neck shot...
 

where exactly is this magic shot that drops deer in their tracks everytime?? i know its small and everything but i know i can do it if i get a perfectly stopped deer and might try it..anyone have a diagram they can post with it highlighted or a sight that does or you can describe where to shot? my shots are usually under 50yds and the heart and lung shots are simple...can someone help me out here?? thanx alot...

RE: neck shot...
 

Mauser06 I think you just started one here . Everyone has a different opinion about neck shooting and some feel pretty strong about it .Done right its quick and final ,but your margin for error is way up also. Center of the neck on a deer facing me ,just below the head .

RE: neck shot...
 

mauser06 don`t know if this helps but here is the skeletal system of a whitetail.


BIGSKY COUNTRY

RE: neck shot...
 

what if one is broad side? and if its going away my shot is going to be in the back of the head..so what a broadside shot on the neck? just anywhere in the center(high and low wise) of the neck? or higher towards the head or lower towards the body? and where do i put it high and low wise on the neck when broadside? thanx...

RE: neck shot...
 

Any hits very close to the spine will usually flatten the deer but if the actual spine is not severed they often recover quickly then run away.I have seen this happen a few times and it has resulted in long tracking jobs and a lost animal or two.Since this target is so small you are far better off with a lung shot.

RE: neck shot...
 

Why in the world would you want to take a chance? The lung shot is very deadly and you have a much larger shot zone.

RE: neck shot...
 

If you're gonna take them, I'm not going to tell you otherwise, to each his own, but I don't recommend them, we all try at least once though. In fact, I took a neck shot today, just because, like you said, I got a perfect opportunity. I was a little off, and she ran 100 yrds before crashing. The thing is, if you're shooting them in the neck, you either don't have a big target, or you can only take that shot. If you're shooting normal deer bullets, like the Super-X Silvertips I was shooting today, they aren't even going to expand through the neck, so you're going to have to hit the spinal column to get it done quick, a 2-4" wide target running the length of the neck, like on the diagram above. If you want to get a bigger target, then use more explosive bullets, like the Winchester Supreme Ballistic Silvertips I used to use. They pop like balloons upon any resistance, so if you hit within say 2-3" of the spinal column, you'll probably drop them in their tracks, and if not, within a couple yards at most. So that leaves you a range of 6-10" along the neck, a lot nicer target than 2-4".

Screw the 10 ring, keep them in the zero!!!

RE: neck shot...
 

shoot them in the head and it will drop. Around were i hunt there is enough does around were if i see a doe i can shoot at it in the head and if i miss o well but if i hit it good another deer. I have never got a good shot at a buck in the head and i dont know if i would try anyways because it is such a small target. I shot a 8 4x4 in the head last year but it wasnt on pursose. It was a long shot at a deer walking towards me and my cousin shot and missed and it still stood there so i took a shot and it droppe.

RE: neck shot...
 

The thing is, if you miss in the slightest the deer will more than likely die a slow and painful death. You are looking at a target area about the size of a 50 cent piece. Do us all a favor and shoot them in the vitals where you are suppose to.

RE: neck shot...
 

Why would you want to take the chance? Because you can that's why. I just aim in the middle of the neck (half way up from the shoulder, half way down from the head) and slightly back to get bone. This will drop a deer if you hit them there. Not on the ground struggling to breathe and limping as some might think, but stone cold dead as a hammer. If your a good shot, you can kill deer untill he DIES from it <img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>. I've taken a few neck shots, mainly with my 30-30 (more accurate at closer range than my 06) and shotgun. Every one of them dropped on the spot. Keep the shots close and you'll be fine. And it works on broadside shots too.

&quot;Hey ya'll, watch this&quot;

RE: neck shot...
 

