Nosler Partition in the shoulder will drop an elk. I have several heavy bucks that never twitched with a 7Mag 160gr Nosler Part in the shoulder.

WHY DOES EVERYONE WANT TO BREAK THE SHOULDER?????!!!!!!!???????

The only thing you are doing is wasting meat, and the shoulder blade is very high in the animal.

The leg bone that you want to hit is only about a 1" target, maybe a little more.

A deer hit in the shoulder blade is not very pretty, trust me, about the top half of the shoulders will be destroyed and the animal WILL drop where it is, but suffers for a while, because only the tops of the lungs would have been hit also. I have been on hunts where this has happened, and it is a BIG mess!!

If you want to go through the leg bone just below the shoulder blade, keep in mind, you WILL have blood shot meat if you don't hit the bone. If you hit the bone, you will end up with blood shot meat AND bone fragments. Again more meat gets wasted!!

The best bet is to aim for the lung/heart/liver area. One shot here and the deer is dead and no meat is wasted.

With that in mind, I would use the Sierra Bullets for a chest shot. With a bullet that big, they will still have enough to penetrate through the shoulder if it is necessary. I have used only 165 grain Sierra Gamekings or Remington Core Lokts on Mule deer, and they penetrate completly through the chest of a deer with no problem. If they hit bone though, watch out, because they will fragment.

Thanks to all for your responses!!!!!!!

Charlie B, see my second post on pg1. I need to drop em in their tracks. If they make it off the logging road recovery would be extremely difficult at best, and at worst the animal could be lost.


muddydog, I certianly don't want to waste meat..... but especially don't want to loose the whole deer either. I've always taken behind the shoulder, heart/lung shots. Have never taken either the shoulder shot or the neck shot you described. Doesn't seem like you would waste much (if any) meat with the neck shot, but seems like shot placement would be a lot more critical.

Here is a pic of deer anatomy with X hairs on shoulder shot placement. If I'm reading you right, proper shot placement for a Neck shot would be directly to the right of the X hairs, right about where you see the first rib coming out of the spine. Is that correct?



I'm getting 3/4"CTC groups @100Yds and about 2-3"groups @200Yds (need more practice @ 200) so I'm quite confident, given the right circumstances, that I could make either the neck or shoulder shot.

I won't take a "too risky" shot though, and the mountain side clear cut is only one of the areas I'll be hunting. If the shoulder or neck shot's too risky (i.e. deer moving) or if I'm hunting an area where I'm not worried about loosing the deer off the side of the mountain, I'd prefer to take the old bread & butter "behind the shoulder" shot. Besides, although I do believe in making that first shot count, I am shooting a BAR and a quick follow up shot isn't out of the question.

firstshot

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OK first shot, if you feel that it is necessary to drop them where they stand, then that is what you must do. But still be aware that a shot to the shoulder blade MAY not kill the deer instantly. One time my boss hit a deer in the shoulder blade (unintentionally), which also broke the back, and the deer was still able to crawl through the brush a ways. He ended up walking up to it to slit the throat to kill it. On that deer, about the top half of both shoulders was wasted meat. A typical lung shot would have probably killed the deer quicker, and the deer probably would not have gone very far either. They were filled with bone fragments throughout, what a mess!!! If I were wanting an instant killer, it would be right into the neck as mentioned earlier.

I have shot a ton of deer with the Nosler Ballistic tip. The old ones were a bit fragil in Magnum calibers but the newer ones are much tougher and atre about perfect for deer regardless of the shot. I would however go with the Hornady 180 grain or the corelokt if I was for sure going to try shoulder shots. I do use head and neck shots as well if the angle is right and the range is not to long. The shoulder shot will put them down in a hurry with the 06 though. Good hunting.

firstshot if your aiming at bone of the 2 loads you mentioned the 165gr Partition would be an excellent choice. Other bullets like the bonded Barnes TSX, Nosler Accubond or Hornady Interbond would also work nicely. These bullets are all design to retain weight for heavy penetration but also offer expansion which means wound larger wound channel. Personally unless steady rest and within my range/skill I'd stick to the body shot vs a neck placement.

I have never tried the neck shot but it looks like i might start trying them. Ill use a pic i took myself to try and see if i was shooting at this particular buck .. where i would put it.

Fireblade545

Great picture! Where was it taken? Kind of looks like the west Texas hill country.

Based on muddydog's description, looks like you've got the spot in the right place.

muddydog Is Fireblade545's shot placement about right?

firstshot

I'm convinced. Neck shot it is, but only if, as skeeter 7MM said, "steady rest and within my range" AND only in situations where I NEED a "bang/flop" shot. Such is the case on the mountain side clearcut logging roads. Otherwise, I'll stick with the classic behind the shoulder shot.

Seems to me that a neck shot would not require as "sturdy" a bullet as one might need for a shoulder shot. I've already mentioned the ProHunters & the Partitions that I'm currently working up loads for. Earlier this summer I worked up loads for the 180Grn Sierra Game Kings and 180Grn Nosler Ballistic Tips.

With the GK's, 3 shot groups are averageing .58"CTC @ 100Yds and the BT's are shooting about MOA. School's still out on the ProHunters & the Partitions.

Assuming that accuracy was equal, which of these four bullets do you think would be best for serving the dual purpose of taking EITHER a "neck shot" OR a behind the shoulder "heart/lung" shot?

180 Grn Sierra Game Kings

180 Grn Nosler Ballistic Tips

180 Grn Sierra Pro Hunters (flat base)

165 Grn Nosler Partition

Again, for reference purposes, caliber is 30-06 & all shots will be 200 Yds or less.

Thanks
firstshot