neck shots

[huntsman]

Just interested to know what peoples view are on taking neckshots at deer from shooting sticks, say for the sake of it from ~100 yds. I personally am not in favour of this practice.

[Guest 308Panther]

I have dropped 2 deer with a neck shot on the farther side of 100 yrds.

My next to last buck from a rest on a fence thru the neck from 120 yrds.

And my next to last doe from 180yrds from a sitting position thru the neck.

The Buck with my Black Rifle

The Doe with my Win 70

Both are .308.

 

During an Ag Tag,I seen the Ol' Man drop a running nubby buck thru the neck offhand at 75 yrds

with a 20ga.

All 3 dropped in their tracks...

Ya gotta know the skeleton and how it moves under the muscles and go for the bones.

And they bleed out cleaner,faster too...meat loss is minimal.

If I got a clean neck shot over a frontal portion body shot....I ll take it.

Drops them now.

 

 

308Panther

[Andrew]

To me, neck shots are risky business. I prefer imagining a basketball (or soccer ball) between the front legs and aiming for the center of it no matter what the angle. It never fails. ~Andrew

[Ronin]

Huntsman,

 

I don't take neck shots off sticks, certainly not at 100 yards - too risky (IMHO)

 

If I have a steady stable postition from a bipod, or similar, I will shoot in the neck, but then only if the animal is presented face on or rear on (so the spine is veritcal) - less margin for error that way.

[huntsman]

Ronin,

 

I would have to agree with your approach although I hadn't really considered the "vertical" as an option. It was just that this weekend a friend had one go badly wrong, it took hours of tracking before we found it. It was a good lesson for us all and highlighted how Tits up things can go when the basic rules are relaxed.

 

Dave

[Redfox]

I agree neck shots unless well settled on a bipod or rest and at shorter raange, are plain irresponsible, the animal can easily turn its head moving the "target area " before the bullet arrives after you start to squeeze the trigger. It's happened many times and the result is a wounded animal which takes days or weeks to die, head shots even more so.

Also unless you are able to recover and bleed the carcase quickly it spoils the meat too, the massive blood loss into the chest cavity on a heart lung shot ensures quick and effective blood loss from the meat, head and neck shots do not unless you manage to hit the carotid artery in the neck.

The value of any recovered meat in the heart lung area is pretty well nil, so why go for risky shots anyway, fools gold to boast about is all it is.

Redfox

[millpool]

I agree neck shots unless well settled on a bipod or rest and at shorter raange, are plain irresponsible, the animal can easily turn its head moving the "target area " before the bullet arrives after you start to squeeze the trigger. It's happened many times and the result is a wounded animal which takes days or weeks to die, head shots even more so.

Also unless you are able to recover and bleed the carcase quickly it spoils the meat too, the massive blood loss into the chest cavity on a heart lung shot ensures quick and effective blood loss from the meat, head and neck shots do not unless you manage to hit the carotid artery in the neck.

The value of any recovered meat in the heart lung area is pretty well nil, so why go for risky shots anyway, fools gold to boast about is all it is.

Redfox

 

 

 

spot on redfox

[Guest 308Panther]

They are no more riskier than any other shot.

My last Buck was a feeding heart shot...almost straight on

When he picked his head up,I tickled the trigger...from 35 ft

with a .308,and he still managed to stay on his feet and ran

over the next ridge for a distance over 250 yrds.

Only reason I went for the heart was to save the Head/Neck to

make a better mount....Now that I know what my taxidermist can

do....I ll still take a neck shot.

 

If your goin for the heart/lung shot on a broadside deer and it decides to

take a step as you pull where is the bullet gonna go....in the gut.

Now ya do have spoiled meat,The best ya can hope is to have gotten a part of the liver

so it will hemorage out and die quicker.

 

308Panther

[Bambi-basher]

I am not a fan of neck shots, I have used them but a heart lung shot is my prefer method. Of those who neck shoot deer how many still have a eye reflex action when you approach them? Some people get the idea that you don’t get wounded deer with neck shots but as you found out Huntsman that is not the case.

 

Best rgds

 

B-b

[Jager SA]

Solid rest, be it bipod or stick is the only way I have taken neck shots. It isnt a good method by any means, theres to much to chance for the sake of some meat damage. The head is on the twitch all the time looking for danger, put it in the engine room and it wont go far if anywhere.

