Shot placement for deer

dwighet

Well lads heres a few questions for ye seasoned deer stalkers...
"Shot placement and Deer reaction to the shot"
"The best shot for bleeding out(chest cavity)"
"The best shot to drop them on the spot excluding head shots"
And lets say the bullet is a soft point of any deer legal caliber from 80 to 300 yards max...
I would also like to here what shot placement is best for a Sika stag as I know from my limited experience they are a tough fecker to put down
If Ive missed a few questions please add them to the list...

Cheers
Dwighet

patsat

Effective Range??

Or is that too controversial?

dwighet

patsat wrote: »

Effective Range??

Or is that too controversial?

Ill put in 300yds max...;)

landkeeper

you missed on factor that makes a huge difference
alert or relaxed sika stag ;)the auld adrenalin is worth 25 grains of bullet :cool:

dwighet

landkeeper wrote: »

you missed on factor that makes a huge difference
alert or relaxed sika stag ;)the auld adrenalin is worth 25 grains of bullet :cool:

Thats the sort of answer Im after...thanks
Keep em coming

jwshooter

a shot to bleed out a animal .

firstly its better if the animal runs as the heart will pump more blood ,"usualy".

A slightly high heart shot also hitting lungs ,behind the shoulder use the knuckle on the elbow as a guide if the animal is picture post card.

same height as the elbow as close to it as you can get .,result the animal will lunge forward ,maybe a jump too . the animal will "usualy" run any thing up to 100yds .

point of note , a rutting stag or a animal that is excited from fear etc ,can run more "usualy" down hill at some point .

meathstevie

Heart or lung shots are always lethal. No mammal can survive with serious damage to either for any amount of time. I suppose the added bonus there is massive hit on a serious volume of soft tissue, the shock of impact alone imo is lethal, which will cause a fast serious internal bleed which can be relatively easily be dealt with the moment you have your hands on the carcass.

I've experimented a bit with a couple of foxes I shot behind the shoulder and severing the windpipe and arteries in the neck after a lung-heart shot and positioning the carcass in such a way that your cuts are at the lowest point of the carcass appears to bleed the carcass quite thoroughly and quickly.

I'd be a bit weary of neck shots as you either need to cut through the spine or sever an artery for a swift kill.

.243

high neck shot every time,drops them on the spot

CJhaughey

I try and neck them with the .243, there is big hydraulic shock from that round and neck shots drop them very quick IME.
I don't generally encounter Sika over 170m or so due to the hilly terrain.

kakashka

Head or neck-running 100 yards is just not acceptable in my situation plus adrenalin does not tast good!!

ejg

My favourite is just behind the shoulder about an inch under the spine.
A soft point in 308 usually drops them on the spot. An inch under the spine also drops them on the spot if the shot is a bit too far back.

don't like shoulder shots as the bullet can bounce off if the angle is wrong.

edi

poulo6.5

ejg wrote: »

My favourite is just behind the shoulder about an inch under the spine.
A soft point in 308 usually drops them on the spot. An inch under the spine also drops them on the spot if the shot is a bit too far back.

don't like shoulder shots as the bullet can bounce off if the angle is wrong.

edi

that shot ruins the best meat.
anywhere in the neck or a head shot. i dont understand why anyone would accept a runner when its so easy to drop them on the spot

Tackleberrywho

poulo6.5 wrote: »

that shot ruins the best meat.
anywhere in the neck or a head shot. i dont understand why anyone would accept a runner when its so easy to drop them on the spot

I have to agree Paulo. Heart pumps blood. Head/spine central nervous system disables.

Heart shots are very messy, ruins fore quater, attracts blue fly in september and they can lay eggs etc.

I either go for the neck or the head.
I prefer a cleaner carcass, Bleed them with the knife like a butcher does your adverage bullock/heifer.

The drop with a head shot in a spasm of neuro-electro pulses around the body.

