please remove

[rral22]

where is your point of aim for this to happen?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

If you think that "missing by more than 6" " is impossible for you, you haven't shot many game animals in real life. And, you should go back and measure some deer.

You will find that even a 6 inch "miss" will most often be quite lethal if the point of aim is half way up and centered on the chest cavity of the animal. An animal can toss or turn its head for any number of reasons in fractions of a second, but its chest is far less likely to suddenly move.

Head and neck shots work dramatically IF they hit the spine or the brain which allows for less than 2 inches of "miss" before you have a deer that can still run like a deer, but which will not die until it starves or dies of thirst. My advice is to NEVER take a head shot as the first one.

 

[savagelh]

If you can't recover a deer that's been hit through both lungs you don't belong in the field. I don't understand why anyone would risk a headshot when there's a target 10 times bigger a foot and a half away.

 

[rembolt]

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.

I have to agree 100% with this post .

 

[Ed Smurf]

I usually aim just behind the shoulder...gets the job done. Very little meat loss as you are just hitting ribs and the engine. Good blood trail. The only time a deer has dropped in its tracks was when I hit him in the spine, but it was a bad shot.

 

[cote_b]

Shot my first buck this fall. Was a pretty far shot so I ended up hitting it higher than planned, but the bullet entered high shoulder on a downward angle into the vitals and out the bottom of the rib cage. 165 grain 308. Animal moved 3 feet and dropped. Bled a fair bit of bright arterial blood. While dressing it, there was massive blood clotting inside the rib cage where the lungs were hit. Happy with the result.

 

[ratherbefishin]

I've killed a lot of deer with a headshot,sight on the eye and pull back 1 inch but EVERY ONE was taken from a SOLID REST and within 40 yards . I practice on bottle caps at that range.Everything else was a lung shot. Shot guns with shot while lethal at short range can result in many unrecovered deer if shot from over 40 yards ,I know farmers who wlll not allow shotguns on their property for that reason ,too many deer found a week later with a pellet in their guts

 

[Power Pill]

Every deer ive shot was being pushed. So I've never had the luxury of a perfectly aimed shot, but a 12 gauge foster slug in the front half of the torso has never failed me.

 

[Brian46]

If you think that "missing by more than 6" " is impossible for you, you haven't shot many game animals in real life. And, you should go back and measure some deer.

I am very familiar with the white tailed deer I shoot each year in terms of size. You may want to read what I posted again because nowhere did I say a miss by 6" or more is impossible.

I said such a miss would result in a wounding shot more often than not on a white-tailed deer regardless of point of aim, at least the average sized ones around here that is. I see way more deer rotting from unrecovered gut shots than anything else.

 

[Brian46]

If you can't recover a deer that's been hit through both lungs you don't belong in the field. I don't understand why anyone would risk a headshot when there's a target 10 times bigger a foot and a half away.

It is this type of thinking that perpetuates the idea that vitals are so large and easy to hit where hunters are over confident in their abilities as long as they can hit the paper at the range.

 

[time4t]

,,,,,,

 

[Brian46]

Part of the circle depicted in the shot presentation above will result in a gut shot. No thanks. Many people are of the mistaken belief that ribs equal lungs, not necessarily so, the liver and guts can be involved too, depending on the shot presentation. Quite a lot of the internet and wild tv depictions about shot placement are out to lunch. Learn the true anatomy of the animal and study shot placement from different angles.

Exactly, that deer pictured would need to be quartering away for me to shoot at the target area suggested, not quartering towards you

 

[rral22]

I am very familiar with the white tailed deer I shoot each year in terms of size. You may want to read what I posted again because nowhere did I say a miss by 6" or more is impossible.

I said such a miss would result in a wounding shot more often than not on a white-tailed deer regardless of point of aim, at least the average sized ones around here that is. I see way more deer rotting from unrecovered gut shots than anything else.

That is a ridiculous argument for head and neck shots. You're right, people miss the big target, so I never suggest they shoot at the smaller ones.

Exactly, that deer pictured would need to be quartering away for me to shoot at the target area suggested, not quartering towards you

THAT I agree with completely.

 

[Slamfire]

The objective is not to see the animal bugger off into the thickets when shot so I always endeavor to hit the shoulder joint. 1 shot DRT kill every time.

The little bit of bone and ligament damage that results is unavoidable of course.

 

[Brian46]

That is a ridiculous argument for head and neck shots. You're right, people miss the big target, so I never suggest they shoot at the smaller ones.

I never advocated for either, just stating people still miss the biggest targets.

The argument every time head shots come up is the old jaw shot off. I have hunted for decades, seen all kinds of things, but never a animal running around without a jaw like everyone else seems to have that posts.....

People who are regularly shooting 6" plus groups at the 100yard range under perfect rest and weather conditions have no business shooting at a live animal. This would eliminate a lot of wounding shots, many more than those advocating for double lung only

 

[time4t]

......

 

[savagelh]

It is this type of thinking that perpetuates the idea that vitals are so large and easy to hit where hunters are over confident in their abilities as long as they can hit the paper at the range.

I don't think you understand. Headshots in my opinion are nothing but stunting. Why would you not want the shot that presents the most room for error?

 

[Brian46]

I don't think you understand. Headshots in my opinion are nothing but stunting. Why would you not want the shot that presents the most room for error?

Why not let the situation and the hunters personal ability decide what shot he or she takes? Limitations you put on your personal self are fine, but that is where it ends.

 

[Slamfire]

The objective is not to see the animal bugger off into the thickets when shot so I always endeavor to hit the shoulder joint. 1 shot DRT kill every time.

The little bit of bone and ligament damage that results is unavoidable of course.

Precisely. Someone who gets it. Thanks for the anatomy example, those who do not know better may want to study it. Note the liver and gut sack that extends in deer past the first few ribs. In bears its further forward than that.... Many of my deer and black bear have gone down in my sights with that almost identical point of aim. I drop it down a wee bit; two-three inches to build in some margin for the high component.. and for slight quartering angles, it works too.. With black bears, I try to break a lot of bone going in , out or both,,,,as I want them down,,,, now.

That's straight out of my British Army SAS Survival Guide - place the shot just like that and the animal will drop instantly.

 

[track]

I just started hunting past 2 years. in my limited experience hunting whitetails, I find whitetails can still run without a heart for a good distance. Head shots and neck shots are effective but I'm not paticularily confident to pull a head shot past 150 yards. which shot placement is best for killing and immobilize deer? High shoulder?

Best shot placement is tight behind the front leg, half way up the body. With neck, head, front-on and Texas heart shots, there is a greater margin of error........these are shots for experienced riflemen.

 

[Rynnik]

That's straight out of my British Army SAS Survival Guide

And next time you are in a survival situation you should definitely consider it.

However, for most hunters in most situations (ie. the most appropriate advice to give on the interwebz) advocating double lung will result in the greatest number of recovered animals with the least amount of ruined meat, imo. Something to consider for most Canadian hunters who are distinctly NOT in survival situations in any way, shape, or form.