Are neck shots ethical ?

[luberhill]

I see all these guys saying neck shots they drop in their tracks

Are they just shooting where the neck meets the body ?

 Seems like lots of room for error 

[airedale]

I have killed a half dozen Deer with a neck shot and they all dropped right where they stood. As for the ethical part several factors come into play. Distance is a big one, I use the neck shot for relatively short shots, under 100 yards. A firearm that is capable of precise bullet placement with a good hunting bullet. A good steady rest with total confidence in my ability to make the shot.

I aim for the center anywhere on the neck, I think it is a fairly big target and an easy shot to make when one has the right circumstances.

Al

[Four Seasons]

3 hours ago, airedale said:

I have killed a half dozen Deer with a neck shot and they all dropped right where they stood. As for the ethical part several factors come into play. Distance is a big one, I use the neck shot for relatively short shots, under 100 yards. A firearm that is capable of precise bullet placement with a good hunting bullet. A good steady rest with total confidence in my ability to make the shot.

I aim for the center anywhere on the neck, I think it is a fairly big target and an easy shot to make when one has the right circumstances.

Al

  Exactly. If one is totally comfortable with their weapon and has plenty of time shooting that weapon. There is very little room for error but there is room. Compare that to the Texas Heart Shot… That should never be takin in my opinion. There is no need for a shot like that regardless of size or need to fill a tag. 

[luberhill]

3 hours ago, airedale said:

I have killed a half dozen Deer with a neck shot and they all dropped right where they stood. As for the ethical part several factors come into play. Distance is a big one, I use the neck shot for relatively short shots, under 100 yards. A firearm that is capable of precise bullet placement with a good hunting bullet. A good steady rest with total confidence in my ability to make the shot.

I aim for the center anywhere on the neck, I think it is a fairly big target and an easy shot to make when one has the right circumstances.

Al

Are you saying the center horizontal or vertical or both 

[First-light]

Yes I believe they are. Have taken a few and with a gun the die right there. 

[luberhill]

1 hour ago, First-light said:

Yes I believe they are. Have taken a few and with a gun the die right there. 

Where did you place the shot and what caliber firearm 

[suburbanfarmer]

1 hour ago, luberhill said:

Where did you place the shot and what caliber firearm 

I have done it with 308 and 350 legend
Both under 50 yrds
They dont even twitch, lights out

[Daveboone]

I have shot quite a few with neck shots...but only when I can place it from behind at the base of the skull/neck, from a rest, when a good broad side shot was not available.  Not much margin of error.. No meat wasted, drops them in their tracks. BUT>>>>Given preferences, give me a broad side boilermaker shot every time. Larger margin of error with quite a large kill area. I am not proud....I have goofed "gimme" shots trying for the fancy shot. Go for the sure thing, every time.

[Hock3y24]

I will take neck shots where the head meets the neck on a sub 75 yard deer. Never failed. ONLY with an absolutely solid rest. My shooting abilities i could probably do it to 300, but im waiting for broadside past 75. 

[First-light]

23 hours ago, luberhill said:

Where did you place the shot and what caliber firearm 

Rem 1187 auto loader. Lightfield slug 2 3/4. Zaps the life out of them just by the impact. Placement 3 inches from bottom of neck. 

[luberhill]

23 hours ago, suburbanfarmer said:

I have done it with 308 and 350 legend
Both under 50 yrds
They dont even twitch, lights out

Where do u aim 

[luberhill]

46 minutes ago, First-light said:

Rem 1187 auto loader. Lightfield slug 2 3/4. Zaps the life out of them just by the impact. Placement 3 inches from bottom of neck. 

Bottom of the neck , midway front to back ?

[suburbanfarmer]

10 minutes ago, luberhill said:

Bottom of the neck , midway front to back ?

It all depends on the angle
but  it was a quartering towards me angle where the neck meets the body

[NYBowhunter]

I had done it once because that's the shot I had, I was using a 50 Cal. MZ , shot was at base of neck on a big buck,  dropped immediately.  My much preferred shot is to take out both front shoulders, drop instantly. 

Edited November 22 by NYBowhunter

[wolc123]

I always use a neck shot as a finisher on deer that I have spined (about 6 times in 43 seasons). I killed (2) others that were broadside with neck shots and shotgun slugs, a big buck from 10 yards when that was all I had to shoot at and a doe from 80 yards with open sites when the slug missed my point of aim (front shoulder) by that much for reasons unknown to me.  
 

I also killed an Adirondack buck with a perfectly placed Texas heart shot with my 30/06 that broke the neck on exit and also cut a shallow groove across the bottom of the heart.  I believe that shot was more ethical than a frontal or side neck shot because the margin of error on a kill was greater.  
 

That particular kill was also close to the cleanest that  I ever had on a deer because the bullet really didn’t expand until it broke thru the neck on the way out the front.  The guts came out as clean as a whistle.  
 

Normally, a bullet will expand slightly when it strikes the hide but there’s no hide over the anus.  Most attempted Texas heart shots miss the mark by a slight amount, leading to a very messy gut job.  I’ve not heard of anyone else placing that shot right on as I did on my only attempt.  

[Doc]

We have an excellent thread here on deer anatomy that is very instructive on this subject. There are a lot of illustrations and actual photographs of where the vitals are on a deer. The page is at: https://huntingny.com/forums/topic/6770-deer-anatomy/#comments

I look at the size of the neck bone vs. the size of the heart-lung area, and the choice for making a more guaranteed lethal kill is obvious to me.