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Re: Preferred Bullet Placement on Deer
[Re: Gone to Texas]
#6562159
11/28/16 05:18 PM
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Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 3,176
HoldPoint
Veteran Tracker
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Veteran Tracker
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 3,176 |
no problems with high shoulder over here - the buck I shot this year with my .270 didn't even so much as fart
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Re: Preferred Bullet Placement on Deer
[Re: Gone to Texas]
#6563034
11/29/16 02:01 AM
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Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 22,261
Texas Dan
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 22,261 |
Where to Shoot High Shoulder Pros: The ultimate shock-and-awe shot. A big, fast-moving bullet will snap the spine, short-circuit the nervous system, break ribs, and anchor a deer with authority. Cons: The volatile, upsetting bullets best suited for this shot damage a lot of meat, from the shoulder through the neck and upper backstrap. Plus, it's easy to miss high when aiming here. Heart-Lung Pros: An ample target provides some forgiveness, meaning you don't have to be pinpoint accurate to kill a deer. This shot creates massive hemorrhaging, so the blood trail is typically easy to find and follow. Cons: If you clip only part of a single lung, the deer may recover. Plus, deer don't always go down immediately with this shot, meaning that you often have to follow a blood trail. Light bullets that careen off a rib or shoulder bone aren't always lethal. Brain Pros: A deer dies instantly when its brain takes a direct hit. Plus, there is very little meat lost to a head shot. Cons: The brain is a tiny target, and it's easy to miss the deer entirely or, worse, to wound it through the jaw. Neck Pros: A correctly placed bullet will kill with massive shock to the spinal cord and vertebrae while damaging very little meat. Cons: The vital area on a neck shot is quite small. Hit low, and you will wound a deer with very little chance of recovery. Plus, this shot often merely paralyzes a deer, requiring a second shot or throat slit to finish the job. Where to shoot a deer for one shot kills
"Some people will never like you because your spirit irritates their demons."
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Re: Preferred Bullet Placement on Deer
[Re: don k]
#6564440
11/29/16 10:54 PM
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Joined: Nov 2016
Posts: 641
Buck25-06
Tracker
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Tracker
Joined: Nov 2016
Posts: 641 |
Everyone has had a deer run off if hunting long enough try to go three ribs back just below center mass work for me last 42 years
I know allot about everything-Everything about nothing!!!!
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Re: Preferred Bullet Placement on Deer
[Re: Buck25-06]
#6564457
11/29/16 11:16 PM
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Joined: Nov 2016
Posts: 641
Buck25-06
Tracker
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Tracker
Joined: Nov 2016
Posts: 641 |
Well just had open the window of my dearstand and shoot big bobcat it was walking straight towards me so I shot it right in the middle of the chest with my small caliber bolt action right down
I know allot about everything-Everything about nothing!!!!
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Re: Preferred Bullet Placement on Deer
[Re: Gone to Texas]
#6564527
11/30/16 12:00 AM
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Joined: Nov 2016
Posts: 641
Buck25-06
Tracker
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Tracker
Joined: Nov 2016
Posts: 641 |
How many ways to skin a cat
I know allot about everything-Everything about nothing!!!!
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Re: Preferred Bullet Placement on Deer
[Re: Gone to Texas]
#6564548
11/30/16 12:10 AM
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Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 22,261
Texas Dan
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 22,261 |
Some have written about the problem with high shoulder shots when the bullet hits so far from the backbone that it shocks the nervous system and causes the animal to drop immediately. Then about the time the shooter reaches the animal to check it, the nervous system has recovered to the point where the animal gets up and runs off, not having any damage to the vitals. Of course, I'm sure that has never happened to anyone here, or anyone they know.
I had it happen once with a neck shot to a large boar that hit the ground kicking. About the time I got out of my ground blind, he staggered up and walked off. Which is why I aimed for the vitals on a boar I shot this past weekend. He took off as if he hadn't been hit, only to drop stone dead about 30 yards later. Nothing runs far without heart and lungs.
"Some people will never like you because your spirit irritates their demons."
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Re: Preferred Bullet Placement on Deer
[Re: Texas Dan]
#6565078
11/30/16 04:35 AM
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Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 21,271
SniperRAB
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 21,271 |
Where to Shoot High Shoulder Pros: The ultimate shock-and-awe shot. A big, fast-moving bullet will snap the spine, short-circuit the nervous system, break ribs, and anchor a deer with authority. Cons: The volatile, upsetting bullets best suited for this shot damage a lot of meat, from the shoulder through the neck and upper backstrap. Plus, it's easy to miss high when aiming here. Heart-Lung Pros: An ample target provides some forgiveness, meaning you don't have to be pinpoint accurate to kill a deer. This shot creates massive hemorrhaging, so the blood trail is typically easy to find and follow. Cons: If you clip only part of a single lung, the deer may recover. Plus, deer don't always go down immediately with this shot, meaning that you often have to follow a blood trail. Light bullets that careen off a rib or shoulder bone aren't always lethal. Brain Pros: A deer dies instantly when its brain takes a direct hit. Plus, there is very little meat lost to a head shot. Cons: The brain is a tiny target, and it's easy to miss the deer entirely or, worse, to wound it through the jaw. Neck Pros: A correctly placed bullet will kill with massive shock to the spinal cord and vertebrae while damaging very little meat. Cons: The vital area on a neck shot is quite small. Hit low, and you will wound a deer with very little chance of recovery. Plus, this shot often merely paralyzes a deer, requiring a second shot or throat slit to finish the job. Where to shoot a deer for one shot kills Wait didn't you Burn your American Flag and denounce your Citizenship to the United States
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Re: Preferred Bullet Placement on Deer
[Re: SniperRAB]
#6565217
11/30/16 01:10 PM
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Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 22,261
Texas Dan
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 22,261 |
Wait didn't you Burn your American Flag and denounce your Citizenship to the United States To the contrary, I now have a new American flag flying on my home. But I can assure you. The next time there is another POS president living in the White House who doesn't follow the beliefs held by the majority of Texans, you will once again see the Texas state flag flying in its place.