You got a deer broadside at 50 yards, why would you want to shoot him or her in the neck? That makes no sense. I have taken a few head/neck shots, all were the only shot I had, close range and I had a solid rest(they all resulted in animals dropped on the spot). I might add they were when I was younger, I don't do this now. One reason, I have seen to many botched neck and head shots. Nobody likes tracking a wounded animal, especially a poor blood trail and I really have low tolerance now for suffering.(Main reason these botched shots) I want to put the game down quickly but humanely and clean is also the number one concern.

Many guys pick the spot of where the neck meets the shoulders, this way if they pull it back they got shoulders. But if you put it in the meat around the neck, chances are very good that animal will be a hard one to get..oh yeah and he will die slowly. (bucks have a lot of meat, so many think they are easier to neck shot...wrong...easier to hit but the size of target isn't much bigger than a doe)

Hey if you can do it, fine. I just wouldn't pick it over a vitals hit given the chance.

RE: neck shot...
 

I personally see no reason for a neck shot unless it is your only shot AND you have the skill to make it. Most of us are probably not as good marksmen as we like to think.

RE: neck shot...
 

If you are taking shots at under 50 yards I would suggest shooting them in the head as Nate said. At 50 yards, why have a chance at wasting meat? You should be able to hit a deer's head a 50 yards, if not, I would suggest you go to the shooting range and practice. Shooting a deer in the head will drop them on the spot and have no meat damage at all.

RE: neck shot...
 

As for head shots, I have seen what happens when you are off by just INCHES and blow break their jaws. The starve. Plain and simple. NEck is as someone said 50/50 chance of hitting anything vital. If you wanna drop the with a gun, hit them in the shoulders, if you can't stand wasting any meat, go for the lungs. But don't shoot at the head, I don't care how good you are, they can always move as you squeeze the trigger.

I still say go for the vitals, they are called that for a reason.

&quot;We do not inherit our wildlife from our fathers, we only borrow it from our children.&quot;

RE: neck shot...
 

i wouldn't suggest a neck shot w/a bow but i assume you're talking about gun shots given the distances you're mentioning....a neck shot w/a gun is a great shot....shoot at the base of the neck around the last cervical vertebra and you're good to go. bullets kill due to shock and expansion, arrows kill due to hemorrhage. neck shots are good gun shots but bow shots stick to the boiler room.

RE: neck shot...
 

mauser you sound to me like you asked about the neck shot simply so you can 'drop a deer in its tracks' and becuz lung shots are 'simple'

if its a challenge you need then start shooting at aspirins on the target range or sumthin lol

I have taken head shots before to save a bit of meat...but the deer was very close and not moving. A 12ga slug under 20 yards to the head drops em quick thats for sure. But I think head and neck shots are not shots that you should be TRYING to take. If theres an open shot to the front shoulder its a much higher percentage shot and ya really do owe it to yourself and the animal to take the best possible shot.

** I almost got him but I refuse to take a marginal shot **

RE: neck shot...
 

I would never consider head shooting a deer, one small movement when the shot goes off and you either miss entirely or wound the deer.

A neck shot is one that you should never take unless the deer is perfectly still and you know exactly where to shoot, I have done it once and it knocked the deer flat, it never moved, but when it blew up the vertabrae it also took out almost every bit of edible meat on the far side of the neck! To me you waste a lot of meat with a good neck shot because if you are hitting vertabrae it damages a lot of meat in the process.

Stick with the boiler room, much larger target and far less meat screwed up.

The Tazman aka Martin Price
Founder and President of
Virginia Disabled Outdoorsmen Club

RE: neck shot...
 

If given a neck shot under 50 yds. I'll take it in a minute if shooting a shotgun slug or muzzleloader with 370 grain maxiball. The shock will down the deer for good if 2 inches or more from the top or bottom of the neck. I use this shot cause I hunt a small parcel bordered by non-hunting neighbors one of whom has been a problem in the past. I don't want them travelling 100 yds. from impact. Anywhere else I hunt, shoulder it is. You can also anchor a deer by pinning both shoulders, shooting slightly forward and a bit higher than the heart, but a perfect broadside presentation can be tough to wait on.

