High shoulder shot .50 cal

[ravenousfishing]

Is this a dependable shot to drop a whitetail in its tracks with a 50 cal round ball over 75 grains fff? I know this charge is fine for the traditional heart/ lung shot and will yield a complete pass through and a dead deer. This type of shot is popular with the CF guys, but obviously, that's not a equal comparison. Several years back, forum member Roundball was touting the high shoulder shot, but I believe it was with the .58 and .62cal balls. Because I hate to waste a good shoulder roast, I didn't pay too much attention to the actual details of the shot. This evening, I was headed to the backside of the farm I hunt, but turned around due to large areas of standing water. I didn't want to risk losing a blood trail in the water as it happened once before. Saw plenty of deer and 7 bearded turkeys where I wound up going, but was really curious about what is going on on the other side.

 

[SDSmlf]

I can tell you that a high shoulder shot isn’t a problem with a 58 roundball. Can also state that a high shoulder shot with a 45 roundball can lead to a lot of tracking. Closer is better. Bigger and closer is even better for the high shoulder shot. You have to bust up bones and penetrate. Just my experiences. Others may think differently.

 

[Walkingeagle]

Never tried. Sorry.
Walk

 

[brazosland]

Op, I am about to start a thread you may find interesting.

 

[Blaze]

My experience with high shoulder shots is that it is not a good aiming point. I can recall two (2) whitetails hit high in shoulder, only one was recovered, and it was a very long day tracking, and eventually jumping deer to finish. The second deer was never recovered. I would never aim for a shot that high given a good broadside opportunity. There is too much area around the heart and lungs, in my opinion. I would rather bust a shoulder, lose a little meat, and make a quicker kill. Aim a little lower, get in that pie sized/shaped area and make a clean kill.

 

[Ben Meyer]

I won't take that shot with a roundball. I rarely even take it with a centerline rifle. Unless I NEED to plant the deer in its tracks due to various circumstances, I take the vitals shot.

 

[Spikebuck]

On one of his flintlock videos, Brian Beckum (Beckum Outdoors) and his friend do nothing but take "high-shoulder shots"...or base of the neck shots...on whitetails with 50's loaded with 80 grs of 2f and every one drops in it's tracks and never even kicks.

I personally do not use the shot because of the very thin margin for error. I've been hunting long enough to know that even when one tries to do their very best, sometimes "things" happen that turn perfect into less than perfect. That's why I always go for lungs...more margin for error. I do think the high-shoulder is absolutely deadly, but I'm just not the guy to make that the shot I want to go for.

 

[rich pierce]

I don’t even like a mid shoulder shot. Lower in the chest give a better blood trail plus the chance of hitting the heart. This year I killed a small buck with my .58 flinter shooting steep downhill from a small steep ridge. Did not realize he was quartering as much as he was. It went in high shoulder, took a rib, near lung, liver, top of stomach, far rib and exited low on the far side, down in the white belly hair. He ran hard. No blood trail for the first 40 yards. He went a hundred and twenty yards probably because of the single lung. That was probably 10-12 seconds before he died. In the field with iron sights with deer that are not posing, anchoring a deer with a muzzleloader usually is a matter of hitting the spine. Something I won’t try to do. A modern high velocity gun with a scope and a rest is a whole different game. I don’t have any problems tracking deer well hit with a round ball. You can see the distance the round ball traveled.

 

[Nuthatch]

I'm sure it can be done. But I only like high-probability shots. Too many variables come into play in hunting under field conditions and here in CA, shot opportunities are few and far between. The biggest target likely to give me a clean kill & recovery is broadside, behind the shoulder. Bow, centerfire or muzzleloader -- it's the same aiming point, just different distances.

 

[JeffG]

I like heart and lung shots. It is what the PRB is made for. My pet peeve is wasting any meat if I can help it. Shoulder and neck roasts included.

 

[toytruck]

I know for a fact a .45 conical high shoulder shot will drop a deer! Got this year's 5 point with a 488gr. Bullshop. Very little meat loss. I'm sure .50 cal.would be the same results.
The shot was off hand, just a tree for stability meant to hit lower, but he was walking fast and stopped him with a baaah.... works every time!

 

[ravenousfishing]

Thanks for the replies. Pretty much reinforces what I have been thinking all along. I am a firm believer in the lung/ heart shot but it usually requires some tracking. However, with the amount of standing water, I was worried about losing a blood trail. I do have a .54 GPR that likes 110 gr 2F that would be a better option, but I was having difficulty seeing the sights this year so I put it aside until I had time to change them out. May need to accelerate the timeline since we still have 2 weeks of muzzleloading season coming.

 

[hanshi]

What Spikebuck said.

I always aim for the heart/lung area as it's easy to hit, leaves a good blood trail and drops a deer DRT or within a few seconds. Never lost a deer or failed to have a good blood trail with all the deer I've killed with a .45 prb; that goes for other calibers as well. A shot in the H/L area is like popping a balloon.

I don't like to hit bones if I can help it because they shatter and act like a mini grenade and can do too much damage. The smaller targets are much too risky and do not work any better than a good H/L shot. I KNOW I can hit the H/L target but I can't be sure of the other.

 

[Sidney Smith]

If I cant get a heart lung shot, then I hold off. Id rather not track a deer hit high. Too much chance of the deer getting away hit high, only to suffer and probably be lost.

 

[Eterry]

I know for a fact a .45 conical high shoulder shot will drop a deer! Got this year's 5 point with a 488gr. Bullshop. Very little meat loss. I'm sure .50 cal.would be the same results.
The shot was off hand, just a tree for stability meant to hit lower, but he was walking fast and stopped him with a baaah.... works every time!

The only difference is he is talking about using PRB. I'm sure the 488gr will drop em with a high shoulder, thats about what my 58 minie uses.

I been pondering the hi shoulder shot, but I just always take the money shot...double lungs and they don't run far.

 

[toytruck]

If I cant get a heart lung shot, then I hold off. Id rather not track a deer hit high. Too much chance of the deer getting away hit high, only to suffer and probably be lost.

Nope, a deer will drop in it's tracks with a high shoulder shot if done right! I've killed several that way! No tracking involved!

 

[Ames]

Hats off to you, ravenousfishing. Its nice to hear you state that high water levels may impede any blood trail tracking. And you held back for that reason.
Refreshing.

 

[Blaze]

That shot low and behind shoulder is the best you can get, given a broadside shot.

 

[Grimord]

I use the high shoulder shot because of the heavy laurel cover I hunt in. I have had perfectly placed heart/lung shot deer go over 100 yards before dropping. They were dead at the shot but didn't know it yet. That 100 yards of tracking on hands and knees can and sometimes does take over an hour to do, and if shot at the end of the day the deer may not be recovered at all. The high shoulder shot usually breaks both shoulders and drops the deer in its tracks because of the broken shoulders and the shock to the spine. I guess what it boils down to is the situation at the time of the shot, like the time of day, cover, deer position and shooting ability.

 

[oldwood]

Learned something early on in the m/l hunting business. We were drive hunting deer in a group. In the 2nd drive of the morning a big doe was caught sneaking back through the line and one of our best female shots took a 100 yd. rested shot on the doe. The 170 gr. .50 cal ball w/ 85 gr. fffg hit the doe on a quartering angle in the shoulder and passed through. We pulled the hide off the doe and the deer looked like it had been hit w/ a 30 06 unmentionable. Most of the front shoulder was an unusable mess due to bone fragment damage. Sooooooooo , of the many deer I was fortunate to get over the years , only three , were shot high in the front shoulder only because there was no choice. Always tried for heartlung......oldwood