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Deer Hunting, what is the perfect shot placement?

I have shot many foam targets on the 3-D archery courses so right behind the shoulder is like muscle memory to me.. I have lost a bear hitting the shoulder and wish I could take that shot back. I feel a good expanding bullet like a ballistic tip into the lung area is the way to go.



Ray
 
Head shots are the only option on some animals. Take a high shoulder shot on an elephant and you may wind up looking like a pizza. ;)
 
No matter what game animal I hunt here in Oregon, none of them can survive with no heart or lungs. That shot right behind the shoulder has never failed me from forked horn bucks to 6 point bulls. Several large kitty cats have fallen to the same shot. I shot a spike bull slightly quartering to me Monday at 150 yards from a rather shaky rest. I hit him right behind the left front shoulder. The bullet exited 4 ribs back on the right hand side. He went 25 feet and tipped over. His left lung and liver were jello.

To me, this is the perfect shot placement for the critters I hunt. To each his own.

David
 
agr516 said:
High shoulder shot. Never had one walk away from it. Miss forward and you hit the base of the neck = dead. Miss low and you have two broken shoulders = dead. Miss back and you pass through the chest cavity = dead. Miss high and you miss completely = no wounded deer.
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This is it for me...

I was raised as a broadside, behind the shoulder, in the boiler room guy, but my own life experiences have led me to a preference to break at least one shoulder while penetrating the boiler room. I've only failed to recover two animals in my 30 years of hunting and both were confirmed broadside hits behind the shoulder. I'm sure both animals died, just not where I was able to find them after much agonizing & searching.

The last two animals that I failed to break a shoulder on and hit in 'the boiler room', both resulted in long stressful tracking jobs. Before getting too far into caliber and bullet selection on this example, I'll point out the worst of the two. Large, mature, mule deer buck (283 lbs dressed without hide or head). 120 yard broadside shot, hit right at the crease of the shoulder, within an inch or two of the heart, an X-ring shot on a 3-D archery target. 338 Lapua Magnum, 225 gr Accubond with a 3300 fps muzzle velocity. All this resulted in barely any blood at all. I lost the blood trail, even with crawling on my hands and knees for over an hour trying to find the next drop of blood. After 5 hours of working grids, randomly looking, and following the most likely paths of retreat, he was found just over 1/2 mile from where he was shot.

I wasn't very impressed with the size of the exit wound (maybe 1/2 or slightly more), but there was enough internal vital organ damage that there was no way he should have made it that far. Ultimately I think that animals can go a long way on adrenaline even after they should already be dead. Hitting something solid like shoulder or spine anchors them and puts more of the bullets energy into the animal. I'd rather lose a few lbs of shoulder meat, than the 'whole enchilada'...
 
I am very surprised at the damage you had with your 338lm. I am shooting a 300gr SMK and devastating is how would describe it. Baseball or larger holes are common.
 
people said:
I am very surprised at the damage you had with your 338lm. I am shooting a 300gr SMK and devastating is how would describe it. Baseball or larger holes are common.
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If saving meat is one of your goals, perhaps using a .338 LM might be a tad overkill for 170# whitetail. Just an observation.
 
I've hunted a variety of deer species on a couple of different continents and I would definitely say that my preference would be a heart shot. If it's under a 100 yards and I have a good rest then I might take a neck shot, I don't believe in taking head shots unless the deer is facing away from you, I once miss took a neck shot and it went wrong, I hit the deer in the face with a 140 gr 6.5 VLD. I was extremely lucky that there was snow on the ground as despite the copious amounts of blood that the animal was losing it took me 4 miles to catch up to it and finish it off. A front facing head shot has too many bones that can deflect the bullet from killing the animal on the spot. A head shot when the deer is facing away from you is a different story but you need to be 100% confident and capable of making that shot, if not then go for the heart.

