Neck shot placement

[Dhindes]

Firstly I know people may say "if you have to ask, you should not take the shot" but I am keen to learn from people with experience.
Where do you actually place neck shots ?
I assume directly in the center ( width wise) if face you or facing away. I assume 1/3rd in from back of neck if sideways ?
High up, middle or low on the neck ??

Only neck shot I have done was side on - just behind / below the ear - took out the Atlas vertebrae - very effective but only done as rest of animal not visible.
Advice appreciated

 

[Mungo]

I’m actually quite curious about this too - people appear to have very different understanding of what they mean by ‘neck’ shot.

To me, it’s anything below the atlas joint and above the junction with the top of the back. And to me, it’s too much of a gamble unless something like a dead front/back on roe deer in summer coat.

But I think a lot of people shoot just above and forward of the point of the shoulder blade and call that a neck shot. Which I suppose it is.

 

[Selous]

The lower you go down the neck the harder it is to find good landmarks to make sure that you hit the vertebrae, especially in stags. The vertebrae dip down towards the base of the neck so are not always half way between back of neck and front of throat. if you shoot for a low neck shot don’t miss low!

 

[@theroedeerguy]

There’s an example, taken slightly quartering with the angle it worked out a high neck aim point with a mid neck exit if that makes sense.
A firm favourite with the triple deuce.

 

[Mungo]

The lower you go down the neck the harder it is to find good landmarks to make sure that you hit the vertebrae, especially in stags. The vertebrae dip down towards the base of the neck so are not always half way between back of neck and front of throat. if you shoot for a low neck shot don’t miss low!

Yes. Though with bigger deer it’s just as easy to shoot over them.

Someone once described neck shooting stags like ‘aiming for a hosepipe wrapped in an old rug’

 

[T.eddie]

I asked this on my last stalk not because I planned on doing it but there seemed to be a mix or lack of info on it, I was told middle of the width and middle of the length how that varies with others I don't know but that's what they told me

 

[White Hart]

Here's some videos on YouTube that may help with the question.

RoeStalker does some great videos and he did a series on shot placement, here's the one on "high neck":



There is also another video on YouTube that recently came up about various shot placement and reaction signs... Some are to highlight bad shot placement and what to expect when the worst has happened. Now some are particularly horrific but its a good training aid for people to watch - don't shoot the messenger as it were........

 

[User00033]

Axis / atlas junction either from the side, or the back. If shooting from the front, the animal either gets it just above the “between the eyes” position, or in the middle of the chest at the top of the brisket.

Front on neck shooting can quite easily see a bullet deflected off a vertebrae. The animal will fall instantly, and you’ll think you’ve got it, whereupon suddenly its on its feet and away.

 

[Selous]

Yes. Though with bigger deer it’s just as easy to shoot over them.

Someone once described neck shooting stags like ‘aiming for a hosepipe wrapped in an old rug’

The reason for my comment is that a wound above the vertebrae, if survivable will be less likely to be as debilitating compared to a bullet wound through the trachea and oesophagus. Saying that if you hit the carotid arteries and the jugular veins that is generally a fatal shot within a short time.

 

[Tim.243]

Firstly I know people may say "if you have to ask, you should not take the shot" but I am keen to learn from people with experience.
Where do you actually place neck shots ?
I assume directly in the center ( width wise) if face you or facing away. I assume 1/3rd in from back of neck if sideways ?
High up, middle or low on the neck ??

Only neck shot I have done was side on - just behind / below the ear - took out the Atlas vertebrae - very effective but only done as rest of animal not visible.
Advice appreciated

I think it will come into play much more when the lead ban with Game dealers comes into force...

Shot with Copper?
Yes been using them a while.....

With muntjac not being very tall, then cover makes a big influence on the shot. They are up down like all deer feeding so if that is the situation they will have their head up a little longer if you give them a pip or bark which is what I do.
The next deer you shoot will be different to the dead one before, so just like foxes you have to read how it is then make you choice of shot.

I have mostly muntjac so with an on going programme to keep the numbers down then I might not be a neck shot resulting in at least one front leg being a mess. It is v easy to clip the greens in them as what looks to be square on is not as they will step in towards you if they come out of a hedge etc.

