Only shoot roe when their head is up?

[Bavarianbrit]

My neighbour is the leaseholder and before him his father so together they have 70 years on his lease, we were chatting generally and he mentioned that he never shoots roe when they are feeding, only when the head is up. He reckons the muscle group h/l shot reacts differently and head downs will run on much further.??????

 

[suburban bushwacker]

Interesting. In bow hunting there's the idea that the deer should be standing on three legs to avoid it being able to 'jump the string'
Great topic - I look forward to hearing others experience

 

[Tim.243]

My neighbour is the leaseholder and before him his father so together they have 70 years on his lease, we were chatting generally and he mentioned that he never shoots roe when they are feeding, only when the head is up. He reckons the muscle group h/l shot reacts differently and head downs will run on much further.??????

Get a bigger rifle lol

 

[Nickb]

Still fall over dead in my experience

 

[Covert]

Was always best practice to take a broadside chest shot when the front leg facing you was behind the opposing front leg. More to do with reducing meat damage. Usually resulted in entry wound and a couple of ribs broken on the exit side.

 

[sh1kar]

Was always best practice to take a broadside chest shot when the front leg facing you was behind the opposing front leg. More to do with reducing meat damage. Usually resulted in entry wound and a couple of ribs broken on the exit side.

I would have thought that would result in liver shot?

 

[Nickb]

I'm surprised anything gets shot at all after reading some of these threads.

 

[Siggy]

I think it’s something that came over from Germany when woodland stalking kicked off in the UK. If I recall correctly I think it was something about stopping the green ending up in the wrong place.

 

[Bavarianbrit]

I think it’s something that came over from Germany when woodland stalking kicked off in the UK. If I recall correctly I think it was something about stopping the green ending up in the wrong place.

That might also be part of it.

 

[VSS]

I think it's to do with the fact that what we're taught about shot placement is based on an animal standing broadside with head up.
When the animal is in a different position, eg head down or even lying down, the relative position of the internal organs shifts about a bit so the point of aim needs to be adjusted to compensate for this, which is tricky.
I don't believe that a head down deer would run further (unless it's as a result of a poor shot due to the point I've just made above). All other things being equal, you would expect the head up deer to run further due to being alert, possibly aware of your presence, and therefore a bit more pumped on adrenaline.

 

[HonestJohn]

My neighbour is the leaseholder and before him his father so together they have 70 years on his lease, we were chatting generally and he mentioned that he never shoots roe when they are feeding, only when the head is up. He reckons the muscle group h/l shot reacts differently and head downs will run on much further.??????

And he’s right.

 

[TringSaint]

I have shot deer whilst they are standing or laying in all sorts of positions and some run and others don’t.
Two fallow, one at 80m, head up with good H+L shot (obliterated the heart) and it ran 60-70m before dropping.
The second shot at 160m with head up, good H+L shot, dropped on the spot!

Not entirely sure if the head position makes any difference but the first deer was ‘aware’ of us whereas the second deer was not!

 

[old keeper]

As has been said before, if a deer is feeding, it's generally totally relaxed, no adrenaline pumping. However, if the head is up, especially if it suspects danger, then the adrenaline kicks in. Apart from these two extremes, I don't think it matters one way or the other.

 

[nun_hunter]

As has been said before, if a deer is feeding, it's generally totally relaxed, no adrenaline pumping. However, if the head is up, especially if it suspects danger, then the adrenaline kicks in. Apart from these two extremes, I don't think it matters one way or the other.

I've found when they're head down and feeding they are more likely to move and take a step leading to an increased chance of slight shot misplacement. When the head pops up they stand very still looking/listening providing a more static target.

 

[jthyttin]

the relative position of the internal organs shifts about a bit

Don't know about internals, but the whole relationship between torso, front leg(s) and neck changes when deer puts the head down to browse. Haven't observed roes much, mostly whitetail. So basically aiming error since the "landmarks" move.

 

[TringSaint]

I've found when they're head down and feeding they are more likely to move and take a step leading to an increased chance of slight shot misplacement. When the head pops up they stand very still looking/listening providing a more static target.

That’s the challenge with munties - little sods never stand still for more than a couple of seconds!
Trick is to anticipate where it will move to and have the crosshairs ready as soon as it stops.
Makes them challenging to take at distance!!

 

[jthyttin]

In bow hunting there's the idea that the deer should be standing on three legs to avoid it being able to 'jump the string'

Never heard of such an idea.

But a lot of stopping the deer with noises (i.e. making them alert) and shooting at overly long 30-40y distances in US forums etc. Acts of desperation I'd say, based on local seasons and rules. And I'm not opposed of people shooting at whatever distance they've practiced enough. But the middle distances are problematic since they're still in "immediate danger zone" but long enough that fligh time is substantial. Combine that with purposefully setting the animal on alert, and the recipe is ready...

 

[Bavarianbrit]

That’s the challenge with munties - little sods never stand still for more than a couple of seconds!
Trick is to anticipate where it will move to and have the crosshairs ready as soon as it stops.
Makes them challenging to take at distance!!

Thread was only about roe BTW.

 

[tackb]

i shot two deer once a fair way off so unaware of me , both ranged and were within 10m of each other distance wise and when dealing with the carcase both rounds had hit within 1/2'' of each other but on different deer obvs , simple chest shot

anyway , one deer ran about 50m before folding up dead the other dropped stone dead right there , so effectively two nearly identical shots regarding projectile , range, calibre (308) and impact yet one deer reacted very different.

i think its as simple as for example some boxers can take a punch that other boxers would collapse from or why of two people stranded on a dessert island one will survive when the other wont simply because they have a stronger will to survive and can tolerate more hardship ?

one thing is for sure , no living creature can survive a hole through the heart or brain.

 

[jthyttin]

two people stranded on a dessert island one will survive when the other wont simply because they have a stronger will to survive and can tolerate more hardship

I can feel their pain, going through all that dessert... (sorry I had to!)