Some hunters do nothing with the fore quarters, I have found them left abandoned. The hind quarters and the head if a stag were gone.

To me a stag is burgers/sausage. I prefer a nice yearling or a 2 year old, just like my beef under 36 months!

4gun

dare I say it "
the best place to shoot em......

as close to the road as possible:D

Tackleberrywho

4gun wrote: »

dare I say it "
the best place to shoot em......

as close to the road as possible:D

Best line I've heard all day!

landkeeper

ii wonder how many of these head shot lads have found a deer with the lower jaw or nose missing , i have it wasn't dead and was in a shocking state and had been like that for several days that put me off head shots for deer , but the head on a deer is the one thing that moves around a lot , the slightest noise and it can change position in a flash the difference being an animal condemmed to a slow lingering death .
as far as im concerned i'd rather put a bullet into a big vital part of a deer and face the possibility that it may take a bit of work to find the animal and it might spoil a bit of meat , rather than trying to be the hero and shoot it in the head

Tackleberrywho

landkeeper wrote: »

ii wonder how many of these head shot lads have found a deer with the lower jaw or nose missing , i have it wasn't dead and was in a shocking state and had been like that for several days that put me off head shots for deer , but the head on a deer is the one thing that moves around a lot , the slightest noise and it can change position in a flash the difference being an animal condemmed to a slow lingering death .
as far as im concerned i'd rather put a bullet into a big vital part of a deer and face the possibility that it may take a bit of work to find the animal and it might spoil a bit of meat , rather than trying to be the hero and shoot it in the head

head or Neck, if not safe then in the heart lung.
It's not for heros head shots, deers head is quite big in comparison to a rabbit, if you can hit a rabbit head shot why not deer?

I have never, touch wood blown a jaw off a deer.
Nor have I seen any. if I can't take the shot i wait. I often waited an hour lying on the cold wet ground waiting for the shot.

But it was always worth the wait!

The granddad said about hunting, if you don't get them today, they will still be there tomorrow

I see a lot of fellas using low powered scopes. Maybe that was the problem?
A good scope vari-power can have good light gathering ability and yet good magnification

1.5-8 mag I would go for Heart lung, 9-20mag I would go for head.
Now there is my two cents.
I'm not expecting everyone to agree. I'd say it's prob 50/50 on shot placement.

cbrjohnthou

Tackleberrywho wrote: »

head or Neck, if not safe then in the heart lung.
It's not for heros head shots, deers head is quite big in comparison to a rabbit, if you can hit a rabbit head shot why not deer?

I have never, touch wood blown a jaw off a deer.
Nor have I seen any. if I can't take the shot i wait. I often waited an hour lying on the cold wet ground waiting for the shot.

But it was always worth the wait!

The granddad said about hunting, if you don't get them today, they will still be there tomorrow

I see a lot of fellas using low powered scopes. Maybe that was the problem?
A good scope vari-power can have good light gathering ability and yet god magnification

1.5-8 mag I would go for Heart lung, 9-20mag I would go for head.
Now there is my two cents.
I'm not expecting everyone to agree. I'd say it's prob 50/50 on shot placement.

your dead right about the scope, I know a load of lads who won't spend the money on scopes and still expect the same performance from the likes of what should only be mounted on a .22. Scopes should be a one time purchase and last a lifetime.

patsat

shank1 wrote: »

your dead right about the scope, I know a load of lads who won't spend the money on scopes and still expect the same performance from the likes of what should only be mounted on a .22. Scopes should be a one time purchase and last a lifetime.

I personally thought the same but when using a higher powered scope i always found myself turning down the mag to around 10. Didn't think there was any need for any higher.

Thats why i decided a 4-12 mag was fine for me!

Tackleberrywho

patsat wrote: »

I personally thought the same but when using a higher powered scope i always found myself turning down the mag to around 10. Didn't think there was any need for any higher.

Thats why i decided a 4-12 mag was fine for me!

