Neck Shot . Opinions

game hunter

Hi all .

As the heading says im looking for people's opinions on taking the neck shot as oposed to the more popular chest shot .

Thanks lads

gh

deerhunter1

game hunter wrote: »

Hi all .

As the heading says im looking for people's opinions on taking the neck shot as oposed to the more popular chest shot .

Thanks lads

gh

I always go for neck/head shot, rarely a chest shot, unless it is a fair distance and he is out on open ground, then I would go for the engine room, otherwise out to 200yrds there a bouts I would go neck or head preferably, a clean kill or clean miss, that is my tuppence worth.

game hunter

I do the same exactly . I just all you ever seem to hear about is chest shot and waiting for a broadside shot presentation just wanted to see is there more lads out there that take the neck shot

Thanks Deerhunter 1

Tommy87

deerhunter1 wrote: »

I always go for neck/head shot, rarely a chest shot, unless it is a fair distance and he is out on open ground, then I would go for the engine room, otherwise out to 200yrds there a bouts I would go neck or head preferably, a clean kill or clean miss, that is my tuppence worth.

I'm not looking for a debate, but if you go for a head shot which you say is either a clean hit or a clean miss, and end up blowing its jaw off, how is this a clean miss?? Surely it would bolt off and end up starving to death??

As I said I'm not looking for an arguement, just your opinion on that scenario??

garv123

game hunter wrote: »

Hi all .

As the heading says im looking for people's opinions on taking the neck shot as oposed to the more popular chest shot .

Thanks lads

gh

Neck shots will do the job fine, and as you said its hit or miss completely. Seen a doe run 20 yards was the furthest ive ever seen anything run with a neck shot. Shot took out the windpipe and the main arteries.

Like everything its about having the correct conditions to do so.. unsteady, poor rest, standing, too far are all factors to be considered before any shots should be taken..

You can injure a deer easily too with a pulled body shot which will have them die from starvation/infection..

Tis about knowing the limits of each shot..

game hunter

Sorry there missed the head shot part of the reply . i cant say either way as i have never tried a head shot . In my experiences if the head is visible then more ofter than not a portion of the neck is also .Iits down to the hunter themselves if they are confident in taking the shot that is presented .

deerhunter1

garv123 wrote: »

Neck shots will do the job fine, and as you said its hit or miss completely. Seen a doe run 20 yards was the furthest ive ever seen anything run with a neck shot. Shot took out the windpipe and the main arteries.

Like everything its about having the correct conditions to do so.. unsteady, poor rest, standing, too far are all factors to be considered before any shots should be taken..

You can injure a deer easily too with a pulled body shot which will have them die from starvation/infection..

Tis about knowing the limits of each shot..

correct

meathstevie

Aim big, miss small. Even a frontal chest shot will present a bigger target than a head or a neck. On the other hand if optimal conditions present themselves to take a neck or head shot and you're confident enough to do it right it's your call.

Before I ever shot deer I've shot a few dozen foxes with a smaller caliber center fire rifle and I always favoured a chest shot. The only time I actually made a headshot on a fox was on a night with driving wind and snow when I nailed one from a standing position and letting the crosshairs drop down on him as he was facing me.
I misjudged the distance a bit in the weather conditions and believed I had squeezed the trigger for an impact high in the chest as he was standing facing me. There you go, aim big, miss small.

4200fps

I found neck shots really good. The lung shots are too messy when belly is dropped out and ribs broken too. If you burst the heart its not going to bleed out right, Neck is a good job,by the time you get to animal is bleeding out well before giving the neck a final swipe

meathstevie

4200fps wrote: »

I found neck shots really good. The lung shots are too messy when belly is dropped out and ribs broken too. If you burst the heart its not going to bleed out right, Neck is a good job,by the time you get to animal is bleeding out well before giving the neck a final swipe

A heart / lung shot will leave you with a massive amount of blood in the chest cavity but that's nothing a cut between two ribs and the effects of gravity will not sort.

zeissman

Neck shots are great when taken correctly but I dont agree with the hit or miss statement.
Over the years I have witnessed 3 different shooters take neck shots and in each case the deer dropped on the spot only to get up again and take off.
None of the animals were recovered despite searching for hours.

Grizzly 45

If it isnt a sure heart shot for me.My finger stays off the trigger.

4200fps

meathstevie wrote: »

A heart / lung shot will leave you with a massive amount of blood in the chest cavity but that's nothing a cut between two ribs and the effects of gravity will not sort.

And if gravity doesn't kick in its a day in the woods looking for it. Any animal bleeds out best while heart is pumping. I avoid heart/lung shots as best I can. Heart/lung shots are a mess but ideal kill zone. I think we all know alot of blood would be in the chest cavity after a heart/lung shot.

daithi55

4200fps wrote: »

And if gravity doesn't kick in its a day in the woods looking for it. Any animal bleeds out best while heart is pumping. I avoid heart/lung shots as best I can. Heart/lung shots are a mess but ideal kill zone. I think we all know alot of blood would be in the chest cavity after a heart/lung shot.

when he says gravity he means for bleeding it ie laying the deer on a slope with the head below the body and bleed it the blood run downwards with gravity

323

deerhunter1 wrote: »

I always go for neck/head shot, rarely a chest shot, unless it is a fair distance and he is out on open ground, then I would go for the engine room, otherwise out to 200yrds there a bouts I would go neck or head preferably, a clean kill or clean miss, that is my tuppence worth.

