Shot placement
- Thread starter Foxyboy43
- Start date
Foxyboy43
Well-Known Member
Hmmm.
Many of us and our rifles are more than capable of a 100 yds one inch group off a bipod when lying comfortably at the range and having the luxury of time and being able to prepare for each shot. Fine.
Set all that lovely stuff aside and come into the realm of deer stalking - now introduce:-
exercise i.e. walking/crawling to the necessary distance;
setting up on bipods/sticks;
breathing control;
target acquisition through scope;
trigger acquisition;
acquiring solid point of aim on the head/neck;
holding steady for the shot;
trigger take-up and squeeze;
OH! Silly FB forgot about time - always different - sometimes loads available more often barely enough but it is a constant unknown when getting ready for the shot;
then
Bang! And the deer bangflops. Or, err….. does it?
The excellent video I posted at the outset of this thread identifies head/neck target areas as broadly one inch. If we accept that then I challenge you to try this at your chosen safe ground - start at say 40 yards then step back in 20 yards increments until you get to the chosen 100 yards. Now consider your respective targets - all perfect centres (aye right ). Then do it again against the clock - you decide the timespan but do be honest lads!
Soooo, how many did you nail this time? All of them, splendid, take a pat on the back from yourself and do carry on with your chosen kill areas as before.
For those no doubt few who may not have been just so accurate, stop for a moment - sure a one inch miss of a one inch dot on a paper square isn’t bad at all. But hold on fella; if that was a Roe it could easily have been a jaw shot off, a windpipe shattered or said animal merely severely disabled but err… still well able to run off into the far distance and take several days to die in the most awful way imaginable.
Now here’s the thing - is that really what you want to risk doing to these wonderful creatures which give us the sport we love?
Nah, I don’t think so either…
PS
This applies to foxes too…
Many of us and our rifles are more than capable of a 100 yds one inch group off a bipod when lying comfortably at the range and having the luxury of time and being able to prepare for each shot. Fine.
Set all that lovely stuff aside and come into the realm of deer stalking - now introduce:-
exercise i.e. walking/crawling to the necessary distance;
setting up on bipods/sticks;
breathing control;
target acquisition through scope;
trigger acquisition;
acquiring solid point of aim on the head/neck;
holding steady for the shot;
trigger take-up and squeeze;
OH! Silly FB forgot about time - always different - sometimes loads available more often barely enough but it is a constant unknown when getting ready for the shot;
then
Bang! And the deer bangflops. Or, err….. does it?
The excellent video I posted at the outset of this thread identifies head/neck target areas as broadly one inch. If we accept that then I challenge you to try this at your chosen safe ground - start at say 40 yards then step back in 20 yards increments until you get to the chosen 100 yards. Now consider your respective targets - all perfect centres (aye right ). Then do it again against the clock - you decide the timespan but do be honest lads!
Soooo, how many did you nail this time? All of them, splendid, take a pat on the back from yourself and do carry on with your chosen kill areas as before.
For those no doubt few who may not have been just so accurate, stop for a moment - sure a one inch miss of a one inch dot on a paper square isn’t bad at all. But hold on fella; if that was a Roe it could easily have been a jaw shot off, a windpipe shattered or said animal merely severely disabled but err… still well able to run off into the far distance and take several days to die in the most awful way imaginable.
Now here’s the thing - is that really what you want to risk doing to these wonderful creatures which give us the sport we love?
Nah, I don’t think so either…
PS
This applies to foxes too…
Nickb
Well-Known Member
Don't believe everything you read , get in the real world
Norfolk Deer Search
Well-Known Member
Deer do funny things once they have been shot, shoot enough and you’ll see some non text book thingsDon't believe everything you read , get in the real world
HonestJohn
Well-Known Member
Shooting a red deer in the heart without severely bruising a shoulder would be quite the trick shot unless coming in from behind quartering. Roe have a slightly different heart location and it’s do able
Norfolk Deer Search
Well-Known Member
Can be done if you get your load right, my Barnes load for the 270 used to go in one side £2 coin exit and bruising no more than a tennis ball, and that’s for textbook chest shot, most factory ammunition and lightweight copper bullets just make big holes and a mess
Very True. Ive dropped big fallow bucks on the spot with a mid chest shot (double lung) and the same with heart shots but also had fallow prickets run 30 yards with exactly the same placement...lots that plays a part.
