best spot to shoot a deer
 

I've always shot them behind the front shoulder and never had one run. They just drop right there. Pa, always use to shot them in the neck. I don't know if they ever ran but he killed more deer than anyone I ever knew.

What about with a bow? I have a cousin that shoots them in the head. Which IMO could be the best spot if you don't screw up and shot them in the jaw and wound them for the rest of their life [:@]

What about right behind the front shoulder or in the neck with a bow? the only thing I know of in the neck is a major artery, I guess they could run but you'll have lots of blood is my guess.

RE: best spot to shoot a deer
 

i know, shoot is present and shot is past. LOL

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Whoever is shooting deer in the head with a bow needs to reconsider themselves, IMO

RE: best spot to shoot a deer
 

I've always been taught to shoot deer behind the shoulder. There have been some instances when I was shotgun hunting that I made other type of shots (little buck was getting ready to bolt and could only see its head at 15 yards, and a neck shot on a doe at 20 yards head on).

I would NEVER try to shoot a deer with a bow anywhere else than behind the shoulder.

RE: best spot to shoot a deer
 

I agree with Ill. Buck Hunter....

RE: best spot to shoot a deer
 

I hunt with bow, .50 cal inline ML and a 12 ga slug gun. I shoot them in the lungs. I go for the same shot placement with a gun as I do with a bow. They always run for me. Between 40 and one hundred yards with the average being around 60 yards.

I may try a high shoulder shot next year with my slug gun, I understand it does a better job of dropping them becuase it breaks the shoulder and shocks the spine. With a high powered rifle, vitals or shoulder should work really well. I am always weary of messing up meat which is why I take the lung shot.

I'm not a big fan of the neck shot, seems a bit risky to me but with a centerfire would probably be effective providing you didn't miss. What if you want to mount it though? I wouldn't want to shoot it in the neck then. In my opinion if you can hit the neck you can hit the vitals, why take the harder shot?

Shooting a deer in the neck with a bow is not very effective, has it been done, sure. I wouldn't suggest it though, it is a pretty risky shot. As far as shooting one in the head with a bow, unless you have seen it I think you are being fibbed to. That is a horrible shot to take with the bow and very high risk. There are so many things that could go wrong. And if you have a weak bow and less that perfect broad heads it may just stick in the head while the deer runs off. Arrows were not made to penitrate a skull. In my opinion the lungs are the only way to go with a bow. Broad side or quartering away. Where I aim depends on the angle of the deer and my height. Always aim for the exit hole, be aware of what the arrow will pass thru on the way thru the animal.

Get a good 3-D target and a diagram of a deers anotomy and practice taking different angled shots. Then look at the diagram compared to your target and see what you would have hit. The scoring rings on a 3-D target mean nothing for actual hunting in most cases.

Paul

RE: best spot to shoot a deer
 

i like to shoot them behind the shoulders or in the neck.

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when bow hunting ive been told to aim for the opposite shoulder of the deer facing you and gun hunting aim for the shoulder

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I always get mad when I see/hear about deer running when ppl shoot them. I always thought it was because the hunters wasn't shooting the deer in the correct spot. Is this the case? I guess I shouldn't be getting all riled up. LOL. Why is it that deer do run off sometimes then?

I wouldn't doubt it if I were. this guy is one of many that I have run into that always has some stupid story about how he shot at a deer with his rifle and missed or shot it and it ran off and he never found it. If he can't hit it with a gun, I doubt he could shot one in the head with a bow. Your prolly right. I know on my 3d target I practice shooting in the head. I put 6 of my 12 arrows in/around its eye. This is why I only have 2 arrows left LOL. I don't practice it because thats why I am going to shoot at but I figure to practice shooting the hard stuff adn then when i am really going to shoot one, it'll be easier to hit him in a bigger area.



I've seen those words on this board alot, and I have no idea what the mean????

RE: best spot to shoot a deer
 

I doubt a broadhead would even penetrate far enough intothe skull to kill a deer. Never ever go for the head or neck with a bow. For one, deer can dodge the arrow from just 20 yds away, they usualy cant move out of the way fast enough if your going for vitals, but a head or neck shot at 20 yds will more than likely always cause a miss or worse, a wounded deer.
Always go for a broad side shot behind the shoulder with your bow, or quartering away. Quartering means a deer is not totally broadside, more like at a slight angle, qaurtering away would mean he's angling away from you, and quartering too is just the opposite. Quartering away shots with a bow are pretty good shots, you come in from behind the ribcage and go all the way up to the front and opposite shoulder.

RE: best spot to shoot a deer
 

Please don't ever try and shoot a deer in the head with a bow. You should also not try neck shots with a bow as they are too risky.

Broadside or quartering away is the only way to go. Broadside means the deer is standing sideways to you. Not facing, not going away. Quartering is a slight angle to or fro. Don't attempt quartering to shots. Too risky especially for a beginner. Also don not attempt a straight on facing you shot with a bow,as well as a rear going away shot. When you pick up a bow and take it into the woods, YOU WILL HAVE DEER IN RANGE BUT NO SHOTS ARE PRESENTED. That is the nature of it. Understand early on that self control is paramount to not wounding deer.

As far as the notion of deer running off goes, unless the central nervous system (brain, neck or spinal cord) is disrupted, the deer will run. With a bow they will run off, 30-100 yds and you will have to follow a blood trail. It has nothing to do with poor shot placement. If you hit the spine and drop a deer with a bow 99% of the time you madea bad shot. Guns kill by shock, arrows by bleeding out. A gun can miss the spine but have enough shock to still put a deer down. An arrow is going to require the deer bleeds out, many times this takes less than 10 seconds, but sometimes it can take a short time. NEVER get down and trail a bowshot deer in under 30 minutes unless you see it fall. There's a thread in the bow section about tracking....read it. Most valuable piece of information on this site.

