lemoyne

It seems funny but after taking qver a hundred deer with a bow and all most never having any problem following one of them I relized that the placment of the shot may well have something to do with how good a blood trail is. I dont seem to have any problem with a gun either but because aiming for the same spot I do with a bow I mostly get bang flops the few that did not go down right away usually dont go 40 yds.
I hear people talking about high shoulder shots and shoulder shots and neck shots and I wonder how many deer are lost because of where people are aiming rather than the bullet ect.
Your thoughts on the matter? Lee

mcawful

I was taught by my Pop when he would take me hunting as a lad in Alaska, ( late 1960s )that all shots should be placed in the boiler room, except foxes and wolves. Shoot them in the head. The pelts were too valuable to mess up with a bullet hole.
Oh yeah, shoot rabbits in the head, too, so as to not lose any meat.

HEAD0001

For some reason hunter's think there is some sort of "GLORY" if they shoot a deer in the neck or head. I do not know why but they carry it as a badge of honor. Personally I will rarely take that shot, but I will admit that I have taken them a few times. I think it goes back toVarmint Hunter's, and Small Game Hunter's.

I am a handicapped hunter so it is important that I put the deer down fast. My favorite shot is when the leg on my side is forward, or the deer is slightly angled away. I put the bullet behind the shoulder and into the off side shoulder. This shot normally breaks the deer down right there. A 40 or 50 yard run can cause me a lot of problems, so I like to put them down fast. The shot I described is IMO the fastest, and most sure way to do it.

I do not think people realize how much of the neck, and yes even the head area is not an instantly killing shot.

I do not wish to argue with the occasional guy who can make that shot every time(or he will pass that shot). Heck I consider myself capable of making the shot every time. It is just that I think there is a right way and a wrong way. And yes you are right-your way is the right way.

I know I get a little meat damage. But I prefer the neck roast to the meat on the offside shoulder. Tom.

cayugad

When I shoot deer I have to stop them where they stand because of if not they will move into the thicket and it makes retrieval a real chore. The scapula will break them down, so will the neck & spineshots. Neck & spineshots are too risky in many cases and I only use them as a last resort kind of shot. If you break the shoulders they will normally plant right there, although you can loose a lot of meat. I will break them down if necessary, but a good boiler room shot is sure hard to beat. Also with a muzzleloader, the animals do not seem to spook as bad as they do with a center fire rifle.

Semisane

A largepart of our hunting ispine plantation that was clear cut five or six years ago. The young trees are thick as hair on a coyote and mixed with briar. We have a bunch of small food plots in the middle of this stuff. If a deer gets even forty or fifty yards into that jungle you're in for a miserable retrieval job. Finding it is tough -trying to drag it out is even tougher. I must confess to using neck shots when I hunt this area - but I'm very choosy about the shot and will pass on any nervous deer or anything over 50 yards or so. In those areas where tracking conditions are more reasonable it's heart/lung for sure.

wabi

I do most of my hunting with a bow and find myself still trying for the perfect "boiler room" shot even with a muzzleloader. The muzzleloader adds the option of a "quartering toward" shot (which I took this season and had the old bang-flop result) but I still go for the heart - lungs. In the past 8 or 10 years (averaging 1 a year)using a .50 with Barnes or XTP bullets I've had one deer go less than 30 yards. The rest dropped on the spot!
About allof the deer with the bow go less than 60 yards with a good double lung shot, many much less. I believe my shortest recovery with the bow was 18 yards on a double lung shot.

TNHagies

I think I'm in the majority that take heart/lungs shots. I try to hit in the lower 1/3 of the chest tucked right behind the shoulder. That shot has never led me on a track longer than 40-50yrds that I can think of.

My dad on the other hand only had 1 leg so he wasn't able to track deer like a guy "w/two good legs" like he would say, so he would always break their neck right where the neck joins the body. I only remember him losing one deer and I think he hit somehting between him and the deer and who knows where it hit the deer. I only use this shot if it is the only option.

I agree though lemoyneI think too many lost deer are blamed on bullets rather than shot placement or range. I've talked to some people that think 'with a bullet as big as .50 if you hit 'em anywhere they should go down'.

killadoe

I have always shot right behind the shoulder, bout midways up. I do this with my bow, my ML and my rifle. With my rifle I will shoot in front of the shoulder like in the base of the neck if I need arrises, but never in the skinny part of the neck. But my favorite shot is broadside right behind the shoulder, I like to hug the shoulder as much as possible. If their leg is straight down I will aim about5-6 inches straight above their elbow joint. You should be able to find them within 40 - 50 yards with a great blood trail. Some of the smaller deer just drop with my rifle when shot there. i will take angle towards shots but only with my rifle, and depending on my circumstances with my ML too. With the bow its angle away or broadside thats it.

lemoyne

It sounds like most of us try to place our shots between the top of the heart and the middle of the lung onthe center line of the heart. I have been amazed at how many I have dropped on the spot with that shot since I started using fast opening bullets like the 250 GD, There is no dought that these guns are accurate enough to make carefully placed spine or brain shots at short range and that if you are willing to shoot through the shoulder it will drop them especally with a big heavy bullet. I think we all have different circumstances and have to adapt to them. Like if you can not see over 50 yds seting up for long range shot wont do a thing for your hunting. I moved
from the open cornfield of IL to the hills and lakes of AR and the differances are quite interesting, I did not take a deer the first year down here because they all looked like fawns to me. Lee

spaniel

Bow - Through the middle of the lungs. I shot a 10-pt straight thru the heart once and he ran 200+ yds without a drop of blood, I only found with with some luck intuition.

Gun - Heart shot if 50yds or under. Otherwise, middle of the lungs behind the front leg. I avoid the shoulder unless dropping them in their tracks vs 50 yds away is important; too much meat to ruin in the shoulder.