Going to try new shot placement

[snuffer#1]

I have been looking at the deer anatomy lately! What I have notiiced, is a new shot placement. If you are using something like a 243, or matter of fact anything, if you notice the spinal cord is located right above the front shoulder. A hit there will drop a deer in its tracks, DEAD!
                                                                            snuffer

[Mac11700]

I have been looking at the deer anatomy lately! What I have notiiced, is a new shot placement. If you are using something like a 243, or matter of fact anything, if you notice the spinal cord is located right above the front shoulder. A hit there will drop a deer in its tracks, DEAD!
                                                                            snuffer

That's not a high percentage shot to take...under ideal conditions maybe..but..your(most folks) are better off putting a good bullet in the vitals...Same for neck shots...done correctly and precisely....works wonders...done wrong...you got a wounded animal running off

Mac

[quickdtoo]

High shoulder shots are great if you want to anchor an animal, but the .243 with standard bullets might not be the best choice. Using premium bullets that won't go to pieces, it would be fine tho.  It's also a poor choice if you like to eat right up to the hole, tho!

My preference is just behind the shoulder, not much meat will be lost and the animal will be down within 100yds and should have a nice blood trail with typical deer bullets.

My best friend and hunting partner for 33yrs shot a blacktail buck square in the chest straight on with a Winchester 80gr PSP from about 35yds, knocked the deer over backwards, and it went out of sight in the ferns. When he got to the spot where it stood, it was gone, lots of hair and blood, no deer. 4 of us looked for that deer for 3 days, never found it or any sign of it. We figured the bullet blew up on impact with the brisket, but no venison for him that year, so he sold the .243 which he swore upon until then, now he swears at it!!

Tim

[MSP Ret]

I have been using neck shots for deer for many years, drops them like they were pole-axed with
very little wasted meat, mostly stew meat in the neck anyway and little is wasted....<><....


Thanks for that story on the .243 Quick, I was thinking of getting one but had my reservations, of course a straight on brisket shot on a large whitetail is iffy at best, even with a 180 grain 30-06.  I have seen deer run and never been found with little blood after being hit dead square in the chest with a 180 grain RN 30-06 in Maine. All the old timers in camp told the youngster that took the shot to never try a striaght on brisket shot on a deer again. That young fellow went on to enlist in the Marine Corp and make it through the School of the Sniper, "one shot, one kill" for him but never again a brisket shot on a large whitetail deer.... 

[safetysheriff]

i'd like to offer an opinion on shooting whitetails that i hope will not offend anyone.

whitetails are almost universally of too modest a structure to cause a 180 gr' bullet of standard .308 or .30-06' construction to open up on them.    the 180 gr' bullet meant for the .308 and faster cartridges is meant to handle elk and moose and bear, generally.   it's too strong on whitetails.   i'd recommend a bullet of 150 gr's as probably being ideal out of a .308 and faster cartridges.   it'll open up and it'll harvest the animal more quickly......with fewer losses.     

i've seen some whitetails of over 225 lbs shot in the brisket at over 125 yds with a 60 gr' Hornady spire point that were down on the ground in less than 80 yds..........out of a .223!    it's a better idea to use a lighter bullet ( of reasonable construction) on whitetails.   

nuisance hunting observations have shown me this among those who hunt in Ohio and West Virginia.

ss'   

[McLernon]

Double-lung shot is the highest percentage shot because it's the biggest vital organ and it always kills. Also, if they can't breathe they can't go far. I double-lung shot a deer two years ago three times at 50 yards. The first two shots he hardly noticed he was so intent on finding the does, the third started him running---not far. 50 yards and he was not only down he was dead. That was with a .257 Roberts and 100 grain Nosler Partitions at more than 3000 f/s.

He was 230 lbs.

McLernon

[gimphunter]

On a broadside shot, the lung shot is good for several reasons. If you nail it, the deer is dead and won't go far. If you miss to the rear, he's liver-shot and won't go far. If you miss a little bit high, you'll hit the spine or the shoulder blades/brachial plexus nerve center and he'll drop right there. And if you miss a little low, you just might take out his heart.

