Shot Placement

[ravenousfishing]

This season I joined a new hunt club that is located on a old tree farm. Many of the areas are overgrown and a couple of my stands are only 50 yards from our property line, which happens to be a swamp of flooded timber. I prefer to hunt with my caplocks whenever possible, even during regular gun season, but I have to admit that here I have been aprehensive about using my round ball guns because I dont want to lose a deer. Not that I doubt the ability of a round ball at killing deer, just that I know that they dont always drop in their tracks. Tonight I had 2 does come in at last light at 40 yds. Barely enough light to see my sights, but being comfortable with the gun, I took the shot. After I fired I only saw one deer run off. Went to the spot she had been standing and only found a couple tufts of hair, no blood. Went back to the truck and got the trusty Coleman lantern but still couldnt find any blood. Damn. Cussed myself for taking the shot :shake: Being a cold night and not wanting to tramp all over the area, I figured I would come back in the morning with help and do a body search. Since I hadn't heard her splashing in the water, I decided as one last effort for the evening, I would walk straight to the swamp edge 50 yards away and maybe get lucky. Well there was the blood trail, going in the opposite direction of the deer I had seen running. Another 50-75yds along the bank and there she was :thumbsup: Fortunatly she turned when she got to the water or I never would have found her.
I usually aim behind the shoulder, figuring a shot in the boiler room is a dead deer. Normally I hunt with my .54 Lyman GPR using 110gr 2F and under these conditions had planned on trying to break a shoulder to keep the deer from making it to the swamp. Tonight I decide to use a custom 50 cal with a .495 ball over 70gr of 3F. Wasn't sure if I could break a shoulder and get a pass through with that load so I shot where I normally do. Hit her high behind the left shoulder and exited low, taking out a lung and the liver.
Now to the point of the post.:grin:Given these conditions and these loads, where would you place your shot and why?

 

[nw_hunter]

I'm getting old and lazy, so I don't want to gut one out so late in the day. I would wait for a morning hunt :grin:

Joking aside, I would have put it behind the shoulder like you did.I like the lung shots.

 

[rabjr]

This season I joined a new hunt club that is located on a old tree farm. Many of the areas are overgrown and a couple of my stands are only 50 yards from our property line, which happens to be a swamp of flooded timber. I prefer to hunt with my caplocks whenever possible, even during regular gun season, but I have to admit that here I have been aprehensive about using my round ball guns because I dont want to lose a deer. Not that I doubt the ability of a round ball at killing deer, just that I know that they dont always drop in their tracks. Tonight I had 2 does come in at last light at 40 yds. Barely enough light to see my sights, but being comfortable with the gun, I took the shot. After I fired I only saw one deer run off. Went to the spot she had been standing and only found a couple tufts of hair, no blood. Went back to the truck and got the trusty Coleman lantern but still couldnt find any blood. Damn. Cussed myself for taking the shot :shake: Being a cold night and not wanting to tramp all over the area, I figured I would come back in the morning with help and do a body search. Since I hadn't heard her splashing in the water, I decided as one last effort for the evening, I would walk straight to the swamp edge 50 yards away and maybe get lucky. Well there was the blood trail, going in the opposite direction of the deer I had seen running. Another 50-75yds along the bank and there she was :thumbsup: Fortunatly she turned when she got to the water or I never would have found her.
I usually aim behind the shoulder, figuring a shot in the boiler room is a dead deer. Normally I hunt with my .54 Lyman GPR using 110gr 2F and under these conditions had planned on trying to break a shoulder to keep the deer from making it to the swamp. Tonight I decide to use a custom 50 cal with a .495 ball over 70gr of 3F. Wasn't sure if I could break a shoulder and get a pass through with that load so I shot where I normally do. Hit her high behind the left shoulder and exited low, taking out a lung and the liver.
Now to the point of the post.:grin:Given these conditions and these loads, where would you place your shot and why?

First grats on your deer! :thumbsup:

Well, you didn't say how they stood, obviously in the end the passage of the ball says they were not broadside, could you see this? Did you know you were shooting at a quartering away animal? That time of night is hard to tell sometimes. I shot deer before I swore was broadside but turned out to have a slight angle.

To tell ya the truth I wasn't there so I'm not sure I could answer this one. If I could still see my sights, which would have been the biggest factor for me, I would have at that range and knowing how she was standing, aimed a little more towards the front of the leg, hoping to hit the front of one lung and the rear of the other on the way out. But most likely I wouldn't have been able to see the sights and watched them till they ambled on.

But don't kid yourself you made a good shot and it didn't go far.

 

[jethro224]

I always try to aim for a double lung shot. That's the largest sure-kill target. More margin for error. A little low and you get the heart, a little high and you most likely hit the spine, a little far back you get the liver.

