shot placement

u32dw

Well-Known Member
Hi all,

Looking for some advice on shot placement guys. I always wait for a deer to be full side on so that i can get a clear H/L shot. My question is, they don't always go fully side on, and i'm not too keen on the idea of head shots, but where on the kneck would ensure a clean kill and is there any other area that would result in a clean kill whilst limiting carcass damage?

ATB

Dave
 
There was a thread on neck shooting about a month back that is worth hunting down as there were some photos in it with neck shots etc. marked up.

For me one of the key points of the thread was made by Brian (Claret_dabbler) when he said that if you shoot for the middle of the neck then the spine is in the middle.

It goes without saying that you must be confident of hitting the spine and I've heard it described as trying to hit a garden hose hidden in a tumble drier outflow pipe concealed behind a curtain.
 
IMHO, You're taking the best shot. I've been hunting almost 50yrs. I've tried head and neck shots. On both, if you miss, by only an inch or so, you can inflict an awful wound that might take days to eventually kill. I went back to the top-of-the-heart-lung shot years ago. You can miss by several inches and still get you deer. Figgure out the angles and make that shot. You might ocassionally loose a shoulder, but jeeze, how much meat is that! capt david
 
IMHO, You're taking the best shot. I've been hunting almost 50yrs. I've tried head and neck shots. On both, if you miss, by only an inch or so, you can inflict an awful wound that might take days to eventually kill. I went back to the top-of-the-heart-lung shot years ago. You can miss by several inches and still get you deer. Figgure out the angles and make that shot. You might ocassionally loose a shoulder, but jeeze, how much meat is that! capt david

+1
 
Use a soft point and shoot through the nearside leg well forward(on a quartering deer facing you) allowing the bulet to pass through the vitals and miss the other front leg on the way out.
You should also miss the liver ect and a predicable sp will not fragment and bust the gut.
 
IMHO, You're taking the best shot. I've been hunting almost 50yrs. I've tried head and neck shots. On both, if you miss, by only an inch or so, you can inflict an awful wound that might take days to eventually kill. I went back to the top-of-the-heart-lung shot years ago. You can miss by several inches and still get you deer. Figgure out the angles and make that shot. You might ocassionally loose a shoulder, but jeeze, how much meat is that! capt david


dead right ive seen terrible wounds to deer from head and neck shots just pick your shot if you cant get a good broadside just wait or let it walk or get in a better position you will feel better about yourself for making the effort
if its a wounded beast follow up then ive seen a sort of deer clock with a deer profile in various positions for 360 degrees if that makes sense with the aim points for each hope this helps
 
Thanks for all the replies folks. I reckon I'll stick with the full broads side, and if it doesn't present itself...well...there's always next time!

ATB
 
That's an admirable stance mate, but what the guys above are saying is that you can take quartering shots as long as you remember to visualise the position of the heart in the chest and shoot for that, rather than a spot on the outside of the beast.

In practical terms that means that as the beast comes closer to quartering towards, you aim further forward than you would do on the broadsideontothe nearside shoulder and as the beast tends more towards quartering away, you aim further back than rom the broadside position, aiming to exit from the farside shoulder.

You may loose a shoulder but in certain circumstances this is not a priority.
 
You need to visualise the heart in the middle of the beast. Then you need to realise that you are not shooting at a point on the deer's hide, but rather at a point in the middle of it's chest cavity where the heart hides.

As the lads have said above, in practice this means shooting through the near shoulder on a beast which is quartering towards you, and shooting somewhere back along the ribs and towards the off shoulder on a beast facing away from you at an angle.

On a beast facing directly towards you, there is a very effective shot to the base of the neck where it joins the chest about 4-5" above the brisket.

If I restricted myself to broadside only shots, I would shoot damn few deer.
 
That's an admirable stance mate, but what the guys above are saying is that you can take quartering shots as long as you remember to visualise the position of the heart in the chest and shoot for that, rather than a spot on the outside of the beast.

In practical terms that means that as the beast comes closer to quartering towards, you aim further forward than you would do on the broadsideontothe nearside shoulder and as the beast tends more towards quartering away, you aim further back than rom the broadside position, aiming to exit from the farside shoulder.

You may loose a shoulder but in certain circumstances this is not a priority.



Not quite the liver is on the right hand side of the carcass and the rumen pararell to it on the left meaning.
A front on quartering shot on the right hand side of the beast will most likely result in a burst rumen and condemed carcass.
As will a rear on quartering shot at the left hand side.

SHN or DI Best practice guides cover this well
 
Not quite the liver is on the right hand side of the carcass and the rumen pararell to it on the left meaning.
A front on quartering shot on the right hand side of the beast will most likely result in a burst rumen and condemed carcass.
As will a rear on quartering shot at the left hand side.

SHN or DI Best practice guides cover this well


Indeed, hence with reference to the best practice guide posted earlier and in consideration of the the words used above "closer too quartering" and "tends towards quartering away" should have communicated to our worthy that shooting for the heart through the arse was not the aim of the game here.

He was saying that he was going to stick to pure broadside, a little off or towards is not going to burst the rumen or ruin the liver.:thumb:
 
I always suggest that people visualise their bullet as an arrow, (God, I mentioned bowhunting!) you need to put that arrow through the centre of the deers chest, imagining it like this helps the novice to picture where his entry needs to be and where his exit will be. Another tip is to imagine looking down on the deer from directly above, a plan view if you like. Somewhere I have a copy of the 'moose clock' which explains this better than I can. JC
 
Shooting either up or down a steep hill will also require some thought!;)
When shooting either up or downhill, your shot will go slightly high in both cases. (pure physics relating to the gravitational effect on the bullet with regards to its path in relation to the direction of gravitational pull!)
So, here's a thought then...
If you are above the animal and shooting downhill, you effectively need to aim slightly higher up the side of the animal to make the bullet pass through an organ in the centre. But the round will then go slightly high as well which could then mean you go too high and either miss it or spine it!:cry:
However, if you are below the animal and shooting uphill, you will need to aim slightly lower on the side of the animal to make the bullet pass through the centre. But the bullet will then go higher than the line of sight, so you need to aim slightly lower still!
Makes your head spin a bit doesn't it?:confused:
Obviously this effect is greater at longer ranges and with larger/slower bullets as gravity plays more of a part.
Probably more important to worry about the aspect of the deer 3 dimensionally at closer ranges.
I quite like the Arrow method to aid understanding.:thumb:
MS:)
 
we need a CSI with some 3d ballistics programmes to get involved here, so some fancy work like they have on TV:rofl:
 
1. Identify correct deer.
2. Mentally divide deer in half.
3. Identify which is the front half.
4. Confirm points 1-3 and that it is safe.
5. Put bullet through centre of front half.

JC
 
1. Identify correct deer.
2. Mentally divide deer in half.
3. Identify which is the front half.
4. Confirm points 1-3 and that it is safe.
5. Put bullet through centre of front half.

JC

Actually I think this is pretty good stuff. I'm far from an expert, I don't shoot many deer and as a result I'm not very good at it. Every single deer I've hit in the chest has died even if the shot wasn't "perfect." In fact I'd go as far as saying that my experience is that those hit with perfect chest shots run just about the same distance as those hit with imperfect chest shots.
 
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