RE: neck shot...
 

This is a post I know a lot about. I do not take shots at the neck of a deer. I shoot a 22-250, 55 grain ballistic tip, running at about 3600 feet per second. I always shoot does in the head. The bullet explodes making it instant death. I have taken probably 20 does by shooting them in the head and in my opinion, it is the only way to go. Probably the best advice I can give you is that you need to take shots that you feel comfortable with. I have several simple rules for myself.
1. Never shoot at a running deer.
2. Never shoot for the head over 100 yards
3. Never shoot at deer in the brush ( and no matter what anyone tells you, all bullets will deflect.
4. Always shoot bucks in the lungs (must be a broadside shot)
5. Never shoot at any deer where I feel the shot is questionable
(We all owe the deer a ethical, and quick death)

I follow these rules before I take any shot. By doing this every kill I make is satisfying and I am not out at night chasing a wounded deer.
MissouriTrapper

RE: neck shot...
 

I have a 308 and shoot a 180grn STBT. That is enough shocking power to drop any deer hit in the neck. Don`t need to hit the spine, the shock kills.

--------------------
Be a steward of the resouce, not just a deer killer.

RE: neck shot...
 

18 posts and i still duno where to hit..i didnt ask if they were good to take or anything..i wouldnt take one if i didnt know i could...im a heck of a shot...ive seen alot of guys targets at the range to tell me so...and impressed alot of old timers and good shots..since i cant figure out this whole neck shot it will be head shots for me when i get a good shot...and if not i will go back to heart and lungers...ivetaken deer on a dead run at 50yds in a thicket and i was stadning free hand...dropped her with one shot to the lungs she fell right out of the air..the reason im looking to find the neck shot is because if my buck would went 20 more yards another hunter would have seen him on his death run(perfect double lunger and shoulder hit...) and would probally dropped him and my first buck would been that guys 30th buck! i wouldnt liked that at all..and wanted to learn the neck shot so if i need it i know it...since i cant figure it out here i will head shoot when i feel i need to...and does when i get the perfect chance...and im shooting 165gr sierra game king hpbts...they act like my dads balistic tips...i love them for close range...i know they will give enough shock...

RE: neck shot...
 

mauser06, you got alot to learn junior. What you are going to do is blow the jaw off a deer or cut the esophogus and starve it to death. Hope you will be able to look at yourself in the mirror afterwards.

RE: neck shot...
 

I have shot my share of deer with neck shots and been lucky so far. If your skill level and equipment permits aim at the soft spot at the back of the jaw bone. But whenever possible, center mass.

RE: neck shot...
 

welp masuar if i shoot in the neck i shoot at the white spot just below the chin but if there brode side i just shoot them on the shouldar

100%REDNECK

RE: neck shot...
 

You could see clear enough to shoot 50 yards in a thicket? Doesn't sound like the thickets I hunt around!

RE: neck shot...
 

Shot a doe today in the neck broadside 30yds 25/06 100 gr. XLC. A little below the head towards the back of the neck dropped in it's tracks.. Bill

RE: neck shot...
 

kgkoon...ya..it was 40-50yds...i picked the biggest lane and touched off when i seen the first deer in the scope...i got lucky and had a pretty clear lane...i was on a track made by the loggers that wasnt quite as grown up we and could see pretty clear for 25 yds or so then the saplings started again..its not a thicket thicket its a sapling thicket that is starting to grown up...i think i will take the neck shot if one walks straight at me...and a head shot if one walks straight away(both only if conditions are perfect...) and stay with the lung shot when broadside which most of my shots are...now i know what to do when one walks right away or right at me...thanx...guys why not give up im going to do what i want i know my capabilities..i mean sure your trying to save a deer but im not a moron..it would make me sick to blow a jaw off..im not a lead flingger...one round goes in the mauser and thats it..ive been taught to make that one round count and so far i have..and im a good shooter...i know 90%of the kids in my school couldnt take the doe i did running and i was standing free hand..i know my capabilities..and my equiptment im not going to go out and play sniper and try to take every deers head off i shot...just learning some diffrent shots so i will be prepared when i need/can use them...thank you those of you that helped me..

