I feel headshots are not the way to go because the target (brain) is too small. Should you miss just slightly, the animal can be hit in the jaw,nose or throat areas.An animal wounded in this nature can run off to die a miserable death. More importantly, in my opinion an animal shot in the head does not bleed-out. As the greatest percentage of blood is in the lungs, a good hit there will be the easiest(largest vital area)and will result in massive blood loss into the chest cavity. Your meat will be less bloody at the table with a lot less gamey taste. I personally will not hunt with someone who prefers headshots.
__________________ If God didn`t intend for man to eat animals he wouldn`t have made them out of meat
My hunting buddies and I all agree that if you're not going to mount the head of the deer and you're a good enough marksman, then go for the head shot. All it takes is the one well placed shot and they drop in their tracks with no meat damage.
I personally haven't taken any head shots on deer because when I have a deer in the crosshairs of my scope, I get such an adrenaline dump that I start to breath heavy, my muscles all start twitching, and I have a hard enough time focusing on the larger target of the deer's body that I feel more confident shooting at the larger target than the smaller one (of the head).
Perhaps this is the root of the debate. The body is a much larger target and relatively more stationary than the head. Even when a deer isn't spooked and its standing still, the head is still moving around while the body is stationary.
I think it just comes down to the individual hunter's decision about the situation and his own skills.
Just because I choose to take body shots instead of head shots is no reason for me to bash those who do take head shots.
One thought came to mind when I say this thread: What if you miss the head and wind up shooting off an antler?
Whether or not you manage to put it down with an immediate followup shot, that's still not going to be a hunting story you're gonna want to tell your buddies.
I think Mod70 sums it up pretty well.Although I have taken headshots (on doe only),it is not the "recommended" course of action for taking deer.
There is entirely too much room for error!
__________________ THIS IS MY COMMANDMENT,THAT YE LOVE ONE ANOTHER,AS I HAVE LOVED YOU-Jesus Christ(John15:12)
One thought came to mind when I say this thread: What if you miss the head and wind up shooting off an antler?
Whether or not you manage to put it down with an immediate followup shot, that's still not going to be a hunting story you're gonna want to tell your buddies.
I once hit a 4 point mulie in the antler with a .243
He went down, his skull was broken between his antlers and he was unconscious. Had to shoot him again though.
Up until this past year we could only use shotgun for deer. I've never tried a head shot. It seems that it would take too much accuracy. I've always tried to double lung them. They wont run far, leave one heck of a blood trail, and the only meat you tear up is on the rib cage.
__________________
"Great minds talk about ideas, small minds talk about other people."
ive made alot of headshots, put a bullet in the brain and they wont go anywhere but down. as far as the size of the brain being a small target, i only see two good targets in a deer, the heart and the brain, and the brain is a little larger than the heart. if you think you want to mount a deers head, dont shoot them in the head, as bad things happens to their skull and antlers. its really a question of skill and ethics, are you a good enough shot to put one in the brain, or do you need the extra margin of error of the lungs while attempting a heart shot. like ive said before, most people dont belong taking shots at animals past 100yds, because they either cant shoot well enough or cant control their excitement, with folks like that, yeah headshots may be a bad idea.
Thanks for the replies. My BOL is a 1.5 acre piece of property I just purchased surrounded by woods and has two creeks running though it. There are a bunch of trails through the property that I assume are deer trails. I know there are deer in the area.
Thinking SHTF how am I gonna put meet on the table. Can anyone point me to a good one stop shop that shows some pics with a red shoot the deer here X? A good pictorial on dressing them would also be nice.
Would have been nice to be able to get a BOL on some real water where I could rely on fish, but I can't even afford to have a primary residence on the water much less a BOL.
well, everyone shoots em in different places. some go for the shoulder(i think its a poor spot), some just blast for the chest. if you want to hit the heart, right behind the shoulder, one third the way up the chest.
I shoot squirrels in the head so why not deer? i don't see any problem with a head shot. if you have a choice of brain or neck(spinal) I d go for the brain myself. But i would not shoot a big buck in the head if i was even thinking of mounting him, that would be kinda pointless.
__________________
"to disarm the people (is) the best and most effective way to enslave them" George Mason
I will take any lethal shot that I feel confident about but like Mod70 said it is much better if you can wait on a shot at the heart-lung area, a Deer that has died from blood loss is much better table fare than one killed from shock.
I am very confident in my ability and my normal deer gun to make a clean headshot out to about 150 yds. After that, I prefer a neck or heart\lung shot. My feeling is that there is a better chance of making a clean miss when aiming for the head. The drawback of course, is that the head is the most active part of a deer to shoot at. I normally shoot in the 150-250 yd range and usually use a neck shot, but it all depends on the circumstance. I've seen a lung-shot deer run for a long ways and seen experienced hunters lose them after making so-called "perfect" heart\lung shots.
its not for everybody, nor would i recommend it to everybody. now to dispell a myth, head shot critters have no different taste to them. if you hang them for a while after gutting (head up, hind end down) they bleed out thoroughly. matter of fact, they dont get jacked up on adrenaline, so you avoid getting acid build up in the meat. you have to take the shot you are confident in. ive used the head shot out a little past 130 yds, but dont believe i would try it much further than that.
i was always told to hang them head down hind end up if you want them to bleed out more. the blood will come out the neck where it was cut off but if you hang them head up then all the blood will drain down to the hindquarters adn set in the hams since the major muscles arnt cut anywhere down there for the blood to drain out. that what the butcher here said. all butchers use this method is what he said
