neck shots ???

[silent sniper]

hey guys I was wondering what you guys think of neck shots. I have only shot 1 deer in the neck and that was with a 12 guage slug,but the deer dropped dead. I have asked alot of people about there experiences with neck shots and they all said the deer drop on the spot and bleed out and die very very quickly.What do you guys think about the neck as a ethical quick killing shot ? thanks SS

 

[Little Wattsy]

IF the deer (or picka critter) is looking straight at you BAM! Right in the neck..That white patch under the deers chin is Gods target for us. IF the deer is quartering or broadside I would rather take the double lung shot as the spine is now no longer in a straight line and easier to miss....

 

[rabjr]

I have no problem with this shot using a percussion gun or centerfire gun and have done it many times. I do hesitate to make this shot with a flintlock. Everything would have to be perfect to do so. I will never take a head shot.

 

[roundball]

Takes a precise shot because they can often literally be a hit or miss situation. Speaking only for myself, while I have shot one buck at a very close 15 yards or so where I was certain of the shot placement, a neck shot with a Flintlock is a last resort choice.

Deer jerk/move their heads (necks) around at the least noise and the precise POA on the neck vertabrae can be lost between the time the sear trips and the ball gets there.

The lock time of centerfires and their lack of operation noise, in addition to their 'shock' power makes a neck shot a much higher percentage shot than with a Flintlock and PRB

 

[Extranero]

I've taken one elk and one mule deer with neck shots mule deer. I'd be quite comfortable taking those shots again because neither was at long range. The mulie was at forty yards looking at me over a some creosote and catclaw. He ran 0', but rolled down the slope nicely into the draw where I could easily drag him out. The elk was at 20 yards peeking around a pinyon pine. He fell over like he was hit by a truck. Spines and the associated arteries are small targets and aren't probably a good choice for long shots. When the shot presents itself up close and its all you have, fine. But normally I try to wait for a heart-lung shot if its out there a ways.

Sean

 

[larry wv]

Straight into the white of the chest is good if you have enough penetration. Sideways is dead or a long blood trail and prob a lost deer. A modern hi-power rifle has a lot of shock these slow bullets not so much. So miss the good spot in the neck and you are sol- short on luck I never have and prob never will take a neck shot. The only thing certain in life is death. Larry

 

[longcruise]

The thing that needs to be considered is that the width of the lethal area for a neck shot on a whitetail is three inches or just a little more. I'm including the spinal column, the artery immediately beneath (think it's the jugular) and the windpipe. Probably should not include the windpipe alone because blowing a hole right through it won't necessarily keep the animal from breathing and covering a lot of ground.

So, if you don't hit the really lethal area it's a muscle hit and the deer can go for a long time and may never go down or let you get close enough for another shot.

 

[jethro224]

I don't like them and don't take them. Too much chance of a wounded deer that will eventually die badly. Same thing for head shots on deer.
Done right it's an instant kill. Done wrong and it's a slow nasty death.

 

[rabjr]

Looking back, the few I did shoot were in close head on and a scoped gun was used with the cross hairs right on the bottom of the white patch. They all went down like a sack of potatos. I have never shot one broadside of the neck and don;t ever intend to. Especially with a Flinter.

 

[rabjr]

And yes I've unfortunately have seen the after match of a bad head shot to many times, it's sickning and I'll never do it. :shake:

 

[smokehouseman]

I have killed many animals with neck shots and to my recollection I can't recall wounding and losing any game because of misplaced shots to the neck or having any suffer unnecessarily. Having said that over the past 15 years or so I have since shifted my shots to heart/lung shots or head shots simply so as not to lose as much meat as you do with a neck shot. All of my shooting now days is almost exclusively under 50 yards and more often than not in the 25-30 yard range. In my opinion target practice and more target practice to achieve the best proficiency in placing quick and efficient kill shots is going to be the determining factor for each individual when it comes decision time when you pull the trigger. :2

 

[Dave K]

Just my opinion, I wouldn't take it. I have chased other deer over the years that neck or head shots went bad and the lower jaw was blown off. I get sick even thinking of it. As a bowhunter, I go for the high percentage shot of the heart/lung area. It is the biggest target. Even these can go bad, but the chances are better it won't. Again, totally my opinion and a neck or head shot done right is very deadly, a wounded deer though has a very ugly slow death. I have seen it.

