Crazyhorse posted in "ammunition and reloading" the bullet question...yall should check it out...but in going there we kinda opened up this one...Where do you aim with a rifle when going for the kill and why? This one could get fun!

I aim for the deer or hog.

I second what Luke said. I very rarely try a head or neck shot. I just grew up using the highest percentage shot big game offers, which is the shoulders/chest area.

Yes, when hit thru the heart/lungs/liver, they are probably going to run. Where or when was it written, and by whom, did that become a BAD thing.

The guides and outfitters that I have hunted with in Colorado and Canada, all wanted their clients to aim for the front shoulders/heart/lung area, and if possible they prefer that on the bigger stuff, elk and up, you try and break the shoulders with your first shot.

A bullet thru that area, will usually not only break the shoulders but will take out the lungs and possibly clip the heart.

On my Javelina hunts, I always instruct my clients, to hold right on that faint light stripe made by the collar as it comes out behind the shoulder going up to the back.

I also hold for the shoulder/chest area when hunting on foot, simply because you are not ALWAYS able to find a rest. Also game may be running and you may walk right up on something, and it turns more into "Wing-Shooting" than target shooting from a bench basically.

Even from one of our stands though, I always aim for the biggest part of the animal.

I aim for the pocket. Rite behind the front shoulder where it meets the body and a couple inches up. Basically like your arm pit so to speak.

Heart or lungs with deer, and head or neck with hogs. The head & neck area of a hog is a much larger target than it is with deer.

I'm a neck shooter...I do not like trimming too much blood clotted meat from shooting behind the shoulder. I guess I'm one of the exceptions because that where my dad taught me to shoot and I practice wholeheartedly until I can put 3 rounds in a quarter at 200 yards. I shoot a 22-250 and I hate to have deer not drop in their tracks.

Chris

Here in the thicket it depends on how far away the animal is. In dense cover where a ground blind can be setup next to a scrape I usually shoot for the neck area...that's from 10 to 25 yards. Anything beyond that I aim for the shoulders.

I'am with CHC, I was taught growing up to take the double lung shot right behind the shoulder. Yup, they usually run 30 to 50 yds but IMO that is better than messing up the shoulder meat.

I think I am going to gut shoot my next one, so maybe I can find it next time.

Same as Redneck. Deer behind the shoulder and hogs in the head or neck.

Now with quail that's a different story. I usually aim for the taint!!

As per usual I tend to over analyze everything but ...it ALL depends on field conditions, the critter involved, what I am shooting with and how far the shot is, how much time I have to take the shot yadda the moon cycle yadda whether or not the tide is in or out yadda and how hungry I am or how far I have to walk to chase the critter if I make a bad shot: PTL I've never lost an animal ...but I know someday that it might happen despite all the precaustions I try and take. Like "Dirty Harry Callahan" said "...a man must know his limitations...".

I passed on taking a very questionable shot years ago at the largest WT buck I've ever seen alive or dead...because I was not comfortable taking the shot under the field conditions at the time and refused to take a chance on wounding such a magnificent critter. He walked and I still dream of him 20 years later. Estimated at 22-24" wide, I could count 10 up - with no forks seeable in the late afternoon light, and a double drop tine on an off hand shot at 450-500+ yard distance...I passed the shot to the total derision of my guide. The buck's prints in moist sand engulfed a spent 7Mg shell, with his dew claw impressions over an inch behind the hoof print. What a buck! Via con dios se~nor.

On WT's that are not stressed and at rest, feeding or sleeping, at ranges under 150-200 yards when my BP is "normal" with plenty of time for the shot off of a firm rest, and shooting my usual sub 1" group 270 or 300 Winnie's...visulizing the primary kill zones of head, heart/lung, and mobility bone structures I'll take head shots - the triangle behind the eye to ear hole to corner of jaw, the high'ish neck/withers joint in base of the neck for a spine shot, or if facing me standing at the same height I am - ie from a ground blind or shooting seated or prone - just to the left of center above the "cowlick" at the brisket, and of course in the crease behind the shoulder on a side or quartering profile. I've shot deer from a high overhead angle at the base of the neck just in front of the "knuckle" at the withers joint or a little further back depending on the height of my shot's angle. If there is slighest hint of a poor shot resulting in an easy escape or difficult tracking job from cover or time of day I'll take the more conservative anchoring shot placement everytime. Any deviation from the "perfect qualifying" conditions makes me more conservative in my shot selection, with the head shot the first to be eliminated.

If there is any danger of a miss from wind or rain or other factors like the deer becoming spooky and moving I try to visualize the shoulder, base of neck joint and heart/lung are in 3D and poke a hole from 360 degrees where the bullet will do the most good, especially at shorter ranges when I have full and complete confidence in my bullet's performance on deep penetration.

They ain't bullet proof but they deserve the respect necessary for a clean kill shot from whatever angle the shot is taken.

