Deer shot placement, what is your favourite and why.

valczer

valczer

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Hey, CGNrs

With deer season about to open(at least in ontario), I have a question…

What is your favourite shot placement on a deer and why.

I, hear folks love the high shoulder, behind the shoulder etc.

I, like the high shoulder shot…IF the deer is broad side and there is a reason tracking a deer is problematic or even impossible( various reasons), other wise, I do the double lung shot that hopefully is a pass thru.

The reason for me for a high shoulder is that it drops the deer where it stands…there may be a little meat damage and uneatable but i’d rather take that than to loose the animal or get into a nightmare of a recovery.

The double lung with pass thru, I like cause there is very little meat damage and usually the deer does not go far because of the double lung collapse.

Cheers,
 
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I prefer the double lung shots, they don’t go far and unless it’s a weird quartering shot there’s minimal meat loss. If they run there’s always a good blood trail to follow, I try not to hit the heart as I enjoy eating it but heart/lung combo is a good one as well. Last couple years I’ve managed not to hit the front opposite leg on quartering away shots, the bullet passed through the top of the shoulder blade but all the meat was fine.
 
I normally try for a double lung as far ahead as I can before the shoulder. You have a little more leeway vs a straight heart shot, minimal must loss and generally a quick humane kill. I've luckily never had a deer run more than 100' after a double lung.
 
Double lung shot provides quick clean kills with short tracking jobs when they run after the shot, and less meat damage.
High shoulder shots usually drop them in their tracks, but as most deer are not shot in similar terrain as sheep and goats, I usually do not use on deer, as they don't often get into terrain that makes recovery as difficult. High mountain deer would be the exception.
 
Double lung for me, But Buying and carrying many hunting guns, All my deer so far have been crossbow.

those mechanical broadheads are pretty vicious.
 
It's a fair question
My instinctive shot is aiming for the armpit, so a double lung/heart shot has served me well. Most of the deer I hunt are in somewhat steep mountain terrain where the amount of work required to get the animal out increases greatly with every yard it runs.... which is always down hill and away from the trail out LOL
More recently I have been faced with three kinda tricky shots. Last year a longish shot in the last 1/2 hour of legal light after taking over 20 minutes on the glass figuring out if he was legal under the 4pt or greater season. Dropped him at a measured 295 yards with the high shoulder shot and as expected, he dropped where he stood with his legs folded under him. Then this season from the treestand a buck coming in angling down hill and coming right at the stand. There was no shot to be made that wouldn't result in a gut shot deer or worse. When he was almost right below me in the sloping terrain and while he had his head up I shot him right in the throat at the top of his chest bone. The result was completely obliterated hear and lungs with a bit of meat shock into one shoulder but meat loss overall was minimal. Was an interesting shot for me and I really had to think about it as the deer got closer and closer. He ended up right below the stand on my left and downhill side. The next one wasn't all that unusual but I was beading on a running herd of 7 deer, the buck I was after was the 3rd in the bunch. I hoped he would stop as they headed up to the treeline at a couple hundred yards. I saw the last deer stop and turn and show antlers and that high shoulder shot took him before he could resume his escape with the other deer that were just hitting the trees when I fired. Meat loss was not terrible so I will continue to add that high shoulder shot to my hunting practice. The throat shot was one that I doubt will happen again but you never know. Hunting from the treestand is another dynamic that results in really thinking about shot placement due to the angles the shots are taking.
 
Armpit to approx 3 inches back is my "sweet spot"
why?
shown below is why..
you wack em there.... you wait, you go pack out.

 
I have just concluded my season for this year. I got three deer, one spike buck and two does. The first deer was early in September with my Mathews Triax. I was aiming for a double lung but he had other ideas. At just over 30 yds he almost ducked my arrow, so instead of two lungs my braodhead slammed into his spine... He dropped in his tracks but I had to cut his throat to help him on his way. The second deer was right at 50 yds and as it was opening day for rifle I was carrying my Henry chambered in 30-30. I rolled my own using Winchester brass, IMR 4895 powder topped with Hornady 160grn FTX projectiles. She was standing broadside I hit her a bit high, aiming for a high shoulder, because of my elevated position but she dropped in her tracks as well. When I walked up to her she was still showing signs of life so I cut her throat and bled her as well. My third deer was one of those happy surprises. I know there are almost always deer in tis area so I was just wandering through it on my last morning. Sure enough she, and a few others stood up about 30yds away. She was in the best location with the least brush covering her so I took a look through the scope and had a clear frontal neck shot. Which I took, she jumped twice for a distance of less than 10 yds and fell. When I walked up to her she was again showing a bit of life so once again I cut her throat.

