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Posted: 11/15/2018 7:35:15 PM EDT
[#1]
Aim for body vital. Deer can move their head in a second and now where is you shoot flying to?
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Posted: 11/15/2018 7:43:35 PM EDT
[#2]
IMHO head shots are risky unless you are really close. Miss and blow the lower jaw off and that animal is going to die a slow painful death. Your objective it to kill humanely and quick.
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Posted: 11/15/2018 7:51:43 PM EDT
[#3]
I had a deer Sunday flinch and drop her head as I pulled the trigger, hit her in the tip of the lower jaw instead of the heart. I had to stalk and shoot her twice with my 44 model 69 after she turned to run. Had I not finished her she would have died horribly in the next few days or weeks if starvation
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Posted: 11/15/2018 7:52:58 PM EDT
[#4]
For a 22 no, for 308 yes.
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Posted: 11/15/2018 8:24:48 PM EDT
[#5]
Gotcha. Any good to go 308 recommends? Or will pretty much anything soft point/ hollow point do the trick?
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Posted: 11/15/2018 8:45:55 PM EDT
[#6]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Gotcha. Any good to go 308 recommends? Or will pretty much anything soft point/ hollow point do the trick? |
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Posted: 11/15/2018 8:48:46 PM EDT
[#7]
I prefer to shoot them right where the neck and front shoulder meet. A lot less chasing.
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Posted: 11/15/2018 9:04:03 PM EDT
[#8]
Federal fusion or Remington Core-Lokt, in the lungs. You may not have but split second. Take the first good shot you have. Or read this and pick your brand: 308
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Posted: 11/15/2018 10:43:35 PM EDT
[#9]
Too much of a chance that the deer will move their head and you could end up blowing the jaw off which will lead to a slow painful death.
Go for a heart/lung, neck base/shoulder shot. |
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Posted: 11/15/2018 11:16:51 PM EDT
[#10]
if they're close enough, I aim for the head every time
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Posted: 11/16/2018 3:35:51 AM EDT
[#11]
Quoted:
Now i know this sounds ignorant as crap. But seriously. Im NOT a trophy hunter. I understand why you would not want to shoot a large rack buck in the head. Im a "fill the freezer/eat what I kill" hunter. That being said I want to be as humane as possible. Any reason one would not want to go for a head shot? I figure less chance or ruining meat, and no chance of running/bleeding out. Click, bang, lights out, done. Btw I'm hunting with a sub 1in suppressed 308 w/viper pst gen 2 3x15 so I firearm accuracy isn't an issue IF I can hold my shit together. Ps. Recommended 308 deer ammo? Price not a factor. Pps. Do 308ar mags (sr-25 style) come in 10 rounders? MagPull does make a 10 rd mag. CD |
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Posted: 11/16/2018 3:53:23 AM EDT
[#12]
I've heard of alot guys that using some of the lighter bullets (155 Amax, 110 Amax, Varmin Grenade, etc) taking NECK shots on deer. With something that violently frags, I guess a neck shot is pretty much going to DRT the deer on the spot, keep the antlers intact, and not damage any valuable meat - anywhere near the spine and the cavitation hits CNS and anything up front is going to wreck the trachea/arteries.
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Posted: 11/16/2018 3:58:12 AM EDT
[#13]
Bad idea. Animals have quick head movements. Too risky. Focus on double lung shots if you can. I shot a deer in the neck once. Ran 200 yards through shit so thick you couldn’t fall down and hit the ground. I also stopped heart shots. Lungs can process enough o2 to keep running too far.
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Posted: 11/16/2018 5:34:38 AM EDT
[#14]
Headshots are tough animals move their heads often and quickly, If you miss you can do a lot of damage that will kill them slowly. I good double lung, front shoulder, heart is you best bet. I double lunged a 8 point buck this year, he walked 10 yds and fell over, not even a twitch after he fell over. Last year I double lunged a doe, she ran about 30 yds, left a blood trail the width of a sidewalk the whole way, when she fell she had lost all of her blood, one kick and she was dead.
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Posted: 11/21/2018 12:59:59 PM EDT
[#15]
It's just too risky. Hitting a bullseye at 100 yards and hitting a deer in the head at 100 yards in the woods are entirely different scenarios. You can't account for weird shooting positions, deer movement, possibility of a stick being in the way, etc in the woods. Take a shot for the lungs or a high shoulder shot.
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Posted: 11/21/2018 10:28:50 PM EDT
[#16]
Bad idea..I have done it on a moose...but it was the last straw on the last day of season after 4 hours of waiting for this bull to stand up and give a shot, hidden in some scrub trees and alder..head only thing visible, and no way he is moving until dark...Range was 200 yards..laying prone with my 300rum...
It worked, but I still think it is a shot to avoid if there is anyway possible to do it different...Just way too much movement in the head to count on getting a perfect hit.. This guy..  Attached File |
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Posted: 11/21/2018 10:36:28 PM EDT
[#17]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
IMHO head shots are risky unless you are really close. Miss and blow the lower jaw off and that animal is going to die a slow painful death. Your objective it to kill humanely and quick. |
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Posted: 11/22/2018 10:24:46 AM EDT
[#18]
I head shot my deer on monday. It was only 39 yards from my blind to the deer. I waited until it was calm then I blew a whistled and she froze still giving me time to take my shot. Bulket entered just below the right eye and exited below the left ear. Immediately dropped dead. Everything inside the skull was destroyed. No adrenaline or hormone dump so meat had no funky smell. I used my AR loser with Speer Gold Dot 64 gr.
