to take or not to take a head shot on a deer?

[Clark]

350 yard head shot Nov 27 2009
270 130 gr Ballistic tip 2885 fps muzzle, 2150 fps terminal

 

[dk17hmr]

I know some guys that cant shoot very well but they opt for headshots....ussally with a rim fire and spotlight. I know some target shooters that only go for boiler room shots....I dont have a problem with it, do what you want.

Ill take a head shot if everything is right, but would limit my range.

 

[FEENIX]

As shooters we have enough enemys without fighting amongst ourselves.

Happy hunting,Russ

+1. Pulling the trigger is the easy part, the consequences after the shot (head or any other vitals) is a different story. The bottom-line is we (ideally) owe it to the the sport (and for some, a tradition and way of life) and to the game we pursue to harvest them as humanely as possible to best of our ability.

Happy safe shooting/hunting to all!

Ed

 

[Chas1]

RockyMtnMt, +1 your right the lefty's love this infighting not to mention how they would use this post to villanize us. I can see the headlines "Hunters intentionally blow Bambi's jaw off...animal dies a slow horrific death.

Whether your are ok with headshots or not...eithers ok w/me but, IMHO this doesn't help OUR cause. Just my 2 cents.

 

[theodore]

The way I see it is one would do it for bragging rights and other would do it depending on the situation while out in the field.

 

[Mike6158]

I considered doing that during my last hunting trip but decided to play it safe and shoot where I knew I could hit.

I put a lot of practice in at the 200 and 300 yard range last month and this month so I knew I could hit what I aimed at when it was anywhere within 200 - 300 yards distance. As it turned out I only had one chance to make a shot outside of 100 yards and it was at 285 yards by my rangefinder. I looked at the head shot at 20x but decided not to risk it. I put the bullet right where I aimed and the deer was down and dead within 10 yards. In hindsight I could have taken whatever shot I wanted to... but I'm good with what I did and good with whatever ethical action a fellow hunter takes.

 

[Chas1]

mike6158, you put the shot where you were confident and were successful. As mentioned several times by others on this post paying attention to where your more confident placing the shot...I believe is part of it. Based on the results I'd say you made the right choice. Congrats.

 

[bigngreen]

Just an observation, but I see more game with flopping front legs than I see with a broken jaw. I have shot quite a few in the head but it is not something that I seek out, if the shot is there then I take it if not then behind the shoulder it goes. I have yet to track a wounded animal with a head shot and I have track several with hits to the shoulder or leg just in front of the heart.

 

[killahog]

I shoot almost all of the does I hunt in the head I have often let them walk past and hunt them another day as opposed to busting the lungs and dealing with all that mess. I have never missed a head shot or wounded a deer doing it in 20 years. Some of the shots have been left handed as well as right handed. Granted most of them are under 100 yards. This year I have taken 2 deer with head shots. When the crosshairs settle on the eyeball and stop moving there is no doubt in my mind what the outcome is going to be. I would not take a shot that dident feel rite. I can't say that there is a distance involved in that decision its just something that I see thru the scope. This doe was shot this past sunday I was holding on the deers righ eye at 100 yards. I was using a Savage muzzloader and smokeless powder.

 

[Ridge Runner]

I shoot almost all of the does I hunt in the head I have often let them walk past and hunt them another day as opposed to busting the lungs and dealing with all that mess.

Well whether a deer is headshot or lung shot, they have the same amount of blood in them. That mess you mentioned is where they bleed out internaly. it takes 2 minutes to deal with that lungshot mess, alot better than spending over an hour cleaning up a headshot deer that died instantly leaving all the blood in its body. I'll take the 2 minute mess anyday.
RR

 

[timeless61]

what is the thread that got this started?

 

[killahog]

RidgeRunner where are you coming up with these outrageous times(An Hour Cleaning up a Headshot) VS (2 minutes dealing with a lungshot) If you don't have the skills to make a headshot you are doing the right thing by taking lungshots.

 

[Chas1]

timeless61, thread got started by someone upset over taking headshots on deer. In an earlier post I was hoping folks might think before they wrote...the left loves this stuff but since that post we've gone from blowing bambi's jaw off to shooting bambi in the eye pics included...talk about doing their work for them.

 

[timeless61]

yea, was there another thread that sparked this though? i read references to another thread, but was not sure which it was?