You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
So I shot my first deer with my 25-06, didn’t happen like I expected...
- Thread starter mccraggen
- Start date
stephen426 -
If you neck shoot a deer that hits the spinal column...there's a chance that it'll paralyze the critter. Shoot it again in the same bullet entrance hole too finish him off: The second bullet will possibly have no effect on the deer's mortality.
It's a sad hunting event...when I have to finish off a deer or other critter, that's been paralyzed from a GSW (gun shot wound) or a hunting arrow.
There's a chance that a neck shot will only hit the windpipe or just neck meat, thus bringing the possibility of a long tracking job.
If you plan to have the deer head & shoulder mounted...the taxidermist might need to possibly sew up the bullet hole.
If you neck shoot a deer that hits the spinal column...there's a chance that it'll paralyze the critter. Shoot it again in the same bullet entrance hole too finish him off: The second bullet will possibly have no effect on the deer's mortality.
It's a sad hunting event...when I have to finish off a deer or other critter, that's been paralyzed from a GSW (gun shot wound) or a hunting arrow.
There's a chance that a neck shot will only hit the windpipe or just neck meat, thus bringing the possibility of a long tracking job.
If you plan to have the deer head & shoulder mounted...the taxidermist might need to possibly sew up the bullet hole.
First deer I shot that ran ran 50 yards, I threw another shot at him, missed. He folded up on the run dead. The bullet had literally blown up his heart. This was with a .243 but I've also had them run with the .270 but they do fall down faster as a rule. I like a lung shot better than heart. Thru the shoulders will pretty much anchor them if you need to. They usually go down within 25 yards or so but don't be surprised when the run when shot thru the rib cage(boilerworks as an old hunting partner called it).
Double Naught Spy
New member
There's a chance that a neck shot will only hit the windpipe or just neck meat, thus bringing the possibility of a long tracking job.
On hogs, people like to make "behind the ear" shots. Unfortunately, behind the ear sometimes translates into "above the spine and hitting nothing but skin and muscle." Over the years, I have shot two hogs that had healed/mostly healed behind the ear shots. I have also managed to lose and seen lost hogs with "behind the ear shots."
Now when I make such a shot, I prefer the animal to be quartered such that the bullet enters behind the ear and then travels either into the the head or into the chest, that way if there is no direct spine involvement, there is secondary CNS brain damage or boilerroom chest damage.
stephen426
New member
Erno86 said:If you neck shoot a deer that hits the spinal column...there's a chance that it'll paralyze the critter. Shoot it again in the same bullet entrance hole too finish him off: The second bullet will possibly have no effect on the deer's mortality.
It's a sad hunting event...when I have to finish off a deer or other critter, that's been paralyzed from a GSW (gun shot wound) or a hunting arrow.
There's a chance that a neck shot will only hit the windpipe or just neck meat, thus bringing the possibility of a long tracking job.
If you plan to have the deer head & shoulder mounted...the taxidermist might need to possibly sew up the bullet hole.
I don't really see a difference in having to finish off a paralyzed deer versus having shot it in the first place and having it run a couple of hundred yards. I'm sure is still feels pain as it is running and bleeding out. If you are concerned about pain and suffering, a CNS shot (brain) is the only one to take, yet most hunters won't due to the small target.
My thought was the neck isn't that large an area and a well placed shot will likely cause some major damage to major blood vessels or the spine. Penetration is also much less of a concern. I haven't hunted deer before so I guess it's all speculation on my part. The only hunting I've done is for duck.
Brian Pfleuger
Moderator Emeritus
My dad has a history of attempting the neck shot, with varied success. In general, I see it as much more risky in terms of miss/wound than a "vital zone" aim point. It's hard to say what happened exactly with a wounded animal, since by definition we don't have the animal to see where exactly we hit it, but I have seen a few go unrecovered with neck aim points.
It also does not consistently result in "instant" incapacitation. I agree, it seems like it should, but it doesn't. Even with .30-06 and 12ga slugs I've seen deer run a fair bit on neck shots. *Graphic description to follow* One in particular, I have never seen such bloody carnage. There was literally blood for several yards on both sides of the deer's path, for a solid 40-50 yards after the shot, we could even see where it bounded because the blood would be 6-8 feet up the side of trees. This wasn't simple "spatter", it looked like somebody hung gallons of red paint and shot them with 12ga slugs. Where the deer died, it was in a small depression and looked almost to be floating in a pool of blood.... yet it had managed to go 50+ yards after the shot.
Having seen the aftermath from at least a dozen or so cartridges, using several dozen different bullet options on at least a few hundred deer, and having seen impact points ranging from literally nose to tail and 90-180 degrees, I can tell you that my personal experience indicates that the high-shoulder shot is the 1st or 2nd easiest to make (arguably, 2nd to straight vital zone), plenty easy enough for any competent shooter, ruins less meat on average than any other reliable aim point (I do not consider head to be reliable) and has the best success rate of any spot I've seen.