Bullet choice, quality of rest, and weather conditions play a huge factor in which shot I take. I have seen shoulder shots gone wrong too because of deflection off the first shoulder. Yes you will definitely break the first shoulder that you hit but that isn't worth much as a three legged deer can still run a lot faster than a human and for a huge distance. For softer deer like Whitetails a good heavy ballistic tip through the heart of lungs is a great recipe for dropping the animal on the spot, for heavier deer like Elk or Red Stags you need a bullet that will not open up as quickly. Too many people take shots that they are not confident with and often it results in a lost or wounded animal, my golden rule if that if you are in doubt don't shoot.
 
LHSmith said:
people said:
I am very surprised at the damage you had with your 338lm. I am shooting a 300gr SMK and devastating is how would describe it. Baseball or larger holes are common.
Click to expand...

If saving meat is one of your goals, perhaps using a .338 LM might be a tad overkill for 170# whitetail. Just an observation.
Click to expand...


Work within your skills and the capability of you weapon and success will happen. It helps knowing where the game will be. ;)
 
Depends upon the range to the target! Double lung or shoulder shot works all the time using the right bullet!

As for some folks.....they relate to wild animals in the 'human sense' regarding pain infliction! If they were 'humanistic' in that true sense....deer wouldn't have survived for damn nigh onto FOUR MILLION YEARS!! I've seen deer double lunged with good cartridges....make a quick jump....walk off and start feeding again like nothing ever happened....and then their noses hit the dirt 30 seconds later!!
 
RMulhern said:
Depends upon the range to the target! Double lung or shoulder shot works all the time using the right bullet!

As for some folks.....they relate to wild animals in the 'human sense' regarding pain infliction! If they were 'humanistic' in that true sense....deer wouldn't have survived for damn nigh onto FOUR MILLION YEARS!! I've seen deer double lunged with good cartridges....make a quick jump....walk off and start feeding again like nothing ever happened....and then their noses hit the dirt 30 seconds later!!
Click to expand...

+1
I love to bow hunt and get close, but I also shoot on permit year round which can be a curse and a blessing. It can ruin your hunting experience but teach you things some will never get to experience. I cull with a 6br, 6.5x47 and 338 Norma. I can anchor a deer 90+ percent of the time if it is within range to place a shot where I want it. This is a must during certain seasons where I cant let them run and have to drag them through the beans or look for them in standing corn. A deer with no lungs or heart will die period, sometimes where it stands sometimes many yards from where it was shot, or even as RMulhern stated just stand there. I have seen them stand, lick the wound then fall over, even rub the wound against a tree then fall over. One thing I have learned from shooting many deer is a lung shot will kill them sometimes DRT sometimes they will run and die, but a CNS shot is the only way to DRT them every time. There is no perfect shot know the anatomy and put the bullet where it needs to go or pass until you get that broadside shot. I make no apologies If I am comfortable with the shot I will take them in the head or just below from behind, head on the top of the head neck or neck body junction when feeding or pass if I'm not comfortable.
 
I agree w/ #2 response. However, where I live and hunt we have mostly small patches of heavy cover and good sized agricultural fields. Big problem is deer can run to cover and be very difficult to track. Sometimes they don't bleed. The other side of the coin is I've shot many deer broadside, leaving little identifiable anatomy in the thorax, and have them run over a hundred yds. Sometimes leaving a blood trail like a garden hose.They still ran. Some drop right thereUnfortunately sometimes this dash might put them on a neighbors property. Not all neighbors are good neighbors. A gunsmith friend of mine did a lot of crop damage culling, a lot. His favorite tool was a nosler BT though the lungs. Head shots only if they were close and quiet. This fellow had a good 600 yd benchrest record. His cull hunts were off a good shooting platform. Ive come to the eventual conclusion that you should use a good bullet, shoot at a reasonable range, choose your timing, and live within your limitations.
 
a man has got to know his limitations

good quote. i am of the opinion that breaking bones and springing leaks seems to kill most everything. i shoot for shoulders and it has worked well for me. hit one on the way in and bone helps the bullet . hit one on the way out and a bigger hole for leaks. ymmv
 
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