Need tips to drop him in his "tracks"

[DURAMAXHAL]

I am looking for tips to "drop him in his tracks",  I have always had deer to run after the shot, usually 50 yds or so, I watch these hunting shows on outdoor channel and there deer are hitting the ground like a sack of potato's, I am letting my son (14) sit by himself some and I would rather he not have to worry about exactly where it was standing and which way it ran so that he could concentrate on his shot more, I am no bullet guru but I have shot the winchester silver ballistic tips and hornady ballistic tips and still havent dropped one in there tracks, I try for the right behind the shoulder bullet placement, If I move more forward on the shoulder would this help?  I realize it will mess up more meat.   thanks in advance Hal

[Graybeard]

The ONLY guaranteed way to "drop them in their tracks" is to hit the CNS meaning brain or spine. All other shots will at least at times allow them to run. Hitting the lungs is really to me the smart move as it's the biggest target offering the most lattitude for error and if hit will drop them within 100 yards IF both lungs are hit almost 100% of the time. And there will be a good blood trail to the game.

I think the secret if there is such to the instant drops on TV are that they are using overly powerful magnum rifles and kinda soft bullets and are aiming high on the shoulder hoping to cause hydrostatic shock to do the CNS damage for them. It can work but it can also backfire on you. When you intentionally aim high on the shoulder a shot a wee bit too high can hit no vital area of the deer and let it get away completely. Just hitting close to the spine will usually drop the deer BUT it might be back up on it's feet very quickly and on the run if another shot isn't made and if the spine wasn't hit.

IF but ONLY IF you know the precise location of the spine in the neck then shooting for it can be a drop them in their tracks shot. BUT if you're wrong on where the spine is or if you miss that spot then again it might be a lost deer. I don't shoot for the spine or take neck shots. I always try to place my shot in the heart/lungs and use a bullet I'm sure will exit so I can follow the blood trail to the dead deer.

[.308sniper]

Graybeard Has it right!  T ake the lung shot.  Most of the lung shots I have taken the animals dropped in their tracks.  What bullets are you useing?

[hillbill]

in my experience, and not doubting anyone elses, to anchor a deer in his tracks take a full broadside shot thru both shoulders with a modern high velocity round.when i lung shoot deer and i usually do, they always seem to go at least 20 yrds and maybe a little farther.no less dead, they just dont know it right away.the prob with the shoulder shot is it destroys a large amount of meat and just generally makes a nasty mess in there.yu will notice this if you process your deer yourself.those tv fellas are shooting for maximum effect and often if you look close you will notice they take shoulder shots.

[K.K]

Also remember that each animal reacts differently.  I dropped the biggest buck of my life on the spot with a shoulder shot, but the next year shot a smaller one in the shoulder that ran quite a ways.  The chest (heart-lung) area is always fatal, and the biggest target to shoot at.  You animal may or may not drop in his tracks, but they shoud be easy to find, with minimal meat damage.  I've seen many muffed head and neck shots that mangled the animal, as well as some poor deer with his lower jaw shot off.  We owe it to our game animals to wait for a good, lethal shot.

[rickyp]

"to worry about exactly where it was standing and which way it ran so that he could concentrate on his shot more"
If this is the case then he is not ready to be hunting by him self. Taking the shot is but only one small part of hunting. by him noting the location of the deer at the shot will force him to watch what is around him and the deer. If you do not think he can track a deer by him self yet you should hunt with him this year and let him do the tracking and show him what to look for. this will be the best thing for him

[TribReady]

We shot 2 deer this year-my dad, 50yd shot, thru 1 lung and top of heart-ran about 50 yds-dead all the way.  My shot at a doe, both lungs at 30yds, she ran 25 or so yds-dead all the way.  Huge blood trails with each, although not really needed.
That being said, I agree a double lung shot kills "instantly" and to me, a 20-50 yard "run" is dead right there.  I've found that even if I take out both shoulders or the far shoulder in a classic quartering away shot, the deer still "skids" ahead alittle bit.  Unless I've hit the spine, I can only remember one deer way back that fell over right at the shot like you see in the videos.
It's funny, I was thinking about this very thing while on stand this weekend. I chalked up those video shots to high powered rifles on small, "Texas-size" deer, not the deer up here in Wisconsin.
If the desire is to kill the deer right there so it won't run into a restricted area or an area you can't hunt, I understand, but would recommend moving the stand "in" further and not ever relying on a drop in it's tracks kill
Proper shot placement, once learned and practiced, will carry over to any game species and any weapon used 

[beemanbeme]

I agree that "killin' something" is only a small part of the hunting package.

