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- - Head Shots (https://www.huntingnet.com/forum/whitetail-deer-hunting/284483-head-shots.html)

Well, here is my two cents for what it is worth. I have taken only two head shots but they were close (under 50 yards) one with a scope and one with a peep. I would not really say this is a shot I would recommend on any kind of a consistant basis. Though it is effective, and would usually result in either a hit or a miss, I know one guy who took one and found only jaw fragments where the deer once stood. So, as said by Mel Gibson in the movies, aim small, miss big. Go for the heart shot (lung shot) if you have it and avoid the head if possible.

Been discussed on here several times, always gets messy, and without skybuster, not sure I want to get involved, but I can't help it. Yes, I've taken head shots several times. All under 75 yards. All perfect situations. If you KNOW your rifle, and know how it shoots, than there is no problem. There is always a risk of only wounding an animal with any shot you take. In the summer I shoot SOMETHING everyday, not a lie its an addiction and I can't help it. Now that I'm away at school i only have time for and can afford to shoot about two or three times a month. But if you practice all the time and know your gun. than yes, you can pick which hair you want to shoot.
-Jake

The problem with a head shot is if they move, the head is the first area that contains a vital organ that moves; and your target is not a large area. When we butcher beef, it is a head shot. However, we are very close to the critter. I take head shots on varmints at long range, but the size of the bullet compared to the skull of a varmint would be similar to using a smallcannon for a head shot on deer. I don't have a problem if someone takes a head shot to finish off a downed deer (have never had to do this). If you want to save some meat, go to a caliber with a bigger, heavier and slower bullet.

I occasionally take head shots and neck shots on does and have never had a problem. It depends on how good a shooter you are and how confident you are. I have taken them from a tree stand at 5 yards (my favorite distance) to 50 or 75 yards.

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ORIGINAL: MOhunter46

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ORIGINAL: ipscshooter

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ORIGINAL: .243Heartshot

Where on the head do you aim for a head shot in the ear or eye?

Ear. Drops them like a rock. You most certainly don't want to be much forward of the ear, because if you get a little low, it seems to me that you could end up with a jaw shot and a wounded deer. If you're back by the ear, and you go a little low, you'll get spine, and/or jugular and they're still going to be dead instantly. Be aware that they do tend to twitch a bit afterward, kinda like when you chop the head off a chicken.

Thats the whole point ofNOT taking a head shot. You could blow off the deer jaw and wound the deer. I dont care how good of a shot you think you are, things can happen and you might not hit what you are aiming at.Why cant people understand that.

Things can happen regardless of your point of aim. The buck I shot this year had been shot at last year and I presume the "marksman" was aiming for the heart/lungs area. He had a healed up bullet wound that was just behind the rib cage and passed just under the spine... Obviously, things can and do happen regardless of where you choose to shoot. As I said, you don't want to hit too far forward of the ear when taking a head shot or you'll just hit jaw. I could just as easily have said, you don't want to shoot too far behind the shoulder when taking a lung shot or you'll have a gutshot deer...

I'm in Texas, and, like it or not, the most common method here is hunting from a blind over corn. Being in a blind gives you a very solid shooting platform. The does will put their heads down to eat the corn, and it presents a nice stable target. And, as I said before, with a 9X scope, at 50 yards, you can pretty much pick which hair you want to cut with the bullet...

We've had a gentleman on this thread say that he has shot the back legs of running deer with buckshot and because he hit the femoral artery, the deer bled out. It seems to me that a head shot is a lot less risky than that...

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ORIGINAL: RugerM77.270

Let the games begin!!! I predict 8 pages.

I like your thoughts, Im thinking 7. Seriously, do we have to go over this again? All it does is turn into arguments. I've never in all of the forums we've had for this topic have anyone say "You've changed my mind". Search for "Head Shots" and you will days worth of reading. Personally, I saw a Jawless doe one time and even though I consider myself a very good shot I would never risk it. The look of that deer makes me a firm believer in heart/lung shots.

I don't like head shots and the whole "if you know your rifle" phrase doesn't work. Every ignorant idiot who doesn't know his rifle thinks he does and will take the shot because he thinks he does.

We have new guys come on here every week that say "I have never deer hunted but want to start. I am about to buy my first deer rifle is a 416 magnum enough for deer. I have never shoot a gun before but know alot about them because I saw "Shooter" on HBO last month and my neighbor's cousin's brother-in-law had a BB gun when he was a kid." That guy will think he knows his rifle when he gets in and will blow the deers nose off because of it.

keep it under 75 yds and make sure you know what the deer is going to do next. I like to be ready on a good rest then make a noise like a grunt noise, the deer will look up at you and you have a good 3 to 5 seconds to do it. Grazing around on the ground that head is bobbing and weaving, might just move as you pull the trigger.

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ORIGINAL: ipscshooter

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ORIGINAL: MOhunter46

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ORIGINAL: ipscshooter

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ORIGINAL: .243Heartshot

Where on the head do you aim for a head shot in the ear or eye?

Things can happen regardless of your point of aim. The buck I shot this year had been shot at last year and I presume the "marksman" was aiming for the heart/lungs area. He had a healed up bullet wound that was just behind the rib cage and passed just under the spine... Obviously, things can and do happen regardless of where you choose to shoot. As I said, you don't want to hit too far forward of the ear when taking a head shot or you'll just hit jaw. I could just as easily have said, you don't want to shoot too far behind the shoulder when taking a lung shot or you'll have a gutshot deer...

I'm in Texas, and, like it or not, the most common method here is hunting from a blind over corn. Being in a blind gives you a very solid shooting platform. The does will put their heads down to eat the corn, and it presents a nice stable target. And, as I said before, with a 9X scope, at 50 yards, you can pretty much pick which hair you want to cut with the bullet...

We've had a gentleman on this thread say that he has shot the back legs of running deer with buckshot and because he hit the femoral artery, the deer bled out. It seems to me that a head shot is a lot less risky than that...

Id rather have a gutshot deer than a deer with it's jaw blown off;)

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ORIGINAL: MOhunter46

Id rather have a gutshot deer than a deer with it's jaw blown off;)

Frankly, I'd rather not have either. I'd rather know that I am sufficiently proficient with my firearm and sufficiently selective of my shots that I'm not going to wound the deer ... Thus far, I've only shot one deer twice, and that wasn't really necessary. But, since he was still standing for more than 5 seconds after being shot through the heart/lungs with a 7mm Mag, I put another in him...