 

The one neck shot you take that goes wrong will be with you for a long time to come.

 

Kill em clean they deserve it.

[Guest vim]

;

[huntsman]

Another point which could made, how come game dealers etc. are allowed to encourage this practice of head/neck shots? I don't shoot enough deer for it to an issue, but those that do seem to be penalised for taking chest shots !!

 

dave

[Jager SA]

I would say that the head/neck shot at distances mentioned off sticks is NOT for the begginer, Novice or pretender`s. Yes they can go wrong even for the seasoned campaigner of Deer management and just like out Panther mentions so can broadside shots.

I recall a guy who shot a large stag with a 270 cal at approximatly 120 yards prone off a bipod through the shoulder expecting a dead on the spot through the heart shot but unfortunatly it ran and was dispatched a couple of hours later.

Months before i had taken a reverse shot by that i mean i was in the position of the Stag and the Deer was in the position of the guy prone on the bipod. I was shooting off sticks i hit the Deer in the neck and it ran 100 plus yards and died.

So there you have a senario off two different types of shot and both resulted in a Runner which obviously is fatal with failing light and no dog. Luckily both these instances were the start of the morning and a dog available.

If your a confident experience rifleman like one`s self then neck shot off stick up to 150 yards is`nt a problem. Im sure some of the bisexual target boy`s will confirm that its a different type of disapline hunting/shooting accuratly off sticks..

 

 

Nobody would question your scenarios Vim but I do think that the neck shot has far more dyer consequences in the form of jaws/noses hanging off etc. The body shots are far more effective IMO and should be taken in favour of the neck shot all the time.

[325WSM]

Everyone to their own.

I shoot Fallow and generally I always take a neck shot unless I try for Doe and Fawn or 3 or 4 out of a group and then the first one or two are always necked and the others chested. Every shot has individual circumstances but for me a rear neck shot is my preference.

 

Muntjac are ALWAYS neck shot or left for another day - no exceptions and I cannot remember the last one that wasnt dead on the spot.

[ejg223]

My rule is, no rule

The animal gets shot as the situation dictates.

On one occasion I head shot a calf at 273yds,

but walked away several times from shots under 200yds

because I couldn't find a decent rest.

 

edi

[Andrew]

I know that terrain influences shots as well, but as a rule, animals with no lungs or heart don't travel far. The only deer I remember shooting purposely in the neck was my first deer with a handgun. I shot her through the lungs and she went down. When I was about 10 yards off she picked up her head as if she was going to roll onto her feet and I placed a shot in the neck which kept her down.

 

I have a buddy who's a Game Ranger on a large indian reservation in South Dakota. He had shot some cow buffalo (culls) and got interrupted by a large herd bull that had returned from the scattered herd, drawn by the smell of the blood. (It drives them a bit crazy. I saw this first hand) My friend was gutting a large cow and the bull just got more aggressive with each pass he made at the corpse. Finally he got too close and my ranger friend drew his 357 Magnum and shot the bull in the neck. It swooned backwards and spiraled to the ground; at which point he emptied the last 5 shots in his revolver into the lungs and went back to dressing out the cow. He says that his first shot on bison is always a neck shot if he can do -it but he always tells hunters to take the heart-lung shot. ~Andrew

[Guest Rapid]

My rule is, no rule

The animal gets shot as the situation dictates.

 

I'm with you on this one Edi.

 

Neck shots on big woodland reds at 100m+ compared to CWD or Muntjac at the same ranges. Chalk and cheese.

 

The only rule I always follow is "Use enough gun!".

[17 Rem]

If you're confident of a clean kill, what's the problem?

[Redfox]

Most people are very confident then they F$%k up and blow a lump out of its neck. Animals, particularly deer can move far faster than we can and even at 100 yds it can move enough before the bullet arrives to make a good shot a bad one, in the heart lung area the chances of that happening are a great deal more in your favour, because of the greater target area. I've seen very good shooters, miss and make a mess on neck shots, for just the reason above, there is nothing of meat value in the chest anyway.

Redfox

[17 Rem]

Refox,

I find your post very judgemental.

Neck shots aren't for everyone. Sometimes, they ARE suitable for me to take. Other times they're not. I never take one I'm not 100% sure of and have never cocked one up.