 

[Mungo]

I asked this on my last stalk not because I planned on doing it but there seemed to be a mix or lack of info on it, I was told middle of the width and middle of the length how that varies with others I don't know but that's what they told me

Dead front or back on, yes.

Side on? This will often go wrong.

 

[Heym SR20]

Make sure you have the right bullet for neck and head shooting. You want a bullet that will fragment and dump its energy into a small target. To be certain of a clean kill you want to take out all the arteries etc so that you get a massive bleed. A shot to the neck or head will stun and drop any animal. But a clean hole through the brain, nose or even neck / windpipe etc and the animal be up and running again very quickly. And when it runs, there is nothing much to stop it.

So if you are going to be consistently head and neck shooting then use a bullet designed to fragment - ie something more akin to a varmint bullet / foxing bullet.

But such a bullet is not much use for body shots on big deer. Ideally you will find a fragmenting bullet and normal penetrating bullet that shoots pretty much to the same point of impact. Fragmenting for the intitial neck shots, with a penetrating bullet below for follow up if needs be.

In my younger days I culled a lot of hinds with a heavy barreled 25-06 with 10x42 scope and 100gn ballistic tip driven as fast as possible. Head removal was easy - mostly done for you by the bullet.

 

[Jon P]

Never shoot high neck or head with deer looking to the side. , more chance of just taking the jaw off the deer if you are slightly off centre.

 

[baguio]

Axis / atlas junction either from the side, or the back. If shooting from the front, the animal either gets it just above the “between the eyes” position, or in the middle of the chest at the top of the brisket.

Front on neck shooting can quite easily see a bullet deflected off a vertebrae. The animal will fall instantly, and you’ll think you’ve got it, whereupon suddenly its on its feet and away.

View attachment 204681

Whilst that position is the perfect position as it's clearly straight through the spine I could be argued that a few inches further forward gives a greater margin of error?
Shooting big animals and especially males through the neck side on certainly gives the impression that the target is far bigger than it actually is.
The low neck shot on big animals is not for me at all. However the low neck shot on munties is very effective and especially considering that they're more likely to move than reds and fallow are.

 

[T.eddie]

Dead front or back on, yes.

Side on? This will often go wrong.

Didn't specify as was just an off the cuff question as I said no intention of doing it anytime soon

 

[baguio]

Or

Never shoot high neck or head with deer looking to the side. , more chance of just taking the jaw off the deer if you are slightly off centre.

Or practise more, know where the target is and learn when to take the shot. Lot's of people shoot a lot of deer in the head and neck side on. It's not for inexperienced shots I agree but I don't agree with NEVER either!

 

[Dunwaters]

The most common mistake is to shoot too low down, a neck shot should be in the upper 1/3 and a fairly frangible bullet is an advantage.The effective area is actually quite large, nothing like that tiny little line on the illustrations you’ve seen, its about the size and shape of a pint glass on a sika or roe buck. Anywhere in the centre of that area will do and you’ve a lot more leeway than is generally acknowledged, you dont have to hit the spine to break it. A lot of neck shot animals will be unconscious but still alive, it can take a while for blood pressure to drop and shut the brain down, I use the knife to bleed them out but make sure its not able to thrash about before you get in close, any doubt ( or if the head is up) shoot again.
If you do neck a deer, dont hang about, get up there ASAP, if you didn‘t break the spine it may well recover enough to get up and depart.
Last tip would be to carefully mark the deers position before you fire, they often drop so fast you dont see it happen.
Neck shots are the marmite of stalking, love it or hate it with very little middle ground, personally I love it, its not perfect but then again no single shot site is.
Best of luck.

 

[baguio]

Side on? This will often go wrong.

Will it? Calibre, bullets, range, marksman etc all come in to the equation. Any shot can go wrong but to say that it WILL is not correct.

 

[Mungo]

One that catches people out is a deer standing side on, but looking at you.

It seems like a front on, but it’s not - the spine is still positioned as in a side on. So if you aim ‘centre up, centre side to side’, you actually often miss under.

 

[Dunwaters]

Dead front or back on, yes.

Side on? This will often go wrong.

Why would you think that a side on shot goes wrong more often than a straight on shot?
The target is bigger for a start.