Really good diagram ducsauce. thanks!

Heres where you need to be shooting I have circled the heart in black and outlined the lungs in green, this is the kill zone. Why are you aiming so far forward and high??? Are you bending at the waist when you shoot. Are you shooting from an elevated treestand. If you are. Aim lower than where you want to hit. Also another thing to keep in mind, if youre going to hunt from an elevated stand, practice from an elevated stand at the same height. Theres no excuse for a lost/wounded deer. Practice, Practice, Practice....is the key to success.

High hits from a steep angle, such as one from a treestand, can result in only catching one lung. Deer can travel several hundred yards on a one-lung hit, and some claim that deer can even survive these hits.

Another big problem is with a high hit (provided both entry and exit holes are high) is there is no "drain plug" as I like to call it -- instead of getting a great blood trail, the body cavity just fills up as the deer's adrenaline carries it the first 100-200 yards (again, assuming a high hit). Low hits often result in a deer incapable of going past 75, especially if you get both lungs.

Also, stay off the shoulder blade. Both deer I have lost in my career have been due to direct shoulder-blade shots. I trailed both after giving them at least eight hours, and oftentimes ended up on hands and knees trying to discern the path. I found both of those deer alive and well because I didn't penetrate into the body cavity. Six inches back and both of those deer would have been dead within sight.

If I am in a treestand, usually 20' or higher I aim just behind the "Elbow". Get a 3 D deer target and shoot at it out of your stand until you get comfortable with a consistent aim point. Also make sure you have shot your broadheads at a target and sighted them in. Don't assume they will fly just like you field point.

Theres a saying around here, "aim for the exit hole."

From an elevated stand, this may mean for you to aim higher than you would normally think in order to achieve a lethal hit.

Good luck!

I hope ducksauce is talking about huntingLOL. It almost sounded like a pickup line in a prision movie!!!LOLLOLLOL!!!

A shot that close to your tree is a very tough one and offers nearly zero chance of getting both lungs from that angle. I understand it's not always possible, but try to let them get 15 or so yards out and offer you a better shot at both lungs.


One was 5 yards from the base of my tree and the other was about ten. both were quartered away. Is it possible to get a double lung at these close distances or should you go for a heart. That is where my confusion is. Where do you shoot it from the tree stand. I try to guestimate at the angle that will take it through the heart but I fear I'm only getting one lung.
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Ya know, I've never interpreted that saying like thatbefore. Your'e right though.

Aim right here (this shot was from 25 yds from an elevated treestand of about 20'):

Always remember... if you miss low then it will either kill the deer fast or you will miss completely, if you miss high then you have a wounded deer.That means error on the low side.