[Archetype_wyo]

Quote:       Originally Posted by tappedandtagged

If that logical argument doesn't persuade you, then it's lost on you. Head shots are not ethical. Period.

Amen. Go to a Hunter's Safety Class and see what they tell you. They'd probably fail you. Behind the shoulder is most desirable meat-wise and shoulder when you can afford to pass up the meat.

[oklahoma hunter]

i believe that it all depends on shot placement and the situation...............as far as headshots being unethical go ask your dad or grandpa where they used to shoot them.......im not sayin its better than a heart/lung shot but if your an accurate marksman and dont want the deer to go anywhere a head shot will definantly do the job

if your using a smaller caliber like a 22mag a headshot is accualy better because they dont penatrate as well and make a lung shot a risk........i usualy aim for the eye or if the deer has its head up ill aim where the throat meets the bottom jaw

[sbowers5]

Quote:       Originally Posted by oklahoma hunter

i believe that it all depends on shot placement and the situation...............as far as headshots being unethical go ask your dad or grandpa where they used to shoot them.......im not sayin its better than a heart/lung shot but if your an accurate marksman and dont want the deer to go anywhere a head shot will definantly do the job if your using a smaller caliber like a 22mag a headshot is accualy better because they dont penatrate as well and make a lung shot a risk........i usualy aim for the eye or if the deer has its head up ill aim where the throat meets the bottom jaw

First and foremost my dad and grandpa would have never shot at a deers head and they were EXCELLENT marksmen and second if you are using a 22 mag to hunt deer then you are a law breaker and have no place on this forum of ethical hunters.
Steve

[338RUM]

+1 sbowers5

[Dragunov]

1979: Single shot bolt action .220 swift one at 50yds and one at about 90 yds the following month. Both were neck shots that were dead on and the deer never knew what hit them. I was putting meat away for the winter and those were the only shots that presented themselves.

I like gamey flavored meat, but not quite as fond of lactic acid filled meat.

When you hunt because you have a need for food and are forced to do so, any shot that drops them in their tracks is an ethical shot. If you're hunting for "sport meat", neck and head shots are not ethical IMHO.

[thrillbilly]

Quote:       Originally Posted by sbowers5

First and foremost my dad and grandpa would have never shot at a deers head and they were EXCELLENT marksmen and second if you are using a 22 mag to hunt deer then you are a law breaker and have no place on this forum of ethical hunters. Steve

Yeah! What he said...plus any "night-hunter" worth his spotlight knows a .22mag is "overkill" .22shorts is quieter! LMAO

[toolman]

I see this as a very simple situation. If you know where your gun shoots and have put in enough trigger time to be confident of where you're putting that bullet at reasonable ranges, go for it. If you have ANY question at all in your: equipment, abilities, conditions, or game movement, then aim somewhere else! I've taken several deer with head shots(100% kill rate), but it doesn't bother me to move the scope somewhere else if I'm not 100% certain of my shot. This is just like driving a race car-it's not for most folks, but some guys do it pretty well.
FWIW, I prefer a neck shot as I hunt mainly for meat, but sometimes you take the shot you have or go home empty-handed. The last deer I took with a lung-shot was quartering away and I lost the entire right shoulder. This is unacceptable to me unless I'm hunting hogs.

[gunnut2u]

Quote:       Originally Posted by thrillbilly

Yeah! What he said...plus any "night-hunter" worth his spotlight knows a .22mag is "overkill" .22shorts is quieter! LMAO

your bad !!!!!!!!!

we didn't get to use spot lights .....LMAO!

[thrillbilly]

Quote:       Originally Posted by gunnut2u

your bad !!!!!!!!! we didn't get to use spot lights .....LMAO!

Back in your day it was a carbide head lamp! ROFLMAO

[samuel]

Quote:       Originally Posted by sbowers5

First and foremost my dad and grandpa would have never shot at a deers head and they were EXCELLENT marksmen and second if you are using a 22 mag to hunt deer then you are a law breaker and have no place on this forum of ethical hunters. Steve

I agree with you Steve,but would have few posts to laugh at,especially the 100% success ones,if proof of statement were required.Probably only 1 out of 10 would be posting.As to head shots,I have seen the carcases and bones of several deer(other game too)with their jaw shot away with one of those "PERFECT"shots and can only emagine what a terrible death the animal must have suffered.These shots are the ones the 100%ers fail to include in their count.And when one of them states headshots aren't for everyone,how do they know the shot can fail if it was 100% for them? ,,,sam.