I think he is referring to below 4 power, I used to use a 2.5-10 I found 10 a bit low. It's down to personal preference after that. The guy i sold it to loves it! I preferred fine reticle to see more of the target the monarch had a very heavy reticle

patsat

Tackleberrywho wrote: »

I think he is referring to below 4 power, I used to use a 2.5-10 I found 10 a bit low. It's down to personal preference after that. The guy i sold it to loves it! I preferred fine reticle to see more of the target the monarch had a very heavy reticle

Wel if the lower mag is good enough for the yanks then it is good enough for me!
Although for varmint i would have to have a higher mag!

dwighet

4gun wrote: »

dare I say it "
the best place to shoot em......

as close to the road as possible:D

I hear ya;);)

jwshooter

the debate about head shooting is going no where .

if your capable of doing it ,know when and where to do it (do it) if not (dont).

i 99% of the time neck and head shoot , using varmint rounds in my rifles.

Tackleberrywho

jwshooter wrote: »

the debate about head shooting is going no where .

if your capable of doing it ,know when and where to do it (do it) if not (dont).

i 99% of the time neck and head shoot , using varmint rounds in my rifles.

Well Said JW

clivej

jwshooter wrote: »

the debate about head shooting is going no where .

if your capable of doing it ,know when and where to do it (do it) if not (dont).

i 99% of the time neck and head shoot , using varmint rounds in my rifles.

So now this rises the question of the correct round to use.

I used 308 150gr Federal Fusion soft points last season, Sika, and noticed that they traveled through but didn't seem to expand as much as I thought they would after looking at the exit hole.
So would a better round to use be something like the Hornaday's with the balistic tip SST, VMax, AMax?? They are designed not to fragment like the varmint rounds but open out and therefore make a bigger wound channel and lose most of the energy in the animal.

Tackleberrywho

clivej wrote: »

So now this rises the question of the correct round to use.

I used 308 150gr Federal Fusion soft points last season, Sika, and noticed that they traveled through but didn't seem to expand as much as I thought they would.
So would a better round to use be something like the Hornaday's with the balistic tip SST, VMax, AMax??

I have used soft nosed in the past. I noticed the same. many years ago I was in scully in athlone and asked for BT Norma 6.5x55. he told me " They don't exist, Then he said,They are not a deer round"

I later found out he had none in stock .
The BT is some round for knock down IMHO. Last 2 seasons I was using 155grain Hornady tap. Very accurate and have serious knock down power.

If you look at Paula6.5 .223 ammo thread, I accept its a smaller calibre but it shows effects with same grain weight in BT versus standard hunting. They say a picture paints a thousand words. The videos are very good at showing expansion qualities.

I also noticed that loading unloading soft nose puts a little dent on the lead. So if you don't shoot today and load again tomorrow the rounds are slightly damaged affecting their accuracy.
BT have a hard Polymer tip that makes expansion quicker, but keeps the round uniform until it reaches the Target!

It wasn't me!

I'd be very conservative when shooting on live game. If I had a nice stable rest, visibility and conditions were good and the animal were relaxed, I'd be happy enough to take head or neck shots at short ranges, say about eighty yards or so. Otherwise, I'll take the more comfortable and forgiving shot. It's not that I couldn't make those shots and better all day on the range, but I don't believe in taking the same shots in the field. That's just my own evaluation of my own ability - maybe it'll get extended as time goes on, but it's always better to be conservative where animals are concerned and pass on any shot if there's the slightest doubt as far as I'm concerned. I'd like the Hornady SST as an all-round bullet if I could handload them. Got very good results out of my rifle, but they're pricey enough, though I think I could get the prices down to a respectable level by buying in bulk, so they're a possibility to consider during the summer for a bulk buy.

