lou-lou

Nice!!!! Atlasman, couldn't put it any better.

atlasman

Wow.......that is one of the weirdest posts I have ever read. You list all the reasons NOT to take a neck shot.......then describe how you took one anyways because you didn't want to let your bow down.........not "That was the only shot he offered"........just "I held as long as I could". You lost the game and couldn't accept it so you took a shot that you KNEW you shouldn't take. Then you finish up by saying you "probably" won't do it again. Something about the rest of your post being a polar opposite contradiction makes me wonder about that.

Pretty much the same as when someone says "I would NEVER take a shot at a deer over 20 yards in the field.............UNLESS he is a monster then I am sending an arrow his way no matter how far he is"

bamabandit

I have tried to stay out of this anymore than i already have posted, but i have to say a few things.

First off anyone who considers taking a neck shot ethical is crazy. Yes its very deadly if you hit the spine or one of the veins running through his neck. Each of these veins is around the size of your middle finger to possibly your thumb and that makes for a very small target to hit on a deer that is likely to flinch or jump the string to some extent. The spine is about the size of the end of a beer bottle or just a tad larger yet another hard target to hit. Another thing you have to consider is the fact that both of these targets are in diffrent spots along the length of the neck not just the center. This becomes even harder on a rut crazed buck with a swollen neck. If you hit the windpipe yes the deer will most likely die due to trouble getting air down to his lungs and blood running into it and into his lungs but thats gonna take quite a while unless the windpipe is cut completely in half.

The reason I say anyone who considers a neck shot ethical is crazy is they are taking to much of a chance of wounding the deer. To make it ethical wiht a bow you would have to know exactly where the spine and or veins are at any given time as the deer moves which is almost impossible to tell or even get right guessing. The you have to aim right at that spot and even if your bow shoots exactly where you hold it, if you flinch or pull the slightest little bit you have most likely messed up. Next at the shot the deer can't move a bit which is not to likely as most move to some extent at the shot, not all but most do move. Last is your yardage judgement. Even with the fastest bows you would have to be very close to the yardage you guess to have the arrow hit right where your pin is being held on the deers neck.

Im guessing most on here have good common sense, and that common sense will tell you that those circumstances i posted above hardly if ever happen at the same time. Therefore I just don't see how anyone could consider a neck shot ethical. It just not a high percentage shot. its a very low percentage shot at that and one that can be practiced on a decoy and make you feel that you can make it, but in reality there are just to many variables to deal with. You owe it to the animals you hunt to take them cleanly and quickly so take the best shot and aim for the heart lung area where you have a margian of error unlike on the neck. If you can't take that shot then don't shoot at all and let the deer walk for another day and maybe the next time you get him/her in range they will give you the best shot and you can take it. I passed on the largest deer i have ever seen for this very reason. I was hunting in Central Illinios several years ago and on the 4th day i had a buck that would score somewhere in the 180-190 range as they found his sheads after the season. He never gave me the shot i needed so i let him pass and I will tell you that was very hard to do. But i wasn't gonna risk wounding him much less any other deer for that matter with an irresponsible shot. Neckshots are unethical and extreamly risky to take so don't take them on purpose you owe it to the animal as we all don't want to wound one.

huntinwv

I agree with rattlesnake. There is times I will take this shot.

atlasman, don't put down a hunter for making a excellent shot and bagging very nice trophy. it may not be the best shot, but like rattlesnake said "what about the people that shot them in the shoulder blade".

It all depends on the persons ability to make the shot. I'm like Burger King, have it your way!!

Justin

Saying that there are people out there who take worse shots than quartering-in is a pretty weak arguement. There are people out there who spotlight deer and shoot then with high powered rifles in the middle of the night. It doesn't mean that people who are only poaching during daylight hours are being any less unethical.

IMO there is no "gray" area when it comes to shot placement while bowhunting regardless of skill or equipment.

nodog

I have never looked into the wisdom behind the arguments for or against taking certain shots and think that like all other things that have been black and white issues they are possibly not all based on facts much less current ones. Like one here said he didn't know that a neck shot was tabo and now he does. What is he basing his assesment on? certainly not the facts , but peer presure. The neck shot does seem to be affective by the count here.

I like the signature and your approach to peoples opinions and although you felt the need to lock a certain post, next time you could wait a bit for some needed peer presure to be applied. There is such a thing as guilt by association and if a person is aware of objectionable things but continues to particapate they have as well sold their souls and not even for cash. Bottom line if someone doesn't like it don't tune in.

Justin

I would have to say that is far from true. There are a few people here who chimed in and said "I did it once by accident and was fortunate enough to put the deer down quickly and recover it" but I'm sure if the truth would be known there are a lot more people out there who have lost deer with this **** than visa versa. As an example last year my father hit a beautiful buck in the neck after his arrow hit an unseen twig and we ended up recovering the deer over a mile away and a month later after it had been eaten by coyotes and gone to waste. Unfortuantely those things happen in real life although you will never see them in videos, so to say that the facts point to it being an effective shot I believe is stretching a bit.

atlasman

I didn't "put him down"........I thought it was strange to read a post saying all the reasons neck shots are a bad idea........followed by "but I took one anyways" and finished with "I probably won't do it again"

All those statements don't fit together.

For every story of a "successful" neck shot their are countless horror stories. Shot placement is hard enough with a bow without taking low % shots and hoping to get lucky.

BOWFANATIC

RattleSnake1

I admire your honesty!! And you are right , people sometimes break their own rules when it's crunch time. The line between breaking your own rules and abiding by them is called discipline.

recurver67

I bet the taxidermist just love the neck shot guys. I can't see any reason to take a chance on a neck shot unless you can hit a moving broomhandle 8 out of 10 shots. I am guilty of having taken more then one risky shot(i.e steep angles and quartering on.) but when the blood trail goes dry you know who to blame. It's not very often you recover a animal thats been hit with a marginal shot at best. It would be hard for me to take finding the buck of my dreams a year after I took a bad shot on him.I would rather see him on someone elses wall.