[Tackleberry1]

I've only ever shot 1 deer in the shoulder. This was 3 years ago on what turned out to be my last hunt with my father before he passed.

A white tail doe broke cover into the field we were watching. Her speed and pattern left no doubt she was being pursued by a HOT buck. Sure enough, he broke cover as well, 220 yards out, came straight at us for approx 20 to 30 yards, then took a hard left giving me a full side view.

Unfortunately he was still chasing the doe, doing that half/run half/gallop thing where they're literally bouncing forward, changing elevation by 24 to 30 inches each time there feet hit the ground.

The saving grace of this is that the neck, shoulder, and front legs are pretty much perpendicular taking elevation out of the equation so I put the cross hairs on the top of his shoulder and tracked him right through my trigger squeeze.

The round hit hard but did not take him off his feet, he scampered about 50 yards, stumbled back word until his hind quarters gave out and pointed his nose at the sky just before falling over dead.

The 150 gr. Remington Core Lock punched through near shoulder, took both lungs, and lodged in the far shoulder, stopped by bone, and still had 90% of it's mass intact.

TACK

[pakrat]

Just some FACTS.....


I have killed a lot of whitetails over the last 15 years with my 7mag from 5-300 yards. All but one were lung/heart. All but one folded like an ironing board. The one that didn't jumped straight up and was dead when he came down. No ruined meat on any of them. The other was a neck shot and she went belly up instantly.

I have personally seen a deer with bottom jaw dangling. Another had a broken hip. I killed that deer. Another with a broken tine, gut shot, and broken shoulder. Killed him too.

I guess my point is whatever shot you take.....make sure you can make it. Personally, I like double lung/heart. Never had em suffer and if you are off a bit with shot placement, the deer is still dead.

Rob

[edkemper]

Almost all the deer I've shot have been with my old Savage .222. I've never had to shoot twice and they've always dropped. Always between 40 and 60 yards. Broadside Chest, Neck and head shots.

I don't need a round that can go through. I love only having an entrance hole. An internal explosion.

[RangerHAAF]

My preferred shot area is the spine, shoulder blade and neck area. I used to aim for the heart-lung area but I prefer an instant knockdown rather than tracking for 60+ yards.

[Dearhunter]

Deer, elk, or bear, I have always placed my shot in the heart lung area. It makes a quick kill, plus it is more forgiving in placing your shot. If it does not take it down one the spot, it will not run far, and will leave on hell of a blood trail to follow.