head shot/ethics
 

i will admit in the past i have made unethical shot but knock on wood have never not recovered the animal, not proud of it and have learned from mistakes and try not to make them again... That said i have taken a few deer with a head shot, have never attempted one that was not instant dropped deer no kick no run no flinch just down.

This will im sure start a huge debate but i have to do it because i want to know how people feel about it.



another question some preach penetration, shot placement, blood trail everybody has there own standards and if they work for you great but what about the thousands of deer that are shot with buckshot every year no penetration to speak of no bloodtrail most of the time and shot placement well its a guess with it

ive shot some deer with it and had it kill them as quickly as well placed shots well rifles

whats everybody think

Why would you aim at a head when you got an 18" kill zone to shoot at? you miss and you blow off the jaw...forever crippling the animal...we owe our quarry the respect of clean kills and ethical shots...head shot IMPO are NOT ethical

obviously because I can and you caint

once the 18'' kill zone not available deer well within limits of rifle and myself had no concerns about missing my shot another was face to and in tall grass cannot make out chest well but put bullet between eyes just fine.

not saying your wrong though maybe should have just passed but seemed right at time

Shoot them in the head or preferably neck every time. no meat wasted and the animal never knows what hit them. dont care what the popular opinion is.THAT IS ETHICAL.

im with you

exactly, theres nothing more ethical than a well placed shot that puts the lights out of an animal instantly.


Put it this way, if you had to put your dog down because of a bad injury, would you shoot him behind the shoulder ?
nuff said !

Any pictures of a deer shot in the head? im sure it'd be quite interesting.

i was taught to wait for an absolute perfect broadside shot and cannot convince the old bastard to take a quartering shot, he shoots a big rifle takes a front shoulder lungs and heart as well as the other shoulder every time and makes hamburg but i will say ive hunted with my dad for 20 years now and have never tracked a deer he shot at. he sees every deer that he pulls the trigger on die, may ruin some meat but it is his way and it works for him

cant belive no input on the buckshot yet

sorry no ive never taken pics of one before its messy though even with 243

ive taken 1 head shot...

dropped her instantly..she didnt even twitch...

why did i take it?? she was completely blocked by trees...she came out of a drive with a pile of deer..she dwarfed all of them..i wanted her. she stuck her head out to look back and was looking away from me..i had a good rest and clear path to make the 30yd shot...i put it just to the left of her right ear and the bullet exited her cheek on the far side just like i wanted...

i did it because i KNEW 10000% that i could. she was completely focused on looking back...experience told me i had more than enough time before she was going to move again...i took and made the shot...

ky hunter,
entrance was invisible...exit was about the size of a quarter...that was 3006 168gr winchester ballistic tips..

this is the exit...

wow may have been that the range was further with mine but exit was 4 times that

The last one I took was at a mortaly wounded doe at 611 yards,
RR[/QUOTE]



Wow that was a good shot. She probably had a two or three seconds to bob or flinch from the moment the trigger released. Glad she didn't.
I have a hard time getting 3" groups at 100yds when practicing in hunting type conditions!

I have taken a few head shots. You just know at that exact moment when its right to shoot. Ive always kept mine in real close.
When they are in their frozen statue mode.
The further out I'll pass. The more room for error on my (or the deers) part on such a small target.

I have cleaned more than one deer with peirced ears!

I wonder what a slug would doo. i wont take a headshot unless i need to.

I dont know. I've never shot one in the head but thats not saying I wouldn't. I guess it depends on the situation, but I see nothing ethically wrong with it as long as the hunter knows he can make the shot.

LOL!

I govern my own ethics on shots most people consider unethical. Myself? I know my limits because I shoot a lot. I mean a lot. Like Dan above, looks like he practices under hunting conditions. I love that. You prove nothing on the bench except refine your technique and how well you're gun is grouping. If you want to know your potential, practice situations similar to the real thing. Albeit there will be a lack of adrenaline, but the rest will come natural when firing if you've practiced it enough.

As for taking this topic's controversial shot... it's not controversial to me.

iSnipe

I dont understand the use of Ethical in this discussion. You will either kill it dead if you hit it or miss it clean! No chance of a gut shot or some other wounding option. The question is: can you make the shot?

Neck? The neck is all muscle. If you get lucky, you'll clip the verterbrate and cripple him, if not its just flesh. Secondly, you say no meat wasted..?? You realize the huge roasts you get come from the neck right?

How is meat wasted when I shoot a deer in the ribs?

Ribs or neck.. you're obviously wasting more meat with a neck shot. Rookie.