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Posted: 11/22/2018 10:35:00 AM EDT
[#19]
Neck shot is way better, skip the head shots
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Posted: 11/22/2018 10:44:01 AM EDT
[#20]
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Posted: 11/22/2018 10:56:54 AM EDT
[#21]
.02
Head shot=Hero or Zero Neck shot=good shooter + Experience Body shot= decent shooter, good shooter + experience Body shot outside pie plate= mediocre shooter + comfortable footwear & Friends My experience is that if the good angle neck shot (base of neck area to half way up) presents itself. That is the one to take. There will be no tracking. Or dam little. If the angle is off or sick’s, Grass, visibility...then the Accepted body shot. If you are starting out. stick with the body shot ! High spine works well but you can still have issues. Head would only be for an excellent shooter, completely confident in ability @ range ? It is really easy to have a head shot not go all that well. |
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Posted: 11/22/2018 1:48:54 PM EDT
[#22]
If you can do it sure, but trying to hit a small moving target very difficult.
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Posted: 11/22/2018 2:09:24 PM EDT
[#23]
Neck shot is “lights out” because the hydrostatic shock snaps the spinal cord. Not a bad option.
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Posted: 11/23/2018 3:49:20 PM EDT
[#24]
I've found several deer over the years (public and private land) that had their jaw blown off by someone trying for a headshot. I had a relative that thought the neck shot was great with his .30-30. Unless he got a spinal shot, we always had to track his deer. I'm not a fan of head or neck shots. Just my opinion from 30 years in the deer woods.
Aim for the lower 1/3 of the chest cavity, about inline, or just behind, the front legs. As far as a load, I've been using Barnes 150 TTSX factory loads, or 130 TTSX hand loads for a decade now and have been very happy. You want to go at least one bullet weight lighter with the solid copper bullets. Hornady GMX loads might be worth a look as well. |
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Posted: 11/23/2018 3:56:44 PM EDT
[#25]
Depending on circumstances, I'm a big fan of a center of neck shot. 7mm mag breaks neck on impact, drops right there. Only under 100 yards though, otherwise I'll aim for the vitals/lungs
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Posted: 11/24/2018 1:31:55 AM EDT
[#26]
Vitals every time for me.
Plenty of room for error, double lung puts them down very quickly, and I don't have to worry about them moving that area of their body quickly like they can their head/neck. Plus...as a bow hunter, tracking deer doesn't scare me...especially when most don't even make it 50 yards when hit with a rifle in the chest. |
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Posted: 12/4/2018 11:28:54 PM EDT
[#27]
I “Kennedy”ed just a single deer in my life. Normally I’d never go for a head shot it’s just all the spooked deer offered me - his head and ass. I had a perfect rest, the deer was 45 yards away and I knew my bolt 30-06 was dead balls accurate. It was far less messy that I thought and I hit him directly between the eyes. It basically removed everything inside the cranium out of a hole in the back that was the size of a baseball. Upon the recoil of the gun all I saw was 4 hooves straight up and twitching. Too much can go wrong, again I had all the time in the world and a greasy solid rest. I typically aim high heart broadside shot
ETA great not greasy but that’s too funny to change |
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Posted: 12/5/2018 10:40:53 PM EDT
[#28]
Shot my first deer a couple of weeks ago in the upper middle section of the neck. He was looking straight at me so I guess it was a throat shot. He dropped right there. I will aim for the base of the neck from now on because of this thread.
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Posted: 12/5/2018 11:31:56 PM EDT
[#29]
Only head shots I have taken on deer were with 00 Buck. We get into some lottery hunts and it drops them dead.
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Posted: 12/6/2018 10:26:53 AM EDT
[#30]
Hit the vitals not head shots. This isn’t a damn sniper movie.
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Posted: 12/11/2018 4:45:15 PM EDT
[#31]
Unless you like to eat the heart and ribs (many do but most don't), then you are not wasting any meat with a boiler room shot unless you miss and hit a shoulder. But if you are worried about missing and hitting a shoulder, than you should not be confident enough to take a head shot. You mentioned "keeping your shit together". Well, your 1 moa rifle does not mean a lot if you are excited and have the adrenaline pumping. Fundamentals can go out the window.
I have never taken a head or neck shot. The only circumstance I can picture doing either is if the deer was directly below me, and I did not want to destroy the backstraps. I'd still probably go neck over head. |
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Posted: 12/11/2018 4:56:48 PM EDT
[#32]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Gotcha. Any good to go 308 recommends? Or will pretty much anything soft point/ hollow point do the trick? |
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Posted: 12/11/2018 10:13:17 PM EDT
[#33]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
It's just too risky. Hitting a bullseye at 100 yards and hitting a deer in the head at 100 yards in the woods are entirely different scenarios. You can't account for weird shooting positions, deer movement, possibility of a stick being in the way, etc in the woods. Take a shot for the lungs or a high shoulder shot. After I started, I realized it's pretty damn easy to miss one entirely. Shoot for the lungs. I only shoot the heads for finishing shots. |
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Posted: 12/11/2018 11:07:29 PM EDT
[#34]
I've been hunting for decades. I remember back years ago I put a couple down with head shots. Their bodies were obstructed, but I had standing head shots. It was like flipping a switch. DRT.
For a while, some in my group were obsessed - thinking about the meat they'd save from damage with a head shot. But I know some in that group who tried head shots and missed - maiming the deer - having them run off without a lower jaw, nose, etc... I stopped hunting with those shit-birds, and went back to heart and lung shots. If I don't have a clean kill shot, I just don't shoot So I'd advise against the head shot. But YMMV |
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Posted: 12/11/2018 11:12:12 PM EDT
[#35]
Yes. Especially for prey animals. They tend to make erratic head movements.
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