Tackleberrywho

It wasn't me! wrote: »

I'd be very conservative when shooting on live game. If I had a nice stable rest, visibility and conditions were good and the animal were relaxed, I'd be happy enough to take head or neck shots at short ranges, say about eighty yards or so. Otherwise, I'll take the more comfortable and forgiving shot. It's not that I couldn't make those shots and better all day on the range, but I don't believe in taking the same shots in the field. That's just my own evaluation of my own ability - maybe it'll get extended as time goes on, but it's always better to be conservative where animals are concerned and pass on any shot if there's the slightest doubt as far as I'm concerned. I'd like the Hornady SST as an all-round bullet if I could handload them. Got very good results out of my rifle, but they're pricey enough, though I think I could get the prices down to a respectable level by buying in bulk, so they're a possibility to consider during the summer for a bulk buy.

Hornady TAP .308 €28 for 20. Not bad by todays prices. Very accurate and very deadly.

When I started shooting deer first i have to say I went for body shots. I got my first licence in either 99 or 2000 can't remember exactly i think I got my first licence mid season.
I only had a cheap Tasco scope then and a Swedish Mauser and a set of shooting sticks I made from 3 ash sticks drilled and tied with builders line.

I'd never advise a person to take a shot unless they were comfortable with. I practice hunting on rabbits as the hunting skills required are much the same.

Speaking of which i might go out for a few bunnies now.
I have noticed a big increase in their activity over the past 2 weeks.

ejg

clivej wrote: »

So now this rises the question of the correct round to use.

I used 308 150gr Federal Fusion soft points last season, Sika, and noticed that they traveled through but didn't seem to expand as much as I thought they would after looking at the exit hole.
So would a better round to use be something like the Hornaday's with the balistic tip SST, VMax, AMax?? They are designed not to fragment like the varmint rounds but open out and therefore make a bigger wound channel and lose most of the energy in the animal.

Clive, I think the fed fusion is possibly the best all round soft point available. I used them for a year and shot deer from 50 to 270yds.
On sika stags I got 50% exit from the 308 with heart lung shots meaning the energy was mostly transfered. Worst weight retention of a retrieved bullet was 84%, mostly they weighed over 90%.
Head shots were messy, they do expand quickly.
I would use fusion now if I'd get a batch that would group.
The last batch i had was all over in cartridge length and didn't group under 1.5".


edi

It wasn't me!

Hornaday 117gr SST, cheapest I've found was I think €35 for 20, with most places being €40+. I'm picking up three boxes of Federal 117gr softpoints on Friday. Will be testing those and it'll be them or the Hornady that I end up buying in 200 of. If I could get 200 Hornday for closer to €300 than €400 I'd be happy enough, they shoot very well.

jwshooter

clivej wrote: »

So now this rises the question of the correct round to use.

I used 308 150gr Federal Fusion soft points last season, Sika, and noticed that they traveled through but didn't seem to expand as much as I thought they would after looking at the exit hole.
So would a better round to use be something like the Hornaday's with the balistic tip SST, VMax, AMax?? They are designed not to fragment like the varmint rounds but open out and therefore make a bigger wound channel and lose most of the energy in the animal.

think you answered your own question clive .

i just looked at the federal charts and you possible might be getting 2,800fps tops.

something the 308 users might not realise is the 308 slows very fast .

308 150gr federal 2800 at the barrel at 100, 2532 at 200 ,2261 at 300, 2007fps.


270 130gr federal 3060 at the barrel at 100, 2837 at 200, 2626 at 300, 2424fps .

thats in 24" barrels not the short 20" 308 users like .

i would look at a different round clive a B tip will expand better on soft tissue than a sst and a v max will expand on anything but will not penetrate to deep

clivej

jwshooter wrote: »

think you answered your own question clive .
............I would look at a different round clive a B tip will expand better on soft tissue than a sst and a v max will expand on anything but will not penetrate to deep

Just looking on the Hornady website and the SST looks to be the only BT round that they do in 308 150gr and it's still getting 2003 ft/sec at 400y, so I'll go with those next season.
http://www.hornady.com/store/308-Win-150-gr-SST/

• Streamlined for ultra-flat trajectories.
• Premium polymer tip for rapid expansion and maximum energy transfer.
• Match-grade jacket delivers surgical accuracy.
• Heavy construction with InterLock® feature delivers deep penetration every time.

http://www.hornady.com/store/30-Cal-.308-150-gr-SST/

poulo6.5

jwshooter wrote: »

think you answered your own question clive .

i just looked at the federal charts and you possible might be getting 2,800fps tops.

something the 308 users might not realise is the 308 slows very fast .

