what about neck shots?

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reloader28

New member
Neck shots are all I do out to 300 hundred or so yards. Alot of hunters around here do.

Contrary to popular belief, you do not have to break the spine. I've shot MANY deer that way and and a couple elk and have never lost one. Just aim for the middle and it will drop instantly. Especially with 30-06 (my favorite). My daughter shot a 290lb mule deer buck in the nack at over 300yds with a 243 and SST's and it was an inst-drop.

The hunters with bad results may have made a bad bullet choice. There is also a misbelief that you need a 300mag for deer and 338 or bigger for elk. Those guys just need to learn to put the bullet where it sposed to be or stay home. Thats just my opinion.
 
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Big Pard

New member
The biggest factor of determining whether or not to try a head/neck shot is how accurately that person can shoot a their weapon. Also, shot distance, how the animal is standing, and whether or not the animal is moving determines if a head/neck shot is advisable. The heart/lung area allows a certain margin of error so that's why its so popular.
 
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Gunplummer

New member
For all the nay-sayers of head and neck shots that found wounded and dead deer. I have news for you. Most of those hunters were aiming for the heart/lung area!
 
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shortwave

New member
For all the nay-sayers of head and neck shots that found wounded and dead deer. I have news for you. Most of those hunters were aiming for the heart/lung area!
Click to expand...

I think you'll look long and hard for evidence to back that statement up.

The head is a mighty long way from a heart and lung shot. :D
 
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phil mcwilliam

New member
A good neck shot will break the neck / cut the jugular & often drop an animal quicker than a fatal heart/lung shot, which may cause the animal to run before expiring.
Problem is the quick instant drop that a neck shot offers, if done incorrectly can result in a throat shot (particularly a broadside shot), which may not be a fatal shot especially on larger deer.
I guess you have to sum each potential shot prior to taking it. I've taken various species of deer with neck shots, but prefer heart/lung as a target if I have the choice.
 
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Strafer Gott

New member
Look at the deer skeleton. Just a tick on any of those spinal facia bones is going to bowl them over with a busted back. The spine is mighty wide in some places, and easy to hit. That's what makes those high shoulder shots so effective. With a big slow round like a .45-70, or even a little slow round like a .30-30, you can miss the range estimate, and still bring home some meat.
 
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Rifleman1776

New member
Strafer, I'm not a fan of spine shots.
I once hit high into the spine of a deer. (downhill shot, I misjudged placement)[BTW, this was using a .45 cal. muzzle loader with patched round ball.]
Yes, the deer dropped where it stood but was still very much alive. This was very disturbing as I prefer quick one shot kills. It was the only deer I have had to use a second shot to dispatch.
I thank everyone for all the replies to my question. I have learned a lot. I have decided to stay with my normal heart-lung placement. But, I may consider a neck shot if the circumstances dictate it to be the best choice.
 
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318

New member
I shoot for the vitals. Personally im not that good of shot to guarantee a quick humane kill in the neck. I hunt big timber, lots of saplings and branches to risk a wounded animal shot. I double lung or shoot for the heart. If its a neck shot, that animal gets a free pass.
 
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Rifleman1776

New member
Strafer, thanks for the compliment. But a .45 prb in a traditional ml rifle is a very effective deer killer out to about 100 yards. Bigger prb calibers will take much bigger game. I would love to take an elk and/or moose with my .54.
 
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Honda4me

New member
I've only shot at the neck of 1 doe because I didn't have a better shot. She was broadside and another deer was blocking her body. It was a shot I knew I could make and she dropped DRT. I aim small at the largest target available unless I have no other choice as it was in her case.
 
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YARDDOG(1)

New member
Where I hunt your lucky to get a 100 yard shoot,,, That being said I shoot neck if deer is standing still & with scope only YMMV ; )

Y/D
 
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lefteye

New member
I mean no offense to anyone, but the heart/lungs of a deer present a dramatically larger lethal target than the spine in the neck (or the back). Of course a perfect spine hit will drop a deer instantly and a close to the spine hit will drop a deer temporarily. With more than 45 years of deer hunting experience it is, in my opinion, unethical to aim at the spine if a heart/lung shot is possible. I have NEVER met a guide or outfitter (in Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota, Colorado, Wyoming or Montana - the states in which I have hunted) who suggested a neck shot rather than a heart/lung shot. My closest hunting buddy grew up in a place where neck shots were the norm. I have helped him track his wounded neck-shot whitetails for miles without recovering them. We have hunted elk, mule deer and black bear together. He no longer aims for the neck. Check this out to evaluate lethal target areas of a deer: http://forums.mathewsinc.com/archer...tetail-anatomy-shot-placement-diagrams-85426/
 
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FrankenMauser

New member
lefteye, I respect your opinion, but would like to point out:

Most guides set their standards and recommendations for the "least common denominator." They rarely know what a hunter's skill will be, or how they'll react if presented with the trophy of a lifetime. They have to base their recommendations on the worst of the bunch. So, they have to recommend the 'safe' shot.

When we're out there on our own, though... We only have ourselves to make that decision. I take the best shot I know I can make. Sometimes it may be a head or neck shot. Other times, I may play it safe with a heart/lung or double-lung shot. And, I'll pass if it's questionable, altogether.

Slob hunters that can't hit what they're aiming at, are not representative of what some one else is capable of.
 
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hooligan1

New member
The little button buck I took this year on opening day, I shot in the neck as to no ruin any eatin parts.. he weighed 62 lbs dressed, shot was 50 yds or less, off trigger sticks tri-pod. He wasn't much bigger than the 130 grain Accubond I sent through his neck. fine eatin though...;)
 
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Jack O'Conner

New member
I tend to get a little excited when aiming at a deer. So I go for the larger chest target so that a little wobble still delivers a dead animal.

Jack
 
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