New to rifles

[monkeyman2269]

Where should i try to shoot a deer with a rifle through the lungs just like a bow. I've heard shoot them through both shoulders also?

Edited November 20, 2015 by monkeyman2269

[fasteddie]

I shoot for the lung / heart area . If it's a BIG buck , I might aim a bit closer to the shoulder so it cannot run (not the leg but the shoulder ) . My real preference is heart / lung . Good luck !

[WingNut]

Double lung is fine.  Don't purposely shoot for both shoulders.  One you ruin to much meat, two a slight miss to forward could just wound the animal.

[Skillet]

I wouldn't intentionally shoulder shoot a deer, unless I needed to try and anchor it right on the spot. Maybe if you were hunting really close to other guys who you were afraid would take your deer. Otherwise, lung them and let them run a little ways & fall over. No meat damage.

[jmg343]

Not joking here, but if your confident enough in your abilities, what about head shots?  I guess the margin for error may be a little to great to consider it an ethical shot.  A quick move by the deer at that last split second and you could end up just blowing its nose off. 

[monkeyman2269]

I don't care what weapon I was using I'm not taking a head shot. So lungs heart it is thanks guys

[Skillet]

Not joking here, but if your confident enough in your abilities, what about head shots?  I guess the margin for error may be a little to great to consider it an ethical shot.  A quick move by the deer at that last split second and you could end up just blowing its nose off. 

 

My taxidermist gf has had several deer come in over the years that were previously shot in the face / jaw & had somehow survived for awhile with horrible injuries. 2 years ago, a guy brought in a deer his daughter had killed & someone had previously shot it in the upper jaw. The roof of the mouth and upper teeth were gone & the resulting cavity was packed with rotting food. Somehow, the deer had managed to eat again, & from the outside, you wouldn't know the mess that was in there. It didn't even look shot, because the hole had somewhat closed up & looked like just a bad fight wound. His life must have been constant agony though. I hope it was an accident & not someone trying to head shoot him.

[jmg343]

I dont think that I would either.  My friend has a ranch in TX and they shoot a lot of exotics off the feeders.  They take head shots regularly.  I'm just curious.  I'm shooting just as I would with the bow.  Can't beat double lungers.

[WNYBuckHunter]

I dont like them to go very far. I shoulder shoot every one I can. Youre losing 5 lbs of meat. Not having to track a long distance is worth it to me. You are double lunging them when you do it. Youd have to shoot really far forward to just wound them. If the deer is bedded, neck shot.

 

The green circle is the general area Im going for.

[Doc]

Not joking here, but if your confident enough in your abilities, what about head shots?  I guess the margin for error may be a little to great to consider it an ethical shot.  A quick move by the deer at that last split second and you could end up just blowing its nose off. 

Probably one of the most cruel wounds would be anything that destroys the deer's ability to eat. They will not bleed to death, but instead suffer a very long lingering death by starvation. Another lingering type wound is a shot that destroys the windpipe.

[chrisw]

I dont like them to go very far. I shoulder shoot every one I can. Youre losing 5 lbs of meat. Not having to track a long distance is worth it to me. You are double lunging them when you do it. Youd have to shoot really far forward to just wound them. If the deer is bedded, neck shot.

The green circle is the general area Im going for.

Deer that are double lunged don't go a long distance, I'll walk the 50 yds they run and keep both front shoulders in my freezer. The only time I purposely drop them is when there are a lot of hunters around and if someone else shoots at the same deer it can be a headache... To each their own.

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[Buckmaster7600]

I shoulder shoot when possible. I don't like tracking and meat loss is minimal.

[WNYBuckHunter]

Deer that are double lunged don't go a long distance, I'll walk the 50 yds they run and keep both front shoulders in my freezer. The only time I purposely drop them is when there are a lot of hunters around and if someone else shoots at the same deer it can be a headache... To each their own.

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They dont? Ive seen double lunged deer go hundreds of yards on death runs. No thanks. Shoulder meat is full of connective tissue anyhow. If you like tracking deer and eating shoe leather, then more power to you.

[grampy]

This is a good question for first time rifle hunters like myself. I figure right behind the shoulder like I did with my shot gun will get the job done. But it would be cool to just DROP one in his tracks or dead right there. Using a 7mm-08 with 140gr. nosler ballistic tip ammo. From all you long time rifle hunters, where do I want to hit them to have them DRT???? 

[chrisw]

This is a good question for first time rifle hunters like myself. I figure right behind the shoulder like I did with my shot gun will get the job done. But it would be cool to just DROP one in his tracks or dead right there. Using a 7mm-08 with 140gr. nosler ballistic tip ammo. From all you long time rifle hunters, where do I want to hit them to have them DRT????

