Risks of Taking a Headshot?

[ArchiePerry]

Hello,
In regards to Hunter1970's thread which I certainly don't want to ruin...
http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=532237

- Is there any risk of a bullet deflecting off the skull and not scoring a kill shot, even when your accuracy is perfect?
- Does the 45 degree angle of the skull bone increase this risk?
- How much meat would be wasted if you'd shot it through the front of the chest rather than the head?
- Do muzzle loaders generally offer more power to the bullet to allow it to penetrate bone?
- What would have happened if he had scored the head shot but missed the 6 inch brain... could the deer run off with a hole in the head?


I ask these questions because I have been told before than a bullet might not go through the skull which is why you aim for the chest vitals... not to mention the larger vital area for a less risky shot.

What would a minimal caliber or bullet wight be to be effective in head shots?

 

[noneck180]

22 cal Min..

 

[kevguy]

Hello,
In regards to Hunter1970's thread which I certainly don't want to ruin...
http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=532237

- Is there any risk of a bullet deflecting off the skull and not scoring a kill shot, even when your accuracy is perfect?
- Does the 45 degree angle of the skull bone increase this risk?
- How much meat would be wasted if you'd shot it through the front of the chest rather than the head?
- Do muzzle loaders generally offer more power to the bullet to allow it to penetrate bone?
- What would have happened if he had scored the head shot but missed the 6 inch brain... could the deer run off with a hole in the head?


I ask these questions because I have been told before than a bullet might not go through the skull which is why you aim for the chest vitals... not to mention the larger vital area for a less risky shot.

What would a minimal caliber or bullet wight be to be effective in head shots?

I have killed 3 deer this year with 2 of them being head shots. First head shot was upper head where antlers come out.....deer died immediatley. Second head shot was in the lower head almost to the neck.....same result....immediate death.

 

[CV32]

Is there any risk of a bullet deflecting off the skull and not scoring a kill shot, even when your accuracy is perfect?

Yes.

Does the 45 degree angle of the skull bone increase this risk?

Yes.

How much meat would be wasted if you'd shot it through the front of the chest rather than the head?

Very little.

Do muzzle loaders generally offer more power to the bullet to allow it to penetrate bone?

There's enough power, but it remains a low percentage shot.

What would have happened if he had scored the head shot but missed the 6 inch brain... could the deer run off with a hole in the head?

Yes, more than a few big game animals die a miserable death from a missing lower jaw, for example.

I ask these questions because I have been told before than a bullet might not go through the skull which is why you aim for the chest vitals... not to mention the larger vital area for a less risky shot.

It is the latter rather than the former. The brain/spine is a sure kill, but so is a heart or double lung shot, and it is much easier to hit the latter.

What would a minimal caliber or bullet wight be to be effective in head shots?

I don't believe it has much to do with caliber. A bad shot with a big bullet is still a bad shot.

 

[drache]

There is a risk of just wounding the animal with any shot, there just happens to be a lesser risk when going for the heart/lungs.

My grandfather used to hunt deer as a kid to feed his family with nothing more than a .22 because that's all they could afford growing up in Saskatchewan.

He only ever took headshots because he wanted an instant kill. He never took a shot from more than sub 100 yards and as such he never wounded a single animal.

I have taken more than a share of headshots on deer and they've always been well under 100 yards and every deer has dropped dead.

I've also taken numerous shots to the heart/lungs and unless you hit the heart you'll generally be tracking the animal which is no problem unless you start to chase it right away.

Personally to me it comes down to distance, shooting ability, and how well do you know your rifle.

My screwed up shot on a bear was due to shooting a gun at a distance I had never shot with that gun before. I learned my lesson on that.

 

[Hunter1970]

My father is also from the "22 in the ear" from way back when in Sask. Food on the table for family sort of stuff too.

I have also taken my share of animals with head shots. I firmly agree that a wounded animal is a wounded animal no matter where the it is hit, and ultimately is never desired.

Practice, knowing your firearm/gun/bow (whatever), and complete confidence in where your shot will end up is key. The one variable you can control is yourself, do your part.

I personally had to put down a WT doe with someone's arrow embedded through her nose and into the mouth one year. Don't take the shot unless you can make the shot.