[ShellShock]

I go for the heart/lung shot as well. The only time I've ever killed a deer with a head shot was when I hit one with my car. All I had was my Bersa Thunder .380 and the deer had a broken back and broken legs. It was bleeding profusely from its mouth, so I had to make a humane decision since I was on a back road with no cell service.

A properly placed shot in the "kill zone" (see below) will usually drop even the biggest deer pretty fast. When your heart and lungs are shredded, there's not much left for the deer to do. It's quick, its more humane than an ill placed headshot, and it's ethical.

[Archetype_wyo]

To the guy who said the brain was a bigger target...WOW. Must not have opened up the skull of a deer. The heart of a deer I dare say is about 6inches while their brain is roughly half that. For elk its 8inches and about the same maybe a little over half that size.

[testhop]

A H
is right ever see a head shot deer .
hunters have ehough problums with anti hunters .
to give them any more ammo.
iam a lung shooter you bust the lungs the deer dont go far good blood trail or drop in there tracks.

[collin1997]

I think its retarded to take a head shot on a deer..

[oklahoma hunter]

Quote:       Originally Posted by sbowers5

First and foremost my dad and grandpa would have never shot at a deers head and they were EXCELLENT marksmen and second if you are using a 22 mag to hunt deer then you are a law breaker and have no place on this forum of ethical hunters. Steve

first of all this is my opinion ......second of all 22 mags are legal in some states like Louisiana (i never said anything about using them in Oklahoma..........and finally i would appreciate it if you didnt call me out by saying i had no place in this forum.......and by the way im as ethical as any other hunter out there....and probally more ethical than most of the hunters in choctaw county(im a push county boy myself)

[toolman]

Quote:       Originally Posted by samuel

I agree with you Steve,but would have few posts to laugh at,especially the 100% success ones,if proof of statement were required.Probably only 1 out of 10 would be posting.As to head shots,I have seen the carcases and bones of several deer(other game too)with their jaw shot away with one of those "PERFECT"shots and can only emagine what a terrible death the animal must have suffered.These shots are the ones the 100%ers fail to include in their count.And when one of them states headshots aren't for everyone,how do they know the shot can fail if it was 100% for them? ,,,sam.

Thanks for insinuating that I'm a liar, ole buddy. FWIW, I've been hunting for 35 years and have only lost one animal-a hog that was mistakenly shot with a varmint load a few years ago. In all that time, I've never seen an animal with a facial\head wound, but I have seen a few that were gutshot and a couple with broken legs. These usually end up hung in barbwire fences. ANY shot can fail and it's arrogant to assume otherwise-it's our duty as hunters to assure that it doesn't.

[lefty o]

quite frankly, the paraphrase sam from a thread up in the varmint section about shooting coyotes with 22's- those advising not to do it, are those that arent capable of it!

[samuel]

Quote:       Originally Posted by toolman

Thanks for insinuating that I'm a liar, ole buddy. FWIW, I've been hunting for 35 years and have only lost one animal-a hog that was mistakenly shot with a varmint load a few years ago. In all that time, I've never seen an animal with a facial\head wound, but I have seen a few that were gutshot and a couple with broken legs. These usually end up hung in barbwire fences. ANY shot can fail and it's arrogant to assume otherwise-it's our duty as hunters to assure that it doesn't.

Always glad to help when needed and your thanks isn't necessary,but appreciated. ,,,sam.

[samuel]

Quote:       Originally Posted by lefty o

quite frankly, the paraphrase sam from a thread up in the varmint section about shooting coyotes with 22's- those advising not to do it, are those that arent capable of it!

Don't know what you are implying Lefty,but I have killed several fix and coyote with a .22lr and hope to do the same in the future.A centerfire just gives me more power at longer ranges.If I felt that I couldn't make a killing shot,I would'nt take the shot.(or it might be multible shots,but no worse than using buckshot.)But that is varmints.I object to headshots on deer when other killing shots are available without taking the chance of just maiming them. ,,,sam.

[rondog]

I kinda wish I could get the chance to go deer hunting, never done it. Don't have a place to go, anybody to go with, or any of the necessary stuff except for a rifle. I can shoot good enough, but I wouldn't have a clue what to do next. Big dead animal? Uh, what now? Then there's the meat processing, clueless again, and I can't see paying to have it done. That kinda defeats the purpose doesn't it?

Some guys are natural hunters, and some aren't. Guess I'm not. One more experience I'll never have. I sure as hell ain't gonna go try it by myself just for the experience, but I envy those of you with freezers full of venison and elk. I'll just be over here, shooting my cans and water jugs.