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shot placement
- Thread starter chipper c
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Skychief
69 Cal.
I always like to go for the lungs Chipper. :thumbsup:
Muzzleloaders don't deliver the shock power that say a .30-06 does at 2700 fps...so shoulder shots are not a preferred shot, high risk.chipper c said:
IMO, the best way to think of the muzzleloader is nothing more than extended range bowhunting, with the patched ball as the broadhead.
And aside from the occasional freak shot where a near miss accidently hits the spine shutting down the CNS immobilizing the deer and causing suffocation, the quickest kill is to shut off oxygen to the brain with a heart shot...which instantly stops blood circulation because the pump has stopped.
Second best is the lung shot, however, until they fill up with blood, shutting off the ability to process oxygen into the bloodstream, a deer can cover a lot of ground in 15-20 seconds...and depending on the angle, if only one lung is holed, you may not ever find that deer.
By contrast, a direct heart shot takes out the pump instantly and they're dead in seconds...every one I've shot through the heart has made a sudden brief sprint and gone down in sight of the stand...watched some of them start making a mad dash, die on their feet, and crash headlong into trees in plain sight of me.
Other's mileage may vary of course...
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Double lung.
Lungs. As Roundball says: a round ball does not have the shock that a modern bullet does.
Double lung is your best and easiest kill shot, the heart is a great kill shot as well, just harder to hit..Although I have seen deer run for a long time with both examples of a prime shot. 1) I once shot one right through the heart with my bow.I gave him about 2 hrs to die and that deer ran to the nearest corn field ( about 200 yrds) and lived for about an hour. That critter couldn't have had ANY blood left in his body, according to the crimson trail he left!I cook up the heart normally.. well lets just say this one got tossed! 2) During ML season one year, I double lunged a nice buck at about 50 yrds.. it was nearly a perfect shot, that crazy deer ran for what seemed like FOREVER! I gave him about 1 hour to expire and jumped him up after trailing him..I backed off...and came back to the woods about 3 hrs later, after dark,and found him about 300 yrds from my shot..When the adreneline is pumping on a Whitetail deer they can really move out fast and far!
I agree take out the lights!
Nit Wit
Nit Wit
longcruise
70 Cal.
The heart is always my personal goal...granted the lungs are much larger/easier, but for me are my second choice.
A side benefit of going for the heart can also get some of the low part of the lungs...I never shoot up high in the middle of what this diagram shows to be the large area of lungs.
I want my deer down in sight, no hours spent tracking, short drag, etc...just the way I've made myself learn to take them:
A side benefit of going for the heart can also get some of the low part of the lungs...I never shoot up high in the middle of what this diagram shows to be the large area of lungs.
I want my deer down in sight, no hours spent tracking, short drag, etc...just the way I've made myself learn to take them:
NJ Longbeard
40 Cal.
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Take out the lungs. They don't go far!! :wink:
thank you all for all the interesting facts on shot placement with a 50. cal round ball.looks like I will be picking a spot along the front leg crease low. like I do with archery. If my shot is low I will hit the heart , If I am high I will hit the lungs. thanks again for your reply's! Chipper.
chipper c said:
I hunt my muzzleloaders as if they were [traditional] bows with 3X the range.
I follow the foreleg up and aim in the lower chest for broadsides. At quartering angles I visualize where the ball (or arrow) will pass through by thinking about where it will exit.
Rat Trapper
62 Cal.
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My hunting partner likes to shoot them between the running lights. They drop right where they stood. since the head is not use for making anything there is no hole in the hide. I have never seen him miss when doing this. While I can also make that shot, I prefer the lungs/heart.
IMHO the perfect shot placement would cut a furrow right thru the top of the heart while also taking out both lungs. A couple inches low and you still hit heart. A couple inches high and you still get a double lung. A couple inches forward should still hit heart/lungs. A bit far back, even if you miss the lungs, will hit liver and/or diaphragm which will also kill the deer relatively quickly.
I have seen deer drop where they stand and I've seen them run a couple hundred yards even when the shot was perfect. A lot depends on if the deer was already nervous before the shot or if it saw you after the shot. A spooked deer can run amazing distances even when it's dead on it's feet. A calm deer may just flinch and continue with what it was doing until it drops dead. :idunno:
The thing about head shots is that the brain is a very small target that can move suddenly, unexpectedly, and very quickly. A very small miss will result in a very ugly result.
I have seen deer drop where they stand and I've seen them run a couple hundred yards even when the shot was perfect. A lot depends on if the deer was already nervous before the shot or if it saw you after the shot. A spooked deer can run amazing distances even when it's dead on it's feet. A calm deer may just flinch and continue with what it was doing until it drops dead. :idunno:
The thing about head shots is that the brain is a very small target that can move suddenly, unexpectedly, and very quickly. A very small miss will result in a very ugly result.
". A spooked deer can run amazing distances even when it's dead on it's feet"
A very good point Jethro, it seems many centerfire hunters often accept this but often when changing to ML and PRB excpect the animal to fold up on the spot everytime, often to the belittlement of the PRB and a change to a modern comical of some sort is felt to be the solution, I have seen this first hand many times over several decades and cannot understand what the thought process is behind it for the life of me.I would not dissmiss head shots but much consideration about the range and ones ability and all the wild cards need be figured in, I have taken a few but only close and from a rest at unsuspecting Deer and when my shooting was at its top form....quite some time ago, now a big ball theu the lungs from FDC at less than 50 yds is my meal ticket and some fall some run off for a ways, but a couple of large holes will generaly leave a trail to follow after waiting a half hour or so for the animal to have a chance to hold up and stiffen/expire, at times they will be lying against a tree or stump which I found odd, I thoght it to be more of a human reaction IMHO
A very good point Jethro, it seems many centerfire hunters often accept this but often when changing to ML and PRB excpect the animal to fold up on the spot everytime, often to the belittlement of the PRB and a change to a modern comical of some sort is felt to be the solution, I have seen this first hand many times over several decades and cannot understand what the thought process is behind it for the life of me.I would not dissmiss head shots but much consideration about the range and ones ability and all the wild cards need be figured in, I have taken a few but only close and from a rest at unsuspecting Deer and when my shooting was at its top form....quite some time ago, now a big ball theu the lungs from FDC at less than 50 yds is my meal ticket and some fall some run off for a ways, but a couple of large holes will generaly leave a trail to follow after waiting a half hour or so for the animal to have a chance to hold up and stiffen/expire, at times they will be lying against a tree or stump which I found odd, I thoght it to be more of a human reaction IMHO
Black Hand
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While a head shot is effective at dropping a deer, it is/should be a shot of last resort. An inch or two one way or the other and you have a wounded deer that can run off and die painfully of infection or starvation.
A couple inches one way or the other with a heart/lung shot still gets you the lungs/liver/heart or major vessels. The deer is dead and if done while it is unawares, will drop it right in its tracks...
A couple inches one way or the other with a heart/lung shot still gets you the lungs/liver/heart or major vessels. The deer is dead and if done while it is unawares, will drop it right in its tracks...
On a similar topic does the nose of a squirrel ever get hit and the animal escapes?
One has about a 4" target for a head shot, I agree that caution be taken but the shot is not an absoluite bad choice in all circumstances, I never lost the few Deer I took this shot at but they were carefully condisdered before making the shot.
One has about a 4" target for a head shot, I agree that caution be taken but the shot is not an absoluite bad choice in all circumstances, I never lost the few Deer I took this shot at but they were carefully condisdered before making the shot.
For my own quick reference, I always look for the line formed by the back of the front leg, follow it halfway up the body, then shoot just behind it. Same for elk. That will get you right in the middle of the lungs. If the animal is angled, I adjust the aiming spot to angle the shot into the lungs. I will avoid a shoulder shot though, as they can be crippling, but not immediately deadly. Bill
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