308 150gr federal 2800 at the barrel at 100, 2532 at 200 ,2261 at 300, 2007fps.


270 130gr federal 3060 at the barrel at 100, 2837 at 200, 2626 at 300, 2424fps .

thats in 24" barrels not the short 20" 308 users like .

i would look at a different round clive a B tip will expand better on soft tissue than a sst and a v max will expand on anything but will not penetrate to deep

i was told by my FO that i'll have my now licence for my 308 on monday so i cant comment on that round till then but i was using 6.5x55 with great success using 120gr norma BT, using this round i have shot fallow sika and red , all dropped on the spot with head/neck shots,
when i started shooting deer i went for hart/lung but i didnt like the way they could end up anywhere in a hole or a ditch. i dont see the need for this hardship, dont get me wrong i dont mind pulling and dragging or carrying a carcass threw boggy fields and up and down hills thats all part of the fun.

why would you not want to kill the animal on the spot
why would you let an animal run off and have to look for it
why would you ruin perfectly good meet
the list goes on.

a capable hunter should be able to shoot less than 3" @ 200m without any trouble. most deer are shot at less than that so why not take a kill shot to head/neck and drop the animal where it stands, out of respect for your quarry you owe it to the animal to kill quickly and with the least amount of stress.

there is nothing more satisfying than dropping an animal, i feel i'v done my part and i can sleep easy knowing i dont cause any suffering to what i consider a fine and Nobel creature:D

ronboy

"Straight between the two eyes.." then go and get your deer where it was shot..throw em into the back of the jeep and go home. Job done;)

buckshotbrolan

ronboy wrote: »

"Straight between the two eyes.." then go and get your deer where it was shot..throw em into the back of the jeep and go home. Job done;)

Is that with the lamp on or off!:D

patsat

I wouln't say deer always run when hit with a lung,heart shot.

From my limited experience every deer i shot was into the lung/heart and everyone one of them bar one dropped on the spot. The one that ran only got 20 yards before going down.

And that was using a .243 federal premium 70 grain BT ammo! Saying that now that I have my own gun that i will know inside out by September, i'll be taking neck/head shots if the right opportunity arises.

jwshooter

fallow are a lot softer than sika ,even does compared to hinds ,red hinds are softer than sika hinds .

pound for pound the sika is a harder animal to kill .

cbrjohnthou

Jaysus lads yez are usin fairly hefty bullets there. Is it not a bit like usin a sledge hammer to crack an egg. I,m usin .243 100gr Remingtons and there aint a whole lot gettin up after being hit, head, neck, heart/lung.

Each to their own and all that, but striking a deer heart and lung with such heavy rounds is def doin unnecessary meat damage:)

jwshooter

Each to their own and all that, but striking a deer heart and lung with such heavy rounds is def doin unnecessary meat damage:)[/QUOTE]

not necessarily so the bigger and slower the bullet the less damage done in theory.

ie . your 243 using a 70gr Btip will cause more damage than a 6.5x55 using a 167gr soft point .

i do like my 243 . but iv had a few problems over the years using it ,with well hit animals .less so with the 270 .

bullet choice is as important as the cal you use , also where you place the shot in relation to bullet/cal .

It wasn't me!

shank1 wrote: »

not necessarily so the bigger and slower the bullet the less damage done in theory.

ie . your 243 using a 70gr Btip will cause more damage than a 6.5x55 using a 167gr soft point .


