I look at it this way... Would you feel more confident shooting at a baseball (heart) or two footballs (lungs). A lung shot leaves more room for error than any other shot because they are the largest vital organs in a deer.


Quack Addict,
You have been very lucky, the next time you skin a deer notice how many places in the neck you could put a broadhead through and not hit anything vital.

You said if you hit low you hit the windpipe...if you just graze a deers windpipe he can go for miles with very little or no blood trail that would equal no recovery.

You said the juglar.... this vein is about the size of a ink pen. I dont know about you but thats too small of a target for me when there are two nice big lungs to shoot at...

Besides a lung shot messes up very little if any meat. Why would you want to mess up those nice neck roast.

Needless to say the neck is a poor choice

I' ve taken several that way, but all were a result of the deer not moving at the shot. I try to aim at the heart or just above when I think the deer will be moving at the bow noise. If they drop you get all lungs. IF they don' t you get heart.

I' d rather have lungs. On several of the heart shots the deer hardly bled at all. Of course none of them went terribly far, but you still like to have blood. I wouldn' t do it, but there are a lot on this board who would assume it was a bad hit with little or no blood and back out when the deer is dead just over the next blowdown. When you skewer the heart it can stop quick and if it does, there' s no blood flowing. On a lung shot it' s flowing and the heart keeps pumping it out.

My first bowkill last year was both lungs and cut the arteries coming off the top of the heart. He didn' t make it 10 yards. I' m glad he didn' t run, because there was very little blood, because as David pointed out in the post above the blood was pumping into his chest and not into the rest of his body. My bowkill this year was one lung and straight through the heart! It was a steep angle and the arrow exited the brisket. The blood trail was awesome because the blood in his chest was leaking out the hole in his brisket. He made it 40 yards.

PS. Now I have a cool heart shot pic like David!!

I also agree with the Lungs, mainly because @ my camp heart is a treat for those late nights @ the card table. It a sin not to have a zip-loc in your pocket for the heart. Just my $.02

I' m a lung man!!! Heart would be a bonus....but I shoot for the lungs!

Good Luck!

On several occasions I hit the arteries coming out the top of the heart and both lungs. They didn' t live more than 5 or 6 seconds after the hit. I aim close to the shoulder and that seems to make the artery/lungs hit fairly common.

Hunting from the ground I shoot for the lower part of the lungs like david, if they don' t duck it will/may clip the heart and will take out the lower part of both lungs, if they duck, centered in both lungs.

As I mentioned previously, I do try for a double lung shot when presented. Broadside shot or quartering away there' s no doubt that is where I would put my pin.

However, I feel that a neck shot is also very lethal with a bow. The only drawback I see is that if the deer ducks or moves at the shot, there is a greater possiblility of not hitting where you intended. I am 3 for 3 on neck shots with my bow over the years and about 10 for 11 on the breadbasket shot.

Neck meat = jerky to me, anyhow and a broadhead doesn' t ruin much of it anyhow. This is all just my opinion, but it' s like they say... opinions are like, you know... everybody has one.

Every deer I killed with a heart shot--and there have been quite a few, fell with-in 40 yards--most of those in sight. I agree with davidmil, those deer were standing stock still and didn' t flinch until the arrow had passed through. I tend to aim a little higher these days though just for the higher percentage.

I' ll aim for the bottom part of the lungs. I agree with Tazman too.... If the buck ducks or " jumps the string" as the saying goes, he' s ducking down in a scared state of mind before he takes off.

Remember this photo (courtesy of Buck Magnet' s website)? Imagine this big boy 25 yards away from you. Study his chest cavity and left shoulder. Where exactly is the A#1 spot, to drop this guy in a hurry? (My preference: Right there in the dark section of fur right behind the left shoulder).

Butch