[CallaoJoe]

The buck I killed this year dropped right where he stood.  I was shooting a 30-06 Encore with handloaded 150 gr Speer spitzers, and 52.5 gr's of IMR 4320.  But, the shot was a little higher on the deer than I usually take, hit in the shoulder.  I usually go for the ole double lunger as well.  But this year's deer was in a wooded area, and the shoulder was my best shot at him.  I've had deer double lunged that have ran as far as 100 yds, leaving a blood trail that reminded me of something out of a horror movie.  You want a gauranteed kill, punch out both lungs, and their done.  No if's and's or but's.  I've personally killed, or witnessed my sons kill, about 40 deer in the past 16 years since I started deer hunting  (Used to be a hard core ducker).  Only 2 of them dropped in their tracks.  My buck this year, and my son's first deer with his .243 Handi rifle.  He hit it high in the shoulder as well.  Go fer the lungs... IMHO

[bucktales]

in my experience, and not doubting anyone elses, to anchor a deer in his tracks take a full broadside shot thru both shoulders with a modern high velocity round.when i lung shoot deer and i usually do, they always seem to go at least 20 yrds and maybe a little farther.no less dead, they just dont know it right away.the prob with the shoulder shot is it destroys a large amount of meat and just generally makes a nasty mess in there.yu will notice this if you process your deer yourself.those tv fellas are shooting for maximum effect and often if you look close you will notice they take shoulder shots.

+1
On broadside shots, a good amount of my kills were front shoulder shots. None went very far with the front wheel drive taken out.

[victorcharlie]

Break both front shoulders.........and they won't go any where........

[rickyp]

Break both front shoulders.........and they won't go any where........

This is not always true I havde taken out both shoulders on several deer and they rean off to about 30 to 60 yards. I would watch them run with the chest almost on the ground but they did run. This year I took a very smakk doe bullet went trough both shoulders and she ran 30 yards and right into a tree and snaped her neck and was D.R.T.

[Graybeard]

Technically speaking there is no "shoulder" to deer, at least not in the same sense as on humans. The bones of their front legs do not directly connect to the rest of their skeleton struction as does ours. So just what does "shooting a shoulder" mean on game like deer? Nothing really.

If all you hit is muscle then you've not truly accomplished much. If you break bones on both sides then it will be more difficult for them to run but they most assuredly can and have done just that even if bones in the leg are broken on both sides.

Many speak of a "high shoulder shot" and this can and does work at times to drop them on the spot. But the reason has little if anything to do with a "shoulder" and everything to do with damage done to the spine or shock transmitted to it from hydrostatic shock. Short of hitting the CNS you cannot depend on an animal going down to the shot. It might but then again it might not.

If they are totally at ease and unaware of your presence they are more likely to go down than if keyed up and on alert. One that has been running such as when chased by dogs or in a man drive are far less likely to go down to the shot unless CNS is hit.

[GRIMJIM]

My friend knocked out both front legs on a doe last year and it actually snow plowed away. Pushing with it's back legs and dragging it's chest on the ground like a plow. It left a pretty good trail of dirt and leaves to follow and he put it down when we caught up to it. I have had deer drop like a rock at the shot and then get back up. I personally prefer the lung shots as well. Plenty or blood to trail and if it runs off 20-30 yards, that's not very far to have to track it. I would concentrate on a more likely kill shot than worry about dropping it.

[Rummer]

GB is correct, the only way to guarantee the deer takes 0 steps is to hit the CNS.

I like to aim behind the shoulder, and use a rifle/bullet combination that gives a good expansion but still exits.  I prefer rifles above .30 caliber for this. 

The most spectacular deer killer I have ever seen is the Hornady 200 grain Flat point in a .338-06 moving at about 2700 fps.  This bullet was designed to be launched at around 2200 fps.  It expands rapidly, but since it weighs 200 grains to begin with, it retains plenty of mass to punch thru and make a large exit hole. 

Just remind your son to mentally mark the spot where the deer is standing before he shoots.  He will likely get excited and forget (I still do this sometimes).  And if it takes him a few tense minutes to find the beginning of blood trail, he will more likely to remember next time.

Best of Luck and Happy Thanksgiving,

Rummer

[sgtt]

Unfortunately I don't believe that Hornady catalogs the 338 200 grn. FN anymore.  I have used it in a 338 Win Mag with good results.  Downloaded, of course.