But wouldn,t that be mostly due to the Btip bullet fragmenting and spreading, damaging the meat. wouldn,t the larger heavier bullet striking with more energy (due to the Cal.) do excessive meat damage caused by the shockwaves travelling down the deer bruising the muscle.

It depends how much of the energy is transferred and how quickly.

cbrjohnthou

not necessarily so the bigger and slower the bullet the less damage done in theory.

ie . your 243 using a 70gr Btip will cause more damage than a 6.5x55 using a 167gr soft point .

i do like my 243 . but iv had a few problems over the years using it ,with well hit animals .less so with the 270 .

bullet choice is as important as the cal you use , also where you place the shot in relation to bullet/cal .[/QUOTE]

270 is the way to go, hoping to have one before next season:D

Wouldn't the Btip damage be caused by fragmentation though, compared to the soft point of the 6.5x55.

Wouldn't a heavier bullet with more energy behind it (due to the higher Cal) do excessive meat damage caused by the shockwaves, from the bullets impact, travelling through the deer damaging/bruising the meat.

I don't know much about this subject in fairness, so I suppose by asking what is probably stupid questions, from experienced people, is the only way I'll learn:o.

Tackleberrywho

shank1 wrote: »

not necessarily so the bigger and slower the bullet the less damage done in theory.

ie . your 243 using a 70gr Btip will cause more damage than a 6.5x55 using a 167gr soft point .

i do like my 243 . but iv had a few problems over the years using it ,with well hit animals .less so with the 270 .

bullet choice is as important as the cal you use , also where you place the shot in relation to bullet/cal .

270 is the way to go, hoping to have one before next season:D

Wouldn't the Btip damage be caused by fragmentation though, compared to the soft point of the 6.5x55.

Wouldn't a heavier bullet with more energy behind it (due to the higher Cal) do excessive meat damage caused by the shockwaves, from the bullets impact, travelling through the deer damaging/bruising the meat.

I don't know much about this subject in fairness, so I suppose by asking what is probably stupid questions, from experienced people, is the only way I'll learn:o.[/QUOTE]

hydrostatic shock can kill even when shot placement may not. Two biggest killers are bleeding and shock, Both stop the heart.

A bullet that uses all it's energy in the target by yawing or tumbling or fragmenting sends shock waves through the animal.
if the brain is shocked it stuns, like a belt of a hammer to the head. if a round hits at 900m/s and disintegrates it can shake the brain in a head neck shot so much that it can kill with the shock wave alone.

That's a bit of what i learned on a medic course and a bit of my own research.
The BT fragments quicker as the hard point pushes the soft part behind it quicker. it's like a wedge splitting a log affect.

Easiest way is to test out effects on a side of gone off bacon or gone off beef etc.
Ask yer butcher!

Double Barrel

The goal when shooting at game is always to take the animal down as cleanly and quickly as possible; this is an ethical and moral responsibility as well as pure common sense.

I am a strong believer in adequate cartridges and appropriate bullets for the game to be hunted, and if anything I lean toward the heavy side of the equation. But if you don't put your bullet in the right place it doesn't matter how much power you have available; you will wound your game, and you may not be able to recover it.
Although there are unique circumstances when I might agree with a head or neck shot, for the most part I opt not to take these low percentage shots. Under most field conditions they are low percentage shots. These are both small targets and the odds of making a poor shot are simply too high putting the animal at an unnecessary risk. The brain is very small and animals constantly move and turn their heads, even when they are standing still.

The neck is large, but the spinal cord inside is small and difficult to sever if the shot is not spot on. Both brain and neck shots are deadly if perfectly executed, as they shut down the central nervous system, but if the bullet is off only an inch or two the animal is very likely to escape and be lost, only to die hours or days later.
There are just too many variables that can come into play under field conditions.

