Where is the best place to put your shot on White tail Deer. in my limited experience I found that behind shoulder with a .30 cal. high velocity round works best for me, they run about 20 yards. but I would like to go down in cartiridge power and place a smaller round with accuracy around an 1" 100 yards or less and not have to track a blood trail! :(

If you don't want to track them, you'll have to shoot them in the neck and break the spine. Depending on the conditions where you hunt, this might be simple or it might be a very difficult, risky shot.

mountainfire - Like Mike G. says, short of shooting them in the head or neck - both risky shots - they'll have to invent a new kind of deer that won't run the 20 yards even though it's dead! Do yourself and the deer a favor, and keep on aiming for the heart/lung area. Sooner or later, you'll be doing alot more tracking for a deer with its jaw shot off or with a big chunk taken from its neck if you make a habit of attempting the "hero shots".

Mountainfire,

Just as the other posts, I don't think you can kill deer consistantly if you try for the shot that will put them down immediately. The neck shot!

I know a few trophy hunters who swear by the neck shot. it works like a charm if you hit them right, they always go straight down.

I once hit a five point with an arrow at the base of the skull right in the upper neck. It went down right there. Obviously, I didn't plan it that way. Just lucky.

But, in fairness to the deer or any animal you go after, it is wise to put your bullet is the area that presents the biggest and best target area. That is the heart/lung area.

Try holding your breath and take off running without breathing. You will get about 30 yards before you give out. OK you can breath now-

The neck is a very small area when you are 100-200- or even 300 yards away from your target. Too risky to chance loosing a trophy or even a lowly pig.

I hunted with an idiot one year who wanted to head shoot a pig so as not to loose any meat. He blew its lower jaw away, it bleed profusely so it was easy to track. We found it 1/2 mile away standing by a creek with its head down.
I've never hunted with that gentleman again. I hope no one else will either. I was mad at myself for letting him try it.

Learn to blood trail the animals you shoot and put them down humanly. That's the point of the hunt to me.

Anyway, Good luck on your next lung shot kill and expect a little tracking job.
Tom

I must confess to you all, I have fantasized about the head shot. I suppose I'd like to be able to be that skilled of a shooter but, I'd go for the chest and heart area.
It's hard enough to get a clear shot. I don't shoot unless I have the shot. So far, my record is not that good. The deer find my kill record to be wonderful. That's okay, I sleep well at night and have no guilt about my hunts.

Thought I'd also mention... you stand a reasonable chance of dropping them (note "chance") if you shoot broadside through both shoulders. Break both shoulder blades, and they WILL go down.... on pigs, that shot will often break the spine as it runs low through the shoulders.

Does ruin a lot more meat than behind-the-ribs shots.

Head shots on a deer.... forget it!!!! Very difficult, their heads are small and moving around all the time. I've shot a number of pigs in the head, not a big deal IF: 1.) exact range - example, hunting from blinds over bait, 2.) good rest, usually again not a problem from a blind, 3.) accurate rifle and you know EXACTLY where it will hit at the range. And of course the shooter has to be up to the job. Can't have any uncertainty AT ALL about your gun, ammo, or ability. All three have to be up to the task....

My rifles are normally sighted in for 2 inches high at 100 yards, which is a typical distance for hunting hogs over bait. If I aim at the middle of the head, the bullet will strike just above centerline and brain the hog. The hogs usually have their heads down feeding, and don't move around a lot.

On Tom's longer 150 - 200 yards blinds, I wouldn't try it, as much as I like to think I'm a pretty good shot. Plus - lots of hog hunting is in low light. Your ability to shoot precisely disappears as the sun goes down. Anyway - on any head/neck shot, you HAVE to reload and cover them for a few minutes to make sure they don't have a miraculous recovery.

On hogs, neck shots work better than on deer for a couple of reasons. 1.) Their necks are shorter & fatter and with their heads down eating, are a more stationary target, and 2.) there is a lot of muscle on a hog's neck, and they'll usually quickly bleed out from being hit there even if you didn't sever the spine.

