Always grew up shooting behind the shoulder but have tracked too many deer perfectly shot deer that went hundreds of yards with very little blood. Our brush is thick so this is never an easy job. Shot one a few years back high shoulder thinking I could break the shoulder on the way in and reduce that long tracking job, and it seemed to work well the one time I did it. Thoughts from some of you who may be more experienced would be greatly appreciated, thanks. (Talking about "trophy" deer, not does)

High shoulder is my POI of choice on deer that need to drop on the spot (near thick thornbrush, near boundry fence, canyon, etc). Very consistent way to drop them IME. For deer in an open area, where I can watch them run, I like the heart/lung area.

I mostly hunt south TX so high shoulder shots are the most common.

And when we say high shoulder, would you say about middle of the body height? Or a little lower?

Always shoot my bucks dead in shoulder or in the neck if am not mounting it. as far as does and spikes an such for meat I shoot them all in the head or neck shots.

Follow the front leg straight up to the top of the back, then drop down about 5" or width of a hand below the front shoulder.

About what I thought, thanks!

Intentionally shooting anywhere there is edible meat is waste in my opinion. The shoulder roasts are my favorite part of the deer and pig.

I have also seen numerous shots that blew a 8" hole out of the opposite of the shoulder but the deer was not dying because no vitals were hit.

Double lung, and they are not going far, and zero wasted meat.

mid to high shoulder or just in front of the shoulder (breaks neck) for anything I need to drop in it's tracks and wastes little meat IMO

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Me too^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I like high shoulder at the base of the neck. DRT.

I killed almost 30 deer last season on our MLD lease - a little in front of the shoulder and a little over half way up - I am in south texas so deer are larger and I use 180 grain bullet - rarely do they not drop in their tracks

I have killed 2 with high shoulder shots and they dropped on the spot. One of them was not dead Just paralyzed...hate that so I shot him again in the head. No need in the animal suffering.

I always hunted with a .280 Remington and the shoulder did it every time. Bone fragments would shred the heart and lungs they dropped in their tracks.

I prefer a shot with the largest margin for error. I have nothing to prove.

Dang near every deer I have shot has been on the lower backside of the shoulder and blows the heart out and they usually drop right in their tracks. Now that depends on the position of the deer in relationship to where I am shooting from.

I shoulder shoot bucks and go behind shoulder on does. So far every shoulder shot has dropped em where they stood.

High shoulder shot if you hunt in thick thorney brush, near a fenceline, or old and don't want to track a deer and have to drag it.
I've seen deer drop with a double lung shot, or heart shot, but I've seen a lot more shot that way that run off a pretty good ways.
I've yet to see a high shoulder shot deer that didn't result in a dead deer on the spot.
If the deer runs off, you missed the spot you should have been aiming.

agree totally - the debate over head and neck shots versus shoulder is summed up by your statement - simply the largest margin for error and shows respect for the animal

Yeah, I was taught as a kid right behind the shoulder too.

I have come to believe high shoulder is the best spot.

Take off a wheel!

It is idea, just always remember when dropping deer or hogs in their tracks, they can get back up just as quick as they went down. You need to know that the hidden truth is that it is a great drop shot or AKA known take down faster than behind the shoulder shot But!. The important thing is if an animal goes straight down it was paralized or broken down with damaged shoulders and legs. You need to hope that the bullet made it's way past the shoulder blades and into the vitals. Never make the mistake that that animal is TKO dead. A high shoulder shot with any caliber can result in a glancing shot going up towards the spine. That ultimatly is why the animal goes down in my mind anyways. All that high shoulder stuff is connected to the spine area. ALOTTA hard bone!! This is where your bullet can be deflected and not penetrate or go up and out north of the body. If I shoot 10 hogs or deer high in the shoulder 2 or 3 of them will get back up. Sometimes I walk up to them and they cant get up and wont die. Always be ready for another shot. I shot a hog years ago high in the shoulder. Put it in the truck bed. Drove to a guy's house that wanted it. Opened the tailgate. The hog woke up from not dead and jumped out of the back of the pickup and tried to runned off! The guy chased around his yard with a small pocket knife. The guy caught up with the boar and went Rambo on it and killed it. Better check that pulse and eyeball. Alls I'm sayin. Animals can hurt you. A deer's kick is deadly. A school friend lost an uncle from the same subject. Had the buck in a bathtub and the buck came too and kicked him in the chest. Wounded Vitals!! Shock!! Killers or paralizers ??. Takes caution sometimes. Some may doubt, they may not of witnessed it. I have. I prefer the HS still though. A running shot deer aint cool. Jimmy Joe or Wiley may eat your deer while your scrathin your head.

Pretty much sums up my feelings on the subject too. If I am pulling the trigger on an animal I am going to do everything I can to make sure I kill that animal cleanly. That means giving myself the greatest margin for error (even though I can’t remember the last time my bullet didn’t go where I wanted it). A lung/heart shot animal is dead on its feet and won’t go far.

I take most of the “neck shot/DRT every time/Annie Oakley” posts with a big old grain of salt. No one makes a perfect shot every time. A 10” circle is a heckuva lot more margin for error than a 4” circle.

I've shot deer behind the shoulder, heart shot, and the high shoulder. The last few years I've been taking the heart shot. When I take out the heart the deer have not ran very far at all and in fact most walk ten to fifteen yards and simply go down. Will I take the high shoulder shot? I will but it's not my first choice. And I prefer the heart shot because I lose a lot less meat.

Thanks everybody

High shoulder is my 95%
Shoulder/neck crease is my 4%
Backside arm pit is my 1%