RE: neck shot...
 

Mauser, I don't know if anyone else has had this experience, but EVERY TIME I have shot a deer through the shoulders (not behind) they have dropped right where they were.

RE: neck shot...
 

mauser06, yeah some of us remember from you posts last year just how good a shot you are. If you can't drop them with a well placed shot to the vitals, what makes you think you can make a neck or head shot?

[Deleted]
 

[Deleted by Admins]

RE: neck shot...
 

BobS, hit the nail on the head.

RE: neck shot...
 

frizzellr you are right last year was horrible..BUT...you missed the post on the reason for it...i bought a leupold this summer and put it on the mauser...dad bought a turkey gun and went to put that tasco shotgun scope i had on it because its all that would fit with the rear sight and no time to have the rear sight removed and get a new scope on it so i ahd to use it that year...when my dad took it to get mounted the guy laughed at him and told him it was broke my dad was like what do you mean? the guys like look through and move the powers...the crosshairs moved with it! i sighted in on 4.5power and hunted on 2.5 because the low objective lens was hard to get anything in the scope on a high power..thats why the year was so bad...and im not going to use the neck shot or head shot unless i have to and i KNOW i can do it...believe me in mot dumb..just trying to gain knowledge and learning the neck shot is what i wanted to know about forever...i am not going out tomarow and planning to use it...but now that i know where it is and if a deer walks at me i just might if i can stop it and make a good shot...if not it will walk unless it goes broad side...i might seem dumb for asking but its not like im doing it for fun or anything...just trying to gain some knowledge..never know then the monster buck is going to walk straight at me and now i know where to shoot...even though id stil probally wait..thanx guys...dont worry im not going out and wounding deer wit ha bad neck or head shot...all my possible shots while hunting were broadside so far...

RE: neck shot...
 

Here's my opinion for what it's worth. Of every deer I've ever killed only two were shot any place besides the neck. I shot a nice buck a couple years ago and aimed at the shoulder because with a doe and wouldn't stand perfectly still, plus I was using my dad's .270 and I wasn't as comfortable with it. The other deer was my first bow kill, which happened to be this year. Of every single other deer I've killed in my 16 yrs of hunting has been a neck shot, only one of those deer was under 100yrds. I also killed all but a couple of those deer with a .22-250.

If you don't believe me, that is your choice but I have many family and friends who will back me up. Am I some super dead eye? No, not at all, I am just able to contain my adrenline when shooting at a deer and thus remain very steady and confident. My last deer with a gun (due to my taking up bow hunting) was back in 1998. It was a nice 10pt at 220yrds. I have the whole thing on video to prove it to anyone who doesn't believe it. I watched the buck for several minutes as he walked around in the field in front of me. He had just ran a doe off and he was sniffing all around where she'd been standing, since it was the peak of the rut. I remained very calm and waited for him to stand perfectly broadside and perfectly still. Had he not, I wouldn't have shot him. Anyway, I did get the shot and like every other deer before, he fell over like a ton of bricks. The video footage is totally amazing!!

All of that being said, I do not reccomend neck shots to everyone nor do I try to convince people to take them if they aren't comfortable with them. However, shooting a .22-250 I don't feel as comfortable taking shoulder shots on a big deer since it is a smaller caliber. I know it will kill deer because my wife has done it as well as one of my best friends. As for where I aim; I follow the neck up about half way to the head from where the neck leaves the shoulder, aim dead center of the neck, wait for the deer to be perfect broadside and perfectly still. Works like a champ. The way I figure it, I have almost no error room but I also have almost no wounding error room. A shoulder shot too far forward, too far back, too far high, or too far low can result in a wounded deer that you might not find. Not saying it is a bad shot at all, because shoulder shots are the best if you are looking for the biggest target.

