Head Shots
- Thread starter spencerhenry
- Start date
Good Lord people, this has been kicked around quite thoroughly in other threads. Please give it a rest!
Brians356
Silver $$ Contributor
Gents, many a game animal has survived an "ethical" shot, escaped, and died a lingering death. There are no 100% sure shots from any appreciable distance. Now consider that anti-hunters consider your "ethical" shot absolutely unethical, and they have the "facts" to attack your defense of hunting, just as you have facts to condemn head shots. Think about it - long and hard.
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I actually quit deer hunting because what I assume was a head shot attempt in 1995, not mine though. I had shot many deer in the neck and head myself, always under 100 yards. All w/o incident.
But I asked a friend from work to go hunt whitetails on National Forrest ground, about 1 miles from the boundary, we spotted a doe 30 yards off the road that was on private property. Something caught my eye, so I backed up, crap, her lower jaw was hanging like an open trap door. So I slung my trusty 25.06 out the window to put it down, which prompted my passenger to start screaming at me that I could not do that. I told him I did not care, the animal deserved to die a respectable death. Think what you want, it was private property, we did not have permission or know the landowner. I was just going to dispatch it and carry on. OMG, the ensuing argument just ruined my day, so I drove off leaving it to fend for itself. In retrospect, hunting down the landowner would have been the right thing to do, but that could have also opened up accusations that one of us took the shot. Landowners surrounding the Black Hills forrest get overran with trespassers and I can understand the animosities.
Still bugs me today, and was something I felt I did not want to recover from apparently.
But I asked a friend from work to go hunt whitetails on National Forrest ground, about 1 miles from the boundary, we spotted a doe 30 yards off the road that was on private property. Something caught my eye, so I backed up, crap, her lower jaw was hanging like an open trap door. So I slung my trusty 25.06 out the window to put it down, which prompted my passenger to start screaming at me that I could not do that. I told him I did not care, the animal deserved to die a respectable death. Think what you want, it was private property, we did not have permission or know the landowner. I was just going to dispatch it and carry on. OMG, the ensuing argument just ruined my day, so I drove off leaving it to fend for itself. In retrospect, hunting down the landowner would have been the right thing to do, but that could have also opened up accusations that one of us took the shot. Landowners surrounding the Black Hills forrest get overran with trespassers and I can understand the animosities.
Still bugs me today, and was something I felt I did not want to recover from apparently.
Yes I am still here.Yup, a dead horse ... Wait, what? You still here?
I did not even call out the OP for missing his shot. At least he could admit the shot did not go where he wanted it. That is cool in my opinion as most would not admit to not hitting where they wanted.
pirate ammo
Guaranteed to take the wind out of their sails
all this goes nowhere,,
jds holler
Gold $$ Contributor
Awh Hell. I just ran on to this thread at a really bad time.
Sitting here at the kitchen table, plunking around on my macputer, a big fat yaller-jacket buzzed across the window. I fetched the Bug-A-Salt and gave him a dose. Even though I was under-gunned for my intended game, he went down. I'm pretty sure that it wasn't a kill shot though, and now I'm gonna have to get back to the window sill and dispatch him properly.
It's probably for the best though, as a yeller jacket crawling around with broken wings could be considered very dangerous game.
jd
Sitting here at the kitchen table, plunking around on my macputer, a big fat yaller-jacket buzzed across the window. I fetched the Bug-A-Salt and gave him a dose. Even though I was under-gunned for my intended game, he went down. I'm pretty sure that it wasn't a kill shot though, and now I'm gonna have to get back to the window sill and dispatch him properly.
It's probably for the best though, as a yeller jacket crawling around with broken wings could be considered very dangerous game.
jd
pirate ammo
Guaranteed to take the wind out of their sails
forget the head shot,,go for the tail,,Awh Hell. I just ran on to this thread at a really bad time.
Sitting here at the kitchen table, plunking around on my macputer, a big fat yaller-jacket buzzed across the window. I fetched the Bug-A-Salt and gave him a dose. Even though I was under-gunned for my intended game, he went down. I'm pretty sure that it wasn't a kill shot though, and now I'm gonna have to get back to the window sill and dispatch him properly.
It's probably for the best though, as a yeller jacket crawling around with broken wings could be considered very dangerous game.
It's a sad sight to see when a head shot fails. I won't do it for many reasons but the biggest is common sense. If I am capable of hitting a small target like the head then why not just shoot it in the lungs and be done with it? I have never had a lung shot turn into something out of a horror movie. I have seen it and hope to never see it again. It's hard on the heart.
Brians356
Silver $$ Contributor
"Unwatch Thread" and fare thee well, then.
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This post is an excellent example of the kind of things that can go wrong head shooting and just shooting in general. Anyone who say that they have never missed and never muffed a shot is simply unbelievable. Using best practices and helping teach young shooters how and when and why is the best way forward with a lot of these things.
I cull kangaroos in Australia from time to time and head shots are stipulated by the government, but believe me situations as mentioned above do happen. Animal turns its head at the last moment or you stuff the shot, and the bullet will blow up on the nose or blow off the jaw. It is an unfortunate thing to wound, one I try my hardest never to repeat. All one can do is maintain their gear to repeatable sub MOA standards and practice, practice, practice. As a general rule of thumb, shots are kept to less than 200 yards and 55gr bullets or higher. This is speaking of kangaroos here in Australia mind you. We do cull fallow deer using the same method (under spotlight) but the same rules will generally apply.
I cull kangaroos in Australia from time to time and head shots are stipulated by the government, but believe me situations as mentioned above do happen. Animal turns its head at the last moment or you stuff the shot, and the bullet will blow up on the nose or blow off the jaw. It is an unfortunate thing to wound, one I try my hardest never to repeat. All one can do is maintain their gear to repeatable sub MOA standards and practice, practice, practice. As a general rule of thumb, shots are kept to less than 200 yards and 55gr bullets or higher. This is speaking of kangaroos here in Australia mind you. We do cull fallow deer using the same method (under spotlight) but the same rules will generally apply.
Based on your acccount, I'm more inclined to deduce the mystery shot was an NOT an intentional 'head shot', rather that other hunter taking a 'potshot' at a wounded goat. And that 'potshot' ended up in a terrible MISS of intended POI, but DID (un)luckily hit the goat in the head area, making a lousy situation, worse...
Lots of assumptions already, and a HUGE can o' worms, so I'll just say I commend ya for being Man enough to admit a mistake, and for doing your best to clean up the mess ya made. Hunters who 'know' can empathize what that 'sick' feeling is like, it's what drives us all to do our level best to prevent a relapse. For our quarry's sake, and our own...
Thanks for sharing, wish you the best in future hunts.
I did not make two bad shots. The first one was not great, but it was in the chest cavity, but I will call it a bad shot. The second shot was not a bad shot, it hit the animal in the front shoulder/chest and would have killed it quickly. I could see the shot, and I could see blood pumping out of the first hole. But, I have a policy, is if the animal is still up, I'm still shooting. The third shot was not necessary at all.
Somehow I don’t think these threads come up to “torment us for our own good!” I think they might have something else in mind.
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