I go through all this story telling to illustrate my thoughts. Shot placement is a funny thing, I believe that if you train, know your weapon, and think about the angles you can be very successful placing your shot in many places. I am no master hunter or marksman, and as you can see from these stories I had a bunch of very hands on time with all three deer. But if you read the situation and conditions you can have a freezer full of deer.

I have made perfect double lung shots with both a rifle and a bow and still had to track a deer for a long way. I wouldn't call any of my shots this year perfect but all three dropped pretty much where they stood. The real world isn't theory, try and be as ethical as you can and if it goes awry be prepared to clean up your mess.

thanks for reading and happy hunting.
 
Best of all worlds results for me has been a straight side on shot, a hand width behind the point of the elbow, one third up from bottom. Internal jello, holes go through ribs and skin only. Meat loss not significant, unless the heart took a hit.
 
Double lung shot behind the shoulder relatively broadside is my preferred shot. Big game animals may travel a bit before dropping but it results in a well bled out animal with minimal meat loss. If it's important to drop the animal right on the spot then a shot through the front shoulder that also tears up the lungs would work even though the meat loss would be predictably more.

Least favorite and to be avoided is the head shot. Not only is it more difficult to execute because of a relatively small target (lots of animal end up with a bullet to the jaw or ear which results in an horribly wounded animal that starves or dies eventually from infection) but even if well executed, all brain function ceases instantly and heart stops pumping resulting in a mess on your hands (blood in the meat) when gutting and butchering.

Bleeding out properly is an important function of bullet performance and people will spend a lot of money on the best bullet performance available and then use it in such a way as to not get the best result.
 
I almost always go for a double lung shot on deer, no meat loss and very low probability of losing the deer or it suffering. I don't mind tracking or dragging a lung shot deer they usually are within 50 yards or so.
 
Double Lung shot is a high percentage shot that results in a dead deer, usually
within 50 yards. I have been lucky enough to hunt prime deer country all my
life, and I can count on the fingers of one hand the deer I have shot elsewhere
than in the lungs.

Meat loss is usually not severe, but some loss is preferred to taking a low per-
centage shot, resulting in a wounded animal that may not be recovered. Dave.
 
Double lung is just simply the easiest target if the animal presents itself in a broadside view. I've done neck shots up close and they are very effective, but I limit that to limited situations of a close easy shot and the desire to drop the deer in its tracks. I watched a deer go through the deep snow and waited for it to cross the atv trail. As soon as it stepped on the trail, I whistled, it froze, and I shot it in the neck. Easy to retrieve deer. I also shot a buck that was facing straight towards me, and I shot it high in the neck and that did the job.
 
All the important stuff is between the front legs. Depending on the angle, I’m almost always trying to break the offside shoulder, doesn’t much matter what is in the way to get there. If the angle coming or going is really severe, the important part is driving a bullet through the stuff between the front legs.
I couldn’t care less if a shoulder (or two) has some meat loss.

That said, I’ll always take the shot presented that will result in a fast death.
 
Double lung through the ribs for me. I have high shouldered a few and while most drop right there I have gotten myself into a rodeo with bullets coming apart and long tracking jobs. I also greatly enjoy a braised shoulder so unless it’s “the buck” and he’s standing on the property line I always go behind the shoulder for the ribs.
 
PSE said:
Double lung shot behind the shoulder relatively broadside is my preferred shot. Big game animals may travel a bit before dropping but it results in a well bled out animal with minimal meat loss. If it's important to drop the animal right on the spot then a shot through the front shoulder that also tears up the lungs would work even though the meat loss would be predictably more.

Least favorite and to be avoided is the head shot. Not only is it more difficult to execute because of a relatively small target (lots of animal end up with a bullet to the jaw or ear which results in an horribly wounded animal that starves or dies eventually from infection) but even if well executed, all brain function ceases instantly and heart stops pumping resulting in a mess on your hands (blood in the meat) when gutting and butchering.

Bleeding out properly is an important function of bullet performance and people will spend a lot of money on the best bullet performance available and then use it in such a way as to not get the best result.
Click to expand...

Agree. - dan
 
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