Shot Placement?

[MrTom]

If you have any thoughts on head shots that you can not keep your shot in a 2" area don't shoot. The high shoulder shot gives you an ample 8" target area.

Every shot is going to have different circumstances. If I am assured of a clean shot I'll take the head so I ruin as little meat as possible. The neck/shoulder shot is secong if things are good there. Otherwise if a deer presents a clean, standing heart shot and I'm hunting on the down slope of the mountain I hunt on I'll take it.

 

[archer36]

Let's get back to the original post. He was asking about shots that would minimize the possibility of the deer going on to other properties after the shot. Some are advocating for head and neck shots because of that. If a "quick" recovery is required, that's what has to be done. We know deer can travel 50-100 yds with a good heart/lung shot. That would not work for the OP.

 

[B Ohio]

How about elk placement 50 cal 320 grains bullet. 125 yards

 

[pacanis]

Now that's a good question, @alternate

I'm going to pose that question to someone I know next time I see him. He was lucky enough to draw an Elk tag here in PA and was faced with the same problem. He had to drop the Elk right there so it would not go into a non-hunting farmer's land that was posted.

 

[ElDiablo]

How about elk placement 50 cal 320 grains bullet. 125 yards

Anatomy is the same but elk are much tougher than a deer. You’d better have the right bullet if you’re going to take a high shoulder shot on an elk.

 

[B Ohio]

Eldiablo. Im looking at sized, bitu thor 300 grains and fury 320 fury. What 209 load woul you start with

 

[B Ohio]

Colorado open sites no sabbots. 125 yards

 

[ElDiablo]

The Thor is a much tougher bullet. That would be my choice for elk with 110-120 gr BH209. And if it isn’t standing by a private fence (which it is unlikely to be depending on the unit you’re hunting in CO) I’d put it through the lungs.

 

[B Ohio]

110 nyi volume?

 

[B Ohio]

110 grains by volume?

 

[Hanshi]

I know from much experience hunting whitetails that while hitting from high shoulder to the brain means instant shutdown, I do concur with Bronco220002 that far more hits to the head miss the brain than don't. For that reason I can't recommend the head as a target except as a "coup de grace" shot on a downed deer.

Whitetails are as twitchy as squirrels and a well aimed shot at the head can land in places that are hard to comprehend. I always, except for a couple of times, aimed at the heart-lung area; yet on at least 2 DRT kills the heart-lung shot hit the neck ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE! Yep, twitchy for sure. This likely wont work for the op but I've had a good proportion of H-L hits result in a DRT. And all my kills have been with prb. The neck offers a much better target than the head.

 

[ElDiablo]

110 grains by volume?

Yes, by volume. (110 grW is a stout load!)

 

[B Ohio]

Thor it is

 

[Half-Cocked]

My first deer I got stupid lucky. Turns out my scope was loose I was aiming for a double lung and heart ended up higher and farther back. Deer dropped like a rock. Pretty sure the temporary expansion snapped his spine and made her a paraplegic. Also zipped through the lungs. It was a perfect accident.

 

[Hausser1]

in the nards ..."drops 'em right there"

 

[Dom]

Another vote for high shoulder, it works right now.

 

[Okie Hog]

This likely wont work for the op but I've had a good proportion of H-L hits result in a DRT.

Yes!!!!

IME: About 50 percent of deer shot in the heart-lung area bang flopped.

The majority of my deer kills are <60 yards from blinds and stands overlooking trails, ponds and wheat fields.

This large buck was shot at 40 yards with my Encore loaded with the 250 grain SST bullet and 120 grains of Black MZ powder. Buck dropped and never kicked. The heart-lung area was mush, no part of the bullet exited.

 

[HV-Muzzleloaders]

My primary spot is a lung shot. It's a big target that can be hit from any angle. Yeah I've taken head shot (does) and neck shots but only when it appears that the deer will escape with out ever presenting a lung shot. I hunt in Ct where there is nearly always brush, twigs and branches between me and my target. A small twig will deflect a head or neck shot enough to miss the spine or esophogus but even with deflection you'll likely still make a fatal lung shot. Another benefit is that it ruins no meat.

I was trained as a Biologist. I agree 100% with the lung shot. Why?

Many hunters claim to be snipers whose bullets always go exactly where they want them. However, this mindset does not always reflect reality.

A hole in the lungs is fatal due to simple facts of anatomy. A hole in the chest cavity causes the lungs to collapse. A hole in the lungs causes massive blood loss.

The wooly mammoth hunters knew this fact when they killed an elephant with a sharp rock on the end of a long stick.




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[Bushfire]

Hard to see because of the angle for exact shot placement, but this was a high shoulder shot on the stag I shot this year. 50 yards and down on the spot.

https://www.modernmuzzleloader.com/threads/power-of-prb.57511/