Quigley must not understand that between "stem" and "stern" there lies the vitals.

At 100 yds or less, who would pass up this shot?

I'll put it at the back of the neck / skull.

Exactly!!!

This ain't rocket surgery.

Been a Paramedic since 2002. I know anatomy of humans and animals quite well.

What if he was trotting/moving/etc?

That would be rocket science there Quigley.

I read the whole thing. Man.... cup and core Bullets are plenty adequate to kill any mulie alive. Bonded Bullets are a better choice if you don't have the restraint to lay off marginal angles or are pushing light Bullets real fast. I've shot lots of deer but never drew down on ones a$$. That shot is a red light for me personally. It goes against the lessons I was taught as a boy, and the same lessons I taught my son. As for the big mulie in the pic, I'm with Tack Driver. If I could center up on his neck and snap his spine I would peg him, but I don't purposely shoot deer in the a$$, and I'm not ready to start. Sometimes you just say "that's a beauty" as you watch them leave.

If it was moving or trotting, I'll be patient and wait till it changes course and put it in the vitals. If it keeps going and over the hill, then I'll stalk it and find the right moment to run a bullet in the vitals to put him down humanely and effectively. I don't run a bullet straight up its rear end and hope he'll go down like its the end of the world. There is tomorrow and the day after where he will come back and you will find a perfectly killing shot. There are many big bucks out there and I never shot one in the azz / hams and never will. It's just me.

What percentage of shots do you think would have resulted in a different outcome if you had a different bullet?

You're not very bright are you?

That went over your head, and you are alright with shooting deer in the butt. The largest muscle there is, and 20% of the meat from an animal.

I swear you guys are like an old married couple.

I didn't shoot the deer in the butt, my buddy did. Also, I kill probably 25 deer per year including MLD doe culling, so having enough meat is never an issue. I will say that the last thing I worry about is if I will ruin some meat. I'm trying to kill it stone cold dead immediately. I probably give 90% of them to Hunters for the Hungry.

"Stone cold dead" means you're supporting shots in the hind quarter. Got it.

Guess we should all try to hit that area, even on a broad side shot, according to you.

"You can't fix stupid" -Ron White

Bit of a stretch there Quigley, but keep trying. You're doing good.

By far, the largest deer I’ve ever hunted gave no second chances, in that sort of scenario. He was a mule deer, walking away, and a clean 4 point north of 200”. Didn’t matter, as I was bow hunting and he was beyond that range, but with a rifle in hand, I’d have figured something out. As it were, I followed him to the top of the hill he crested, without spooking him, and the big bastard was just gone. I could see, from that hill, much farther than anywhere he had time to possibly escape to, and in the wide open country of the Gila. But, by God, he was gone. I’m still amazed by that act and haunted by that deer. But, to be relevant, with a rifle in hand, that kind of experience could have been a dream or a nightmare. The deciding factor would have been the bullet, not the decision to shoot.

Great post Sneaky.

Weak.

And "Quigly Down Under" is one of my favorite movies. Well done!

+1

My biggest mule deer buck has a similar story but I was carrying a rifle and he is now on my wall. I jumped him at about 50 yards while walking a draw and he only gave me a running straight away shot. Not an ideal situation but it didn't stop me from pulling the trigger. It was a cup and core bullet (InterLock) that brought him down.

Agreed.

X2.

I have personally been a part of and witnessed SEVERAL deer that were either lost or suffered longer than necessary due to neck shots that were slightly off, thus missing the spinal cord.

I have never seen a deer that was shot from south to north last more than 30 seconds. All were shot with appropriate calibers/bullets.

Heck, as "dead-eye" as some on here claim to be, don't they know that a shot precisely up the rectum will travel through the pelvic void into the abdominal/chest cavity without ruining any meat???

I’ve never sent one up the tailpipe, so to speak, but I did shoot a doe head on in the chest. The bullet exited just above her tail. It was an Accubond, of course.

It's very misleading to call a hard quartering away, shot through the back ham and up through front shoulder an [censored] shot, as some attempt to do.

I killed this buck with a similar shot, except that entry was just behind the rear rib while the bullet traveled up through the front shoulder, found right under the skin. A 160 accubond from my 7Mag. I guess some would try and categorize is as gut shot?

Me either but only because the deer was running slightly uphill providing an opportunity at the mid point of the spine. The bullet entered the mid point of his spine and exited the neck. If he had been running away from me on flat ground I am pretty sure the bullet would have still left the barrel with the crosshairs trained on his tailpipe!