 

[LongDraw]

A head shot is a low percentage shot.

If it is meat wastage you worry about stay off the shoulder and shoot it through the ribs. Compare the size of the heart/lungs/liver to the size of a deers brain.

Think about it this way; it is a way bigger target to stay OFF the shoulder and hit it behind in the ribs rather than aiming for the head.

 

[drache]

A head shot is a low percentage shot.

If it is meat wastage you worry about stay off the shoulder and shoot it through the ribs. Compare the size of the heart/lungs/liver to the size of a deers brain.

Think about it this way; it is a way bigger target to stay OFF the shoulder and hit it behind in the ribs rather than aiming for the head.

I dont think it really comes down to meat wastage with most people but putting the animal down as quickly as possible with the least amount of suffering.

First off I eat the deer ribs so shooting it there is wasting meat to me BUT how long would an animal take to die by being shot there?

But really the headshots I generally go for isn't just the brain. You aim for the spot where the neck meets the skull. In that one spot you have the major arteries, veins, the spine, and the brain.

Yes a deer can move when gonig for a headshot but so can a deer move when taken a shot at just behind the front leg. If the deer leeps forward you now have a gut shot deer.

But say at 75 yards how fast does it take a bullet to reach the target? Now at 75 yards who here will openly admit that they cannot place at least 3 rounds into a 4-7 inch (or slightly larger) target even in high wind?

That being said I will only take a "headshot" if I am sure of my ability, the distance, and the gun.

 

[BC Bigbore]

Put the bullet through the lungs/heart. Easier to hit, large margin for error and kills quick. If "wasting" a rib bone is such a concern then switch to archery, use a low velocity round such as a .375 Win, .38-55, .45-70 (w/Trapdoor loads) etc, or a muzzle loader with a patched lead ball. Big game animals don't deserve risky shots to "save meat". If you slip up with the chest shot and blow a front quarter all to hell with a .270, 7mm or .300 Mag, so be it. The buck/bull went down & died quick and that's the goal.

 

[Grizzlypeg]

Unless it was point blank range, I can't see myself trying a head shot. I prefer a wider margin for error. I had a quick shot this year at a deer with a muzzle loader, and I had to shoot offhand at 100 yards with no time for hesitation. Bullet went a couple inches higher than I would have thought, but it still dropped the deer right on the spot, having punched a hole through both sides. I'm not ready to mess with success.

 

[kevguy]

Put the bullet through the lungs/heart. Easier to hit, large margin for error and kills quick. If "wasting" a rib bone is such a concern then switch to archery, use a low velocity round such as a .375 Win, .38-55, .45-70 (w/Trapdoor loads) etc, or a muzzle loader with a patched lead ball. Big game animals don't deserve risky shots to "save meat". If you slip up with the chest shot and blow a front quarter all to hell with a .270, 7mm or .300 Mag, so be it. The buck/bull went down & died quick and that's the goal.

I disagree. Head shots are the way to go. If you can do it, take it. It's all good.

 

[fiddler]

Many years ago, I used to go pheasant hunting with a gentleman who was a veterinarian who worked with farm animals like horses and cattle. His advice was to go for the neck shot. You don't have to hit anything major like arteries, spine, or windpipe, because neck trauma will drop the animal on the spot. Its what connects the head to the body and any damage will paralyze and bleed out he animal before it even thinks of getting up again.

For over twenty years this has worked 100% for me. If its close, I take a neck shot. If its far, then I shoot for heart and lungs. I've never taken a head shot.

 

[TheTooner]

I disagree. Head shots are the way to go. If you can do it, take it. It's all good.

If you can do it - reliably enough - you aren't on here asking about it. If you are on here asking about it, you aren't that good. Shoot the heart/lung area.


And even if you are good enough, if you keep doing it, eventually it will go wrong. First time, hundredth time, ten thousandth time, who knows. But nobody is perfect, and there are factors outside your control, so, eventually. That applies to a heart/lung shot, too, but the odds are better with that, so for any shooter at any skill level, the heart/lung shot produces a higher proportion of humane kills than the head shot.

 

[Grouse Man]

A bullet through the heart/lungs means the animal is dead within seconds. And there is no significant meat damage to be concerned about.