There is tons of deer killed every year with a 22 mag and head shots.That is the way the control deer in city limets now days.They hire guys to use night scopes and 22 mags.They head shoot every deer they can. It was just done in KC Kansas.Guy went in to a park at knight with 22 mags and shoot many many deer.All in the head.
AS for oobuck.That is mean shoot.Out to around 50 yards it will drop deer every time.I dont do much hunting with a gun any more at all.I do knot many old timers that pack buck shot around with them when bird hunting. They fill there deer tags every year that way.I just hate to help them cleen there deer,after a shot like that.From what I have seen.You normaly get 4 to 8 pelets in a deer at 40 to 50 yards.Just seems like to many of them are in the guts to me.
I will stick to my arrows to do my killing.No head shots with the old bow :{

Charles

Wow that was a good shot. She probably had a two or three seconds to bob or flinch from the moment the trigger released. Glad she didn't.
I have a hard time getting 3" groups at 100yds when practicing in hunting type conditions!

I have taken a few head shots. You just know at that exact moment when its right to shoot. Ive always kept mine in real close.
When they are in their frozen statue mode.
The further out I'll pass. The more room for error on my (or the deers) part on such a small target.

I have cleaned more than one deer with peirced ears![/QUOTE]i find it hard to believe 611yrd head shot when u cant even keep "3" at 100, seriously, now that sounds an ethical to me,poor deers already suffering & what if just what if u would have blown that deers jaw off than we would have hd a mortaly wounded deer x2

I took two head shots last year, about two seconds appart and took home two doe's for the freezer. The only time I don't use a head shot is when I can't see their head or their head has antlers I don't want broken, or they are too far distant to be sure I can make it work, and for me thats over 200 yds. But yes, everyone must know their limits.
Last year's were taken that way because all I could see was their heads, I was close enough to easily take those shots offhand, standing with no rest and their was no doubt at all that I could do it at 75 yds. Had they been moving or farther away I would have found a rest, let them pass or waited for a broadside shot. I just don't see any problem with any legal shot, especially one that has never failed for me.
If you were to wound and lose several deer then I would think you or anyone else an unethical hunter, no matter where on the animal you aim. I would say get some practice or stop shooting. But if you are sure in what you are doing and make successful shots, then keep on shooting, all shots are ethical if legal, and if they work for you.

:rant:
I hate retards that assume because someone says they don’t believe in something...its automatic they believe that way because they "cant"...I am a military expert in both rifle and handgun and shoot ALOT...that being said, I still would take a double lung/heart shot over a head/neck...but if it gets you off knowing you can blow the head off your quarry confidently then for it....hunt your own way. But MY ethics say no to head shots...the original post was posed as a question.

well i will say something for buckshot...... we used to run dogs and i loved my 000 buck out of my 870.... never had a problem with deer going more than 50 yards

WOW when shot in the ribs alot of times due to the angle you will take out one shoulder in my limited experience as i am a ROOKIE. If shot in the neck the deer will drop no matter if you hit the spine or not. Its called SHOCK from the bullet. You obviosly have limited experience and KNOWLEDGE.

I shot one in the once with a 12 guage slug and it dropped in it's tracks.. A big hole going in and an even bigger hole going out. Another time I shot at a deer's head and did a complete miss.. I was using a 30-30 then. I was quite young on both of these shots and have learned to shoot for the neck when confronted with these types of shots.. So to each thier own on this one. For me it is preffered to take the neck shot over the head shot. Although I myself preffer the forward shoulder shot over anything else..

Thats completely false information. The deer will NOT drop everytime due to shock.

Nonetheless, more meat is wasted with a neck shot. So what other excuse garbage are you going to give to make your manly head shots?

"Dude I just blew the head off that doe, I feel like such a man right now.."

I"ve shot them in almost any place that will take the deer down, mostly in the shoulder, but a bunch of head/neck shots with buckshot. Only one I havn't tried is the high hip shot with a rifle, but I will guarantee if the only shot available was the high hip I would consider it. They will bleed out about as fast taking out the femoral vein as they will taking out the lungs.

In all the years that I've hunted, I have never had a reason to take a head shot. Not saying that I wouldn't if I had too, just that I haven't needed to. I would much rather shoot at the larger heart/lung target, just in case my aim is off an inch or two.

At a non-wounded animal, I would be hard pressed to take a head shot. I have taken down one deer with its ears shot, and another with its jaw blown off.

If an animal is wounded, any shot that will help take it down and be recovered is ethical.

As for buckshot, I quit using it before I was old enough to drive. I shot at a single deer with it, not a single pellet hit at 30 yards. I recovered or helped track several other deer wounded with it, they traveled long distances. If it doesn't have feathers you should know exactly where your bullet is going, not spray 12 small under-powered bullets at it and hope they go where they are supposed to. I won't go as far as to say it's not ethical, but I don't use it and won't take anyone out with me who does.

