Head Shots on Deer?

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I understand the argument some are making about gut shot deer and new hunters with ultra mags and no practice, but it is a strawman.

You are tyring to justify a small jumpy target because some can't hit a larger one. Makes no sense.
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Double Naught makes a good point, the same one I made. If you're a good shot, you know when to pass up a shot. If you're a bad shot, any shot can be a crippler. The difficulty of hitting a target is relative to the distance. It's no harder to make a 50 yard head shot than a 150 yard heart/lung shot; a deer doesn't bob it's head like a chicken.

Plenty of deer die painfully from being gut shot, but the wound isn't ugly so it doesn't get the same sympathy.

I haven't tried the high neck shot; it's probably less likely to cripple if the angle is right for it. The ugly damage from a successful head shot is a reason that I may avoid it in the future. In my case, the deer had already been crippled, probably by another hunter.
 
I have never taken a head shot on a deer, but have shot high in the throat once when the deer was looking right at me. I prefer the heart lung shot behind the shoulder. I hunt on only 20 acres and haven't had to venture onto the neighbors land to retrieve my deer yet, and would like to keep it that way.
 
I've recovered gutshot deer by simply not tracking bloodtrail till the next morning(or many hours later) cause , as a rule, the deer will only run till it feels secure. It then beds down and if not pressed will usually expire right there.

I've never tracked a deer with say its lower jaw shot off. How much blood- trail would there be and would the deer bed down as if it were gutshot?
 
I understand the argument some are making about gut shot deer and new hunters with ultra mags and no practice, but it is a strawman.

You are tyring to justify a small jumpy target because some can't hit a larger one. Makes no sense.
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Maybe your deer drink too much caffeine or maybe you haven't patiently waited for a head shot.

You have misinterpreted my argument. My argument is about taking shots that should not be taken. It isn't about folks who can't hit a big target. You know, some of those poorly placed "head shots" being claimed as head shots weren't even head shots when they were taken. They were neck, chest, or shoulder shots...just like that little girl in the youtube vid above who shot her deer in the leg. She wasn't making a leg shot.

Some people should not be taking head shots. Some people should not be taking the shots they are taking even if they are skilled shooters. Some people should not be hunting at all. One should not be hunting and shooting beyond one's capabilities, the capabilities of the gear used, and the capabilities afforded by the situation. If you are going to be a humane, or ethical, or moral hunter (or whatever you want to call it), then you are going to know your bullet should be impacting at the distance of your target given the conditions at the time and you should be shooting for a part of your target that you know you can properly hit. People hate to admit it, but sometimes being a good hunter means NOT taking the shot, not being able to take a given animal because a proper shot isn't available.

How many times have you heard hunters say that they missed a shot or wounded an animal because...

the shot was rushed
they had buck fever and could not hold the rifle steady
the tree stand they were in was swaying too much in the wind
they were using an unsteady rest
the animal would not hold still
they were afraid the animal was going to get away
they had to shoot because it was the best buck they had seen this season

and so on.

How about those that shot at something they "thought" was their intended prey?

There may be times when a hunter has no business taking a head shot on a deer or other animal. There may be times when a hunter has no business taking a neck, chest, or shoulder shot. There are definitely times when a hunter should be taking no shot what-so-ever and whether or not a shot could and should be taken will come down to several factors. Location of the intended impact is one small aspect of whether or not a shot should be taken. That is my point.

http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/latest/lat_702243.shtml
(donkey mistaken for deer)
http://mainehuntingtoday.com/bbb/category/michigan-hunting-news/page/5/ (see 5 Dec 2007 about man who confused cow for a coyote)
http://www.rrstar.com/sports/columnists/x1792906123/26-deer-harvested-during-Rock-Cuts-annual-hunt
(horse mistaken for "really large buck")
http://www.bordermail.com.au/news/l...illed-mistaken-for-a-deer-police/1895028.aspx
http://guardian.co.tt/news/crime/2010/01/11/hunter-mistaken-deer-shot-dead-colleagues
http://law.rightpundits.com/?p=538
http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091028/NEWS/910280332
(Edward Taibi got excited and shot at a deer he had no business shooting at and shot into a home and killed a toddler and rec'd 2-8 years for it)
 
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People hate to admit it, but sometimes being a good hunter means not taking the shot, not being able to take a given animal because the shot isn't available.
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People hate to admit it, but all the time, being a good hunter means NOT taking the shot, not being able to take a given animal because the shot isn't available.

Fixed it for ya DNS. ;)

Should be the "Golden Rule" of every hunter!
 
There are hunters that wont take head shots but carry fast action guns semi autos, lever,pumps for fast follow up shots.If you cant drop um standin still what makes you think you can when they're runnin 30 mph.That makes no sense to me either.
 
on your side

I'm in your corner on this one as well, Todd. For all the reasons you state.