I am not ashamed to say that I have missed shots on deer, but I have never wounded a deer that got away as I am very conservative about taking the shot to begin with PERIOD...and I tend to practice...practice cycling the bolt an regaining the sight picture ready to fire again until it is very apparent the critter is down for the count. This one of the reasons I place such high regard for being able to extract, eject and reload a round without ever removing the rifle from my shoulder or losing the sight picture like the military used to teach before the introduction of self loaders.

The only wall mount I have was taken at a very short distance as a back up shot that was cleanly and totally missed by my hunting partner. My bullet hit to the left of classic Texas Heart shot as the deer was in full escape Wide Open Throttle mode at 50 yards when the he out ran my hold point and shotgun styled swing and his left hip/back/pelvis joint was broken from the angle I was shooting from, and a follow up final shot was taken quickly despite the imminent demise from total destruction of all of his internal organs with bullet fragments exiting his brisket. This was on a 22 5/8ths wide 26" long main beams 10 point desert muley from near Van Horn using a hyper hot loaded 270 Nosler Ballistic Tip.

I've had experiences where a broken shoulder shot was insufficient to anchor a 135 lb boar hog shooting a 257 Rbts, followed by a perfect 40 yard heart lung shot, followed by a 50 foot frontal heart/ lung shot with all the followup shots as the result of the hogs charging meor trying to escape with the final shot at 25 feet beside the end of his snout from the front on his final charge.

So it all depends on...I ain't a one trick pony
Ron

Yea, there I go, should have stated a little more than what I did. I will home-in on the neck from a box/elevated blind with my 22-250, but if I'm on the ground, sitting or standing, then I will use my 30-06 and still go for the neck. Nope, can't put 3 rounds in a quarter with the '06, but I will hit a 2 inch circle though. My 22-250 is a Varmiter Special with the bull-barrel and I've tried shooting it off-hand...not that easy. And no, I'm not the best shot, but when it comes to rest shooting, I'll do it with almost any rifle that I own since I practice so often and will not leave the range until I can place those 3 rounds in a quarter.

If there is a deer at 200 yards and it's a buck of a lifetime, then no, I would go for a behind the shoulder shot a little low, for a double lung/heart hit.

Hey Chris I'm a neck shooter too.

Heeerod, Not speaking for Chris here, but I (personally) don't take un-rested shots. I most often shoot a Ruger No.1 single shot. I gotta make it count. Sometimes box blind, but most often sitting under a tree or by a log. If a deer is 200 yards, I usually either GET CLOSER, or wait for it to GET CLOSER. Never had to neck shoot a deer out at 200yds. All shot circumstances are different. I guess sometimes the deer wins if I don't close some distance need to make a clean neck shot. I have shot a couple of 'em in the body (in 30+/- years) after a belly crawl, out of breath, and not steady, etc. But have shot hogs/coyotes (body) out to 300 or so. My boys shoot 'em in the body 99%of the time, until the prove proficiency at the range and control of their emotions in the field. My 12yr old shot his last one in the neck. But it was only about 50yds.

This can be one of those age-old debates.
I just like 'em DRT. Plus it leaves a CLEAN body cavity when I clean/skin it.
Phish-TX

I like to put my shot right in the gear box. Just behind the shoulder where any fragments are gonna take out the lungs and hopefully the heart. I've only ever had two deer drop right where they were shot. Pretty cool to see that but it doesnt happen often... for me.

If they run then I just watch and wait a bit. When I get down to the point of impact and find lung and other tasty bits on the other side I know it's a good shot.

Couple years ago I shot a hog that was walking at a pretty good clip. I was aiming for his ear but hit about 6 or 8 inches back on the shoulder. He looked up at the blind and came running right for it. I finally anchored him at about 20 yards with a kill shot. Ever see that southpark episode where the hunter guy yells 'My gawd he's coming right for us!' BLAM!...

Im a taxidermist and I hate neck shooters , Shoot both sides out and Im suppose to make it look like a lung hit. Besides it is bloodshot and messey in my bussiness.But I take them just the same [venting]. good hunting

I guess I might as well add the rest of it. Think of a gratefruit hanging low in the chest between the front legs.If you can hit that target from any angle it a done deal. This my choise 90% of the time.

Thanks for the info Chris...after I posted it I hoped that you wouldn't take it badly I sure didn't mean that way. Sounds like you are very practiced and anal...which in shooting is a good thing. If you can get a setup that is steady enough that you are comfortable and you KNOW you are proficient enough to do it, then you go. Every shooter should know his range limitations on different sizes of game...we owe it to them...I know guys that I know without a doubt from a rest can hit deer in the neck at resonable ranges...and they do. I'm glad to hear people say that even as neck shooters, if they are stressed, or freehand, or shooting a gun that they don't think is capable of the accuracy required they take the "boiler room" shot. I think that we, as responsible hunters and stewards of our sport, should encourage honesty, and ethics when "talk up our kills". Sending an inexperienced, young or otherwise challenged individual out into the field thinking that they need to take these lower percentage shots is not a good thing, for them or the game. Sounds like everybody here is already doing that, but I bet we all know some folks that don't. I had a man ask my son when he was about 12 why he shot a deer in the shoulder and "ruined" all that meat. Gave him the blues about it. He thought it was just all in fun...but I took it seriously. I pulled him to the side and politely told him that he did it because I'd taught him to and that putting that kind of pressure on a young hunter was problably not a good idea and that putting that pressure on MY young hunter was going to stop. He was a good fellow and agreed, and told my son that he was just pickin at him and that he should be proud of that shot. From what everybody has posted so far we are all on the same page...we disagree on some things...but that is not only OK...it is good.

