Shot Placement on White Tail

[solar]

I know the idea shot is a well placed head-shot, next preferable shot is a neck shot, and finally heart/lungs ( illustrated here ). My question is, where is the best place on the neck to hit? (correct me if I'm wrong on any of the other information)

Cheers-
M

[lefty o]

ive done all 3 shots, and all work well when you put the bullet exactly where it needs to be. learn the animals anatomy well and shoot for the center of the heart.

[maarten221]

I go for a neck shot whenever possible - except on very large animals where there is a lot of meat around the spine.
On animal the size of impala and deer, you can take a nexck shot at angles, from the back, from the front - from the top - if you are in a tree. Either one will give you a very good chance of breaking the animal's neck if not severing the spine and or jugular. I've taken head shots and don't trust them unless I can beat the animal over the head with my pistol - a deer's brain is VERY small!

[solar]

Maarten, where on the neck do you aim? High/Low, near head/withers?

As far as big game, I'm only planning on a deer this season- which I've been told doesn't have much meat on the neck so there's less waste than a chest/heart shot.

[maarten221]

Solar, I've found that the closer to the head you place your shot, the more severe the shock to the rest of the spine. Almost all shots I managed close to the head resulted in a clean kill. I bleed all my kills right there in the field and sometimes, gut the animal in the field as well - makes it easier to move around.
The lower neck shots can be a bit iffy, since there is quite a bit more mass at the base of the neck than at the top.

[rebel727]

Heart/lung shots always worked for me. You've got an 8 inch kill zone. Imagine a pie plate covering the back half of the shoulder. Any bullet in that kill zone either takes out the lungs, heart or best of all both. Personally I go thru the lower rear portion of the shoulder with a .30 caliber BTBT. Entrance hole is bigger than the exit hole and heart and lungs are mushed with bullet and bone fragments. True you lose a lil shoulder meat but I don't usually use it anyway and I've never had a runner. Most drop on the spot. A few walk a few yards and drop.

[auspighunter]

we were doin heart/lung shots on fallow deer with 308 150gr nosler ballisitic tips works a treat

[rebel727]

I use a 165 gr.Hornady ballistic tip boat tail over 57 grs. of IMR 4350 in a 30-06.

[CV32]

The Killing Zone

[solar]

Good info & good link - Thanks!!

[solar]

From the 'Killing Zone' link above,

"No Shot Some hunters advocate head and neck shots, saying “they kill clean or miss clean.” However, I’ve seen deer with jaws broken by errant head shots, and it’s a terrible thing. I’ve also seen several deer run away forever after being shot in the neck. These dismal events occur for two reasons: Deer move their heads more than any other part of their bodies, and there’s lots of meat around the spine and blood vessels of the neck. Aim for the chest, which is full of vital parts.—J.B."

Interesting point.

[Bountyhunter]

Before hunting, you should understand the anatomy of an animal. That means you should be able to mentally remove his skin and muscle and see what lies underneath. You must understand the placement of the skeletal bones and the internal organs inside.

Experienced hunters know where the spine is in the view of the animal that they can see. They know where the heart and lungs are in the view that they can see. Front legs and shoulder blades can deflect bullets and cause bullets to separate wounding animals instead of killing them.

Study of the anatomy and experience will tell you, when you see the animal where the best shot placement will be. Is the animal for meat, or are you looking at the trophy of your hunting career? If it is THE trophy, then attempting to make a head shot will certainly not do your taxidermist any favors. Neither will a neck shot. In that case, you had better try for a heart/lung shot and let the animal go a ways and die.

If you are shooting a meat doe, then the less meat you spoil the better. If you are good enough to hit her in the head then there is no waste, as you would not save the head anyway.

How far away is the animal? Are you shooting at eastern woods ranges of 50 yards, or are you shooting at ranges that Rebel and I would normally encounter of 200-400 yards? Reb is shooting across farm fields in the South, I am shooting across prairie and mountainous terrain in the West. A head shot at 300 yards isnt practical. In that instance, You go for the neck shot or heart/lung/spine shot. Where in the neck? In the spine. It doesnt go through the neck where you would expect it to though. You have to learn the anatomy. At 250 yards using the exact same load as Rebel, 165 gr boat tailed Hornady Interbond over 56 grains of 4350. Reb uses 57 but I load military brass so I get the same out of 56. A 250 yard neck shot isnt any problem as much as we shoot. 300-350 yards and you still have the full side of the barn with the heart/lung/spine shot.

Also be aware of high and low lung shots. Heart or Aorta shots insure that the animal will drop right there or in a few steps. Low lung shots leaves the top of the lungs to breath on and the animal will run a long ways before bleeding to death. High lung shots means the lungs will fill completly with blood rapidly and the animal will not run far before dropping. Just a little higher and you break the spine and the animal drops in its tracks.

Straight on heart shots work. Oftimes, you may see THAT buck looking out of a brush patch and all you can see is his face and a little neck. A shot right under his jaw takes out the spine-in the neck-and he drops right there.