"Some people will never like you because your spirit irritates their demons."
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Re: Preferred Bullet Placement on Deer
[Re: Texas Dan]
#6566423
12/01/16 01:24 AM
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Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 347
TX Hitman
Bird Dog
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Bird Dog
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 347 |
Some have written about the problem with high shoulder shots when the bullet hits so far from the backbone that it shocks the nervous system and causes the animal to drop immediately. Then about the time the shooter reaches the animal to check it, the nervous system has recovered to the point where the animal gets up and runs off, not having any damage to the vitals. Of course, I'm sure that has never happened to anyone here, or anyone they know.
I had it happen once with a neck shot to a large boar that hit the ground kicking. About the time I got out of my ground blind, he staggered up and walked off. Which is why I aimed for the vitals on a boar I shot this past weekend. He took off as if he hadn't been hit, only to drop stone dead about 30 yards later. Nothing runs far without heart and lungs. I usually shoot a deer behind the front shoulder. However, I shot a spike a few years ago with my 300 aac. I was shooting a cheap 150gr green tip. First shot the deer dropped. Started packing up and waited. About 20 later, the deer got up and started walking off. Second shot dropped him again. Again I waited. About 20 minutes later. Same thing. Got up and walked about 10 yards and layed by a tree. I climbed down and stalked up to the tree. Was about 30 yards away when he jumped up and ran. Shot him in the back of neck. DRT. Last time I use a cheap bullet on deer. Crazy thing was I only found 2 holes. 2nd and 3rd shots. Can't explain that one.
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Re: Preferred Bullet Placement on Deer
[Re: Gone to Texas]
#6566580
12/01/16 02:49 AM
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Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 44
TexOddball
Light Foot
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Light Foot
Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 44 |
Years ago, as a teenager, I hit a doe right in the middle of her back. Any lower and it would have been a nasty gut-shot, but now she's thrashing around, and can't get any movement out of her back legs. I ran down the hill, wanting to put her out of her misery, and considered my options. I had my rifle, obviously, but I had heard stories from my Dad and uncles about cutting the throat. Economically, it made sense (save a bullet), and I had done it before on goats following a brain shot, when we were butchering for BBQs, so I knew where the veins were. I was familiar with man-handling livestock, I had a big knife, and, full of all the piss-and-vinegar of a teenage boy, I thought "how hard can this be?"
Pretty darn hard, actually. As soon as I stepped across her back, and reached to pull her chin up, she rolled over and started flailing those front hooves upwards. In a split second she got about three good hits on each inner thigh, planted one firmly right above the belly-button, and then almost lifted me off my feet with a kick square in the balls.
For a few moments we both just lay on the ground, a couple yards apart, in our own private worlds of misery, and when I could get to my knees, I crawled to my rifle and took a headshot to finish her. Ten years later I think that's still the worst @ss-whupping I ever took.
Morale of the story is, make the best shot you can on a deer's vitals. Celebrate the times your shot leaves them Dead Right There, but relish the occasions in which you get to hone your tracking and blood-trailing skills. Always seize the opportunity to make that a friend-and-family activity, some of my best memories with my family was being told to grab a flashlight and "head out to the far pasture, friend-or-cousin so-in-so needs help finding one!", and most importantly, be ready to make a follow-up shot. Don't approach a deer on the ground without gun at the ready, don't assume a deer is dead without giving it the poke-in-eye test, and most importantly, cutting the throat is for the birds, bullets arn't that terribly expensive.
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Re: Preferred Bullet Placement on Deer
[Re: Gone to Texas]
#6566867
12/01/16 01:40 PM
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Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 22,261
Texas Dan
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
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Posts: 22,261 |
Yes, the motives behind shot placement can run from "I want the largest margin for error", to "Let's see how great a shot I am."
"Some people will never like you because your spirit irritates their demons."