Ultimately there is so much that comes into play that the only person who can make that decision is the one behind the rifle. The last 3 I have shot were all high neck shots, close range, very stable position etc and I didnt want them to run due to their positions and the proximity to some large drainage ditches.
Norfolk Deer Search
Well-Known Member
Take £35 off that for a wage, waste disposal etc etc etc, so if your worried about the money from the front end your hard up!
On the time it would take me to to faff about boning and trimming the front end of a fallow, I could bust up 4/5 more.
Front ends are not financially viable to faff about with.
Dunwaters
Well-Known Member
You can certainly recover a lot of meat by scraping the blood clots away, but if you are using lead ammunition is that wise?
Theres a lot of lead splatter in there too.
wildfowler.250
Well-Known Member
Had a google. First rifle made in 15th or 16th century. I don’t think deer anatomy has changed much over that time..
2025 still discussing shot placement
2025 still discussing shot placement
Norfolk Deer Search
Well-Known Member
Yep quite funny when you think about itHad a google. First rifle made in 15th or 16th century. I don’t think deer anatomy has changed much over that time..
2025 still discussing shot placement
On a commercial scale, no. Not if shot damaged. Which is one of the reasons why the game dealer price is so low: They know that up to 20% of a chest shot carcass may end up in the bin, with associated disposal costs, because it's not worth staff time to faff about with, as you rightly say.
But on smaller (artisan) scale the front ends are valuable. Two of my best sellers are diced shoulder and burgers, both of which come from the forequarter. Although the dice isn’t pricey, it is easy to sell to people who haven't tried venison before, and once they've tried it they'll come back and buy other, more expensive, cuts. As for the burgers, well, they just sell and sell and sell. I can never make enough.
From a small (30kg) fallow pricket I sell about £340 worth of venison, and I value every piece of it.
But it's not all about the money. As I've said before in this thread, respect for the animal extends to respect for the carcass. It doesn't matter how clean the kill was, if the carcass is smashed up or badly presented, or there's excessive waste, then the stalker was not showing any respect for that animal whatsoever.
Choice of ammunition, choice of shot placement, knowing your own limitations, knowing when not to shoot, are all part of showing respect, and are far more important than a lot of silly nonsense about shoving a last bite of grass into the mouth of a dead beast.
gelert
Well-Known Member
Dismissing traditional practices like offering the "last bite" as “silly nonsense” overlooks something important.Symbolism and ritual matter deeply to many people, especially when it comes to hunting and death. These gestures however small or symbolic serve as a moment of pause and reflection, a way to acknowledge the animal's life and sacrifice beyond the physical logistics of the kill. They're not a replacement for ethical practices like shot placement or carcass care, but they add a layer of meaning that can reinforce a respectful mindset.
Thank heaven internet forums werent around. We have enough arguments over the best calibre let alone "bow and arrow or speer" or "whats the best weight of rock for killing a wild boar"Had a google. First rifle made in 15th or 16th century. I don’t think deer anatomy has changed much over that time..
2025 still discussing shot placement
Though at least we wouldnt need to here how great a .270 was or how you need nice hair to own a creed 
Each to their own.
I actually find that little ritual rather distasteful. It appears to ridicule death rather than respect it.
A moment of reflection is good. I'm all in favour of that. But "feeding" a dead animal? That's just mocking it, imo.
Norfolk Deer Search
Well-Known Member
Well said
wildfowler.250
Well-Known Member
Thank heaven internet forums werent around. We have enough arguments over the best calibre let alone "bow and arrow or speer" or "whats the best weight of rock for killing a wild boar"
I mean, I still enjoy reading the threads
geordiemacatac
Well-Known Member
Choosing the right bullet for neck shooting is important also....Bullets designed for weight retention, deep penetration might not be the best for neck shooting....Thin jacketed more frangible rounds officer more immediate damage and higher probability of smashing the spinal cord etc. Not hitting the cord directly with say a vamx/Amax etc still results in a kill if close enough to the area your aiming at. Decision to make is if your bullet is designed more for deep penetration,heart and lungs etc and tough enough to pierce through the shoulder then keep it too that shot. Same for frangible rounds
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