Aim point, which are you?

[one3]

Jack O'Conner, who wrote for Outdoor Life,for many years said, Any animal shot in the lungs will only go as far as it can hold it's breath.

 

[WildRose]

When shooting at an animal (let us use broadside as a standard for this discussion), are you a behind the shoulder (lungs), behind shoulder (heart), high shoulder (shoulder/spine) or a base of neck shooter?

I am a die hard bow hunter with well into double digit book whitetails and at 38 years old, I cannot get out of the "behind shoulder (lung) shot even with a gun. So my deer (although I don't shoot many with a rifle) all tend to run 20-125 yards. I tend to shoot Interlock/CoreLok style bullets and probably need to do something else or try like hell to move my aim point. Don't get me wrong, it works as I'm shooting them at bow range most of the time, but with a rifle I'd prefer to have them drop.

Where do you aim and what bullet do you use? Feel free to list multiples if your aim point and bullet differs by
cartridge, animal or distance.

Thanks,
Steve

Depends entirely on the range, conditions, terrain, and type of animal. If I want to drop them in their tracks or it is an especially tough animal, ie African Game, Big Hogs.. . I aim for the where the humerus meets the shoulder blade, head, or neck.

Interrupt the CNS and/or break them down in the shoulders and they aren't going far if they move at all.

 

[redriverhunter]

in my limited experience I like a 308 win. with 165 gn Hornady SST most of my shots are within a 100 yards or less. I shoot behind the shoulder most drop. Last year I shot too far back on a doe and she ran about 75 yards. I believe if I had hit her closer to her shoulder she too would have dropped.

 

[crkckr]

I got most of my hunting info & ethics from my uncle, who was really big into getting as close as possible. Still, he also was prepared for that long shot. Long is relative in this case, he used to hunt elk with a Ruger #1 in 6mm Rem, using 100 gr. Nosler Partitions. I use a Ruger 77 in .338 WM and use 210 Partitions. Aim point depends on circumstances. If can get real close & my target is relaxed I'll take a head shot, just behind the eye. On the shots I've taken like that they've been DRT every time. If I can't get that close I go for the off shoulder. If I can break a shoulder they aren't going anywhere and that's my number one priority. Everything else is secondary.
Cheers,
crkckr

 

[Clay Target Guy]

Where I hunt in what ain't up is down, so I tend to try and anchor them right where they stand. I like a quartering to me shot and take a shoulder shot. If I can, I take a high shoulder shot for most shots, but the should shot will drop them like lighting.
I am not the great white hunter that some are but have killed a lot of deer in 45 years of hunting. I say that to say, bullet placement is key but I also believe speed has something to do with it. I am not smart enough to figure it all out, but from what I have seen, 98% of my "bang flop" shots have come from a bullet that was launched at round 3000-3200 FPS.
Has anyone else noticed a trend in speed and instant drops?

 

[5.56×250]

It will be interesting to see where the crosshairs settle. I've been a bowhunter only for many many years. Body gave out on me with all kinds of neck /spine stuff going on. Just got back into rifles this past deer season. Didnt see a shooter that suited me, so I didnt pull a trigger on hair. Always found the top of the heart in an imaginary line through the deer with my bow. I expect I will take advantage of the extra opportunity a bullet allows and take the best, lethal shot the deer offers. In the Ga deer woods, especially during the right time, I mean rut time of year , you better take what muay grandy gives you or go home and watch football. All that useless chatter aside, I prefer the good ol top heart/double lung combo, but on a shooter , anything he offers in the lung/neck/shoulder will hold hot copper.

 

[TwoMore]

I choose the right bullet for cartridge and there isnt much meat loss, I shoot a 338 rum with a 250 berger at 2950 fps and you would think it would destroy meat but it doesn't,the bullet alot of times is caught by the off side skin in a big mushroom. I bow hunt as much as I rifle hunt and I always go for the high forward shoulder for the drt, I like to drive right up to them lol. I shot that deer at 80 yards and even the bullet hole went into the cooler. I shot the double lung shot and I tried to get it just under the spine and had to track that deer 300 yards in the thicky of the thick woods

 

[Dosh]

To quote a very well known member "shoot em in the slats". Heart-lung shots waste little meat and kill quickly.

 

[rogerstv]

Yep, double lung or heart is best for clean harvest. I will never forget a bow shot on a doe from an elevated stand. She walked directly in to me. Stopped at 15 yards, looked up, and I sent the broadhead alongside her neck into the vitals. Follow the neck to the vitals !!! Among the many deer I have shot, that one sticks in my memory the most.

 

[Blackdirt Cowboy]

Never bow hunted. I always aim for the crease behind the shoulder, except on hogs, I shoot them is the ear. I rarely don't have a bang flop. Only when bullet placement is less than what I desired.

 

[fabricator21]

In general I like a high shoulder shot. Distance, terrain, hunting pressure are all taken into consideration for shot placement.

 

[LVJ76]

98% of my "bang flop" shots have come from a bullet that was launched at round 3000-3200 FPS.
Has anyone else noticed a trend in speed and instant drops?

Yes, it's the advantage of using magnum cartridges and this is called Hydrostatic Shock, it happens when an animal is hit by a bullet going above 2,600 fps (ideally at 2,800 or above) causing a wide wound channel and with good bullet penetration damaging the vital organs. The animal doesn't necessarily die on impact, but is in a sense knocked out or in shock/coma, that is followed by quick blood loss due to a wide wound channel and followed by a quick death. All this happens before the animal regains consciousness.

This is more likely to happen with larger bore calibers, say 7mm and above. The smaller the caliber the less likely to cause hydrostatic shock.

 

[SMK1000plus]

Usually behind the shoulder but, depending on variables, other POA may be required.

When using 223 Rem for cull deer or thinning hog population, neck/head shots only.

The following options are pretty much for at least .243/6mm and larger calibers. Deer at longer ranges where neck shots are not an option, and right at high cliffs or fast running water, then a center shoulder shot to anchor them quickly may be required. If presented with a quartering shot, I put it through the heart and lung(s), so as to miss impacting the shoulders completely. At 450+ yards, high shoulder POA (this option excludes .243" and .257" calibers for me).

The POA for me varies and may even need to be adjusted at the very last second, if conditions change.

 

[BoomFlop]

I have read that in regards to velocity, however, even a 300 Win Mag drops below 2600 fps inside of 300 yards or even 200 yards. So, is the only bang flop that is created outside of 2600 fps due to spine/shoulder hit?