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upstatehunter
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That skeleton is a great tool but deceptive as it stands...they should show the walking skeleton. I took a perfect quartering away shot on a doe and the arrow hit and stuck in the far shoulder or leg bone with a solid crack!...it nearly knocked her off her feet...she bolted right for the neighbors swamp......no exit and just a few drops of blood ..I lost her after the second stream and into the cattails and muck. I avoid quartering shots...Son took a heart side quartering shot ...deer moved at the shot...we watched that arrow slide right in behind the elbow..deer ran ,stopped and walked away arrow sticking out along it's side..not a drop of blood and no deer...It slid it behind the elbow alright...and we believe along the outside of rib cage..looked for that deer for 2 days,watched for crows and vultures nothing..never found the arrow either...nope I don't like quartering shots.

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I think we all need a basic understanding of the anatomy, and then a little bit of common sense sprinkled in to make the best shot we can. I'll admit that in my early Archery years I took some shots that should never have been taken, and by whatever luck, I only lost two......not broadhead failure, not by the deer moving, not by anything other then my own stupidity. It really is a sickening feeling to watch the shot you never should have taken go bad..............there's no shortage of hunters who don't care, and I experienced that first hand during my years with my tracking dog, and that's what made me give that up eventually, nothing else but the attitudes of some of the "hunters" I tracked for.

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Dead broadside with a bow, I aim at the crease behind the front shoulder and hold my pin about 1/3 of the way up the back of the shoulder, from the bottom of the chest.

 

For gun, I tend to aim for heart everytime and enter into the backside of the shoulder. Longer range ill keep it double lung tight to the back of the shoulder.

Ive passed several very good bucks that only presented neck shots with gun, I dont know why but I would never take them. To this day I still dont know if I would. But I hate letting big bucks go.

Where do you guys aim with these neck shots? i know the throat patch will drop them, or anywhere along the windpipe, as well as high front shoulder. I guess I just feel much more confident sending a projectile into the lungs and heart instead..   

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3 minutes ago, LET EM GROW said:

Where do you guys aim with these neck shots? i know the throat patch will drop them, or anywhere along the windpipe, as well as high front shoulder. I guess I just feel much more confident sending a projectile into the lungs and heart instead..   

I'm not big on neck shots, but have taken one or two in "ideal" conditions....I always aimed towards the upper portion of the neck, just below the head, the bottom portion has a lot of room for error in my opinion.

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For all you, I forgot to mention that I hunt with shotgun only, I have never bow hunted and listening to some of you that have hit the deer with an arrow and found little to no blood and spent days looking for your deer doesn't sound like my idea of fun. As for neck shots, the deer laying in my profile pic was shot in the neck last year, He had his Head to the ground sniffing for a doe and was coming straight at me, when he finally lifted his head up I shot him in what I call the "paper Plate", the white patch on his neck. He dropped in his tracks.

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15 minutes ago, Northsox65 said:

For all you, I forgot to mention that I hunt with shotgun only, I have never bow hunted and listening to some of you that have hit the deer with an arrow and found little to no blood and spent days looking for your deer doesn't sound like my idea of fun. As for neck shots, the deer laying in my profile pic was shot in the neck last year, He had his Head to the ground sniffing for a doe and was coming straight at me, when he finally lifted his head up I shot him in what I call the "paper Plate", the white patch on his neck. He dropped in his tracks.

in a situation like that (you didn't say the yardage) I can't imagine not taking the chest shot instead. I never understood going for a smaller target when a larger one is presented.  The vertebrae is maximum 3" wide on the neck bones. Too much possibility of a wounded deer in my book with the head and neck being the parts that move the most on a deer.  

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I'm not big on neck shots, but have taken one or two in "ideal" conditions....I always aimed towards the upper portion of the neck, just below the head, the bottom portion has a lot of room for error in my opinion.


That's what I was thinking if I had to shoot through the neck it would be up towards the head more. Lots of vitals there. But as for quartering to and from and entering and exiting out the neck I have no problem with that. I just think there's way to much room for error on neck shots (on broadside deer) unless they're looking at you and you can punch one thru their white throat patch

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For all you, I forgot to mention that I hunt with shotgun only, I have never bow hunted and listening to some of you that have hit the deer with an arrow and found little to no blood and spent days looking for your deer doesn't sound like my idea of fun.

