neck shot yes or no

[cynthialee]

I am glad I read this thread.
I had been going on the asumption that the brains would be easy hit if you nailed the noggin.

Thanks for the school time gentelmen.

 

[jamesthomas]

Thats a perfect example why NOT to take a head or neck shot! :shake: I wonder what would have happened if you had'nt been able to shoot him again? I will NEVER take a head or neck shot regardless of the range. Also some folks have said it was the only shot offered, if it was, the shot should have been turned down. :td: To iffy a shot IMHO.

 

[hoochiepapa]

To each his own.....

 

[S.Kenton]

Ive taken the head and neck shots before, (with varied success)..though I will normally wait for a nice heart/ lung shot. The head and neck shot, Gentlemen are a true test of ones abilities to take a hard shot under much pressure and is a true test of a hunters marksmanship.So I say IMHO, if one is sure of their skill and dont mind risking a miss..then why not take a head/neck shot.. it is THEIR hunt after all. Mike is VERY right in saying.. " to each his own"
Just my 2 cents

 

[silly goose]

Fortunately we all can make our own choice. Perspective is a funny thing. I don't feel pressure when I hunt. I don't feel pressure to make a shot. I don't even get all amped up and outta breath like the folks do on tv. Hunting for most of us is not life or death. I test my marksmanship on the range, and I use that to my benefit in the woods. I like the feeling of confidence in knowing how a gun shoots, because I've made that shot hundreds of times over the summer in preparation. Knowing I can drill an apple sized target at 50-60 yards only assures me that I can center the heart/lung target on a whitetail. I'm not saying anybody is wrong here, I do love to hunt, and feel a strong primal connection when I do take an animal for the freezer, one of the realest of feelings. I don't force shots, and don't shoot as often as most, but when I do shoot, it counts. I would rather not shoot than have to explain a shot away, which I hear all to often. Again, nobody is wrong, I just enjoy a boring hit in the boiler room over the "well, I only had a head shot so...." I have too much respect for the game I suppose.

 

[roger fisher]

Well , after following this thread for some time now I finally have to add my two cents worth. I have personally shot deer in the neck and in the heart lung area. The only deer I ever lost was a heart lung shot that went too high. I am not proud of it but it happened. Followed blood as afar as i could then he got onto private property and I was not able to secure permission to continue the tracking. Anyway The neck shots I,ve taken were all at close range (Inside 40-30 yards ). Some much closer than that. They all dropped like a rock and were the quickest cleanest kills I've ever made. For me it is a matter of distance, If the deer is right up close I,ll take the neck shot. If there is any doubt that i may miss I'm going for the bigger target. I work hard for my deer I dont take missing a shot lightley. And I still beat myself up for the one I wounded and didnt retreve. That is a terrible feeling. I hope it never happens again. Anyway I have had positive results with neck shots but they must be used with discression and shouldnt be usde by somebody who doesnt spend time at the range to become proficient with their firearm. Thank for letting me get that off my chest ! :v

 

[hoochiepapa]

If you didn't feel bad about the one that "got away", in my book, you should quit hunting.

 

[roger fisher]

I agree with you completeley. I hunted with a guy like that once....once, never again!

 

[James Stella]

Well , after following this thread for some time now I finally have to add my two cents worth. I have personally shot deer in the neck and in the heart lung area. The only deer I ever lost was a heart lung shot that went too high. I am not proud of it but it happened. Followed blood as afar as i could then he got onto private property and I was not able to secure permission to continue the tracking. Anyway The neck shots I,ve taken were all at close range (Inside 40-30 yards ). Some much closer than that. They all dropped like a rock and were the quickest cleanest kills I've ever made. For me it is a matter of distance, If the deer is right up close I,ll take the neck shot. If there is any doubt that i may miss I'm going for the bigger target. I work hard for my deer I dont take missing a shot lightley. And I still beat myself up for the one I wounded and didnt retreve. That is a terrible feeling. I hope it never happens again. Anyway I have had positive results with neck shots but they must be used with discression and shouldnt be usde by somebody who doesnt spend time at the range to become proficient with their firearm. Thank for letting me get that off my chest ! :v

I think this puts it the best out of all of the posts including mine.

 

[RC]

.So I say IMHO, if one is sure of their skill and don't mind risking a miss..then why not take a head/neck shot.. it is THEIR hunt after all. Mike is VERY right in saying.. " to each his own"

a "miss" may be the animals death..later,,,the risk is that..not whether you miss or not..
but, agreed, to each their own...jus that not recovering a mortally wounded animal haunts me..

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Before folks get wrapped-around-the-axle on this thread, if we haven't yet, ..., the question was..., what do you think... [emphasis mine] about the "neck shot", that other hunters had spoken to Mort Scott about.

Let's remember that our answers are based on personal experience, plus our personal skill, as well as our physical limitations and the limitations of our tools. Because of this we cannot tell others what they should or should not do, we can only point out the variables for such a shot, and what we would do or not do in such a case.

