The neck shot
 

I saw a thread about shooting whitetail deer in the neck and it reminded me of one of the longest hunting days I have ever had.

Quite a few years ago on a cold and windy morning of the last day of the Colorado season I shot a cow within easy hiking distance of the truck (and all down hill!). I was in the aspen and she had busted me. All I could see of her was her head and neck as she stared around a tree. She was only about 50 yards away so, having a high opinion of my skills, I shot her in the neck! Down she went. She slid out of sight, flopped around a bit, and then left the area. I finally was able to finish her about 10 hours later far away from the truck. It took me most of that night to get her out of that deep canyon and back to the truck. When I finally got into the truck the sun was coming up again.

That is a lesson learned the hard way.

yup If I see head and neck, and must take the shot or go hungry, I'll hold for the head, hate it but its better than a neck shot.
RR

I prefer the Neck shot. Rifle or bow.

Take a risky shot or go hungry....I'll go hungry......both a headshot and a neck shot are asking for a disaster and the animal will pay the price!! Headshots ....so much can go wrong like hitting them in the jaw or snout, the hit doesn't slow them down one bit and they just run off to die a slow and painful death of starvation!!!! Neck shots aren't much better but at least the animal might survive....but what happens when you blow out the esophagus again the animal dies painfully and slowly!!!!

think about it, a horizontal neck has a 2x2 inch kill zone, a head shot has a fist sized kill zone, plus every thing is surrounded by bone, bone expands the bullet causes shrapnel to fly in all directions, increasing the chance of bullet fragments hitting the brain, if nothing else it disorients them enough to give you another killing shot, go preach somewhere else. I never said it was risky, maybe it is for you.
RR

Only have one thing to say; Take the shot you KNOW you can make, NEVER take the shot you THINK you can make !!!

acquiring the ability and learning the limitation of equipment is a lengthy process, when I developed confidance in both years ago I made it a habit to never take a shot at game that I wasn't at least 98% certain that would end in a humane dispatch, that habit has served me well.
RR

Sound wisdom here.

Sounds like somebody could use a little more range time.:fighting0007:

ATB

I'm sorry my marksmanship doesn't seem to be top notch in your eyes...... head ans neck shots are easily missed and any here that say they don't miss in a hunting situation, is either a LIAR or at best delusional! Any one here that says they can consistently hit a target the size of a fist under hunting conditions, meaning most likely an off hand shot is full of it... there are just too many variables...lets say you are sighted in at 2 in. high at a hundred yds....do you really know exactly where your bullet is in relation to your line of sight at every foot of the distance to the target?? So many here are so full of themselves by making stupid remarks like I know my equipment and myself learned that years ago, I for one learn more and more every time I head for the hills. And when I quit learning I will be dead... or the choice one, that I might be lacking in shooting skills is again laughable.................