I have seen jawless and maimed deer. Plus, who wants to see a deer w/ its eyes bugged out and the antlers askew?



T
 
I believe you have stated an oxymoron. If a deer is standing and moving its head quite a bit, then it is not still.
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Point taken, but I think we are splitting hairs here on the definition of "standing still". I of course ment that even when a deer stops running or walking that it will often keep moving it's head. Perhaps that's the better way to say it.

If you're looking through a scope, you can tell the difference between a man starting at you, and a deer. Having part of the body covered doesn't make it hard to identify the target, or what's behind it.
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Ahhh, but not everyone hunts with a scoped firearm. And some hunt with very low powered scopes as well.
 
Maybe your deer drink too much caffeine or maybe you haven't patiently waited for a head shot.
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Actually, I have shot one in the head. We were on Anticosti Island a few years ago because some of the guys that hunt with me in Montana wanted us to go. Lot of goings on to kill a deer when I can kill a bigger one in my back yard. I had decided not to kill a deer,but one of the other hunters convinced that they taste better than N.C. deer asking me to kill one for him as he had filled his tags. The guide deciding that my hunting partner and I weren't going to shoot anything was already wearing his street clothes and knowing the boss would get on him if he didn't do the work he asked that I shoot the deer in the head. Having a good rest I shot the deer in the left eye at about 75 yards thinking it was a more precise target.

One thing for sure, he didn't have to worry about getting any blood on him.

I still don't like it. Good discussion though.
 
I've taken deer from as close as 15-20 feet and I always aim for the torso particularly the heart and lung area. Thats the way I was taught to do it. A head shot in my opinion would be too risky especially from a distance. My initial concern would be wounding the animal and not killing it. You could argue that a head shot gets them every time but I think we all know better.
 
You don't have to take them.
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I won't. It is just a matter of time before the subliminal connection you think you have with deer head movement fails and you will be scratching yours trying to fugure out where he went and what kind of mess you made.
 
It is just a matter of time before the subliminal connection you think you have with deer head movement fails and you will be scratching yours trying to fugure out where he went and what kind of mess you made.
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I know. Nobody likes to see a deer that does not have a pretty face. As humans, we identify with faces. It is in our psyche. A person with a mangled leg can still be physically beautiful but a person with a mangled face is almost never considered with such esteem. It is in the face that we most often visual identify people as individuals. It is the face that we perceive as being the visual representative of the person.

A messed up shot is a messed up shot, whether you shoot a nose off, a leg off, tear out a chunk of shoulder, or gut shoot it. Of course, gut shot deer still have pretty faces regardless how many hundreds of yards they run and hours or days they survive.
 
I don't seek out head shots but will take them if that is all I have. If a deer comes running across the side of a mountain and you can stop it by whistling or yelling, it almost always stops with something between it and the noise it heard. The good thing is I have seen them stand perfectly still for up to 20 minutes trying to locate the noise. Like the other poster said " it depends a lot on where you hunt ". One year I watched 3 buck feeding for over a half hour because the witch hazel trees screened there heads and I could not count points to see if they were legal. The complete bodies were perfectly clear, I just could not see the heads clearly. Last year I shot a doe with the back leg shot off(Fresh). The year before a late doe season buck that had shed already and had a bullet hole through the belly real low. No organs hit but about an inch of jelled blood in the cavity. I went to cut it up and had to throw it out, it was all poison in the back end. Over the years I and my friends have dropped "stumpies" both fresh and healed, gut shot, brisket shot, ass shot and you name it shot deer. Maybe you should preach to those people and leave the occasional head shot group alone.
Here is a question: You have a 4 point and an 10 point buck walk up to you. The 4 point is dragging all its guts on the ground from a hole in the belly. (Yes, already saw that) Which one do you shoot?(Only one buck tag)
 
I don't, but that's because if I'm not caping and mounting it then I clean it off, boil it and do a european or western style mount on a good round of stained hardwood thats engraved w/the month/day/year, location and rifle used. Some I have a photo attached to the backside or below. I do the same for family and friends. Although maybe one with a hole in it would look nice...I don't know why but I feel its disrespectful just like hanging deer from the neck. Not sure why, I've shot squirrels and snowshoe hare in the head, but for me whitetails are a different level.
 
Maybe you should preach to those people and leave the occasional head shot group alone.
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Assuming that is pointed at me the logic reminds me a little of the witch scene in Monty Python And The Holy Grail.
Why do you chose a smaller target? Because people miss a larger one.
 
Of course there is the problem of when people aim at big targets, they fail to aim precisely and so they aim big and sometimes they end up missing big. There is some real logic there, though few like to admit it.
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I agree. Whatever you decide your target area is and whether a bow or a rifle, pick a point you want to hit and follow through. If you just aim at the animal you won't like the results.
 
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