Heart or lungs?
 

In reading posts on tracking deer and Scrider1' s post on worrying that it' s brutal, an interesting question came to mind - heart or lungs? I' ve recovered many deer shot with a bow - most double lung, a single lung, back shot, gut shot, you name it, but never a heart shot. I shot a buck with my rifle in the heart because I was aiming there. But it dawned on me that I' ve never hit a deer with an arrow in the heart because I' ve never aimed at the heart. I' ve always tried to take out both lungs. Why? Because I' m afraid of missing the heart and only taking out one lung or worse because the heart is so low, especially shooting at it from an elevated position. Is it possible to take both lungs with a heart shot? (Obvisously it doesn' t matter at that point if you hit the heart, I' m just afraid of not getting both lungs if I did miss the heart.) Do you guys aim at the heart or the lungs? Which makes a better shot? (Keep in mind I' m talking about stand hunting since I don' t hunt the ground during bow.) Thanks guys.

RE: Heart or lungs?
 

I believe that most of my shots are aimed at the top of the hear/bottom of the lung area though most of my hits are within the lungs themselves.

RE: Heart or lungs?
 

I' m certainly not the most experienced hunter on the board but I am definately a lung shooter. My reasoning for this is the lungs are a much better target and thus a higher % shot. I' m confident that I can hit heart if I shoot heart but why chance it?

RE: Heart or lungs?
 

Lungs............the first deer I killed I shot through the heart.........I was just aiming tight and low behind the shoulder, I think the deer had that leg forward. Got nothing but heart.............it was beutiful.

The buck just stood there for a couple of seconds.......then his kness buckled....he ran two or three tight circles trying to keep his balance.

Once he did, he headed off........ran about 50 or 60 yards and laid down.......he was done when he hit the ground.

With all of them could be like that..........

Lungs leave more room for error........

RE: Heart or lungs?
 

Hunting from treestands has taught me to aim high at the lungs for a low lung exit, works like a charm. Deer never run more than 40 to 80 yards. I never aim at the heart, its just too low for the height I hunt from.

RE: Heart or lungs?
 

I go for the lungs. They offer the biggest target area. :)

RE: Heart or lungs?
 

Lungs all the way. It might be different on the ground, but from a tree I consider the lungs the best shot to take by far. If you aim low enough to hit the heart from a tree, a fairly small miss could result in a poor shot. Being a few inches low when aiming at the upper 1/3 of the lungs(depends on stand height and distance) won' t be nearly such a problem.

peashooter

RE: Heart or lungs?
 

A deer can run WFO for quite a while with a hole in it' s heart. Double lung and he is toast. Any yes, a much bigger target.

RE: Heart or lungs?
 

What about a neck shot? I got my 6 a couple weeks ago in the mid-neck and he didn' t make it 5 yards after the hit. I have made neck shots with my bow in the past with very good results and have never lost one to it. My thoughts are that if, for some reason (profile shot)...
I hit high = spine shot
I hit middle = jugular
I hit low = windpipe

He' s done either way with little margin for error. I try for the double lung when available, however.

RE: Heart or lungs?
 

I totally disagree with a neck shot, and I' m sure others will follow!!!!!


Double lung...bigger target




NEVER EVER A NECK SHOT

RE: Heart or lungs?
 

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

RE: Heart or lungs?
 

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.

RE: Heart or lungs?
 

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!!:D

RE: Heart or lungs?
 

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

RE: Heart or lungs?
 

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

Good Luck!

RE: Heart or lungs?
 

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.

RE: Heart or lungs?
 

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.

RE: Heart or 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.

RE: Heart or lungs?
 

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.

RE: Heart or lungs?
 

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

RE: Heart or lungs?
 

If I saw that boy in front of me, he' d be gone because I would scream!!!! One of these days I suppose...

One of the reasons I asked this question: I have taken the double lunger because of how lethal and quick it is. I also tend to shoot at about half way up the deer because of the string jump - he ducks, you got em, he doesn' t, you got em. Well, I put an arrow through a doe this year at 18 yards - she was quartered slightly away, head down and away. I picked my usual shot i' ve dropped many deer with and let the arrow fly - Thwot-CRACK! Oh yeah, this one' s down in 40 I thought. I saw my bright colored fletching go right through her chest mid way up just behind the shoulder. My angle of shot - I' m 18 feet up the tree. I saw her run, slow to a trot and start to circle then lost her after 80 yards or so. To my amazement, I never heard her stop, or drop. After a half hour, I got down and checked my arrow - it was drenched in med. to light blood. I thought, oh yeah, she' s down. I went and got my wife and an hour later was back out there tracking her. We found blood 20 yards from where she was shot which turned into a solid path of bright red blood. 100 yards out, the blood stopped. Next blood was more than 50 yards away. Long story short, after 5 hours that night and 4 the next morning, no deer. She was gone. Did I hit only one lung somehow? I consider myself a fairly good tracker - I' ve found many deer without a blood trail, so I' m fairly confident in the effort I put forth to find her. Should I now start trying for heart and cause a more deadly hit? Or is it just that Twilight Zone of bad deer hunting luck taking over? Disappointing to say the least, but I would like to know what happened. :(

RE: Heart or lungs?
 

either way is good enough! I honestly aim for the lungs - bigger area & I am just used to aiming in that area.

RE: Heart or lungs?
 

I shot a doe last year on a somewhat steep angle and clipped one lung and went through the atria of the heart. She went about fifty yards and bedded down. When I tracked her after an hour she was still alive. I crept in and had to shoot her again (double lung). Not a great feeling to shoot a deer at three yards. I was thououghly impressed by the toughness of these animals.