Elk: neck shot?
04-30-2016, 01:19 PM
#51
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: south eastern PA
Posts: 16,074
I don't think so sunshine, The lung shot is a higher percentage shot than the neck shot, there is a lot of neck and most of it will not take an elk or deer down. You are free to shoot where ever you want, just don't try to sell a neck shot as a panacea to bring down big game. It is not all that unusual for big game not to drop in its tracks, that is why we learn how to track. If you put one through the lungs and or heart which is a lot more forgiving, they will go down, there is no other choice when they run out of blood. Most of the many deer I have killed went right down using a .308 or 45-70, only one didn;t go right down with the 45-70 with a double ling shot and I saw if fall. The chest cavity was soup and the blood trail looked like a fire hose made it. I really don't mind having to track for 40 or 50 yards. The neck shot is a last resort for me, last day of the season and I have done each once and have been successful, notice I said once and I would not recommend it to anyone as a go to shot since the difference between success and failure is fractions of an inch instead of inches..
04-30-2016, 01:56 PM
#52
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: south eastern PA
Posts: 16,074
I guess you are just special. In addition full of it! You must think you are talking to a bunch of beginners. I have hunted longer than you are old.
Last edited by Oldtimr; 04-30-2016 at 03:53 PM.
04-30-2016, 03:21 PM
#53
Dominant Buck
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: On an Island in Paradise
Posts: 23,428
New member with a controversial subject on post #1. I'll be watching to make sure this isn't just a thread to start trouble. Everyone is entitled to believe whatever they want but from almost all experienced hunters I have talked with a neck shot is a poor choice. We have gone through this subject before.
05-01-2016, 06:24 AM
#55
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 9,230
The target is NOT that small. On a whitetail, its about 3-4 inches wide at the top and and about 6-10 inches wide at the bottom, just in front of the shoulder. The neck is about 18-20 inches long.
Not quite. Not all the neck is vital tissue therefore not all the neck can be the target. The spine itself in maybe an inch wide along the neck and the arteries and veins are maybe a quarter on an inch in diameter. The windpipe and esophagus, while vital will not result in a quick kill. There is a lot of the neck comprised of muscle tissue and cartilage not to mention hair and skin. Besides you're talking elk and a mature elk may be 18 inches at the base of the neck and nearly all of that 18 inches in muscle. So just being able to hit an 18 inch target (using elk as an example) doesn't mean it will be a vital hit.
What I did say is that if you miss the chest area, you've got a wounded deer. If you miss the neck, no harm done. They just run off. That's because ANYWHERE in the neck is a kill shot.
WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have shot several deer and at least one elk that had wounds to the neck they survived. Are you trying to tell me that a bullet that merely hits muscle will result is a kill? That's ludicrous. Especially when talking elk. I've cut neck roasts more than 5 inches thick from bull elk. Are you really trying to say a bullet in that muscle would be fatal?
Besides your statement about "just running off" is not only foolish but shows a level of poor thinking that is unconscionable. Let's say you fire a round off on a deer/elk/antelope etc... and you aim at the neck. You pull the shot a little or the bullet clips a twig and the animal is hit in the windpipe. I assure you the animal will run and it will die but you probably would just watch it run away thinking it was just a miss wouldn't you?
I also said that I have never tried it on an elk.
See my above. Elk are massive, especially mature bulls and they have dense muscles in the neck to support not only the head but those big antlers as well and there is a lot of an elk's neck that is not vital.
If it's more than 300 yards, I will probably go for the shoulder/chest area.
Inside 300, I will certainly go for the neck, if I can. If I miss the neck shot, the elk walks (runs) away unharmed.
THIS IS WITHOUT A DOUBT THE MOST IDIOTIC COMMENT I HAVE EVER READ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If you shoot at an elk's neck at anywhere near 300 yards you're a fool! That's way too far for such a shot. Elk live in rough country and you may be shooting across a canyon or gully. What about wind? Did you factor that in? What about breathing hard? You're not from elk country and the altitude will affect you. What about buck fever? How may elk have you shot at? What about any of a thousand other variables that come into play? And if you blow the shot and just hit the elk in the muscle of the neck and it runs/walks away are you going to hike over and look for blood? Even if you cut the carotid artery the elk may very well run 100-200 yards before it goes down! What then? Will you just wander off looking for another elk to toss a bullet at?
Not quite. Not all the neck is vital tissue therefore not all the neck can be the target. The spine itself in maybe an inch wide along the neck and the arteries and veins are maybe a quarter on an inch in diameter. The windpipe and esophagus, while vital will not result in a quick kill. There is a lot of the neck comprised of muscle tissue and cartilage not to mention hair and skin. Besides you're talking elk and a mature elk may be 18 inches at the base of the neck and nearly all of that 18 inches in muscle. So just being able to hit an 18 inch target (using elk as an example) doesn't mean it will be a vital hit.
What I did say is that if you miss the chest area, you've got a wounded deer. If you miss the neck, no harm done. They just run off. That's because ANYWHERE in the neck is a kill shot.
WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have shot several deer and at least one elk that had wounds to the neck they survived. Are you trying to tell me that a bullet that merely hits muscle will result is a kill? That's ludicrous. Especially when talking elk. I've cut neck roasts more than 5 inches thick from bull elk. Are you really trying to say a bullet in that muscle would be fatal?
Besides your statement about "just running off" is not only foolish but shows a level of poor thinking that is unconscionable. Let's say you fire a round off on a deer/elk/antelope etc... and you aim at the neck. You pull the shot a little or the bullet clips a twig and the animal is hit in the windpipe. I assure you the animal will run and it will die but you probably would just watch it run away thinking it was just a miss wouldn't you?
