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Old December 7, 1999, 05:07 PM   #4
LoneStar
Senior Member
 
Join Date: March 10, 1999
Location: Houston, Texas USA
Posts: 259
I've found the best way to learn about shot placement is to grab a hunting magazine & sit down with an experienced hunter and discuss shot placement on all the pictures of game.

Here are the "Guidelines" that work for me:
on a "cake" shot, say under 75 yards, on a deer that is moving very slow, or still, the upper neck, just behind the ear is the way to go. The biggest benefit to this shot is it is an all or none deal. There is very little room to wound the deer. It will either drop like a stone, or run away. Both of these options are far superior to a wounding shot.

Quartering away, or broadside with head moving too much for a neck shot, I aim tight behind the near shoulder. Generally I try to take out the far shoulder. This puts the bullet in the lungs. It's been my experience that they'll run about 25-50 yards, but that's it.

I've had a few bad experiences with head shots. You MUST hit the brain, or the deer may run off. I've seen two deer run off with half their jaw/face gone. Definately not a pretty site, nor an ethical kill. One I shot, was finished up fairly quickly, but certainly wasn't something I was happy with. I haven't tried a head shot since.
The other was a fiasco. An older man we used to hunt with made a head shot, and thinking she was down, set his rifle down. As soon as he did, the deer miraculously jumped up & ran off. Dad & I tracked this deer for over a mile, jumped her up several times, until Dad finally took her down with a 150 yard running shot(the ol' man can't read a newspaper, unless it's out to his fingertips, but can still shoot the ears off a tick ). I have no doubt that she'd have gone a few more miles. That was certainly the worst successful track I've ever worked (obviously the unsuccesful tracking of a wounded animal are far worse)

Tracking Sucks! Pick your shots carefully and avoid it as much as you can.
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