keith@clodii.columbiasc.NCR.COM (04/03/91)
>From: Tim Rigg <rigg@osnome.che.wisc.edu> >Subject: aiming while deer hunting >I have read several conflicting articles about where to aim while deer >hunting and would like some rec.hunting opinions... >All bowhunting sources I have seen recommend a behind the shoulder >shot. The optimal shot punctures both lungs and maybe even the heart >leading to a very short tracking job. Agreed. With a bow you are not going to get a knockdown shot so you have to go with a shot that will give the best results. The shoulder shot can be risky if your arrow velocity is not fast enough to insure good penetra- tion. However, I have seen a bowhunter with a Jennings bow and using Wasp Cam-Lock broadheads penetrate both shoulders completely on a 115lb. doe and then stick in the ground. Awesome. DO NOT SHOOT ANY DEER IN THE ABDOMEN!! This is not good. I recall helping some bowhunter friends look for a deer that was gutshot just before dark. We were out at 3:00 A.M. that morning but had to give up on it. We found it later that day but the meat had gone bad. >The gun hunting material recommends the same rib shot or the neck. >The neck seems to be preferred since very little meat is damaged. For >the neck shot, where exactly do you aim? in the center hoping to sever >the windpipe? towards the top hoping to sever the spine? anywhere >since there is enough vital stuff in the neck to insure a quick kill? >I am curious, where do you aim and why??? I hunt with .270 cal 130 grn. bullets and have had very good results with shots placed in neck, shoulder and the lungs. Any rifle with similar energy and ballistics should do as well. Aiming for neck shots is not real critical since you hit either the jugular vein, the windpipe or the spine. Any one of these will bring the deer down. I personally try to aim in the neck or head since this will damage the least amount of venison. Again, do not shoot any deer in guts even with a high-powered rifle. I did this once and found the deer the next day about 3/8 mile from where I hunted at. (This one was still good since the deer was still warm and had only been dead for a few hours.) Always take your time when aiming and place your shots well so as to avoid this. The idea is to hit something vital that will bring about certain death. Deer have an incredible will to survive and can travel a great distance when mortally wounded once the adrenalin kicks in. With deer, you have about a 16 inch target to aim at from the side in order to hit a vital organ. (Heart, Lung, Shoulder) If the shot is farther than 40 yds. this is what I aim for, if it is less then I go for the neck or head. Decide for yourself. >thanks >tim You're Welcome! --- | Keith M. Boyd (NCR E+M Col.) | Nothing could be fina' than hunting and | | 3325 Platt Springs Rd. | fishing in South Carolina! -Me- | | West Cola., S.C. 29170 | Fax: 791-6998 | keith@clodII.Columbia.NCR.COM | | Vp: 803-791-6420 | From uunet: !uunet!ncrlink!ncrcae!sauron!clodII!keith |
plague@milton.u.washington.edu (Jack Brown) (04/04/91)
In article <469@erb1.engr.wisc.edu> keith@clodii.columbiasc.NCR.COM writes: > >since this will damage the least amount of venison. Again, do not shoot any >deer in guts even with a high-powered rifle. I did this once and found the >deer the next day about 3/8 mile from where I hunted at. (This one was still Not to mention that it can be smelled several hundred yards away... My brother-in-law did this once. Bile is rather strong to the nose. He was not pleased about cleaning the deer. This one only ran the normal 100 yards too. Just chewed up the organs... Jack Brown aka plague@milton.u.washington.edu -- Jack Brown | Q: What do Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Baghdad plague@milton.u.washington.edu | have in common? | | A: Nothing...yet.
mikew@uunet.UU.NET (Mr. Mike Weaver; ACS (OP)) (04/05/91)
In article <469@erb1.engr.wisc.edu> keith@clodii.columbiasc.NCR.COM writes: >...tion. However, I have seen a bowhunter with a Jennings bow and using Wasp >Cam-Lock broadheads penetrate both shoulders completely on a 115lb. doe and >then stick in the ground. Awesome. DO NOT SHOOT ANY DEER IN THE ABDOMEN!! I find this hard to believe that a broadhead went through both shoulders. (At least though both shoulder blades) I have seen someone with a york cam bow at about 65lbs hit a buck in the shoulder blade and it didn't do lethal damage or penetrate the shoulder blade. When aiming at deer with a bow, the best shot you can attempt is the shot when the deer is 3/4 angling away from you. This meanse that there is the least amount of bone between the broadhead and the vitals. The second best shot is a broadside shot (best when the deer's front leg is extended - exposes more vitals (heart) that way). A 3/4 frontal shot is less than optimal. It is unwise to attempt a frontal shot or a rear shot and neck shots are less than optimal also. > >You're Welcome! >--- >| Keith M. Boyd (NCR E+M Col.) | Nothing could be fina' than hunting and | >| 3325 Platt Springs Rd. | fishing in South Carolina! -Me- | >| West Cola., S.C. 29170 | Fax: 791-6998 | keith@clodII.Columbia.NCR.COM | >| Vp: 803-791-6420 | From uunet: !uunet!ncrlink!ncrcae!sauron!clodII!keith | The above is IMHO, but I've been a bowhunter for a couple of years and have friends that have been bowhunting for many years. As usual your mileage may vary... -Mike Weaver mikew@umbc4.umbc.edu