If a safe, steady neck shot at sensible range is the only one available, I'll take it every time. Some of my ground has extensive areas which are covered by extremely long grass and neck shots are usually the only shots possible there.

If you personally are not confident in taking neck shots, then don't take them. But don't condemn everyone whose abilities are different to yours.

[huntsman]

Hi 17 rem,

 

I don't think the point is to compare ability. The point I started out with this post was to see what people considered to be "best pactice". Your 100% record and judgement is to be commended.

But my friend who is an exceptional shot and experienced hunter, screwed up a neck shot at the weekend.

The thing is that the more we do something the more confident we become in our ability, we take short cuts or a slight chance then it goes arse ways, wth unacceptable results. Why add further risk? I personally would rather pass up the oppertunity than take a neck shot in future. They will still be there tomorrow!

 

All the best

dave

[Guest 308Panther]

The thing is that the more we do something the more confident we become in our ability, we take short cuts or a slight chance then it goes arse ways, wth unacceptable results.

dave

 

Very true....And there is always that.

That would be why I take an extra split second to run thru the mental list of...

Clean background?

Gun loaded?

Safety on/off?

Do you really need/want to take this animals life?

By the time I am lookin thru the scope I have already zoned in...

I mean nothin else matters but the cleanest shot I can take.

Its hard to explain but where to place the crosshairs has already been decided by the time

I lift the gun....Terrain has some influence.As the valley is long grass...The hills are a differant story.

Thick hardwoods....So many times its no shot in the hills.....Branches,trees and yes even other deer get in the way over the one I have chosen.In the area I hunt its Earn a Buck.

That means I have to drop a Doe before I drop a Buck,

If I have to be careful as to wich sex I can shoot at first....You can bet I am gonna do the best I can to make sure its dropped clean.

A runner doe isnt gonna earn me a buck tag....and Bucks cant be hung from the wall if they keep runnin and drop dead on the next guys land....

If your not aware of it I am in the States...and we do have a differant set of rules to play by....

If it drops dead on the next guys land....its the next guys deer.It dont matter who shot it....

 

308Panther

[Redfox]

17 rem it is judgemental in that any animal deserves to die quickly / humanely and is not there to feed someones ego.

I have taken neck shots in the past and been fortunate enough not to have a cockup, but no one is perfect and the inevitable result of risky shots is eventually it goes wrong, so I dont do it as a matter of course. As Huntsman pointed out we are talking best practice here and neck shots are by default not that but a sometimes necessary thing.

Redfox

[325WSM]

Head shots - neck shots - body shots - heart shots - shots up the ???? all have problems.

 

I have seen more wounded animals and spent far more time chasing up wounded deer when folk use the 'large target' to shoot deer and that is also often when a 243 is used. I now tend never to take folk out with a 243 and always expect ability to shoot 1" group[s at 100yds in the field.

 

Even this expectation can easily be compromised.

Yesterday a friend (6.5mm) took a Pricket at 130ish yards - neck shot and dead on the spot.

Later taking an easier shoulder shot found the bullet MUST have glanced off the bone leaving a deer that has seemingly a broken leg but without a fatal wound. It jumped shook its legs and high tailed it into the wood at great speed. I don't doubt the shot was placed exactly where it was intended to be but a deer angled away from the rifle allowed one of those unexpected occurrences that left a wounded animal. Worse still, after considerable searching it still wasn't found. I watched the shot and the animals behaviour from a distance and am convinced it was not in any way fatally wounded but will no doubt die in due course from its injuries. I trust it will be found in the coming few days and can be quickly dealt with but despite a prolonged search again today was undiscovered..

 

If a neck shot had been taken I do not doubt it would also be hanging in the larder along with another 2 or 3 we didn't shoot because we were searching for the unfortunate. In this instance a neck shot was less satisfactory due to the backstop of an elevated shot.

 

Let no one criticize those that choose to shoot differently to themselves unless they can justifiably say they do so inhumanely.

[Guest Manton]

I have never been an advocate of neck shooting. Those that do, do so for their own reasons which I respect but don't agree with.

Small margins of error and unpredictable movements all conspire to make neck shooting a dubious practice. The only mitigating factor being if you are under pressure to achieve cull figures and circumstances dictate that you take the shot presented and are more than capable of achieving the necessary result. Slightly contridictory I know but life is full of contradictions and difficult decisions.