[rickyp]

I took a nice 120 lb spike this morning at around 40 yeards. The shot was perfict side shot. The slug took out the lower part of the heard and exited. the deer ran 60 some yards but I could see it run the whole way. the deer sprayed a 4 foot wide trail of blood from the place it was hit to the placei found it. Ieven  found blood over 6 feet up on  trees.
no shot will guarentee a drop in tracks deer.

[Cottonwood]

I hope this helps ya out.  Here is Vitals Pic that I created for new deer hunters.

[mitchell]

one word "SST"

[Buckskin]

I hope this helps ya out.  Here is Vitals Pic that I created for new deer hunters.

That blade looks a little high to me.

[Two Bears]

I always take the lung shots.........Until tonight, I had a doe at 10 yards then she took a wif of my scent and took 2 bounds away and stopped. She left me a standing shot with no lung to get so I decided to take the neck shot (FIRST EVER) and put the sight just below the head and squeased the trigger, She went down like a ton of bricks!

Lights out!

I think that the only reason I took that shot was because it was raining all day and I did not want to drag her another xtra 100 yards in a muddy plowed field (as it was already 500 yards to the truck). Would I do this shot again? Maybe if the situation was right but I will almost always pass until I get the lung shots. 

[si72]

I like to aim for the shoulder as it gives a good aim point. The bullet hitting bone does alot of damage to the muscle and lung tissue. We shot four reds last week two spikers and two females. The two does were taken with a 223 at 60mt both through the shoulder both fell on the spot the first tried to get back up but was finished quickly. The damage to the meat was severe but there ain't that much meat on the front legs. I shot the spikers with the 7mm 08 one through the shoulder and out the back end at about 225mt. The other through the shoulder and then through the neck at 50mt. both shots were emphatic. I would go as far as to say that the 7mm was over kill for the young males but it knocks them over from any angle the bullet just keeps going.  The target area for a neck shot is half the size of the target area for shoulder /lung shots.
si

[ccoker]

Hunting Texas whitetails, I have shot everyone through the neck
always in a stand with a good rest
side shot or frontal, through the neck has dropped every one in it's tracks
growing up shooting my dad's 22-250, 243 or 25-06 and the last several years with my 243 using several different loads
average shot 150 yards, none closer than 75 and none farther than about 250

[joshco84]

have had two neck shots drop imediately, two maybe three shoulders drop imediately, and one doe right in the back of the head.  i try to take neck shots on does if i have a good shot, but have only been presented with the two.  the shoulder shots were a buck and a doe, the buck on purpose, the doe accidental bad shot placement (flinched when i shot).  the head shot was not a choice shot, but i gut shot a doe on accident (another flinch, both flinches were my first year deer hunting) and she was slowly walking away and i didnt want to make the gut wound any worse with a texas heart shot.  she was also about fifty yards and it just seemed like the logical shot to me.  a little side not also....7mm rem mag into the back of a does head leaves subject unidentifiable for mug shots. it literally removes about all of the head/skull area.  but boy did she ever drop.

[Buckskin]

I have had 3 bucks that dropped imediately and got up and ran.  I got all of them eventually.  2 neck shots (one that the slug was lodged between vertibra, I tracked him for 3 hours and several miles). and one head shot (slug never entered him just skipped off the base of the antler, he ran but not very well, easy one to get).  These were all running shots w/ slugs. Normally I try and lung them.  I realize that a h p rifle would have had different results.

[NONYA]

Shootem in the base of the skull with a m203 grenade launcher....nuff said

[357magrifleman]

read this article
http://www.dnr.sc.gov/wildlife/deer/articlegad.html

[Savage .250]

   Over the years i`ve only had a couple of deer drop on the spot. Both were shot in the neck. Not my first shot
   of choice but thats all the shot i had. One was with a .243. The other a Sav .300.
    The first order of business is to take the best possible shot and get a humane kill. 
    I don`t quite get the need for a drop on the spot kill but thats just me.

[GeorgiaTrader]

I can appreciate your desire to make things as stress free for your as possible.  I am teaching my wife and my son to hunt and they both sit by themselves.  I used to make neck shots and swore by them up until 3 years ago.  I missed the biggest buck I have ever shot at at 75 yards and have no idea if he was wounded.  It still makes me sick to this day.  I tell my new hunters to concentrate on the shoulder and not to worry about anything else.  If they remember the animals reaction after the shot or the direction it will be good but I hope the hundreds of practice rounds will do the trick and there will be a trail to follow if necessary.

[merhunts]

I'd go for a lung shot Poke a hole in both lungs you have a dead deer. Maybe run 50 yard or less most of the time. And plenty of blood to find.