head shot

[evan]

Question please: At 61-years old I'm new to muzzleloading and hunting (This will be my third year at both)
So the Question is,
When it comes to deer why is a head shot not a good way to go if your shot is 50-yards or under?? People talk about head shots on pig, never on deer? What would be the absolute best placement shot between 50-75 yards to drop a deer in it's tracts. Thanks

 

[shmrck1]

Evan,
I would say a heart/lung shot would be the ideal shot placement at about any distance that
you can make the shot. My thinking on the head
shot is it would definately drop a dear if the
shot were made, but in the case of a buck might
damage a nice rack. In the case of either, a buck
or doe, the head of both have a lot more
movement than the body and just makes for a more
diffacult shot. I'm sure you will get other
opinions. The above is mine.
snake-eyes :hmm:

 

[RC]

I think you'll find it amazing how small their heads actually are..! goin w/ snake eyes, heart lung best shot...besides,imagine shooting a tad low....breaking the jaw, deer runs off and starves to[url] death..ain[/url]'t pretty, just my opinion RC

 

[rabjr]

I had the displeasure of seeing the aftermath of a head shot a few years ago. Wasn't pretty, the 12 ga slug took the lower jaw off of a small Doe. The jackass who did it never reported it or tried to find it. She ran down by me and before I realized what exactly I was seeing, ran off before I could put her down. Made me sick to think what that deer went through before it died.

I'll never take a head shot, no way in hell.

 

[GrizzlyBear]

The head's too small in my opinion for a reliable shot in my opinion. I agree with some of the other comments that a miss of the vitals might mean. Further I've heard of bullets ricocheting off a deer's skull.

 

[shmrck1]

I'll never take a head shot, no way in hell.

Swamp Rat,
Thanks, that is what I was trying to politely
say. It is a irisponsiable and not a sportsmans
shot...IMHO.
snake-eyes :hmm:

 

[roundball]

Shoot'em in the heart...with the pump shut down they'll make a mad dash for 25-35 yards and pile up in sight of the stand

 

[paco97]

same as the rest! In my area, we had several cases of CWD reported last year, so imagine taking ahead shot and the skull is cracked open. Could be a potentially unsafe field dressing for the hunter.

 

[Goldhunter]

I've also seen this. Really makes me mad. :cursing: The shooter was no where to be seen. He was a small buck, bottom jaw was gone. ran by to fast to shoot at. I could never catch up to him. :shake:

Go for the boiler room, it's bigger and better.

 

[Old Ironsights]

Never a head. They move too much.

I personally like neck shots. If you miss, you miss. If you hit, it piles 'em up now without running, either from a blown out trachea, carotid & jugular or (usually and) a snapped spine.

You also don't have to worry about which way the animal is quartering, and, if you happen to catchone bedded, you still have a useable target.

Less wasted meat and an undamaged rack ta boot.

Of course, I've never taken a shot at an animal over 50yds, so at more than that YMMV. But at the ranges I've worked, I like the neck.

 

[RC]

Never a head. They move too much.

I personally like neck shots. If you miss, you miss. If you hit, it piles 'em up

I did that once....shot at a spike bout 10 yds away,,,with a 35 marlin, went right thru the neck and he never even flinched, :shocked2: jes kept walkin,never bothered him a bit...then went for the heart..that bothered him! skinned him out and bullet went right thru didn't hit anythin vital...I'll never do that again..it's either heart or don't shoot,that's me...RC

 

[Boomer]

Only things I shoot in the head are rabbits & squirrels. Both are sufficently small that even just grazing them will kill them.

Always shoot for the chest. Largest target & biggest margine for error. If you feel you need to "drop them in there tracks" due to an inability to track then I would suggest finding someone to help teach you. Also many good books on the subject & a great off season pass time to help hone those skills.

 

[Old Ironsights]

Never a head. They move too much.

I personally like neck shots. If you miss, you miss. If you hit, it piles 'em up

I did that once....shot at a spike bout 10 yds away,,,with a 35 marlin, went right thru the neck and he never even flinched, :shocked2:

Well, there's your problem. You used one of them fancy modern cartridge guns. (at close range ta boot)

Serves you right. :winking:

Try a nice soft lead round ball next time. :blah:

 

[RC]

Never a head. They move too much.