I've never seen a deer hit with that aim point escape. Yes, it can get ugly, if mistakes are made, but they don't escape. Whereas a low shot with a vital aim point can sometimes hit only leg, a low shot with high-shoulder aim hits... the vital zone. A high shot that hits anything at all almost always (always in my experience but I acknowledge the possibility of not) damages the spine and allows for a kill, and a shot that goes left or right also almost always (same disclaimer) hits spine and/or vitals and so results in a kill.
It also does not consistently result in "instant" incapacitation. I agree, it seems like it should, but it doesn't. Even with .30-06 and 12ga slugs I've seen deer run a fair bit on neck shots. *Graphic description to follow* One in particular, I have never seen such bloody carnage. There was literally blood for several yards on both sides of the deer's path, for a solid 40-50 yards after the shot, we could even see where it bounded because the blood would be 6-8 feet up the side of trees. This wasn't simple "spatter", it looked like somebody hung gallons of red paint and shot them with 12ga slugs. Where the deer died, it was in a small depression and looked almost to be floating in a pool of blood.... yet it had managed to go 50+ yards after the shot.
Having seen the aftermath from at least a dozen or so cartridges, using several dozen different bullet options on at least a few hundred deer, and having seen impact points ranging from literally nose to tail and 90-180 degrees, I can tell you that my personal experience indicates that the high-shoulder shot is the 1st or 2nd easiest to make (arguably, 2nd to straight vital zone), plenty easy enough for any competent shooter, ruins less meat on average than any other reliable aim point (I do not consider head to be reliable) and has the best success rate of any spot I've seen.
I've never seen a deer hit with that aim point escape. Yes, it can get ugly, if mistakes are made, but they don't escape. Whereas a low shot with a vital aim point can sometimes hit only leg, a low shot with high-shoulder aim hits... the vital zone. A high shot that hits anything at all almost always (always in my experience but I acknowledge the possibility of not) damages the spine and allows for a kill, and a shot that goes left or right also almost always (same disclaimer) hits spine and/or vitals and so results in a kill.
As you can see from the picture above, I will use a neck shot when there is a reason. I have always been a good shot, so I usually hit what I want to, but I hold fire if I don't feel completely sure of my shot. I have to have a reason to take a neck shot.
As I said, this antelope "busted me" and saw me before I could close with it. I didn't get to the place I wanted to shoot from. But shooting from a low prone, I was solid, so I took the shot. I thought I could get a shot from about 50 yards but I was seen a long way away from the place I was trying to crawl to.
I usually shoot through the lungs if I can. I like to hit the high lung area on all my shots if I have that option. With an expanding bullet that will go clear through and exit, I have never lost an animal with that hit and I don't think I ever will, because nothing goes very far when it has no lungs to use.
In this case, the neck and head were the only things showing over the crest of the gully, so I took the shot. I got lucky I guess.
As I said, this antelope "busted me" and saw me before I could close with it. I didn't get to the place I wanted to shoot from. But shooting from a low prone, I was solid, so I took the shot. I thought I could get a shot from about 50 yards but I was seen a long way away from the place I was trying to crawl to.
I usually shoot through the lungs if I can. I like to hit the high lung area on all my shots if I have that option. With an expanding bullet that will go clear through and exit, I have never lost an animal with that hit and I don't think I ever will, because nothing goes very far when it has no lungs to use.
In this case, the neck and head were the only things showing over the crest of the gully, so I took the shot. I got lucky I guess.
Brian Pfleuger
Moderator Emeritus
I don't think it's a matter of luck. You're certainly a competent shooter (probably well better) and an experienced hunter. The rules, or at the very least the suggestions, are different for folks like you.
Truth is, you don't need suggestions, or explaining to why something happened or what will likely happen with a certain shot... you've seen it.
You don't ask the question, because you already know... but the folks who DO ask are going to be less experienced, less knowledgeable (hence why they ask) and (likely) not as skilled shooters. The advice I give them is different than what you or I might do in the field.
Truth is, you don't need suggestions, or explaining to why something happened or what will likely happen with a certain shot... you've seen it.
You don't ask the question, because you already know... but the folks who DO ask are going to be less experienced, less knowledgeable (hence why they ask) and (likely) not as skilled shooters. The advice I give them is different than what you or I might do in the field.
Took the heart completely out, fist sized exit wound. It ran for over 150 yards,
Heart shot a big buck with a 150 grain .308 Winchester at about 50 yards. Deer turned and ran/stumbled 175 yards down a steep gully. i regretted shooting that deer numerous times before getting him out of that gully.
Don Fischer
New member
Something I found interesting with my 25-06. 100gr Hornady into the chest cavity and light's on right there. Lots of damage inside. Switched to 117gr Hornady and with the same shot, most deer would walk off 15 or 20 feet and lie down dead. Not near the damage in the deer. I shot a porcupine with that 100gr bullet and it blew up like a water melon!