Asking for grill guard suggestions and/or recommendations

I don't off-road or rock climb and I'm not looking for a grill guard as bling, however, I wonder if a grill guard would significantly reduce any damage done by hitting a deer. The fact is I've already hit a dear and am waiting to find out what the total damage is, so I'm thinking ahead. I live in an area where hitting dear is a common occurrence, so I wonder if it will be worth the significant price tag.

 

A heavy duty bumper is likely the only real option for deer strike protection.

I work in the bush, and regularly avoid deer, elk, moose n bears... Anything but a deer, or small bear would seriously mess up the truck, even with a bumper.

 

Thank you, ChilliTaco. I was thinking that with a hit like I had there really wouldn't have been much that could reduce the damage. It's my first deer strike (in 40+ years of driving) though so I'm now paranoid and expect it to happen again immediately.

 

The only kind of guard that would protect would be way too heavy for daily driving.

 

Most guards are damage multipliers.

Metal bumpers are good for very low speed impacts: i.e. pushing the tall grass and scraping sand. For high speed collisions the sacrificial OEM plastic is usually the best bet. The shitty part is that it needs replacing and painting with each hit. But at least with plastic (and the thin aluminum that sits just behind), there's a chance that the energy gets soaked up before the frame rails get involved.

 

Grill Guards - aka Damage Multipliers

ARB bumpers and the like have some luck, but you end up replacing the bumper after a deer hit.

 

I have the Ranch Hand brush guard on my '22. I also had one on the 2013 I just sold. It went through 3 different deer strikes with one of those being 2 at the same time. Zero visible damage from any of them. Also have one on a Silverado HD that the wife has hit 1 deer with without any damage. I live in an area with a high deer population and have been running various brands of brush guards since about 1987. Wife's car is 10 years old and on its 4th hood from deer damage.

 

I hit a moose in a Chevy Silverado 1500. Trust me, the brush guard won't matter. Let the crumple zone do it's thing and keep you uninjured, then let your comprehensive coverage deal with the rest.

 

I hit a midget with my steel bumper.

You should've seen how far that lil' fucker flew! Oh, and...no damage to my bumper, except for a small (pardon the pun) blood stain.

 

You must have hit them at 5 mph.
Arithmetic says any faster and they will bend.
Arithmetic's big brother Physics told him so.

 

I am a 6'4" 260 lb little person. I identified that way...

 

was it a stuffed deer? because no way thats gonna stop one...

 

Yeah, I have been driving for 30+ and have hit a dozen or so deer, two moose, a cow, lol and a grizzly bear. Deer were never much of an issue, even with a direct hit on the highway they never wrote anything off, moose both wrote off the vehicles, a mini van and a 1/2 ton. The cow was with a bale hauler and was intentional, to prevent it from running onto the freeway. Grizzly wrote off a brand new F350 WITH a big winch bumper. Pushed the passenger side front tire into the back seat.