Found this hind last winter. So please explain which this was ? "a clean kill or a clean miss"

Head Shot Hit or Miss.jpg


This topic seems to come up every year around this time. Enough said!

deerhunter1

323 wrote: »

Found this hind last winter. So please explain which this was ? "a clean kill or a clean miss"

Head Shot Hit or Miss.jpg


This topic seems to come up every year around this time. Enough said!

Does'nt explain/prove anything, could have been poachers lamping

daithi55

deerhunter1 wrote: »

Does'nt explain/prove anything, could have been poachers lamping

wether its poached or shot legit
it proves that sometimes its not always a clean kill if you dont hit them in right place in the head

deerhunter1

daithi55 wrote: »

wether its poached or shot legit
it proves that sometimes its not always a clean kill if you dont hit them in right place in the head

Its sometimes not always a clean kill no matter where you hit them

patsat

deerhunter1 wrote: »

Does'nt explain/prove anything, could have been poachers lamping

It's was still shot in a jaw? No matter what time of day it was :rolleyes:

I suppose that couldn't have been a .308??

German pointer

game hunter wrote: »

Hi all .

As the heading says im looking for people's opinions on taking the neck shot as oposed to the more popular chest shot .

Thanks lads

gh

It would be up to each shooter to judge each shot as presented in the field, I have shot in the chest at 30 yards and in the neck at 230 yards (longest neck shot I've taken) but in saying that I usually keep to chest shots when over 200 and when under that distance the placement of each shot will be decided only seconds before I pull the trigger after taking all factors into account.

FISMA

game hunter wrote: »

Hi all .
As the heading says im looking for people's opinions on taking the neck shot as opposed to the more popular chest shot .
Thanks lads
gh

Game hunter,

Last year I had the opportunity to attend a weekend course in Pennsylvania. There were experts from the field of Agricultural Sciences and Engineering. These people were good in both theory and practice.

I asked them exactly this question - wear should you place your shot - heart/lungs or a head shot. They all agreed that you should take the boiler room shot (heart/lung) and they all were against the head shot.

I of course asked why and they named a disease that is in the spinal fluid that if gets on the meat, causes problems in humans.

I'll try and look up the disease and see if it is in Eire.

That's why I always shoot for the boiler maker.

vulpus

I have shot deer in the neck and the head quite a few times BUT only while using bipod on the rifle.When you think of it we all try to shoot rabbits in the head while using .22 subs.Most of the head/neck shots i have taken have been from very stable positions and range was at the most 140 yards.All of the foxes i have shot have been chest or shoulder and find the foxes heads move way to fast to put a bead on them.!!

game hunter

Thanks for all the interest lads

It seems like there are a few pros and cons for each type of shot . I reckon we should also keep in mind that no matter how trained or proficient a hunter might be that mistakes can be made . Im not trying to make excuses for anyone taking unnesessary or foolish shots but as we all well know shooting is not an exact science by any means. In my opinion that is the reason it has such an appeal ,just due to the vast array of different situations you can find youself in each time you go on a hunt .

ssl

FISMA wrote: »

I of course asked why and they named a disease that is in the spinal fluid that if gets on the meat, causes problems in humans.

I'll try and look up the disease and see if it is in Eire.

That's why I always shoot for the boiler maker.

I think It's CWD chronic wasting disease FISMA. It hasn't being detected in Europe yet according to this report:
DEER AND FORESTRY IN IRELAND: A REVIEW OF CURRENT STATUS AND MANAGEMENT REQUIREMENTS

http://www.woodlandsofireland.com/DeerStrategy.pdf


P.s. I'm not an advocate of head or neck shots, but I am an advocate of brain or spine shots.

4200fps

daithi55 wrote: »

when he says gravity he means for bleeding it ie laying the deer on a slope with the head below the body and bleed it the blood run downwards with gravity

Understand know where he coming from. Its something i've never done or seen done but heard of it tho. Any deer I shoot in lungs he bleeds out the finest but the worst part is the mess that has to be faced when dropping the belly out with blood in cavity but I don't mind that really but seen the finest of shoulders lost from that kill zone. If I take a head/neck shot the heart is pumping for some time and when neck is swiped the deer bleeds out very well depending how quick you get to animal and its huge the difference how clean it is when belly is dropped afterwards with no blood on ones hands. The only downfall to good lung shot is mess and sometimes meat damage. I'm not against lung shots one bit as I do it but prefer neck shots and head if shot is sure. No mess and meat all for consumption. We all have different ways I guess

4200fps

deerhunter1 wrote: »

Its sometimes not always a clean kill no matter where you hit them

That is very true. Says it all and nobody could debate that either

TriggerPL

323 wrote: »

Found this hind last winter. So please explain which this was ? "a clean kill or a clean miss"

Head Shot Hit or Miss.jpg


This topic seems to come up every year around this time. Enough said!

think we have the same dentist ! all joking aside , every shot is different and you take the shot that presents it self , going on distance and position . weather it be heart or head

Sika98k

deerhunter1 wrote: »

Does'nt explain/prove anything, could have been poachers lamping

It doesnt really matter who pulled the trigger,poacher or legitimate hunter. The shot was a cock up.

