Royal Rack

I shot a doe on Saturday and my first shot was in her neck with a 50 caliber shotgun slug at about 75 yards. She fell right away, but when I got up to her the back legs were kicking and she kept raising her head up. I then fired off another round in her heart and she finally died after another minute.

Who has experience with neck shots? Is it usual to have to put another round in the animal to kill it?

Respect the woods, for you are part of nature too.

basserman

"when I got up to her the back legs were kicking and she kept raising her head up." A neck shot is lethal if it is hit correctly in the neck.

"Semper Fi"

Coastie

If your shot was truly a hit in the neck (spinal cord) she was dead where she lay. The movement you were seeing was the muscular system, responding to a myriad of signals from the what was left of the nervous system that didn't make any sense. If you missed the spinal cord, the movement was the same, but temporary. When you dressed the deer, was the neck actually broken, or was the shot only close?

Coastie
"Children are tastier than Dogs or Goats and they're far easier for a Leopard to catch" Indian Magistrate Hari Prasad Tivari

halcon

Most neck shots are over very quickly ,but a marginal shot can take some time just as it will anyplace you shoot a deer . Very few shots kill instantly but in my opinion a neck shot comes closer than most of them .

Deerslayer_37

back spinal shot drops them in their tracks.even a heart shot.i hit a buck in the heart and the bullet went through to his shoulder.he dropped like he'd been hit by lightning.

slayer

"Accurate,Deadly,Dependable."

FirstBow

I've hit 2 in the neck. Both dropped on the spot dead as a door nail.
I've also hit dead bang and watched them run 20yds and then drop.
Survival

1950KID

You did the right thing with the 2nd shot.

stubblejumper

If placed perfectly neck shots are instantly fatal.If not placed perfectly they often result in wounded and often lost deer.Since perfect shot placement is not reasonable to expect every time I use lung shots as even not quite perfect shots are fatal due to a much larger kill zone and more room for error..

XTP

I have to sgree with stubblejumper....heart/lung shots are the way to go....to much room for error with a neck shot.

timbercruiser

Sounds like if you had of missed another inch or so the deer would have been long gone.