 

[hillmanr2]

If you can do it - reliably enough - you aren't on here asking about it. If you are on here asking about it, you aren't that good. Shoot the heart/lung area.

BINGO!!!

This is the what this discussion comes down too. If you have confidence in your accuracy shooting a LIVING ANIMAL in the head, debate over. If you have to ask or talk negatively about head shots you do not have confidence so don't do it.
What one human can do does not in any way mean others can do the same. Example : I can't nor ever could do a slam dunk, but I can play hockey decently.

 

[Courtntan]

I didn't really want to get into an ethics thing in the other post, and if people read it that way then it was being misread. I'll never shoot for the head, always into the chest-neck area. It's not a holier-than-thou thing, it's not because I can't make the shot, it's because I've seen what happened when a guy that can "make that shot every time" doesn't. Nothing like chasing a big 10 point with it's bottom jaw shot off, X number of km's across private property, for 4 1/2 hours, trying to make sure that this poor animal, that has survived 5 or so years, doesn't starve to death over the course of a month, because someone didn't just drill it in the vitals.... Shoot for the head if you want, but I will guarantee that there will be a time that you regret trying to make that shot.

 

[Eagleye]

Many years ago, I used to go pheasant hunting with a gentleman who was a veterinarian who worked with farm animals like horses and cattle. His advice was to go for the neck shot. You don't have to hit anything major like arteries, spine, or windpipe, because neck trauma will drop the animal on the spot. Its what connects the head to the body and any damage will paralyze and bleed out he animal before it even thinks of getting up again.

This is utter BS!! I have seen at least 4 animals shot in the neck that went down like a ton of bricks, lay still for a few seconds, then up they got and would have made off if they had not been shot again. One large cow moose was so hit, and when she got up, was in high gear practically instantly. A shot through the lungs let her down permanently.
The shooter, whom I was accompanying, was using a 300 Win Mag, it was about -30ºC outside, and all he could see initially was the head and neck at about 125 yards. I whispered that if he waited a few seconds, she would step out and a higher percentage shot would be afforded, but he couldn't wait and took the neck shot.
An autopsy later showed the bullet had passed through the center of the large neck, but had failed to hit the Jugular, the spine or any other vital tissue. She would have died from the injury in time, I am sure, but where? A 200 Partition from my 308 Norma through the heart/lung area saved us a miserable tracking job.
I'm not saying that head or neck shots should never be taken, I'm merely countering the barnyard effluent that always seems to accompany this subject. Eagleye.

 

[Jordan Smith]

Only take head shots if the animal is either facing directly toward you or directly away. That removes the risk of wounding the animal without killing.

Try it a few times and you'll see how well it works. If you're not confident that you can make a head shot successfully, don't do it.

There is always a risk that a shot that is typically fatal (bullet deflecting off the forehead or entering the non-vital space between the top of the lungs and the bottom of the spine) will not kill the animal. It's extremely rare, but it does happen from time to time.

 

[BC Bigbore]

I disagree. Head shots are the way to go. If you can do it, take it. It's all good.

Only on a beef in a corral. I smacked several bull moose early in my hunting career with head shots within 75 yards or so with 180gr SP's out of a .30-06 and had no problems. Then it happened. I had a broadside bull at about 70 yards or so and placed the crosshairs at the base of the ear and let one fly, expecting the bull to drop on the spot. Heard the WHAP of the hit and that moose took off like a scalded cat! He finally stopped just at the bush line 150 yards away and offered another clear shot so I put one behind the shoulder. Game over. The next bull was shot out my back door (bush acreage) with the same rifle/load at about the same distance, again in the side of the head at the base of the ear. He dropped and while I was going back into the house to grab a knife, my wife says he's up. I shot him again and he went down but was still trying to rise when I walked up and put one in his forehead. Postmorteums on both bulls showed hits that came within a whisker of the brain cavity but didn't do enough damage to "flip the switch". Keep taking low percentage shots and your turn will come.

 

[spooksar]

The bottom line is you must know the anatomy of the animal. A head shot needs to hit the brain or major arteries any thing else will result in a slow death. If you take time to study the head and are a good shot go for it. If not don't you have about a 3"x4" target on the head and a 12-16" on the chest shoot at what you can hit.