Biology is biology and you can't change the laws of nature. Know that if you take out the heart, lungs, major arteries or liver your chances of retrieving the game increase exponentially. A double lung shot is almost always best.

Be safe and know and understand your limitations. We owe it to the birds and animals we hunt.

Double Barrel

A throve of very good information:

http://www.bestpracticeguides.org.uk/

clivej

Looking at some of the shooting from the US they seem to like the high shoulder shot through the shoulder blade and spine.
Looking at the picture above it looks to be another option for the perfect shot placement.

landkeeper

good post double barrel, as i said in an earlier post all it takes for a maimed deer is an inch or two of movement and it's off to die a few days later
a shot through the boiler house may mean a little more hardship for the stalker but the beast is dead within seconds if not on the spot

jwshooter

Double Barrel wrote: »

The goal when shooting at game is always to take the animal down as cleanly and quickly as possible; this is an ethical and moral responsibility as well as pure common sense.

I am a strong believer in adequate cartridges and appropriate bullets for the game to be hunted, and if anything I lean toward the heavy side of the equation. But if you don't put your bullet in the right place it doesn't matter how much power you have available; you will wound your game, and you may not be able to recover it.
Although there are unique circumstances when I might agree with a head or neck shot, for the most part I opt not to take these low percentage shots. Under most field conditions they are low percentage shots. These are both small targets and the odds of making a poor shot are simply too high putting the animal at an unnecessary risk. The brain is very small and animals constantly move and turn their heads, even when they are standing still.

The neck is large, but the spinal cord inside is small and difficult to sever if the shot is not spot on. Both brain and neck shots are deadly if perfectly executed, as they shut down the central nervous system, but if the bullet is off only an inch or two the animal is very likely to escape and be lost, only to die hours or days later.
There are just too many variables that can come into play under field conditions.

Biology is biology and you can't change the laws of nature. Know that if you take out the heart, lungs, major arteries or liver your chances of retrieving the game increase exponentially. A double lung shot is almost always best.

Be safe and know and understand your limitations. We owe it to the birds and animals we hunt.

you have never seen what a 270 using a 110gr v max can do .

shot a fallow calf at about 130yds .

use the right tool for the job.

dwighet

jwshooter wrote: »

you have never seen what a 270 using a 110gr v max can do .

shot a fallow calf at about 130yds .

use the right tool for the job.

Its just a flesh wound
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bMkXNT_PTU

Tackleberrywho

jwshooter wrote: »

you have never seen what a 270 using a 110gr v max can do .

shot a fallow calf at about 130yds .

use the right tool for the job.

Does this mean head/neck shots when the situation allows is OK?:D

dwighet

Tackleberrywho wrote: »

Does this mean head/neck shots when the situation allows is OK?:D

I dont think JW ever said it wasnt....If I recall I pretty sure he said 90% of his culling is from head/neck shots..
I might be wrong...I might be right...;)

Double Barrel

jwshooter wrote: »

you have never seen what a 270 using a 110gr v max can do .

shot a fallow calf at about 130yds .

use the right tool for the job.

Yes I have JW and as your photos graphically illustrate it is lethal. You are not the average stalker nor the average shot. It is not what I was referring to.

As Bell proved one can dispatch any animal with anatomy and shot placement.

Would you recommend Head & Neck shots to the average shot under average field conditions. Of course not.

"Although there are unique circumstances when I might agree with a head or neck shot, for the most part I opt not to take these low percentage shots. Under most field conditions they are low percentage shots. These are both small targets and the odds of making a poor shot are simply too high putting the animal at an unnecessary risk. The brain is very small and animals constantly move and turn their heads, even when they are standing still.

The neck is large, but the spinal cord inside is small and difficult to sever if the shot is not spot on. Both brain and neck shots are deadly if perfectly executed, as they shut down the central nervous system, but if the bullet is off only an inch or two the animal is very likely to escape and be lost, only to die hours or days later.
There are just too many variables that can come into play under field conditions."