Just my 2 cents, take it or leave it.

--------------------------------------------
Hunting the Piney Woods of Deep East Texas.

RE: neck shot...
 

mauser if you want to knock a deer flat and have it incapable of going no where and have a large target to shoot, go for the shoulders, you still mess up alot of good meat, just as you do with a neck shot, but if a deer has his shoulder blown apart they can not go anywhere, and unlike being off 1/2 inch on a neck shot and wounding one, or having a three mile tracking job, take out the shoulders, they go down right where they stand.

You are very right when you say you will do what you want to do, but shooting a stationary target and one that can move at any time is a whole different story and even though you may successfully make a neck or head shot, if you shoot enough deer eventually it will jump up and bite you, either with an unrecovered deer or a very long tracking job.

The Tazman aka Martin Price
Founder and President of
Virginia Disabled Outdoorsmen Club

RE: neck shot...
 

I just wanted to add one thing that seems to be misconseption. A deer does NOT have to be hit in the vertebrae(sp) for a neck shot to drop him. As I said in my above post every deer I've shot in the neck has dropped in their tracks; I've never had deer take a sigle step. And not every deer was hit in the vertebrae. Obviously you can't just graze the top or bottom of the neck but in my personal experiece of killing loads of deer, any shot placed around the center of the neck is lethal on impact.

Again, as I said before, I'm not arguing that this is the shot for everyone. However, it is the quickest cleanest kill that I'm aware of.

--------------------------------------------
Hunting the Piney Woods of Deep East Texas.

RE: neck shot...
 

Well guys because of CWD I would stay away from any shot that took out any brain mater or spinal fluid.Why risk it?

RE: neck shot...
 

Well guys because of CWD I would stay away from any shot that took out any brain mater or spinal fluid.Why risk it?

RE: neck shot...
 

texastracker you brought out another excellent reason to not neck or head shoot a deer in an area where CWD may be an issue!

BTW texastracker, I am glad when you speak of your experience with neck shooting deer that you say it is not a shot for everyone, I would like to bring out one more thing which if I am wrong please correct me, but generally in texas deer to be rather small in comparison to deer in many other parts of the country and in my opinion would go down far easier than a 200+ pound buck in many areas of the country, as a result there is a larger area of error in the neck area, especially during the rut.

The Tazman aka Martin Price
Founder and President of
Virginia Disabled Outdoorsmen Club

RE: neck shot...
 

Taz, you do bring up a good point about bigger deer not being killed as easily by a neck shot and I can honestly say that I'm not sure what the answer is. I've killed most of my deer here in East Texas and a few in South Texas but none of those deer have weighed over 170lbs max on the hoof. The avg. size buck I kill is 150lbs on the hoof. So shooting a deer over 200lbs in the neck could make a difference, I just don't know and I'm not ashamed to say it!

One more thing, our deer are smaller, thus making the target smaller.lol

--------------------------------------------
Hunting the Piney Woods of Deep East Texas.

RE: neck shot...
 

Took my buck last year at 30 yds. It was standing looking at me from behind a big pine with two trunks. All I could see was its hindquarters, neck, and head. I shot it in the neck about midway between the body and head with a 150gr roundnose 270. It died instantly. This is the only time I have had to use a neck shot. I wouldn't have taken it if I wasn't absolutely sure of hitting the spine.

Normally I put it just behind the shoulder and take out the lungs. My 3 deer this year were all lung shots with a 308/150gr psp. Two of them just dropped, the other ran 70 yds.

The Remington web site has a magazine section. It has an article about the &quot;Secret Spot&quot; for instant kills. This is high up behind the shoulder. If I can figure out how to post a link to the article I will.