Your post was " where do you aim with a rifle when you are going to kill and why?" To answer this as you ask, see my post on big game,. Now to answer the post.Im a Prarie Dog nut!!!A head hold at 150 yards, See the RED MIST!Shoot one with body hit with a 220 Swift with a nosler B/T at 4200 FPS , just see the chunks fly. Hold where they set on the mound at over 300yards and see them go 5 ft in the air!!! PLease dont turn me in to PETA.

Alrighty then....decaf Bill....decaf...lol...the PETA comment plum hurts my feelins!!!....lol
To add my answere, in case there were any doubts.
On on game bigger than a rat, I aim at the at a three deminsional target inside the animal. How big the target is depends on the animal. It is in the center of the chest cavity, between the shoulders. Where I aim on the animal depends on where the outside and the inside target line up. I prefer the highest percentage shot...right angles. But, if I'm inside my cartridge's performance envelope and mine, I will take what is offered. I do this for two reasons...1)I feel like this shot gives me the greatest chance of making the shot and collecting the game...and yes it is a compromise between the quickest kill and the actual collecting, so let us not go there. 2)This shot eliminates many of the variables that cause us to miss...nerves, miscalculations of range, wind, and in longer shots...movement during time of flight, because it is LARGER. Of course there are other varibles...unseen obstacles and such....rain and whatnot. I am a good shot...I've worked hard to be and I'm proud of that fact. I don't doubt my abilities at all. On lesser creatures when things were just right I've made some pretty nice shots. If I have learned anything in my 30 some odd years of shooting it is that I tend to overthink a shot...and when I do that I tend to mess it up...it is a fault that I have worked very hard to overcome and in the last few years I believe I have made some progress. I still like the odds of boiler room over the calculator and phone line. It ain't as sexy...but it is effective. I know my limitations. Also the type of hunting that I do is not condusive to the type of precision required for the smaller target. I know there are many of yall out there where the conditions are better for this. And Bill...I never shot a prairie dog...but I have yanked me a gopher outta his hole with a 22 Magnum...and I have been know to explode an errant water rat er two...maybe even a turtle. If they turn you in I'll be your celly...deal?

If I can, I'll take a shoulder shot that goes through the spine. If I don't have a good rest, or the shoulder is not available, then I'll go for the heart/lung area.

I have lost a buck by neck shooting him at 70 yards with a 280. After 20 or so minutes he got up,jumped a fence and ran off. I got lucky on one that I shot with my 22-250 at 50 yards because he was hit enough to keep him off balance enough so I could dog him and knife stick his lungs.( I won't ever hunt with only 1 bullet again) They can't go too far without pumping blood or breathing.

Ok, I'm going to be the odd ball here I guess...! I shoot deer in the neck, middle or bottom of the white spot on there neck. And I shoot hogs behind the ear or between the eyes.

I shoot them in those perticular places b/c it kills them instantly. I have never had to look for, or track a deer shot in the neck or a pig shot behind the ear. It's just that simple. I have shot many deer behind the shoulder, and had to go look for them, and some were not recovered. When you shoot them in the neck, you have a smaller taget, which interns means, if you miss, you'll probably miss completely..and no harm done.JMO

Kellie

DC that will always work...if you can get an animal to be still for it and you can get a rest. I don't think that anybody that ever shot a living thing will tell you that severing a spine or drilling a hole through something's brain won't instantly turn out the lights. Will you pass on an animal if you can't get those shots? I don't think anybody here is going to change the way they shoot because of something me or anybody else here writes. I do think that those of you that make those lower percentage shots the norm should realize that many...if not most of us just don't have the luxury of the circumstances required for that kind of precision and that this fact is what drives us to aim where we do. I have hunted with lots of people for many years and I have yet to see a marksman of such skill that he can shoot a wide open hog or deer through the brush at 75 or 100 yards behind the ear reliably enough to make it more than just luck. If you can get into a position where these types of shots are possible...go for it. I'm not a big fan of the "behind the shoulder" shot myself. Too close to guts and things...If I'm broadside...or if I'm anywhere near that...I'm taking out running gear. Critters don't go far if they can't walk, breath or pump blood around. If you lost them from shooting them behind the shoulder, you hit high, low...or too far back and I can see where that would turn anybody off to that kind of shot. I will say this though...even from a stand I shoot for the high percentage targets, because I'm just not cool enough to wait for things to be that "just right". It takes patience and control for that kinda shooting, so my hat is are off to all you neck clippers and ear holers...lol