This can happen with any weapon and does..I'll give you just one prime example...I shot gun hunt and had a doe broadside at 30 yrds...how did I know exactly 30 yrds? I bow hunted that stand all season...she was calm and feeding. I aimed from a tree stand right behind her elbow..it was almost closing(sun going down) I shot and she actually tipped over...immediately recovered and hopped into some heavy bush and grape vine brush behind a giant old maple..OK never came out... I sat there a while and next thing I know I see her walking up the hill browsing. Not a care in the world. No second  shot and now getting dark in the woods. I kept a close eye on her spotting her wht tail every so often as she reached the top of the hill...then her flag went straight up and she dropped... Well I get down and there is absolutely no blood but fur where I originally dropped her...I had nothing to trail so went by looking back at stand and trying to line up what I had watched...found her dead...

No blood anywhere or on her, Why? No hole absolutely nothing,just a dead deer... So I gut her and an ocean of blood poured out of her...check heart nothing ...look in cavity not a single mark on it..check her liver and there is a small star shaped tear in it... I had my husband inspect her..he asked if I shot her through the bung! broad side shot... I skinned her and noticed a chip in her elbow bone and then felt a bump in the hide...made a slit in the hide and pulled out my slug wadding and all still attached just a slight dent one one side of lead...It never made it through her skin..but the impact at that distance chipped her elbow and tore a hole in her liver.

So Shite happens...Some may not have even watched her walk up the hill, seeing she was actually feeding as she went....

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All of you that are saying aim for the other shoulder. When I'm bow hunting the last thing I want to do is hit a shoulder especially from a tree stand because I want 2 holes. I'll hold as far back as I need to on a quartering shot to ensure I won't hit shoulder. If the angle is too steep to not be able to get into vitals without hitting shoulder I won't shoot. With a gun there isn't an angle that I won't shoot as long as I can get a bullet into the vitals.


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9 minutes ago, Buckmaster7600 said:

All of you that are saying aim for the other shoulder. When I'm bow hunting the last thing I want to do is hit a shoulder especially from a tree stand because I want 2 holes. I'll hold as far back as I need to on a quartering shot to ensure I won't hit shoulder. If the angle is too steep to not be able to get into vitals without hitting shoulder I won't shoot. With a gun there isn't an angle that I won't shoot as long as I can get a bullet into the vitals.


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agreed. Need to envision where those vitals are in 3D and picture the arrow path. hitting that 10 ring on a 3D at the target surface is NOT the shot you want at the steep angle of a treestand. Nothing beats an exit hole

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All of you that are saying aim for the other shoulder. When I'm bow hunting the last thing I want to do is hit a shoulder especially from a tree stand because I want 2 holes. I'll hold as far back as I need to on a quartering shot to ensure I won't hit shoulder. If the angle is too steep to not be able to get into vitals without hitting shoulder I won't shoot. With a gun there isn't an angle that I won't shoot as long as I can get a bullet into the vitals.


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I agree with what you're saying. But if the off shoulder is directly in line with the center of all vitals for that shot. Thays what I take. Instead of aiming back a tad more and trying to catch the back of one lung and the center of the other. Popped lungs are popped lungs no matter what. If I can deflate both lungs with a shot and bury it in a shoulder I will. To ensure I center punch the lungs. And put the deer down faster

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I agree with what you're saying. But if the off shoulder is directly in line with the center of all vitals for that shot. Thays what I take. Instead of aiming back a tad more and trying to catch the back of one lung and the center of the other. Popped lungs are popped lungs no matter what. If I can deflate both lungs with a shot and bury it in a shoulder I will. To ensure I center punch the lungs. And put the deer down faster

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I would rather catch a lung and liver and have a nice low exit hole.

When you have a high entrance with a double lung hit you are like to get little or no blood from the entrance. The blood you will get will come from the mouth and that's often very light.

To each's own, I want 2 holes and lots of blood. I would rather follow a great blood trail for 150yds than be on my hands and knees for 75yds.

