.303 shot placement

R

_Rai_

BANNED
BANNED
BANNED
EE Expired
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I'm just curious if you shot a deer in the head with a 180 G .303 what would the head of the deer look like.

Just as a FYI I know that I should be aiming for the neck or the shoulder but I just want to know incase I hit a deer there.
 
If it is any indication, I hit a deer at 25 yards with a 6.5x55 Swede and it literally exploded the skull. Took it just low of the left ear angled forward. Only thing holding the antlers to the body was the skin. A .303 should do as much depending where on the skull it is hit and the angle.
 
Or it could hit the lower jaw and smash it, leaving the deer very much alive. Or shoot a hole clean through it's snout. The best result is a very ugly head explosion.
 
I'm not sure of the reason why you're asking, but the heads I've seen shot with the round you are talking about, stayed pretty much intact. The damage on the inside of the skull indicated there was no suffering, death was instant.
 
It would look like a deer's head with a hole in it. There could be a very large variation in the size of holes, depending on the shape and construction of the bullet, the range at which the shot was taken (velocity at impact) and the point of impact and angle of approach to the skull. Too many variables to get very specific.

I once finished a deer with a shot in the back of the skull from a couple inches away, 180gr. Sierra spitzer. It exited through the mouth with very little mess.

Since then I've carried a Hammond Gamegetter when hunting with my .303s, but haven't had occasion to use it. They've always been dead by the time I got to them.
 
Last edited:
Well, I finished a doe off from about 2 meters with a .308 and you could hardly tell their was a hole in it. Skull plate was obviously broken when you grabbed it, but no major exterior damage.
 
I was part of a deer hunt once where a fellow shot the jaw off a deer, the deer was bleeding alot but was tracked for miles and not caught. The next day they found the deer half eaten by wolves, jaw blown off, and many miles from where it was shot with a 30/06.
 
ben hunchak said:
I was part of a deer hunt once where a fellow shot the jaw off a deer, the deer was bleeding alot but was tracked for miles and not caught. The next day they found the deer half eaten by wolves, jaw blown off, and many miles from where it was shot with a 30/06.
Click to expand...

Damn that sucks ben. Glad to hear that you guys tried hard to track it.
 
I'm not a fan of head shots when hunting generally, but have shot some animals in the head as a finisher. I'm often surprised how little obvious damage there is. I've shot black bears in the head with a .375 H&H from about three inches (straight down) and the skull looked fine except for a .375 hole in the top. Two yeas ago I finished a moose with a 210gr Berger at 2645 fps from a 30-06, range under one foot, and the bullet never even exited the skull, just disintegerated inside the brain pan completely; one .308 entry hole and not exit. Actually, on the Berger shot, the entry hole sealed up instantly and there was not even any blood loss or obviously visible wound. No experience on deer however, they sound a bit more fragile than what I've been shooting from other's experiences.
 
I hit a coyote right between the eyes from about 150 yards with a 180g 303british winchester round from a slightly elevated position. It made an small entrance hole and did not exit.
 
mkrainc said:
I'm not sure of the reason why you're asking, but the heads I've seen shot with the round you are talking about, stayed pretty much intact. The damage on the inside of the skull indicated there was no suffering, death was instant.
Click to expand...

Yup...This ain't Hollywood.

The damage is usually less that you would think.
I have finished game this way and while the head doesn't usually explode you sure as hell can't drag it by the horns any more. :p

Super high velocity and fragile bullets get real ugly.
Grey mist.
Don't ask.
 
I have only shot one deer in the head. It did not do much just a hole in the skull its eye did pop out like a slinky..
 
Well I had a different experience.When I was a lot younger I dropped a WT doe with a Marlin 30-30 and upon walking up to it seen it was down but not out.Pointed muzzle between the eyes and capped her.It was -20F and I had hot pulp and brains all over my face and chest.Everything was missing from the bottom of the brain pan to the stem .And of course it instantly froze on me.Now they get another in the upper neck or centre lungs if mountable.................Harold
 
X-fan said:
Yup...This ain't Hollywood.

The damage is usually less that you would think.
I have finished game this way and while the head doesn't usually explode you sure as hell can't drag it by the horns any more. :p

Super high velocity and fragile bullets get real ugly.
Grey mist.
Don't ask.
Click to expand...
Just wanting to make sure I'm not going to get a GOW so it should just make a small hole.
 
Always be very careful when finishing an animal with a high powered rifle . Straight down is not advisable. I usually get on 1 knee about 6 feet back, keeping the rifle on about a 45 degree angle (roughly).
 
It looks like this. I don't recommend head shots.


bvr09.jpg
 
I have some pictures of a whitetail doe shot at about 25 yards with a .270 win that look a lot like that picture. Eyes were bulged out, jaw was destroyed, skull was broken, ears pointed in different directions. Shot it in the back of the head between the ears as that was my best available shot at the moment.

I don't usually head shoot, but it was the way that time and at 25 yards, it was going to work.
 
The subject of headshots comes up quite often... IMHO, it's not a shot that hunters should take, to much risk of injuring the animal...

Cheers
Jay
 
A couple of years ago, I hit a black bear with a 30.06 180 gr first shot at about 80 yards....it was still moving so I lined up a head shot for the second round ....... bang....big pink mist ......and dead bear.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom