Shot placement at longer ranges

[Spitpatch]

If a high shoulder shot is great for breaking deer down at close range, is it also advisable or even ethical, to offer the deer the same shot at 200 yards? It would seem to me a better offering, to place the shot tight behind the shoulder in the same small pocket a bowhunter would choose. This would seem the wiser choice due to the lower KE from a shot at this distance.

Your comments please.

 

[schoolmaster]

I guess it depends on how much energy you have to work with at 200 yards. I would not hesitate to take a shoulder shot at 200 with my savage.

 

[Loggy]

Spit, I like a double lung hit for both bow & rifle ....and for short & long. Killed many deer over the past 40 plus years & this shot has never left me down. Minimal meat loss & good blood trial (when rarely needed).

 

[Admin]

If a high shoulder shot is great for breaking deer down at close range, is it also advisable or even ethical, to offer the deer the same shot at 200 yards? It would seem to me a better offering, to place the shot tight behind the shoulder in the same small pocket a bowhunter would choose. This would seem the wiser choice due to the lower KE from a shot at this distance.

Your comments please.

Boiler room shot is best at longer ranges. I use em for all ranges if I can. I'm not fond of the shoulder shot.

 

[big6x6]

I'm not fond of the shoulder shot.

Nor am I. I go for the boiler room every time. More room for error. Animals are rarely still and when they are, they can move quickly and without notice. Also, room for shooter error, the number one reason for unrecovered animals.

I aim just behind the front shoulder on broadside shots.

 

[Nic_58]

I always aim for the same spot with a rifle as I would with a bow when shooting at a deer. And that is the behind the shoulder shot, through the lungs. In my experience, a double-lung shot with a rifle is plenty lethal and the deer isn't going far if any at all!

 

[swamphunter]

I agree. Double lung shot deer generally do not go very far (in my experience). Meat loss is minimal, especially if you get lucky and miss the ribs. Also as mentioned the vital area is quite large compared to other shot placement "zones" i.e. shoulder, neck, head.


My two cents,
Swamphunter.