Under the right circumstances..., sure it will work as a good shot on a deer or larger animal. In my case I don't plan to use that shot, for with my skills there is too much chance of the animal moving. That's my opinion for my abilities. Others in our community have chimed in that such a short works very well..., for them. :grin:

Some folks won't harvest a deer with their muzzleloader if the deer is standing more than 50 yards away..., some routinely harvest deer beyond 100 yards. I know of a fellow who hunts with a bow that is a mere 30 lbs. draw at 32". He gets the deer from a stand, and they are taken at less than 15 yards. I know of a fellow who shoots a repro English longbow of 70 lbs. who will harvest deer at 50-60 yards. I know a man who takes deer with his modern rifle using a .22 Hornet, from a stand, in very close, head shot, and I know of a fellow who calls himself a "deer hunter", but is such a terrible shot with his rifle, that in my opinion he should take up fishing. In the last example I have tried his rifle..., it shoots very well for me at the range...., but in my opinion when he wields it he should never shoot at a deer...

People on other forums have gotten irate when it was suggested that deer could be harvested without worries with a .395 patched round ball, stating emphatically that such was a "small game rifle". No consideration to other factors such as range, powder load, bullet composition, ..., only that any use of that round under any circumstances for deer was wrong...., and then the name calling began..., unethical, foolish, irresponsible, stupid,... etc.

So for Mr. Scott, I don't plan on taking such a shot, and he will need to decide for himself what he can do with his rifle to humanely harvest a deer.

LD

 

[hoochiepapa]

Well said, Dave!!
I knew a guy that hunted elk with a 25-20.
A pop-gun under today's standards.

 

[Chris Hayes]

Ok, now it's my turn. I shoot extensivly with a .54 GPR. I own several other rifles but this was my first muzzleloader and I have shot it so much it's my "pet". Having said that I never pull the trigger on an animal unless I can break both shoulders or have a clear shot of the heart/lung area under 75 yds. Knock on wood, I have never lost a big game animal and have been hunting for over 30 years. My father-in-law was born with polio and has no use of his right arm and hand. He is a FIRM believer in a neck shot and his shots are less than 30 yards. We have recovered all of his deer save for one. I looked for a week straight and finally found it about 4 miles from where he shot. The coyotes had done a job on it and we just recovered the rack. That's the last time I ever hunted with him. I took him the rack to tag and he refused saying he doesn't have anything to show for the tag. I believe a vital area shot wouldn't have lead to this. So, having spouted off, I wouldn't take a neck shot at any time. JMHO. Thanks.

 

[Dausener]

No. Heart / lung shot is best. If I hit one in the neck it was an acident. That hasn't happend in a long time.

 

[270WSMANIC]

Was hunting on the farm I grew up on bout 25 yrs ago. My first hunt with my new ( to me )700 rem in 270win. We don't see many wallhangers on this farm due to many of us shooting the first buck we see. However this one was a dandy!!!
I had just stepped into a small field when I spotted him at the far end, slightly screened by a multiferose bush @ maybe 130yds. I dropped to one knee and used a shooting stick. Since the deer was standing in a low spot all I could see was his head with that huge rack and neck. I held on the neck just below the chin and squeezed the trigger. The buck dissapered and I assumed he was laying dead in the low spot. On getting there I found a bunch of hair and the whole area was splattered with blood. The hair was in a neet pile so I figgered it wasn't just a graizing shot. I tracked blood for a short distance then lost the trail do to a rain that started right after the shot. Very bad luck. I never found the buck, though I and my boys looked for him the rest of buck season that year. I switched bullets from Serra 13gr to nosler b-tips, had to be the bullets fault ya know :wink:
Would I take another neck shot, probably but only if it was the only shot I had.
That being said I've seen many successful neck shots made before and since.
By the way I looked hard at the briar bush bullet nevet touched it.

 

[petew]

After seeing a Mule buck refuse to die and go down with 2, 30-06 neck shots I learned the kill zone in a neck is pretty small, and the wound zone is pretty big. I have found many animals with the snout, and lower jaw blown off too from HP centerfires that were suposed to be head shots. The brain is much smaller than the rest of the head. Now it is in the ribs or let it walk.
Pete

 

[Grumpa]

Three years ago, I took a neck shot on a deer(the only shot I had). He dropped. I walked over to him, and while I was standing there, he started to get up...a brain shot killed him. There was a quarter-sized hole straight through the neck, just missing the spine. It knocked him down, but he would have gotten away without the point blank head shot.

 

[vern faulkner]

My personal reply to your question is "no", but like I said, this reply only applies to me.

Vern

 

[Michael Chambers]

Just my opinion, but I can see no reason to attempt a shot at a small target when a much larger one is available. And my concern isn't with MY loosing a deer, it's with a wounded deer dying a long painful death. The most ethical shot for the sake of the animal is the one with the highest odds of a sure kill every time. Wait for the shot, then put just one in the boiler room. Just my opinion!