Top of the front shoulder there is a cluster of nerves that will lock them up instantly, ears hardly even twitch...

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[chrisw]

They dont? Ive seen double lunged deer go hundreds of yards on death runs. No thanks. Shoulder meat is full of connective tissue anyhow. If you like tracking deer and eating shoe leather, then more power to you.

You must have super deer. The grinder is the answer for the front shoulder meat. I've killed dozens of deer with rifles and never had one go more than 65 yards. Usually 40 or less. As long as you make a good shot who cares! Its all preference in the end.

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[Don_C]

Right where WNYBH's diagram shows. I shoot directly above the front leg, center mass. They always drop right there.

[WNYBuckHunter]

You must have super deer. The grinder is the answer for the front shoulder meat. I've killed dozens of deer with rifles and never had one go more than 65 yards. Usually 40 or less. As long as you make a good shot who cares! Its all preference in the end.

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Its not just me, Ive heard of lots of them that have gone a long way. Plenty of descriptions of deer doing the same thing on this forum.

 

[johnplav]

With rifle I aim just above my normal point of aim for bow.  In my opinion, a perfect rifle shot will take out lung, and damage arteries above heart, but not damaging heart (because it is delicious).  However, many of these deer will run as if hit with an arrow.  A shoulder shot is much more likely to drop the animal where it stands, but you will lose some meat.

[grampy]

Myself, I am not too concerned about a little shoulder meat loss. If the deer runs into the thick swamp or to another hunter I could lose the whole deer! I want them DRT!!

[fasteddie]

When I shoot does in the late summer with the Crop Damage Permits . I take the heart - lung shots as no one else is out there . I have have several fold right up with that shot and others run a ways . No one else will be there to claim the deer .

If I have the opportunity to take a shot at a buck on my SILs property , I will go for the shoulder shot . Her property is maybe 240 yards wide but deep ( 67 acres ) . I don't want someone on the adjacent properties to lay claim to a deer that I shot and a deer can't run with his shoulder gone . It depends on the area . 

[DirtTime]

Shoulder / heart.

Also, remember, a bullet from a rifle drops, then arch's to the high point and then drops again. A rifle bullet crosses the main line of sight twice. So make sure you know where the bullet is hitting at different yardage.

[Pygmy]

The bullet starts dropping the instant it leaves the barrel...It's the effect of gravity..

Due to the fact that the rifle barrel is angled UP, the bullet crosses the line of sight (which is a straight line) twice...Once on the way up, once on the way down..

[wolc123]

Usually I aim center lung for two reasons: First, it provides the most room for error, and second, it destroys very little usable meat.  I always hate loosing those few back-strap chops that the shoulder-blade shots cost me.   There are some exceptions, however.  It's worth it if it can help get you a whole other deer.   With a group of antlerless deer, usually the "boss" doe leads the group.   If you drop her on the spot, with a shoulder hit, you stand a good chance of filling another tag (with a center lung shot).   The followers usually mill around aimlessly for a little while when their leader goes down, making for easy pickings.  I will never go for a "double" until I know the first deer is down for good.  It is not a bad idea to always use a shoulder blade shot on a doe in close if you still have a buck tag to fill.   A single gunshot is not always enough to throw a horny buck off the trail of a hot doe.   I had my pick of two of them in that situation a few years ago and dropped the larger one right next to the dead doe.   I suppose If I had a close shot at a big "wall-hanger" and was close to a property line, a shoulder shot would be in order.   After 34 years of hunting, I have yet to run into that situation yet, hopefully tomorrow morning it will happen.          

 

I always use neck shots to finish mortally wounded deer from point blank range, and have used them to kill several others from under 20 yards when the rest of the vitals were obscured.  I wont take head shots even while hunting squirrels, but I have always used the head shot when butchering livestock or killing most trapped animals.   In those situations, it is easy to make the "x" between the eyes and ears and get the .22 rim-fire round to enter the head perpendicular at the intersection.  That drops most anything, dead in its tracks.   Sometimes possums get up and walk away after, so now I give them a second center-lung shot.   Skunks sometimes "unload" themselves after taking a .22 to the head, so now I use a shotgun blast of  # 6's to the head from 15 yards upwind and have yet to have one spray after that treatment.    

 

I have killed a handful of deer with heart shots but every one of them was when my center-lung aimed shot struck low in error.   I don't mind when it happens with an arrow but it bothers me a bit with a gun because I love pickled deer heart.      

[BizCT]

I go just behind the shoulder broadside, but on the shoulder quartering towards usually ends up as heart shot.

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