 

[PreglerD]

I won't recommend a neck shot, because the neck together with the head is the most moving part of a deer. And there is to much danger to miss. When game stands broadside then I shoot always at the blade/boilerroom. Only when I have the deer from behind I would try a neckshoot. Furthermore the killing zone of the neck is not so big. If you are unlucky you don't hit the bones and the deer can escape heavy wounded.

Regards

Kirrmeister

 

[Stumpkiller]

I don't take neck shots with a bow or a round ball. It's a "low percentage" shot with no vitals and lots of muscle with few blood vessels. Sure, hit the spine or the large blood supplies to the brain and it's down. But hit the trachea and it's dead in one or two weeks after suffering horribly - and that takes up as much side area as either the spine or the cartoid artery.

Blow in there with a .270 or even a 12 ga. slug and the shock through tissue anywhere near the spine will drop the deer. A round ball doesn't have the same energy release.

Another reason I avoid head and nech shots is that a deer can snap its head/neck around MUCH quicker and over a large arc versus the bodity cavity. If you get the dreaded "Klack - BOOM!" after a damp hunt and the deer spins it's head around you are again tempting statistics.

Here's a pretty good anatomy graphic.

Shoot for the high target density areas - the chest cavity.

 

[smokymtnsmokepole]

Go for the lungs. I've shot several deer in the neck over the years, both intentionally and unintentionally. I don't like the shot. Usually puts 'em down, but you usually have to finish 'em off.

 

[Black Hand]

I don't like them and don't take them. Too much chance of a wounded deer that will eventually die badly. Same thing for head shots on deer.
Done right it's an instant kill. Done wrong and it's a slow nasty death.

I'm with Jethro on this one. I have taken a few deer with neck shots (intentionally or unintentionally) over the years, but I prefer a center of mass hit....

 

[Little Wattsy]

I don't like them and don't take them. Too much chance of a wounded deer that will eventually die badly. Same thing for head shots on deer.
Done right it's an instant kill. Done wrong and it's a slow nasty death.

I'm with Jethro on this one. I have taken a few deer with neck shots (intentionally or unintentionally) over the years, but I prefer a center of mass hit....

unintentionally?? Thats a fair piece off course.... :hmm:

 

[KyFlintlock]

About 5 years ago I was slinking through a THICK cedar thicket and the deer were in full rut. I gave a grunt on my tube and an awesome racked bruiser stood up about 15 yards from me! I laid the hammer back as he took a step through the brush toward me and as I took aim waiting for him to come around the last piece of buck-brush his eyes met mine and his eyes grew very large. I knew I was immediately made out so I fired the flintlock while aiming at the white patch. When the smoke cleared I eagerly jumped through the brush to get him and what I found was a bunch of white hair and some blood. I trailed him around the knob he was bedded on and then a b-line through the open hardwoods toward the neighbor's place until the blood ran out.

The neck shot is all I had due to the brush and I would have lost $1000 bet he was mine.

Stuff happens, and boy does it make you mad when it does.

Good luck
Wess

 

[Black Hand]

I don't like them and don't take them. Too much chance of a wounded deer that will eventually die badly. Same thing for head shots on deer.
Done right it's an instant kill. Done wrong and it's a slow nasty death.

I'm with Jethro on this one. I have taken a few deer with neck shots (intentionally or unintentionally) over the years, but I prefer a center of mass hit....

unintentionally?? Thats a fair piece off course.... :hmm:

In my defense, it was a quartering-away shot where the bullet missed the shoulder on the feeding doe and hit the neck instead.

 

[Tajue17]

I hit a doe at about 45yds last season with my 56SB using 90gr of 2F swiss right through the center of the neck about 6" down from the base of her skull and after the shot I looked under the smoke (dead calm) and just saw hoofs twitching...