Neck shot verses a chest shot

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seibassman7

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A question from a novice. Is there any advantage to neck shooting a roe deer as opposed to a heart/lung shot. I can see a neck shot would potentially mean less meat damage but I am more concerned about cleanless of the kill. Which is the cleanest and which is used in which circumstance.

Any advice welcome

Kind regards

​Matthew
 
A question from a novice. Is there any advantage to neck shooting a roe deer as opposed to a heart/lung shot. I can see a neck shot would potentially mean less meat damage but I am more concerned about cleanless of the kill. Which is the cleanest and which is used in which circumstance.

Any advice welcome

Kind regards

​Matthew

no offence intended but I think the fact you asked the question, means you should be taking heart/ lung shots. You will gain experience and once you do you will know when the opertunity s presents which shot to take.
 
Stick to the 'engine room' shot until the time comes when you don't have to ask such questions ;)

+1. Very succinctly put. When you're starting out, it's not easy to resist pressure from 'more experienced' folk saying do this or do that. In this instance don't pay any attention to them. Regards JCS
 
Less meat damage yes but why risk shooting at a smaller target with the potential to move when there is a larger one with more margin for error. The main consideration is a clean kill, not worrying about what the butcher will say.
 
A very difficult question to answer, whether you are ready to take either shot is down to you, at the time with the animal in the scope and how you feel.

Although I don't read your question as "should I be taking neck shots."

Yes a neck shot will mean less meat damage for your game dealer, in my opinion this is never something that should enter your head before you pull the trigger. And In real terms, what you actually lose in shoulder from a chest shot is usually very little on the grand scheme of things.

As to whether a neck shot is a cleaner kill, my answer would be certainly not. A properly placed neck shot drops a deer on the spot, let's leave it at that. Whereas a chest shot deer might run, possibly. It's not often you get blink reflex from a correctly placed chest shot.

An inch out when taking a neck shot and you risk putting a hole in the windpipe, in which case, unless you are lucky or have a good dog your deer will probably die of thirst/starvation/shock or whatever but it will take days. If you are one, or two or even five or six inches wayward of a heart shot (on larger species) you stand a good chance of recovering your animal, and quite likely it will be dead when you get it. Certainly a lot easier to follow up with your dog.

I hope this is helpful and comes across okay, my iPhone is pants for typing out long replies.
 
Neck shot= small movable target area, which is further away from the ground, thus more difficult for a good backstop. If you get it right beast drops on the spot. Get it wrong, beast goes down, then gets up and runs of with a hole through its wind pipe or through the neck muscle that is not immediatly fatal.

Chest shot = 6" diameter target and generally much safer - closer to ground so good backstop. If you go just under half way up tight in behind the shoulder , if go a bit back you still take out the lungs and liver and cause massive blood loss, if you go a bit high, you take out the spine, if you go a bit forward, yes the bullet will smash the shoulder, but plenty of damage to the heart and lungs, and if you go a bit low you take out the heart. All produce fatal damage and the beast will die very quickly.

And **** happens - I shot a buck last week at very last light - the bullet hit a piece of dead cow parsly stalk - just before hitting the target. This knocked the bullet of course and it went three inches to the right smashing the top of the nearside shoulder, straight through the heart and lungs and out of the offside shoulder. Beast dropped and then ran 30 yards through a fence before pilling up dead. Heart and lungs look as if they had been through a mincer when I gralloched it - bits of bone every where and I scrapped both shoulders.

So I would stick with chest shots. I have head and neck shot a lot of hinds when I was younger and stupider, enough to know that sooner or later it goes wrong, and they can run a very long way.
 
Now this thread is one large can of worms....

Is there an advantage to neck shooting as opposed to chest shooting?? Depends on a wide range of things, more than I could list here. But if your using a light fragmenting bullet (e.g. 75 grain in a 243) it will most likely drop the deer on the spot, IF properly placed. If not, then your one poor moment of judgement in the field on your continence for a very long time!!

Shoot within your ability, and don't take unnecessary risks on live game if you are not confident
 
I will go out on a limb here and say if you are confident of your shooting then a head/ neck shot with something like a BT 243 will drop it on the spot. When I first started shooting rabbits it was always head shots and then when I moved on to deer it remained the same out of naturalness and at no point did I feel pressured by my friend who was showing me the ropes.

All bar 4 of my deer have been head shots and I will happily shoot them out to 100 yards but if the deer is very mobile then I'll leave it to settle before taking the shot.

With all shooting its a numbers game, eventually something will go wrong and your shot will miss for what ever reason and personally I feel shooting something and not killing it imediately or a very short time regardless is terrible.

Tin hat installed!
 
I hate the argument that bullet choice is a factor. Any deer legal bullet put in the neck or head of a deer will drop it. Any deer legal bullet placed in the windpipe or jaw will not, no matter how frangible.
 
All bar 4 of my deer have been head shots and I will happily shoot them out to 100 yards but if the deer is very mobile then I'll leave it to settle before taking the shot.


Tin hat installed!

Four out of how many?
 
Circumstances will dictate whats used if your a proficient shot..

If your not proficient then your options should be limited reflecting that..

Close to a boundary a neck shot would be good on Roe or through the shoulders on a Sika.

Roe will fall easily to a heart lung shot. Sika especially imo should be neck shot if your proficient..

Lot of variables here so no magic answer only your ability to sleep well if it goes pear shape trying something you may or may not be ready for.

Being capable of head and neck shooting undoubtably adds a lot to your stalking ability but there are plenty of people that will happily let them walk on that havent got the encumberance of a cull target and will sleep all the easier for it... ie no jaw blown off and no deer found
 
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