I came upon THAT buck once, in the last hour of the last day of season. He was 150 yards out. Standing in a plum thicket. He was content that he was hidden. Had he not flicked his tail he would have been. All that was visible was his hind end with his face looking straight back on top of it. What I did was to lay down, rest my rifle while he stood there, took very careful aim and drove the ball from my .53 Hawken right up the base of his spine. I was shooting down upon him at about 3-5 degrees. I cut his tail off and the ball was lodged in the spinal cord channel of about the third Lumbar vertebra. The buck died right there from the concussion to the spinal cord. Had the shot been 3 inches lower, it would have entered his rectum, and traveled through his body striking him in the heart and killing him, a shot known as the Texas Heart Shot.

I bet you're sorry you asked that question now arent you?

BH

[lefty o]

i'll go a little further into this than i did before. my guess is your asking this question because you are a new or inexperienced hunter. going on that assumption, i have to ask just how good of a shot are you?killing an animal is not like shooting a piece of paper from a bench. my own experiences tell me that most hunters do not belong shooting at an animal much further than 100 yds away. im a pretty good shot, and i wont shoot an animal thats over 200yds away, and its not because i cant hit out further than that, but my distance judging ability goes south fast after 200. then factor in buck fever, some people get it and some dont. my recomendation is to take the heart shot at least untill you get a few kills under your belt . after you get a few, you'll be able to decide for yourself what shots are within your capabilities. i also recomend not to be a trophy hunter the first few times out. "if its brown its down".

[solar]

BH & Lefty - great information.

I'll tell you more about what I'm capable off, but BH really just answered a lot of my questions.

I grew up competing a lot in English equestrian events, so through that have a solid foundation of a horse’s anatomy, and correct me if I'm wrong, but a deer is similar.

I've decided to go hunting this fall (I live in MA, but will hunt in VT or NH on private property of friends) and have a few friends that hunt religiously and at least one of them will be along to help me. My father has also hunted, although probably not for 20 years. Regardless, I want to know as much as possible before it's the season - mostly to ensure that whatever deer my scope finds, will feel no pain and will not go to any waste - both which are important to me.

I'm fully aware of my weaknesses, so I wouldn't aim at a deer unless he was probably less than 50 yards - but like you said, there are a lot of variables there, too. What is the best way to practice, other than trying to get as accurate as I can at 50 or 100 yds?

Amazon has been a great reference, too.

This book has been pretty good:
Field Dressing and Butchering Deer: Step-by-Step Instructions, from Field to Table (Hardcover) by Monte Burch

Thanks for taking the time to write everything - it IS helping a lot!!

[Bountyhunter]

Understanding the skeletal anatomy as well as you do, you should do alright. There are few subtle differences between the anatomy of the horse and that of the deer other than the deer is much smaller.

Understanding where in the ribcage that the heart and lungs lie puts you ahead of a lot of hunters. Between now and hunting season, you should try to find a paper silhouette of a deer--cabelas, basspro etc.--and practice, practice, practice. Remember also that practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.

You do not mention what rifle you will be using. Or if you will be using a shotgun.

Like Lefty says, when the time comes, buck fever may set in and if your heart begins pounding and your hands start shaking, your rational thought goes south. Often, just settling down and waiting for your opportunity is best. Rather than shooting through a front leg, let the animal take the step and shoot while the leg is forward--after you gain some experience--.



This shot taken during muzzleloader season shows a .530 bullet hole which was an aorta shot. The buck lunged about 30 feet and dropped. This was an 80 yard shot in heavy timber. This shot just barely clipped the back edge of the shoulder mass resulting in no meat loss.

On the first one, I would suggest that you shoot it through the front shoulder if the animal is standing broadside. That will break the shoulder as well as give you the heart/lung shot that you seek. You will damage some meat, but the animal will be anchored there if you are using a sufficient rifle and bullet.

The next crucial step is to get the animal field dressed right there. To prevent the meat from tasting like intestinal gas, the intestines and lungs/heart should be removed immediately. Even though the animal may be dead, the intestinal contents continue to digest because of the microbial action and the gaseous byproducts of digestion still go into the circulatory system, but because the animal is dead and cannot metabolize it, it will lodge in the muscle tissue, making it taste like ---you get the idea.

Animals drag out head first much easier than they do tail first due to the direction of hair growth.

Happieness is a steaming gut pile.

Bill

[Pumpkinheaver]

I never shoot them in the head or neck. I saw my buddy blow the lower jaw off of large doe one time, we never found that deer. I allways shoot in the heart/lung area.

[mswestfall]

Ditto Pumpkinheaver...

Heart and lungs only here.

[wirehunt]

New deer culler "where do you aim"

Old deer culler "anywhere in the eye boy, anywhere in the eye"


Stephen

[solar]

All good info - thanks!

Now I just need to practice....

[Bountyhunter]