kevin1

With enough gun and enough shooting ability I see no problem with it ,
a head shot will take a deer out quickly and humanely with minimal meat loss . It's not the sort of shot that everyone should attempt without a lot of practice though .

JagMagMan

Most head shooters don't need "enough gun," a BB to the head should be enough gun!
how do you practice a shot that the target is subject to move at any given time?
Again, how is this shot practiced?
Really, its not the sort of shot anyone should attempt!

El Gringo

Thanks everyone for the input. As I see it, a couple of very good points have been made:

1) Don't give the anti-gun groups any more ammo (excuse the pun) than they already have by taking ill-advised shots that might horribly wound an animal such that it dies a slow, agonizing death.

2) If you're really concerned about the potential loss of meat, but still want to assure a clean kill, a shot placed through the lungs will accomplish both goals. You might have to be attentive to the path the deer takes after the shot, especially one taken right at dark, but the animal will be dead within a few seconds in the great majority of cases.

El Gringo

James B

If I have a dead on accurate rifle and a dead sure rest then I will use the head or neck shot. With 22 centerfires it head shots or take a pass. or me that is. If they have room to run without getting away then I will usually go for the heart lung. I have seen deer run up to 200 yards or a bit more after being heart shot.

trophy hunter

i bet the heart shot deer that ran 200 or more yards was shot with, a 22 centerfire..
as for head shot why??? imo take a lung/heart shot and go get your deer!!
it makes no sense to take a head shot to save meat then(some people) just give the deer away to a buddy or friend.
i think the antis will love to go after us when they see the first deer with the jaw or nose blown off.
just my .02

JONES 1969

Head shots save meat but give little margin for error on the shot.

skeeter 7MM

The head/neck shot is a small target and in a deer is also the one that moves the most or quickest without notice..thus making the margin of error even smaller. Having been witness to botched head and neck shot is just simply one I will not consider even though my ability or weapon may dictate it as a possibilty. If you take out the lungs, you have taken out the ability to breath/live and this is a dead animal for sure! The lungs put blood on the dirt so tracking should be a non-issue.

I am not sure where we started to go the way of needing instant gradification of an animal dropping on the spot in hunting. Is it video's, more hunting pressure, less hunting lands, lazy, loss of woodsman skills, etc??? A deer that must be dragged 100 yards out of the ruhbarb is not a huge feat for most hunters but some make it to be! I guess maybe it is because I hunt bigger game, where even dropping them within a short distance is a daunting task where the animal can weigh as much as 1000lbs, so much so even a large 300 lbs buck making 100 yards scamper seems pretty meager to me.

The little extra loss of meat of a lung shot is eqaully no excuse IMO.

If the deer or any game doesn't give me a vital region shot I let them walk and say thanks for the opportunity, personally this is just part of hunting to me and I can go home with a clear mind that I made the right choice.

TURKEY FAN

ya know. i have never thought about shooting a deer in the head. It just never came to mind. I shot my 9pt in the head by accident and dropped him and didnt cause any damage to his magnificent rack so i was fortunate. I would rather shoot at something bigger than somthing smaller, but thats just me. If you kill a deer sufficiently and humane, then i guess there is nothing wrong with that. Either way you choose to hunt or shoot your game, there is always going to be a loss of a deer or turkey or whatever, that just comes with the territory. People sometimes make bad choices to others expense meaning the animals per-say. All hunters loose game once in awhile, weather it be a bad shot in the side of the deer or the side of a deer's head. Its our job to try to prevent these loses from happening, if you can kill a deer 100yds away with a shot throught the eye, more power to ya.

DUCKSTAMPEDE

Never gave it a thought-was taught that lung/heart was best chance for a sure kill and that no shot should be taken on a whim or when you aren't 99% sure of a kill-too much respect for the animal to do it any other way and way too unlucky to try a head shot.

zrexpilot

how does one accidentaly shoot a deer in the head ? ( shaking my head)