A couple of my stands are close to a property line too. I stay on that neighbors good side so he'll let me go get the occasional deer that crosses over after I shoot. I drop by his place once or twice a year for a visit, and I always ask permission before trespassing.:thumbsup:

Grats on your deer. :hatsoff:

 

[ravenousfishing]

Slightly slightly quartering towards me. Could see the deer fine and I really like the thin silver blade on this rifle. Will probably change my GPR to a thinner blade as well. Actually, while providing the backdrop of the story the light was less a concern than the proximity of the swamp.

 

[rabjr]

Slightly slightly quartering towards me. Could see the deer fine and I really like the thin silver blade on this rifle. Will probably change my GPR to a thinner blade as well. Actually, while providing the backdrop of the story the light was less a concern than the proximity of the swamp.

Ok my fault I always get mixed up with quatering away/quartering to you for some reason. Quartering to me, I would have done what I said in the first post, hoping to hit both lungs.

 

[roundball]

"...where would you place your shot and why?..."

My personal choice is always trying for the heart...taking out the pump turns out the lights the quickest...everything else in ancillary to the heart.

Every deer I've heart shot with a round ball has dropped in sight of me...a couple dropped in their tracks, a few dropped after lunging a couple of body lengths, and the rest after a mad-dash for 25-35 yards and crashing.

 

[agill]

Congratulations! :thumbsup:

 

[roundball]

Just realized that I ended up typing an answer to your question and completely forgot to offer my congratulations on your deer.
:hatsoff:

 

[larry wv]

Lung shot for me also.With a bigger piece of lead I would have tried to break a shoulder on the way in or out if I could. You did good. You are thinking ahead about what might happen thats good. Larry Wv

 

[paulvallandigham]

I know the .50 cal. ball will break any shoulder bone in a deer at that close range. I would have aimed so that I hit both lungs, not one, and would have avoided any shot that would go so far back to hit the liver. I love LIVER! I would rather blow the heart, and have to cut that meat up into sausage meat, than to ruin a liver.

So, put me down for the double lung shot. I try to break a foreleg going or coming out, along with the double lung shot. Its not always possible, AND I AM CERTAINLY NOT FAULTING your choice of shots. I was not there, nor was I holding your gun.

I once shot a wild board in the spine, mid-back, because a dog kept coming back and forth between the boar and me, preventing me from getting a clean shot at the lungs. Underbrush covered the heart shot, too. I was hoping that my .50 cal. ball at that close range would break the spine.

It didn't. But, it was the only shot that presented itself to me. The guide was worried about his dog, and kept hollaring at me to shoot the boar. Knowing what I know now, I would not be using a lead PRB on boar, nor taking that shot, again.

Nice deer. Good shooting, and a Thank You for staying out longer to find that deer. Next time, read the footprints- not blood trails. Deer rarely drop much blood at first shot, because their heavy coats of fur soak it up. You usually have to trail a deer at least 25-30 yds, and often further, if its a high lung hit, before you find any blood to confirm the tracks.

 

[doulos]

Im no expert but I think you were smart not trying to break a shoulder with the load you were using. I think you treated the shot like a bowhunter and that was smart. From some fellas who frequent another forum and who are experienced hunting out west and larger mulies and such they say a ball cast of wheel weights in .50 will definitely drive straighter and deeper when encountering shoulder. I would avoid the shoulder with a .50 with that load.
Congrats on the deer and two thumbs up for tracking at night with a Coleman lantern. We cant leave them lay overnight in Western NY, or the coyotes will leave you a pile of fur.
Merry Christmas

 

[ravenousfishing]

Thanks for the replies guys. Seems the general consensus here is take the double lung shot which is what I usually do. I must admit that while I did allow for the downward angle from my treestand, I forgot to allow for the quartering angle, which is why I only got one lung. I will chalk it up to experience and remember next time. I believe when I go out the next time with this same combination I will shoot for the boiler room as well, but if I take my 54, I will try to break some bone, although in more open areas I will still go for the double lung shot, even with the larger load. AS for eating the liver, aint going to happen, no matter what shape its in, unless they're fried chicken livers, and last I checked I 'm not finding them in any deer. :grin:

 

[tg]

I let a lot of Deer walk most years as I want a good shot thru the lungs, I might try to break down the shoulders if real close with the .62 smoothrifle and am in a jungle of briars or club,most days last light finds me at home the last ten years or so, I have always prefered morning hunts and taken more deer then, I do not care for following deer in the dark...and I usualy hunt uphill as well.

 

[steve nagy]

I like to break the one or both of the shoulders and/or get a low neck shot. With this shot I have never had a deer take another step after being shot. My very favorite shot is at the base of the skull behind the ear as that shuts the power off as though the earth was yanked out form under a deer's feet. That said, I have only taken this head shot at close range of under 50 yards. The knockdown of a PRB at close quarters is not be underestimated!