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48 minutes ago, Buckmaster7600 said:

All of you that are saying aim for the other shoulder. When I'm bow hunting the last thing I want to do is hit a shoulder especially from a tree stand because I want 2 holes. I'll hold as far back as I need to on a quartering shot to ensure I won't hit shoulder. If the angle is too steep to not be able to get into vitals without hitting shoulder I won't shoot. With a gun there isn't an angle that I won't shoot as long as I can get a bullet into the vitals.


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Buck master I think we say it more as a point of reference for newbies. It's better not to hit any shoulder but quartering away can easily miss vitals or hit only one lung if the behind the close shoulder shot taken. We can hash n rehash where to shoot but most guys seem to get it n hopefully the op is 

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I follow all your saying and definitely agree with you, I guess I missed the stand part. If I'm elevated then yes I will back off a few inches to miss the far shoulder. Flat level shot maybe not so much the entrance hole should be low enough to pump blood. I did this last year with my buck.. he was 8 yards and quartering to slightly, i was 18ft in the air, I kept back a couple inches from the front shoulder with my pin knowing I wold hit atleast one lung and all liver. I've hit the shoulder going in before, and yea, you know the rest. I don't like taking the shot I did last year but I know it was lethal. I did watch him bed and suffer for an hour or so before dark and felt horrible but, seems like I'm not the only one. Have lost several good deer before from being inexperienced and not waiting long enough .. won't do it again..

We all know how to make killing shots I hope.. an inch or 2 can make or break ones day

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I put this up every year and it helps some visualize what I meant in my previous post about picking an impact point and visualizing the path of an arrow or even a bullet. (applies mainly to the broadside application.  This is a cross section right behind that leg (elbow) point 

whitetail.jpg

Edited by Culvercreek hunt club
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Buck master I think we say it more as a point of reference for newbies. It's better not to hit any shoulder but quartering away can easily miss vitals or hit only one lung if the behind the close shoulder shot taken. We can hash n rehash where to shoot but most guys seem to get it n hopefully the op is 




I think it's a terrible "point of reference" for newbies especially because most newbies are young and are not pulling back a lot of draw weight. I like the idea of aiming for the exit. It is very important to know that an exit is extremely unlikely with a shoulder hit.


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28 minutes ago, Buckmaster7600 said:

 

 


I think it's a terrible "point of reference" for newbies especially because most newbies are young and are not pulling back a lot of draw weight. I like the idea of aiming for the exit. It is very important to know that an exit is extremely unlikely with a shoulder hit.


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Well than I'll disagree w ya. Gotta give them something to visualize but to each his own. Yes a shoulder is hard to penetrate but a far shoulder shot is a very dead very recoverable deer very often ping ponging into trees n falling in sight. If not the blood trail can be harder to follow but maybe new hunters should never ever take the quartering away shot n only shoot broadside? Id bet way more deer are lost to "I hit em great, right behind the shoulder" quartering away shots that pass in front of the vitals than ones not recovered that hit the far shoulder. Perfect shots, blood traiks etc are great. World isn't always perfect, especially early on when folks don't understand anatomy

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1 hour ago, Buckmaster7600 said:

I would rather catch a lung and liver and have a nice low exit hole.

When you have a high entrance with a double lung hit you are like to get little or no blood from the entrance. The blood you will get will come from the mouth and that's often very light.

To each's own, I want 2 holes and lots of blood. I would rather follow a great blood trail for 150yds than be on my hands and knees for 75yds.

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To pick things apart more which I didn't want to a liver shot isn't the best shot. I've seen em take 2 hours to expire when hit there. And a lung is 50/50 whether they even die, least while the season is open. Maybe the two combined is more deadly but only one or the other is certainly not. Not picking apart your post or words just another way to look at it n Id never advise quartering away to wind up in back of shoulder far side

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Deer are probably one of the toughest animals to kill, I hit a nice buck on RT 81 about 20yrs ago in my Dakota, it took out the drivers side Grill, Headlight, Fender and put one hell of a dent in my door, I was doing 65ish and he hit me out of nowhere, I watched him in my drivers side mirror rolling and skidding on the pavement, I pulled over and got out and watched him get up and run through the field like nothing happened, I thought for sure he was going to be deader than a doornail after the collision, but nope. So when people tell me they made a good hit and could not find the deer I always remember that deer way back then!

 

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