I also said that I have never tried it on an elk.
See my above. Elk are massive, especially mature bulls and they have dense muscles in the neck to support not only the head but those big antlers as well and there is a lot of an elk's neck that is not vital.
If it's more than 300 yards, I will probably go for the shoulder/chest area.
Inside 300, I will certainly go for the neck, if I can. If I miss the neck shot, the elk walks (runs) away unharmed.
THIS IS WITHOUT A DOUBT THE MOST IDIOTIC COMMENT I HAVE EVER READ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If you shoot at an elk's neck at anywhere near 300 yards you're a fool! That's way too far for such a shot. Elk live in rough country and you may be shooting across a canyon or gully. What about wind? Did you factor that in? What about breathing hard? You're not from elk country and the altitude will affect you. What about buck fever? How may elk have you shot at? What about any of a thousand other variables that come into play? And if you blow the shot and just hit the elk in the muscle of the neck and it runs/walks away are you going to hike over and look for blood? Even if you cut the carotid artery the elk may very well run 100-200 yards before it goes down! What then? Will you just wander off looking for another elk to toss a bullet at?
05-01-2016, 06:29 AM
#56
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 9,230
Since you asked for personal experience, even though I think you are misguided, I'll give some.
Of the 25 elk I have killed I think I've used the neck shot 3 times. It works but the animal needs to be standing perfectly still and you need to be very steady (use a rest of some sort) to consistently pull it off. There is a lot of non-vital parts of the neck and the only way it works is to either break the spine as it runs through the neck or to catch the carotid artery or jugular vein. None of these are very big targets.
The chest is a much bigger target and has a lot more vital items to hit (heart, lungs, lots of arteries, the spine itself, major bone structure etc...) so that should be your primary target. The elk I killed with a neck shot all had a couple of things in common: They were very close, facing me head on with the chest concealed, I had a tree I could take a rest against and were in an area where I could get in a follow up shot if the neck shot failed. Also since I grew up in an elk state and had a lot of experience with them I wasn't too prone to buck fever when it came time to shoot. All important things to consider. This bull was taken with a neck shot in about 1996 or so:
I do have to ask: Why dig up a tread more than 12 years old for this topic? Why not just start a new one?
Of the 25 elk I have killed I think I've used the neck shot 3 times. It works but the animal needs to be standing perfectly still and you need to be very steady (use a rest of some sort) to consistently pull it off. There is a lot of non-vital parts of the neck and the only way it works is to either break the spine as it runs through the neck or to catch the carotid artery or jugular vein. None of these are very big targets.
The chest is a much bigger target and has a lot more vital items to hit (heart, lungs, lots of arteries, the spine itself, major bone structure etc...) so that should be your primary target. The elk I killed with a neck shot all had a couple of things in common: They were very close, facing me head on with the chest concealed, I had a tree I could take a rest against and were in an area where I could get in a follow up shot if the neck shot failed. Also since I grew up in an elk state and had a lot of experience with them I wasn't too prone to buck fever when it came time to shoot. All important things to consider. This bull was taken with a neck shot in about 1996 or so:
I do have to ask: Why dig up a tread more than 12 years old for this topic? Why not just start a new one?
05-01-2016, 01:17 PM
#57
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Germany/Calif.
Posts: 2,664
Just my experience with Deer, Mule Deer, White Tail, Roe and Red Deer (only shot one Elk in my life). There is about a 3-4 inch imaginary circle on the heck Maybe 1/4-1/3 way from the base, a little above center, that has yet to fail to drop them in a pile for me.
You have the backbone nearby, major arteries and I'd guess a nerve cluster. The way their legs just collapse, it always seemed to me they were knocked out and then died (quick).
I've usually used that shot when they were standing sideways to me feeding. I've shot it both head up and head down. Farthest maybe 140 yards, mostly within fifty yards.
Usually at last light, as it is a chancy shot because the target is small. But it works and beats having to trail at night, which can be a giant pain.
I don't now how it is with other shooters, but when I make a mistake it is usually in the vertical (range and/or shooter error). Not much margin for error on a neck shot, you need a good rest.
The majority of my shots are behind the shoulder and bellow center, I call it a heart lung shot. They usually go down within 30-40 yards, sometimes immediately. But there are exceptions, some Deer just refuse to give up. If it is a questionable shot I pass, I'm mostly a sure thing hunter.
You have the backbone nearby, major arteries and I'd guess a nerve cluster. The way their legs just collapse, it always seemed to me they were knocked out and then died (quick).
I've usually used that shot when they were standing sideways to me feeding. I've shot it both head up and head down. Farthest maybe 140 yards, mostly within fifty yards.
Usually at last light, as it is a chancy shot because the target is small. But it works and beats having to trail at night, which can be a giant pain.
I don't now how it is with other shooters, but when I make a mistake it is usually in the vertical (range and/or shooter error). Not much margin for error on a neck shot, you need a good rest.
The majority of my shots are behind the shoulder and bellow center, I call it a heart lung shot. They usually go down within 30-40 yards, sometimes immediately. But there are exceptions, some Deer just refuse to give up. If it is a questionable shot I pass, I'm mostly a sure thing hunter.
05-03-2016, 10:23 AM
#60
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Allegan, MI
Posts: 8,019
Was this 12 year old thread brought up by a first time poster like it sounds from reading the CI post and it's now been deleted because a few others "in the know" have told him where to take his head and neck shots on big game?