[quickdtoo]

Ummm, I'll pass on the liver shot, I've tracked too many that went 200-300yds with only a drop of blood every 20' or so, not fun in brush, one took 3 of us well over 2 hours on our hands and knees, they just don't bleed enough outside. That one was shot with a .308 Winchester by my huntin partner, the deer was standing behind a tree and he thought he had a clear shot just behind the shoulder, but he hit it just a little too far back, so it just depends where it gets hit in the liver. The big buck I killed with my BLR was hit thru the liver and out the left front shoulder, it went about 30yds and piled up, so liver shots can be quick, or slow, but not a sure quick kill and they don't leave much of a trail, he left no blood on the ground, it was all inside him.

Tim

[gimphunter]

I've only liver-shot one deer, and she piled up within 75 yards, leaving a decent trail of dark blood. I do know that a liver-shot deer is a dead deer. From what I've heard (not personal experience, except that one doe), most liver-shot deer will pile up within 150 yards if you don't push them. Of course, if you can't find it, that only helps the vultures. I wasn't suggesting that anyone aim for the liver.

[wcf3030]

I shot a doe once in the liver, with a 180gr sp from a bolt 30-30.
One of thoses bounding running shots.
She went 40yds and droped. Not dead though I had to finish her.
Worked ok but I wanted a lung shot, just did not lead her enough.

[mt3030]

I've taken a few head of large game. Here in this area most of our shots are long. Only game I've dropped with neck shots were by accident due to wind or just poor shots. For me, right behind the shoulder as described above by McLernon and gimphunter is the most assured to bring down the game. Too easy to miss a neck shot at 200+ yds.

[quickdtoo]

My preference is just behind the shoulder, not much meat will be lost and the animal will be down within 100yds and should have a nice blood trail with typical deer bullets.

Me too!  Always have!!!

[Hagen]

I have been involved in teaching marksmanship skills with the Army for many years now. Occasionally I get soldiers who prefer to make head shots on the 25 meter sight-in target. When I question them about this, the usual reply is "my daddy taught me to shoot there". While I applaude those fathers who took the time to teach their children to shoot well, engageing an enemy with only head shots is not always going to be a life saving technique. The army teaches us to shoot for center of mass on an "E" type target. This will most always ensure a disabling hit if not a kill at ranges up to 300 meters without a sight adjustment. While we do our best to teach basic marksmanship skills, shot placement at any range under varying conditions may not reflect a hit at precisely the point of aim. I hunt deer in exactly the same mind set. I do my best to place the bullet just behind the front shoulder. If I misjudge the range, or at the last moment before I squeeze the trigger the animal moves, I still make a connecting shoot. I can think of only one deer that I ever shot with a rifle that got away. That was the result of trying to make a head shot on a four point mule deer at 50 yards. The deer dropped like a rock. I had to cross through a ravine to get to the deer that I could see was down on the ground. I lost sight of the deer for only a minute and all I ended up with was three of his teeth lying on the ground. Never again have I made this mistake. There are some shooters that I have seen that I swear possess a natural ability to shoot well. I believe that they could still shoot better than most of us if they never practiced at all. I never have nor do I expect to reach that level of expertise. So I encourage anyone who wishes to shoot well, to practice, practice, and practice.

[tuxdad]

Well I might as well throw my 2 cents worth in on this...

One thing you folks have all forgotten is how much O2 is in the blood when they're hit...
My uncle as well as a few of the old codgers where I live and hunt with(and sit around a shop with an actual pot bellied stove) have all said you have to take into account not just where you hit the critter but when you hit them.. If you shoot a deer that's just took a good healthy breath, when he/she's shot then they're gonna run a ways, but if they've still and sniffing around their blood's not well oxygenated so they hit the ground usually right where they are...

Now I'm saying that you count or watch the breathing of a critter, but I've come to believe it to be true.. Especially after one feller we hunt with showed his proof(he's the retired ME for where I used to live)...
He compared the blood trails and lungs of a bunch of different deer(with video, he gets into his work).. With the lungs he found on deer that were dropped in their tracks that there was little o2 in the lung blood, also the pooled blood was of a darker color ... Now with the deer that had to be trailed, the blood on the trails were of a brighter red, and in some cases bubbly.. When the lungs were examined they were well oxygenated (and bright red I might add) with bubbly blood pooled in the lungs..

It took him about 4 seasons(years) hunting with friends and lugging a bunch of equipment around( I and a few others yougers bucks helped, with permission to hunt on his private property as a reward )..

I can honestly say I learned quite a lot in those jaunts with him ...