RE: best spot to shoot a deer
 

I shoot for behind the shoulder. I`ve taken 2 bucks by shooting them high in the hind quaters. There`s a main artery that runs there(dropped them both in there tracks)

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Like my ole pappy always told me ..hunt with the wind in your face and shoot'em where they are the BIGGEST !

dd

RE: best spot to shoot a deer
 

Paul Mohr,

My dad has mounted 2 big 10 pointers, both were shot in the neck. One he shot oncein the vitals and shot it again on the run in the neck. Another he jumped up at about 30 yards and shot it through the neck dropping it. You can only tell they were shot in the neck if you get up close and really look for it.

RE: best spot to shoot a deer
 

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Nice one Rebel!

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I like to gut shoot them cause I like the mess and smell:DKidding!
If you can't hit it in the vitals don't take the shot.

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BHF, you see the deer in the scope how his chest, tail, back and stomach istouching the largereticles pointsevenly. If youhad a life sizedeer archery target and measured the distance untill you see exactly that,you would know the yardage he is standing at. If they don't touch, it's farther and if it's over the large reticle points, it's closer.!:)I have been using a Duplex Reticle scope for years and was shown this many years ago! Do it with the magnification you normally use!

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Paul----If the taxidermist you take your neck-shot deer to says it can't be mounted, you better go to one who knows what he's doing. They can get replacement capes if ABSOLUTELY necessary, but a good man can work wonders with even a pretty messed up hide. My buddy shot a small 'yote with a .300 Wby.Mag a couple of years ago while bear hunting. Darn near blew it in half. You should see it now--- mounted and perfect in all ways. This is a taxidermist who is a craftsman, not a form stretcher-overer.

RE: best spot to shoot a deer
 

I've always shot them behind the front leg. (I don't mind trailing at all either) I read in a magazine this month that if you shoot them square in the shoulder they drop (with a rifle). I am a bowhunter first, so I won't be taking up that practice. I don't want to have to retrain myself after two months of gun hunting.

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Behind or through the shoulders is a great shot with a gun. A lot of people scoff at breaking the front shoulders...but it puts them down,and really doesn't ruin all that much meat.

I did shoot a buck in the head with a bow a couple years ago. Didn't mean to...hit a branch. He looked like Steve Martin when I got to him. He dropped on the spot. Would I reccommend that? Hell no. Of the 35+ deer I've killed with a bow...only 3 have not been hit behind the shoulder.

RE: best spot to shoot a deer
 

Femoral Artery[:-]

RE: best spot to shoot a deer
 

All depends on the given situation. 1/2 the deer I killed never offered a broadside shot. This year's buck was in heavy brush and I could only see the neck turning back to look at me. The 30-30 hollow point dropped him immediately. But I do believe the idea shot is a heart shot. One needs to study hard and memorize exactly where the heart is. I hate seeing animals suffer and try to shoot to kill quickly.
Chuck7

RE: best spot to shoot a deer
 

Really depends on the deer for me ..if its a big buck I want to try and shoot him in the front sholders to break him down that way I feel sure he will not go very far and I am not that concerned with the meat of an older buck... if I am meat hunting and going to shoot a doe obviously I want to try and shoot her in the lung area so not to mess up the meat ...

dd

RE: best spot to shoot a deer
 

With a rifle i go for the front shoulders or neck so that they don't move. For the bow the best is a double lung or heart shot. I've seen to many deer running through the woods with their mouth blown off from people making bad head shots to never recommend such a shot.

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I agree!Gun, or bow,lung shots damage very little meat, and is the best target!

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That would be a definate ass BEATEN if I found out who done that crap. Thats the garbage I am talking about. I dont 'know why ppl act so ignorant in the woods.

Why is the neck shot a choice? Is it because of the artery? would that take a while for them to die?

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If you are lucky enough to hitthe Epicenter wheretheArotasgo from the heart to the Lungs, he'll be a Dead Deer walking!:)

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The absolute BEST place to shoot a deer is very close to the truck.

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Yep! Have to agree with that one!:)

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utm,
the neck shot with a gun is ok because a gun has enough shock to break thier neck and kill them. You still need to be a good shot.
THe neck shot should not be taken with a bow, because it is a very small target and doesn't always result in a dead deer.

RE: best spot to shoot a deer
 

In the boiler room. Right behind the front legs. They don't run far with a heart or lung shots

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i shoot them right behind the shoulder.

RE: best spot to shoot a deer
 

i never shoot for the neck ofa deer although i kow it is very effective because the deers spinal cord is in there and causes the deer to drop but if its a big deer and your bulet makes and exit whole it could be catastrophic for it being able to be mounted. I shoot for the lung/heart area whether it be broadside or strait on in the chest. some of you may wander why i shoot one in the chest and not worry bout the mount, its beacuae there alot of body behind the chest and usually will never make an exit whole and if it does it will be back far enough not to hurt the mount.

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A friend of mine whois a taxidermist had several deer laying on the ground and told me to go look at a nice 10 pointer. Upon closer examination I realized someone had shot at this deer from a tree stand. It had an arrow sticking about a quarter of an inch out of the top of his head, the broadhead was still attached sticking out the lower jaw.

I opened his mouth, he had been chewing on acorns and realized the arrow could be seen in the back of his mouth surrounded by food.

The funny thing was, it was the second day of gun season and was killed with a 30:06 straight through the heart. He must of had a bad head ache for a long time.

RE: best spot to shoot a deer
 

Behind the shoulder.

RE: best spot to shoot a deer
 

:DI think it's best to shoot them in the woods. lol