I personally like neck shots. If you miss, you miss. If you hit, it piles 'em up

I did that once....shot at a spike bout 10 yds away,,,with a 35 marlin, went right thru the neck and he never even flinched, :shocked2:

Well, there's your problem. You used one of them fancy modern cartridge guns. (at close range ta boot)

Serves you right. :winking:

Try a nice soft lead round ball next time. :blah:

:redface: :redface: well, yer may be right, had I used my smoothbore,I'd hadda hit somethin vital...seems..but that was many moons ago,(modern gun) but I still goin fer the biggerest part,,,just don't want'a take the chance of woundin one and have it suffer and die much later..guess I feel blessed he didn't take off on[url] me...ain[/url]'t chancin it again..just would bother me,,,yes.. I do got feelins......... :winking: believe it or not... :thumbsup: RC

 

[marwat06]

I never take a head shot. As others stated the heart/lung area is a bigger target. Second: I can never tell how far the deer is. My best guess is around +/- 10 - 15 yards. I do mark terrian features and other features and use them as a ref. for judging distance.

 

[jethro224]

Never a head. They move too much.

I personally like neck shots. If you miss, you miss. If you hit, it piles 'em up

I did that once....shot at a spike bout 10 yds away,,,with a 35 marlin, went right thru the neck and he never even flinched, :shocked2:

Well, there's your problem. You used one of them fancy modern cartridge guns. (at close range ta boot)

Serves you right. :winking:

Try a nice soft lead round ball next time. :blah:

:redface: :redface: well, yer may be right, had I used my smoothbore,I'd hadda hit somethin vital...seems..but that was many moons ago,(modern gun) but I still goin fer the biggerest part,,,just don't want'a take the chance of woundin one and have it suffer and die much later..guess I feel blessed he didn't take off on[url] me...ain[/url]'t chancin it again..just would bother me,,,yes.. I do got feelins......... :winking: believe it or not... :thumbsup: RC

Just last season, a guy shot a small 8 pointer thru the neck at about 6 yards. With a round ball!
He watched the deer run over 400 yards before he lost sight of it. He was up on a small hill overlooking a cattail-filled waterway in the middle of a field so had a long view.

The guy was pretty sure it was a good shot but never found any blood at all. Followed the deers trail for a couple hundred yards without finding blood and gave up.

We found the buck dead a week later about 100 yards from where he was last seen by the shooter. Big chewed hole in the neck where the critters had been working on him. They always seem to start chewing at an opening/bullet hole.

The shooter saw the rack later and said that was definitely the buck he had neck shot.

Shoot for the boiler room!

 

[oneshot]

Use to take Head and Neck shots all the time,until I hit a Lower Jaw.I manage to get another shot put it down.

Now its Heart and Lungs.Same with Hogs.

Oh on Hogs aim Low and Forward.

oneshot

 

[roundball]

Never a head. They move too much.

I personally like neck shots. If you miss, you miss. If you hit, it piles 'em up now without running, either from a blown out trachea, carotid & jugular or (usually and) a snapped spine.

You also don't have to worry about which way the animal is quartering, and, if you happen to catchone bedded, you still have a useable target.

Less wasted meat and an undamaged rack ta boot.

Of course, I've never taken a shot at an animal over 50yds, so at more than that YMMV. But at the ranges I've worked, I like the neck.

Shot two bucks last fall with necks shots...had never taken a neck shot with a muzzleloader before, but in both these cases when I whistled to stop them in the thick stuff they came to a halt with their vitals completely covered by a large tree...head and necks sticking out...we were close at 25-30yds so I went for the neck (vertebrae) and they both dropped stone dead where they stood...wouldn't try it with a ML at any great distance but these were so close it was pretty straight forward...actually a good learning experience

 

[Old Ironsights]

Wow. What caliber? But then, at super short ranges (sub 30ft) velocity does lots of weird things - mostly the ice-pick effect - but I haven't ever seen it happen with RB. Were his pure lead, or had he been playing with alloys?

Most neck shots either break the spine or rip out the vitals or both.

Oh well. There's failure to retreive no matter where you aim I suppose.

 

[RC]

Roundball, givin what you've learned by that expierence,will you (after the wedding,of course) aim for the neck even if vitals are open? just curious..oh yeah, at same distance you shot the[url] two..in[/url] the neck..we learn by expierence,my wasn't a good one, (did get it, but not w/ the neck shot) was yours enough to make you change your aimimg spot.. :hmm: RC