Shot placement on a deer

[skeets716]

Let me set this up...you have scouted the spot you feel in your gut will give you the opportunity to shoot a deer when the season opens up.  A deer walks into your shooting lane and presents you a side view, no obstructions.  Let's say it is about 75 yds away and you have the weapon of your choice & you are on the ground (no danger of hitting anything behind the deer).  What do you aim for?  I have friends that go for the "boiler room" (lungs & heart) and others that go for Neck / Head shots.  Just curious to people's opinions.

[UpstateNomad90]

Send it through heart and the lungs, Bigger target to aim for and more room for error. 

[Geno C]

clear open shot in the woods not field? and perfectly broadside? because that will play into it also.. im a ling shot guy, lug ad heart. i dont see the point of a head shot, its a low percentage shot. i always think blood trail if the animal doesn't drop in sight and the cleanest fasted way to kill that animal.

[Geno C]

you  said weapon of choice? i would assume with a 75 yard shot we are talking guns?

[skeets716]

you  said weapon of choice? i would assume with a 75 yard shot we are talking guns?

 

Yes gun, please forgive me for not being clearer. 

[JALA RUT]

Send it through heart and the lungs, Bigger target to aim for and more room for error. 

 

+1

[Culvercreek hunt club]

right through the front shoulders because I hate cutting them up and trimming ...JK. Heart/lungs is my target.

[Pygmy]

Line the vertical crosshair up with the front leg...Raise the junction of the crosshairs up until it is about 1/2 way up the body.

 

Squeeze the trigger..Go collect your deer, because he's not going far. He might run a ways( usually less than 100 yards), but he will not go far. Usually you'll have a blood trail Stevie Wonder could follow.

 

It's the largest vital area.  Dead center gets the lungs. A little low gets the heart. A little high gets the spine. A little forward gets the base of the neck. A little back gets lungs/liver. Very dead deer in a very short time.

[ncountry]

My 1st 10 deer or so I shot in the neck . At that time I did a lot of reloading and shooting and had no fears of missing the spot. Nowadays I probably shoot a gun 20-50 shots a year, I aim behind the shoulder. Nice big target. Unless I am carrying my ml and then I prefer on the shoulder.

[dbHunterNY]

with a gun, very few aim for the head, some aim for the neck, some put it square on the shoulder, and most (I hope) aim for the heart lungs area without hitting leg or shoulder bone.  I try real hard to choose the latter.  otherwise there's risk....

- with the head it's a small target to hit and it's the thing that moves the most and first at the shot.

- hitting in the neck will most of the time break it's spinal cord from the shock, but if it doesn't the deer is most certainly lost; no vital organs.  also if it does work you've waisted most meat in the neck and there's a lot there.

- square on the shoulder will turn both shoulder/leg bones into shrapnel, taking out the deer's lungs, use of front legs, and possible it's heart.  however, huge waist of meat and a pain for anyone to process the carcass, especially if you do it yourself.

 

with a bow you've only got one shot; behind the shoulder and 1/3 up from the bottom.

[gfdeputy2]

Boiler Room for me

 each is own but why go for such a smaller target go for the Mass

[Hardcore]

I now go for a "high shoulder" shot which has proven to drop them in their tracks....I used to do the heart boiler room shot...most of my deer....I have seen too many deer to count that have had the heart destroyed and run 50-150yds....dead as a door nail but they take off heading for the state line.

In better than 25 yrs of hunting heart shot....last 3 seasons I changed to high shoulder and haven't seen one go more than 10 yds with most not going anywhere...shot a rutted up 21" inside spread. 8 ptr high shoulder and he dropped in his tracks...not a kick...instantaneous

[fasteddie]

I prefer the Heart / Lungs shot .

One of my son's likes the shoulder shot . I don't as it ruins a lot of good meat .

 

To each his own ..........

[Elmo]

Broadside?  Double lung shot.

[Carbonelement]

lung send the g5 right through him!

[Elmo]

Either a couple of people are not reading the OP original post carefully or they're comfortable shooting their bow out to 75 yards. 

[shawnhu]

I'm not zero'd for 75 yards, so I'll probably take the easier target, and deal with tracking.

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[First-light]

Heart lungs for sure. I made a mistake this year on a nice buck not letting him turn and present a clear broadside shot.

[nyslowhand]

Obviously, in a "perfect world", the old tried & true boiler room shot. In the real-life world of deer hunting, there may be situations when you simply need to take a shot that puts it down in its' tracks. Not my favorite, but have taken shots at the base of the neck.

[Doc]

Anyone who wants to see the relative degree of difficulty of any of the versions of shot placement can refer to a thread that consists of very complete pictures showing locations and sizes of the various lethal parts of a deer.

 

 

[ATbuckhunter]

I aim for the shoulder blade. If I miss I hit the lungs or spine and if I don't, the deer goes down on the spot. 

[Carbonelement]

I practice to 120 yds with my bow id be will to bet i have tighter groups at 80 yds then most do at 25

[BizCT]

If it's a clear path and nothing in the way, why is a 75 yard bow shot out question, if the hunter is confident in that shot? That's a common bow shot on mule deer and other animals in the west

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[Carbonelement]

Agreed Biz... These guys have never been out west...

[shawnhu]

Hmm, I must be in the wrong forum, but it says NY Hunting, not Out West Hunting.

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