W/T deer shot placement

Rodney, if you look though the article I linked to above you'll see where you want to aim for the effect you're after. It's actually a bit forward on the shoulder. It will waste a bit more meat though.
 
Rifleman I will definitely will try this. Thank you for helping in a positive knowledgeable way. As someone mentioned earlier in the thread losing a little meat is much better than losing a whole deer. Rodney
 
Google "autonomic plexus shot on game".....While I don't rifle hunt a bunch, I bring my children out with rifle until they want to Archery hunt. With kids I really like this shot as it seems to combined the effects of a high shoulder shot, with the safety of center of mass of vitals. If the shot is not perfect, I think your chances of ending up with a solid vital hit is much better, than a high shoulder. I believe you can hit this target quartering away, by sucking your shot closer to the onside shoulder. My daughter shot a deer last year at 85 yds with a .243, quartering slightly away, she hit center in elevation, but instead of aiming at the opposite leg for left/right, she put the bullet between them. The deer bang flopped, and there was very little meat damage. I picture this "Autonomic Plexus region" as a small ball floating in the center of the deer......depending on the angle, just aim for the ball. "Effective killing Game" by Nathan Foster should pull up some great video's on the effects of different shot placements. Bottom line is there are many places you can hit an animal and kill it, and the "Right One" is the one you feel most comfortable guaranteeing a clean kill! Since I Archery Hunt, I expect to need to track, but with smaller caliber youth rifles, I do worry about what kind of blood trail you would get with a runner.
 
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Agree - Nathan Foster's advice on autonomic plexus has been highly effective for me. First time i tried it was a quartering towards shot on an ibex on some very steep ground. He just crumpled and was dead before he hit the ground. Perfect.
 
I want to either put the bullet into a shoulder or exit a shoulder. Have killed hundreds of deer and the shock of hitting the scapula usually puts them off their feet and the bullet combined with bone fragments takes out the lungs and they will weaken and die before then can get back on their feet. I want to drop them in their tracks because where I hunt it is so thick you would have trouble trailing a chalk line and almost have to step on one to find it.
 
Took a shoulder shot last year on one and my wife gave me the business for it since she's a fan of a good shoulder roast.

As am I, so I don't take shoulder shots in general. If I was up on some mountain with a sheep I would anchor it if needed. Never had a whitetail make it over 50 yards with a 180 grain in the boiler room.

Everyone is a bit off sometimes especially with the fever... But I would never change where I advised shot placement for a newbie over a low shot, just more breathing and practice.
 
RT2506 said:
.......I want to drop them in their tracks because where I hunt it is so thick you would have trouble trailing a chalk line and almost have to step on one to find it.........
Click to expand...

The difference in recovery in the rain forest, and high desert can be substantial.
 
As my favourite shot to take, especially if the animal is running, the high shoulder shot has 100% anchored every animal I have successfully hit this way. It always hits the top of both lungs and removes the spinal column. True, depending on calibre you use, it CAN ruin quite a bit of meat, but if done correctly, it is the top flap that is damaged. I prefer the backstraps personally.
I normally use the 338 calibre, so meat damage isn't as high as smaller calibres.

Cheers.
:D
 
I like the forward high shoulder shot. Needs to be at the junction of the neck and shoulders, as a shot even with or just behind the shoulder will paralyze the deer and leave them badly wounded and struggling to get away on front legs. If I had the choice when quartering to or away, I'd be slipping the bullet into the pocket behind the leg or dead center between the front legs. It's a good kill shot with very little meat loss as it only hits ribs and vital organs. That A.P. impact leaves nothing to question, it's like cutting the strings on a puppet.
 
I suggest that beginning hunters aim for what I call the "pocket." From a broad side shot it's would be about a third of the way up from the bottom of the chest following the front leg. If you shoot forward you hit the shoulder, down the heart, high the spine or upper lungs, and back gives you a solid lung hit. I have never seen a deer travel more that 75 yards with this shot. The most important thing is placement and an adequate terminal bullet performance to do the job, if you have those then no deer will go far.
 
therifleman556 said:
True, but...

The animals brain and muscles will still function as long as oxygen levels will allow them to. Add in some adrenaline, and even a heart shot doe can cover some ground.

https://www.ballisticstudies.com/Knowledgebase/Effective+Game+Killing.html

A bit of a long read, but very informative. Lots of in depth information on the various aiming points and their potential outcomes.
Click to expand...

that website is a good resource. I actually found it myself and saved it to my computer a few months ago.

I like the explanations of hydraulic and hydrostatic shock, and the fine research which elaborates on the velocity range which makes frangible bullets either drop deer dead in their tracks (or rather, instantly incapacitate them in a coma followed by rapid blood loss leading to death) , or else explode ineffectively on impact
 
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