Deerspotter

In my opinion the chances of an injured deer are GREATLY reduced by a neck shot. If you miss the boiler room shot, there is a lot of non-vitals that can be hit and the deer can go for days.
I have never seen a deer hit in the boiler-room drop on the spot, they always have at least 30m in them. This increases your chance of not finding the animal.
I can tell you this, I have never seen a deer get up after a neck shot, or even move one meter further.
I've seen a few misses, but the area would always be checked out anyway. There would be evidence of a blown off jaw or such things - I have never seen this.
I understnad it may happen, but in my opinion, with a neck shot, the odds are in your favour of dropping it on the spot, or not injuring it.

tomcat220t

IMO,shot placement will differ from deer to deer and day to day .
The 3 main shot i use are... neck ,heart/lung or high shoulder .
High shoulder or neck been my best choice ,imo.
Regards,Tomcat.

Deerspotter

I have now seen a head-shot not have an instant kill effect. I was with a good hunter and we stalked within 100m of a decent sized Sika stag, but given the terrain, all we could see was the head. He took the head shot and the stag fell over (feet in the air) instantly and we assumed it was a standard kill. As we approached, to our surprise, the stag got back to his feet and ran full speed away from us, but looked a little dizzy. The guy I was with fired at him and hit him in the neck and the stag then fell over dead. It was very exciting.

The stag had been shot just under the eye on the side of the head and the bullet passed through the nose bone. The second shot was a clean and fatal neck shot.

As said previously, I have never seen this before. It does confirm my theory though, that even a non-fatal head-shot or neck shot will leave plenty of evidence of an injured deer that the responsible hunter can track.

I also can confirm that the area of the head or neck that is non-fatal is TINY compared to the amount of area you can hit around the boiler room that will not produce a quick kill.
Now, hold on to your “I told you so” as I am man enough admit that I have now seen a botched head shot and admit it can happen.

deerhunter1

Deerspotter wrote: »

I have now seen a head-shot not have an instant kill effect. I was with a good hunter and we stalked within 100m of a decent sized Sika stag, but given the terrain, all we could see was the head. He took the head shot and the stag fell over (feet in the air) instantly and we assumed it was a standard kill. As we approached, to our surprise, the stag got back to his feet and ran full speed away from us, but looked a little dizzy. The guy I was with fired at him and hit him in the neck and the stag then fell over dead. It was very exciting.

The stag had been shot just under the eye on the side of the head and the bullet passed through the nose bone. The second shot was a clean and fatal neck shot.

As said previously, I have never seen this before. It does confirm my theory though, that even a non-fatal head-shot or neck shot will leave plenty of evidence of an injured deer that the responsible hunter can track.

I also can confirm that the area of the head or neck that is non-fatal is TINY compared to the amount of area you can hit around the boiler room that will not produce a quick kill.
Now, hold on to your “I told you so” as I am man enough admit that I have now seen a botched head shot and admit it can happen.

what caliber was it for curiosity

iand220

Deerspotter wrote: »

I have now seen a head-shot not have an instant kill effect. I was with a good hunter and we stalked within 100m of a decent sized Sika stag, but given the terrain, all we could see was the head. He took the head shot and the stag fell over (feet in the air) instantly and we assumed it was a standard kill. As we approached, to our surprise, the stag got back to his feet and ran full speed away from us, but looked a little dizzy. The guy I was with fired at him and hit him in the neck and the stag then fell over dead. It was very exciting.

The stag had been shot just under the eye on the side of the head and the bullet passed through the nose bone. The second shot was a clean and fatal neck shot.

As said previously, I have never seen this before. It does confirm my theory though, that even a non-fatal head-shot or neck shot will leave plenty of evidence of an injured deer that the responsible hunter can track.

I also can confirm that the area of the head or neck that is non-fatal is TINY compared to the amount of area you can hit around the boiler room that will not produce a quick kill.
Now, hold on to your “I told you so” as I am man enough admit that I have now seen a botched head shot and admit it can happen.

A similar thing happened me with a friends .243 I took a head shot and the deer fell instantly but when we went up to get him the deer was still alive id hit him and took his bottom jaw clean off and badly damaged the front of his neck, he was bleeding quite alot but fortunately never got up and ran but we had to put another one in to finish him off!

But any deer i have shot out with him have all been neck and head shots much prefer them if I can at all thats just me thou!

Deerspotter

deerhunter1 wrote: »

what caliber was it for curiosity

.270 @ 120grain weight -