Why a high shoulder shot?

[remingtonman_25_06]

I prefer a shoulder shot to anchor game where they stand. I"m not much for tracking and it makes it a lot easier to find the animal where you shot it at LR then to get there and try to look for where it last was and track it.

Its mighty hard for an animal to run anywhere when both front shoulders are smashed.

Yah you may ruin a bit of meat, but some meat is better then no meat.

Most of us dont hunt this day in age because we have to survive, we do it for the sport and fun of it. So a few pounds of meat shouldn't be a big concern for most of us.

 

[CoachChris]

Hunting season is upon us. Time to have this discussion again.

This has to be one of if not the best threads I've had the privilege to read on any forum. Very informative without a lot of "in my opinion" without solid evidence to back it up. I appreciate the science and practical application of this forum. light bulb

Chris

 

[Varmint Hunter]

Last year I shot 6 deer in N. Carolina. Range was out to 470yds. I was shooting a 7STW with the 162gr A-Max bullet. I have always taken traditional broadside lung shots in the past but decided to try the "high shoulder shot" just to see the terminal performance for myself. Every deer hit with this shot was DRT, vertical drop. The bullets did not exit.

It became apparent that even a frangible bullet like the A-Max is quite deadly with the high shoulder shot and premium bonded or mono-metal bullet are not needed. At least not for whitetails.

Yeah - there was more meat ruined than you would get with a lung shot but when you have 6+ deer, who cares. None of the deer took more than 1 step and potential loss was eliminated.

Just my limited experience with this shot placement.

 

[old_heli_logger]

"Hit 'em low, watch 'em go..."

"Hit 'em high, watch 'em die..."

 

[bigg_sexy1]

Just a quick blip. On Sept.20 I was able to conect with a nice 6X6 Bull Elk, long story which I will post in the Elk hunting section soon... anyways 230 yd shot, steep downhill 300 RUM shooting 210gr Bergers totaly leveled him... Bang Flop just awsome. Minimal meat damage as the Bergers performed exactly as advertised and I am 100% sold on this combination and shot placement. The bullet did not exit, and I recovered approx 50% of it at the hide on the off shot side.

 

[Pdvdh]

Minimal meat damage as the Bergers performed exactly as advertised and I am 100% sold on this combination and shot placement. The bullet did not exit, and I recovered approx 50% of it at the hide on the off shot side.

Where did you shoot him and what was the angle (broadside, quartering?)?

I shot a 170 lb black bear with a 210 Berger VLD this spring that was lying on it's side from a distance of about 25 feet. I hit the bear between the two front legs in the brisket area and none of the bullet even reached the backstraps, let alone exited. All I found upon butchering the bear were tiny shards of lead and jacket. This was with a 300 Win Mag and a muzzle velocity of ~2925 fps. None of the bullet penetrated more than 12" in depth, and I never found a piece of bullet that weighed more than 2-3 grains.

This was a finishing shot in the alders that killed the bear instantly. The bullet disintegrated like an exploding grenade within the first 12" of the bears chest.

 

[bigg_sexy1]

Steep downhill, slightly quatering away. Hit bottom of spine top of lungs. MV 2850 fps. I did find a bunch of pieces of jacket while butchering as well.

I am quite surprised that the bullet on your bear did not exit escpecially from 25 ft?

2925 fps from 300 win mag with 210 Berger WOW! What is your load? Must be some hot... fill it up to the top and pack it down with a pencil then crunch the bullet in type of thing? LOL

 

[Pdvdh]

2925 fps from 300 win mag with 210 Berger WOW! What is your load? Must be some hot... fill it up to the top and pack it down with a pencil then crunch the bullet in type of thing? LOL

Am I living life on the edge?
My ingredients are as follows:

Lapua 300 WM Brass
74.1 gr IMR 7828
Federal GM210M Primer
210 gr Berger VLD seated 0.005" into the lands
2910 fps

Chronographed muzzle velocity over an Oehler 33 and a Pact chronograph which are set up in series on the same 5 ft long skyscreen rail.

Hey, I've got an extra powder tamping pencil for your 300 RUM! A small ballpeen hammer also!

 

[Ridgerunner665]

Because a high shoulder shot will bust the shoulders, break the spine, and put a deer down in its tracks.

Many people do not realize that a deers spine is a few inches below the back line...the spine runs through the center of the neck, and is just a little above the shoulder joints.

If you miss to the rear...its still a lung shot.
If you miss to the front...its still a spine shot.
If you miss high...not good, nothing there but elongated vertebrae.
If you miss low...you will still likely immobilize the deer.