing but a pile of wrecked metal, plastic and rubber. The speed limit was 60 and I'm sure he was doing near that when the deer showed up. There's a decent chance he didn't live.


And for the record, I had a wild turkey fly into the side of our sedan while we were doing 65 mph. The bird impacted the windshield/door post and exploded itself just above my outside driver's mirror. I'm here to tell you a 15 pound bird flying 30 mph hits with a huge amount of force, and would knock a rider directly off his bike with a direct hit to the body. I've seen a car with it's windshield blown out from a turkey impact.

 

I hit a bird on the bike one summer. Don't know just what kind...just your regular drab brown bird. Could have been a robin. Anyway, I was doing probably 40 MPH and it made a direct hit on my shin just above my boot. Upon impact, the bird was immediately transformed into a puff of feathers and bird parts. Talk about hurt! Dang that was painful.

A few years back I nearly hit a snake on my way to Oklahoma. No, I didn't almost run over it...I almost hit it with my helmet/head while cruising at highway speeds, but that's another whole story.
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