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This advice after about 45 years of hunting whitetails. Don't expect to immobilize them. Immobilizing is very fashionable among those who may not care about the meat or don't mind wounding and losing animal by shooting off a jaw. The deer deserve the quickest, but also the most sure death without wounding. A double lung shot, just above the heart, gives the greatest margin for aiming or holding error, is always fatal if the hit is within 4-6" of the point of aim, and results in a short tracking job that anyone with moderate skills can master. High shoulder shots do immobilize more quickly, but also destroy more meat. Neck and brain ( not "head" ) shots work instantly, but have a margin of error about 2" either side of the aiming point. Too small a target for me under hunting conditions most days.
 
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High shoulder is good, it's basically the off switch. If your range is a bit further out than you thought, it's still going to drop into the vitals. You lose a bit of meat, but it's usually a quick kill. The important thing is to be using a good bullet that can get through a shoulder with enough energy to destroy lungs, but will also open up if all it hits is soft tissue. I like accubonds or partitions personally, but there's lots of good options out there.
 
As above. Yes, please don’t do the head! Neck if you have to. It works good for me. More fancy you you will try, the more room for screw up. Lungs will give you the largest area and if you get bones they are down. You will waste some meat but no tracking.
 
All the deer I've shot through the heart were the ones that ran the farthest. Hitting both lungs normally makes for a short recovery.

In both cases, it's a sure shot, hit them in the cage and they're dead. Aim behind the shoulder and you have room for error on all sides and you'll still have a dead deer. Can't say the same about neck or head shots.
 
Always take the first shot at the biggest lethal target on the animal. That means you should be trying to drive the first shot through the bottom two thirds of the chest cavity. Use the proper bullet for the job, and you will get two holes from which a blood trail can form, so the short run that may often result will be easy to follow to the dead animal.
 
Longwalker said:
This advice after about 45 years of hunting whitetails. Don't expect to immobilize them. Immobilizing is very fashionable among those who may not care about the meat or don't mind wounding and losing animal by shooting off a jaw. The deer deserve the quickest, but also the most sure death without wounding. A double lung shot, just above the heart, gives the greatest margin for aiming or holding error, is always fatal if the hit is within 4-6" of the point of aim, and results in a short tracking job that anyone with moderate skills can master. High shoulder shots do immobilize more quickly, but also destroy more meat. Neck and brain ( not "head" ) shots work instantly, but have a margin of error about 2" either side of the aiming point. Too small a target for me under hunting conditions most days.
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Listen to this Guy, he obviously is experienced and knows what he is talking about.

Cheers
 
Longwalker said:
This advice after about 45 years of hunting whitetails. Don't expect to immobilize them. Immobilizing is very fashionable among those who may not care about the meat or don't mind wounding and losing animal by shooting off a jaw.
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where is your point of aim for this to happen?
The deer deserve the quickest, but also the most sure death without wounding. A double lung shot, just above the heart, gives the greatest margin for aiming or holding error, is always fatal if the hit is within 4-6" of the point of aim
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only way you are shooting off a jaw without killing the deer with the point of aim at the base of the skull where the neck meets is missing by more than 6", which is likely a wounding shoot no matter where on the animal your point of aim is considering the size of the average whitetail
 
From personal experience, behind the ear at about 30 yards quartering away. Figured it was a gravy shot and as I squeezed the shot off it lifted its head enough for me to blow its jaw off. Long story short 6 hours looking for it and even the dog couldn't find it. I've never felt like a bigger piece of garbage in my life. From that point on double lung for everything.
 
Longwalker said:
This advice after about 45 years of hunting whitetails. Don't expect to immobilize them. Immobilizing is very fashionable among those who may not care about the meat or don't mind wounding and losing animal by shooting off a jaw. The deer deserve the quickest, but also the most sure death without wounding. A double lung shot, just above the heart, gives the greatest margin for aiming or holding error, is always fatal if the hit is within 4-6" of the point of aim, and results in a short tracking job that anyone with moderate skills can master. High shoulder shots do immobilize more quickly, but also destroy more meat. Neck and brain ( not "head" ) shots work instantly, but have a margin of error about 2" either side of the aiming point. Too small a target for me under hunting conditions most days.
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X2!! I have 5 decades of deer hunting under my belt as well, and prefer the double-lung shot over all others. They may run, but never far.
I loathe head and neck shots, and avoid them in most situations. Seen too many wounded deer when others have taken these shots. [see post #10]
Most deer dont have a huge amount of meat on them, and a high shoulder shot will cause quite a bit of bloodshot meat, so not my
favorite, either. Eagleye.
 
I am in the same boat as you with only a couple years experience . Tried a high shoulder shot this season to immobilize the deer.. after reading this advice online. No blood trail and couldnt find the deer.. I’m positive I laid a good shot.
I will only be taking lung shots from now on. They might run , but not far and a better chance of a blood trail based on the deer I’ve seen shot.
Sure changed my thought process after searching for a deer for that long..
 
With only 30 years of deer hunting behind me, its the vitals (heart/lung) or it walks.
Head or neck shots can work if perfectly placed, but have very little margin for error.
 
Couple of points, I second the double lung shot,if possible. Another is to sit tight after the shot ,unless you see it go right down.For deer,I like the moderate velocity cartridges and soft point bullets( I like my 6.5 x 55 swede)
 
I'm in the lower 2/3rds of the chest camp as well, just behind the front leg/shoulder if broadside. Or if quartering towards you just in front of the front leg, it should hit the heart and lungs and exit through or behind the opposite leg depending on the angle. Both WT I shot this season had the heart and lungs hit and they made it 50-60yrd with a good blood trail to follow. Easy track and one was an easy retrieve, the other was a good uphill drag out but that had nothing to do with shot placement lol.

I won't risk a head or neck shot, the last thing I want to do is wound and not be able to recover an animal. You always hear from people about that deer with the rotting broken leg or some other gangrenous wound in their back 40...
 
If you don't want them to move shoot them in the head or neck. If you don't think you are capable of a head or neck shot then aim for the lungs and start practising more for next season. If you have doubts you can make a shot then don't take it.
The last 3 deer I shot were all neck shots under 100yds with a 223 that I have set up for butchering steers. They were all shot from a solid rest in a ground blind and all of them fell exactly where they were standing when I shot. The deer were a nice little 4x4, a decent 4X5 and a very nice old 4X4 with long tines and matching stickers off his G2s. I have this blind placed for shooting coyotes over bait and these deer were all just in the right spot at the wrong time.
 
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