Headshot? I've thought about it once, but decided to wait for the broadside. The range was 125 yards, so I thought better of trying it. Now, it the range was under 30, and the deer was totally calm... maybe.

Buckshot is not legal in Iowa, so I have no input other than I know of many in buckshot legal/mandatory areas than have had both very good and very poor performance. I, personally, wouldn't use buckshot unless it was required. Slugs are a much better option when shotgun hunting, IMO.

Mike

So you got a ribbon for accuracy back when you were in basic training, whoopty doo.
Unless your TACP or Combat Controll you havent handled an M4 since basic training, expert.
What is it you do in the AF.
I have a friend that supposably was a sniper in the Marines. He wounds more animals than anyone I know.
I hunted some bases here in town, we had one dufus shoot at noises in the woods. Was that you.

Chillax
 

Dang guys....why all the animosity? I think it's a legit question.
No, I haven't taken a head shot, but I haven't had too. Would I....sure, if I were confident I could make it. As for the 600+ yards shooting, wow, way beyond me. Even with my rifle, I'm confident to maybe 300-350yards. A head shot within 2sec. off hand at 75 yards? Again, beyond me, not so say wrong for you, because you are obviously more competent with your slug gun/rifle than I am, but definitely wrong for me. Let's not get into the pissing contest of who is better at who shooting etc. Forum battles are pointless as you can never actually prove your point when it comes to abilities unless you meet up and shoot. Remember, we are all hunters who enjoy hunting and the outdoors. Respect each other and work together as we are all in this for basically the same reason(s)!! Good hunting and be safe.
John-

Most people taking head shots haven't "had too" either. It's more about the latter of your words.

================

Hoyt_shooter -... please. LOL!

OBVIOUSLY the guy who said he was a marine sniper who allegedly wounded all those deer is either lying he was or the person who said that about him is misinformed; possibly stretching the truth. Hmm?

Most shot techs who are formerly trained don't mention their credentials for a variety of reasons; one being they know there's no real need to.

iSnipe

I have always pondered the thought of taking a neck shot, but not a head shot. My first year in the woods a doe came out and her whole body was behind trees with the exception of her head. I wanted a deer soooooo bad, but I didn't take the shot, mainly because of a story my friend told me....

His dad had raised him to shoot deer in the head. It was his first time ever hunting, a doe came out, he put the reticle on the head and pulled the trigger. He hit the deer in the jaw, blew the entire area from below the eyes to the mouth off. He got lucky and was given another shot from the deer, but if he hadn't....just think of what that deer would have had to go through.

All it takes is just a little movement or just a mistake to make a shot like that go terribly wrong. For me I'll stick to the 18" boiling room I can shoot at. And even if I do ruin some meat from the front shoulders, we usually dont even mess with the front quarters anyways, so no wasted meat for me.

Its also a proven fact that a deer stressed before dying will have tuffer and less tasty meat than one that dies instanlty.
adrenaline = tuff meat.

djdkman - hoyt thanks for trying to calm it down around here i didnt intend to get people nasty with each other. as for expeience i hunt with a guy that is in his 50s and would never dream of a head neck shot cause even ofa rest he shoots marginally, he shoots all year and just shoots ok. his only shot is the boiler room .... Absolutely not floating my own boat but im a GOOD shot thats it im not a sniper ive never been trained im just a good shot even if it were a broadside shot at a chicken barn i would only take it if i felt confident i could put it right were it needed to be

as for somebody else that said it no a head shot does not make me feel manly it makes me feel good not having to chase a deer and wonder the whole time how much pain it was in even if only for 20 30 40 yards whatever it is it had to feel it.

I still take a broadside shot but just wanted to discuss other options that i dont pass up and see how many people would pass them up.

ive seen a few hit in the neck and hey all dropped instantly as well, one was very poor shot attempt at front shoulders from 10 year old kid, is he a retard that wants to feel manly no hes a kid that is hookedfor life now instaed of pissed at his dad for not letting him shoot at an animal out of his comfort zone.

keep the input coming just dont think we need to bash each other over it Thanks

Most of my shots have been behind the shoulder and will continue to be. They usually drop right there, but not always. I have shot a few in the neck (close range), and they dropped on the spot. I've only taken one head shot (real close range), and he dropped right on the spot.

This was a slug that bounced off her spine and came back out the same side....not a head shot, but you be the judge of what it would do.

DAAAANG I wish someone would have told me that I was field dressing {CRIPPLED} deer. Im sure that would be completly unethical. LMFAO They do drop every time. Maybe you should shut your manplea$er$ and go hunting.