Just an observation I will throw out there for all to ponder. What I have noticed in this thread is every person who almost exclusively uses neck shots are from areas where 95% of the deer are less than 200 pounds on the hoof, in Va. in the areas I hunt bucks can easily exceed 200 pounds on the hoof and the only neck shot I have ever taken was on a doe that weighed about 140 on the hoof, she dropped like a ton of lead bricks, screwed up a lot of meat though.

I guess where I am going with this is it appears that in areas where deer are large, a neck shot is not one to be taken unless you are absolutely sure of the shot hitting vertabrae, and in areas where the deer are smaller it seems as though, simply due to the shock factor smaller deer can be reliably be taken with a neck shot without needing to hit vertabrae.

I know in Va. the larger deer I have skinned and butchered had large areas of just muscle in the neck that would allow for a neck shot to not take a vertabrae nor hit any major artery.

If I want to make sure a deer doesn't run I will simply shoot through it's shoulder, of course I do not havve the worries some have of a hunter being near by to steal a deer from me.

The Tazman aka Martin Price
Founder and President of
Virginia Disabled Outdoorsmen Club