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Re: Preferred Bullet Placement on Deer
[Re: Gone to Texas]
#6566940
12/01/16 02:30 PM
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Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 235
lawndart956
Woodsman
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Woodsman
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 235 |
I have shot two deer in the neck and had to slit both their throats. Maybe I'm not a good enough shot or have just had bad luck but this is not the go to shot for me. Both neck shots were with a 7-.08. Now I hunt with a much smaller round and have had great luck with the double lung shot. Basically,if the deer is broadside,I place the cross hair at the back of the front leg about 1/3 of the way up the body from the bottom of the deer. The deer always run,they do not bang/flop with this shot. That being said they never make it more than 30 yds and as I hunt in the panhandle the deer moves from being shot to being dead in plain view only obstructed by knee high love grass once they lay down. If I hunted east Texas or anywhere with thick cover I would move up to a larger round and break the shoulder.
Another thing I have noticed is the deer do not seem to take off in a panic run with I shoot them with a smaller round. They simply trot away and fall over in about 8-12 seconds. I do not know if this is due to the lighter round not transferring as much energy and freaking the deer out? There is a lot of oil field work in the area and the bang might not be as shocking to them. I really have no idea,has anyone else had this happen? This is consistent over shooting about a dozen deer.
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Re: Preferred Bullet Placement on Deer
[Re: Gone to Texas]
#6567157
12/01/16 04:19 PM
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Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 862
rattler03
Tracker
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Tracker
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 862 |
I still prefer to shoot behind the shoulder because it provides for the largest margin of error. But, if there is a reason that I don't want to risk tracking a deer I'll go with the high shoulder shot. I shot a buck a few weeks ago at 5:50 pm, so I went with the high shoulder shot and he dropped right there. It was nice to avoid tracking him since I was going to be doing so in the dark.
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Re: Preferred Bullet Placement on Deer
[Re: Buck25-06]
#6567178
12/01/16 04:32 PM
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 8,719
cameron00
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 8,719 |
I don't gun hunt, but I try to put my throwing knives right in their jugular. And by "try", I mean, "I put them in their jugular".
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Re: Preferred Bullet Placement on Deer
[Re: Texas Dan]
#6567186
12/01/16 04:36 PM
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Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 60,486
BOBO the Clown
kind of a big deal
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kind of a big deal
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 60,486 |
Some have written about the problem with high shoulder shots when the bullet hits so far from the backbone that it shocks the nervous system and causes the animal to drop immediately. Then about the time the shooter reaches the animal to check it, the nervous system has recovered to the point where the animal gets up and runs off, not having any damage to the vitals. Of course, I'm sure that has never happened to anyone here, or anyone they know.
I had it happen once with a neck shot to a large boar that hit the ground kicking. About the time I got out of my ground blind, he staggered up and walked off. Which is why I aimed for the vitals on a boar I shot this past weekend. He took off as if he hadn't been hit, only to drop stone dead about 30 yards later. Nothing runs far without heart and lungs. They didn't take a high shoulder shot they took a back shoot. Huge difference. The spine is not straight I'll take best shot given but prefer high shoulder(or crease qtring to) or shoulder. Furtherest running fatally shot deer (non gut or liver) will always be heart or lung.
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Re: Preferred Bullet Placement on Deer
[Re: Gone to Texas]
#6567194
12/01/16 04:41 PM
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Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 39,549
redchevy
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 39,549 |
I will take whatever shot seems the best for what is at hand. I have and do shoot deer in the neck, head, behind the shoulders, and in/high shoulder shot. Been served well by all of them. Only times ive had issues are when I didn't put the bullet where it needed to go.
It's hell eatin em live
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Re: Preferred Bullet Placement on Deer
[Re: redchevy]
#6567538
12/01/16 09:30 PM
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Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 909
driedmeat
Tracker
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Tracker
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 909 |
I will take whatever shot seems the best for what is at hand. I have and do shoot deer in the neck, head, behind the shoulders, and in/high shoulder shot. Been served well by all of them. Only times ive had issues are when I didn't put the bullet where it needed to go. ...sums it up for me as well. usually a shot under 100 yds gets it in the neck followed by a quick throat cut for an efficient bleed out.
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Re: Preferred Bullet Placement on Deer
[Re: Gone to Texas]
#6567860
12/02/16 01:50 AM
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Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 145
chrswr
Woodsman
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Woodsman
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 145 |
4 deer down this season. all behind the shoulder, double lung. 25-06 117 grain hornady superformance. 3 dropped where they stood, 4th made it about 20 yards and dropped.
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Re: Preferred Bullet Placement on Deer
[Re: Gone to Texas]
#6568142
12/02/16 11:36 AM
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Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 113
Pinky3169
Woodsman
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Woodsman
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 113 |
STXRANCHMAN had the best pictures for this exact question.
IMHO, It doesn't matter what kind of bullet you shoot. It is with out a doubt, 100% shot placement.
That being said, animals like the WT are like people in a lot of ways. Some go down quick, others have to will to live and fight. A full grown man can fight for approximately 1:45 seconds before he runs out of blood due to a good heart shot, that's a long time if he is still willing to do bad things to you. A deer can run over 800 yards with their heart blown up. That's a long ways when you have extremely thick terrain..
The only sure way to turn the light switch off, is to hit them in the head or the spine, which would include the high shoulder and the neck shots..
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