well said skeeter and i agree, somehow this got way out of hand

Oh, you a baaaaad man [] - zeke [rotflmao]

Oh ok handles i get it no big deal especially about the cousin comment, but you played a hell of a roll in deliverence. Squeeling like a pig

Tell me, how do you hit the jaw when aiming for the base of the neck at this distance?? If your shooting is that bad you have no business pulling the trigger without dialing your groups in BEFORE going on the hunt!!!!

Most of my hunting is spot and stalk so I can pick the range I want to shoot at.It all depends on the animals activity, calm or nervous. When I' m at my " range" I study the animal for a few minutes first, after a little while I can begin to read the deers attitude, if it' s calm it' ll get one in the neck, if it' s jumpy it' ll get one in the lungs.Who suggested taking a running neck shot at a deer??No one, anyone who would is an idiot.As for being a low percentage shot,I' ve taken almost a dozen deer who' ll argue or should I say, can' t argue that point.It' s all about personal capabilities, if you can' t do it then don' t try it

In reference to neck and head shots, not shoulder shots

Plainsman I will not argue ability/confidence is the key, it will allow/help in excuting the shot in the moment. Obviously you pay close attention and try to read the animal before making a desicion on the shot to take, which shows your patience and ability. You must realize not all or should I say very few hunters do such a thing, keeping that in mind the vitals on an average deer are 6-8" and the neck shot is about 1-2" . Given this data wouldn' t you agree the lower % shot is the neck, especially given the vitals are open and clear??? We can only make desicions based on our experience and the circumstances that surround the opportunity, however when someone ask my opinions of a neck shot over a vitals, to me the answer is clear especially given the fact I know nothing about that persons ability. I know personally I can make a neck shot 99% of the time given the right circumstances but the 1% miss is what bothers me, given that my opinion is aim for the vitals, drive it home and collect your deer.

Skeeter, I agree with your reasoning. I' d never suggest a rookie take the shots I do, it takes years of experience.However, the first two words in the original post were" you have" , meaning " I do" .I was just stating what I would do, trophyhuntr then echoed my response and got jumped on for it. Just because others don' t have the ability to make these shots, don' t get mad at those of us that do!!

whether your a rookie or seasoned hunter, only shoot WITHIN you ability, the time to strech your skill is at the range, not in the field.

I' m definatly a double lung guy. A deer is not going far with 2 flat lungs. The first deer I ever shot I hit it in the shoulders. It died but it sure ruined alot of meat. Since that day I have always opted for the lung shot. The furthest I' ve ever tracked a deer is under 50 yards.

On the other sub topic of neck shots, while I have never used one other than a finish off shot, I have seen them effectivly used many many times. I have never seen a deer walk away neck shot.

Plainsman " Trophyhuntr" got as you said " jumped on" because of his comments not because of echoing your reply.

I replyed " If someone is such a bad shot they worry about hitting guts on a heart lung shot how in the world are they going to hit a deers neck?"

As I said before if you have to worry about hitting guts on a vitals shot you have no buisness in the world to take a neck shot because it is a low percentage shot. Then right after he is done worrying about making a gut shot he goes on to tell us he can hit a quater at 200 yards and hit a 1 inch target at 75 yards which are both load of BS. I see right through it. One minute you are worrying about gut shots then you are a sharpshooter.

To clairfy, I never said it is wrong to take a neck shot and one should be cautious in taking such a low %age shot. It just isn' t my style is all.

I' ve only shot one deer in the neck. Dropped him in his tracks and he was dead as a hammer.

Normally I aim for the shoulder.