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Shoulder shots

Personal experience. I shot a bear through the heart, there was literally nothing left of the heart, no way it was pumping blood. It was shredded. The bear still ran 80 yards.

Elk run 30-40 yards with no lungs.
Moose like to stand there with no lungs, and walk maybe 10-20 feet.
Deer just fall over from a .243.

I'm a boiler room shooter, because my heart is pumping too fast :)
 
So you like wasting good meat. Unbelieveable. Boiler house shots. Why intentionally wound an animal, unless maybe your in a wheel chair.
 
Previous life situation dictated that hunting wasnt really for sport. I couldnt justify the damaged meat from a shoulder shot. I like to wait for quartering away and slip it in behind the on side shoulder, take the heart and lungs and exit just in front of the off side shoulder. Usually run a bit but not far. Have had a few bang-flops.

I think my life experience has colored my view of hunting. I dont get real excited about trophy hunting. Would really rather shoot meat does, if a shot isn't good I'll wait for another one.
 
the blur said:
Personal experience. I shot a bear through the heart, there was literally nothing left of the heart, no way it was pumping blood. It was shredded. The bear still ran 80 yards.

Elk run 30-40 yards with no lungs.
Moose like to stand there with no lungs, and walk maybe 10-20 feet.
Deer just fall over from a .243.

I'm a boiler room shooter, because my heart is pumping too fast :)
Click to expand...
 
Over the years i have shot many moose starting with a 303 British and than later with a 30 06. Always reloaded my own shells 180s for the 303 and 150s for the 30 06. (if i were to notch the stock for every moose I shot there would be no stock left) I have never had an animal move more than a few feet after being shot. The distance varied from 100 yards to over 500 yards. (paced out distances no rangefinder ever used) never lost an animal to being wounded and never needed a second shot. Most were heart / lung shots just behind the shoulder blade. Of course there were times when head shots, just below the ears, just made them sit down with out a wiggle. My last moose hunt I watched him come down a game trail and when he was 100 feet away I MOVED off the trail and he just turned his head looked at me and turned off the trail with out breaking stride. I let him keep going. From that day on I always hunted with a camera But have yet to fine moose as large as that one.
I thought about this moose as he was approaching me, and realized that I would have a real challenge getting the meat out across the swamp, but it would have been the death of me trying to get that enormous head/rack out of there, hance that was his lucky day. That was the closeist I have ever been to a wild moose (ready to shoot) and he chose not to challenge me. I guess he knew he was safe.
 
High shoulder shots are one of the highest percentage for wounded elk, ya its a shot that can anchor them but I've watched a LOT of elk recover from it after missing the spine by a half inch and get into worse place than they would have if they had just stood there wobbling for a few seconds. Of all the elk I've had to dispatch high shoulder is the one I see the most, many time you don't kill them they are just paralyzed and I don't see it as fair to the animal to just paralyzed them so I can have it easy, if we do shoot a high shoulder shot many times we send a second one through the chest to make sure they are anchored and dead.
 
bigngreen said:
High shoulder shots are one of the highest percentage for wounded elk, ya its a shot that can anchor them but I've watched a LOT of elk recover from it after missing the spine by a half inch and get into worse place than they would have if they had just stood there wobbling for a few seconds. Of all the elk I've had to dispatch high shoulder is the one I see the most, many time you don't kill them they are just paralyzed and I don't see it as fair to the animal to just paralyzed them so I can have it easy, if we do shoot a high shoulder shot many times we send a second one through the chest to make sure they are anchored and dead.
Click to expand...
Practice practice practice 11 oregon elk drt 2 in California dry 1 Idaho dry I shoot a lot 200 rounds a month
 
In All my years of witnessing and taking many game animals, an immediate drop of an animal @ impact doesn't send a warm fuzzy feeling for me. I've seen way too many shoulder shots turn into a day of tracking!

Guys take a shot, animal drops immediately - they're up high fiving and congratulating each other - while the animal is most definitely not dead.

in recent years friends have started to video their hunts - they have to edit me out after the high shoulder shot because I'm hollerin' in the background - get back on him, he's gonna get back up! 😆

don't get me wrong, the most dramatic reactions from animals that I've taken have been shoulder shots, however - In a situation where permitted, a lung shot for me every time!
 
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