But I don't like to shoot hogs in the neck because there is a lot of good meat there, more meat on a neck than a shoulder by quite a bit.

The middle-of-the-shoulder shot on a hog should crunch something and bring them down.

Deer, I have no problem lung-shooting them and following a short blood trail. Just part of hunting. Hogs.... it's better to anchor them, if you can.

If you put the bullet thru the shoulderblade, it won't run as far. My first deer was hit right in the middle of the shoulder, and she only ran about 15 or 20 feet. Neck or spine shots work real well too, but like it was already said, those can be difficult. Try breaking the shoulderblade.

Walter30-06:cool:

If you want less caliber and less power you must be a great shot! :)

Really, I dont know how you can work the lesser power and size into a result that will also mean less tracking.

Me, I went up in power and caliber for the "less tracking" result. Got me one of them Guide Guns.

Perferator

Does anyone eat Javalina?

If you are starving; yes. I'd rather eat dirt though. I don't care how it's fixed, if you've eaten it for years, have a secret recipe, etc., etc., I ain't eating those foul beasts!
Does anyone eat Javalina?
PS-They are NOT related to pigs!

For hogs, the neck shot is by far my favorite, and for deer either the shoulder or low in the chest for a heart shot is what I aim for.

Mountainfire,
You know just about all you need to know about where to shoot a Whitetail Deer.
When I was a KId,my Mentor taught me to aim for the neck only,as he always did. His reasonong was very sound. If you hit the bone or the artery,the deer dies right there,right away. If you miss either of those body parts,the deer is not injured severely,and will fully recover.
A head shot,on the other hand,is the worse choice you can make,unless you are absoutely sure of a 'good' hit,from up close.
A shot behind the shoulder with the right bullet always results in a dead deer. With a bullet designed for Whitetails,the result is very quick.Relaxed deer will drop on the spot,but running deer will continue to run,up to a hundred yards.
Shoulder shots are not as predictable.A shoulder shot may not even kill the deer;and he can run all day on three legs.
Frank

If you are starving; yes. I'd rather eat dirt though. I don't care how it's fixed, if you've eaten it for years, have a secret recipe, etc., etc., I ain't eating those foul beasts!

PS-They are NOT related to pigs!

Ditto-
No matter how you cook it, it still smells like a skunk.

I'm still trying to figure out how to cook duck and make my family eat them.
Tom

Mountainfire
This is a thread that interests me. I was taught as a kid to cross the X on deer. Ross Seyfried explained it clearer when he said: aim for the shoulder.
Seyfried went on to explain that from the front quarter aim for the shoulder. Your bullet will cross the chest cavity and almost always penetrate both lungs and often the liver too.
From the rear quarter, aim for the opposite shoulder. If you have a plastic toy horse or deer lying around it makes a good visual aid. Using this technique I have had many dropped in its tracks shots with the .307 Winchester.
I have shot our little West Texas whitetails with some pretty big bullets using the .356, .444 and .45-70. With broadside lung shots the deer will run from 50 to 125 yards before they run out of oxygen. It's just the way their body works.
We walk up some of our deer in the chained brush. Shots are close and fast. Using the broadside lung shot deer often run out of sight in a flash. I get a lot "guff" from my friends because my Wife is a MUCH better tracker than I am. That girl can follow a blood trail!
Many deer are shot from stands over bait here in Texas. Some areas are very limited in visibility due to brush and cactus. There are also many areas where landowners let the public shoot does and spikes free or at a very reduced fee. I know of two hunters who regularly use the .22 Hornet for head shots with this type of harvesting, I won't call it hunting. Even at close range it is pretty easy to make a mistake. I do not like head or neck shots myself. There are a few hunters I respect who favor the neck shot over all others, they are very skilled at it.
For most of us the heart lung shot ensures a kill with minimum suffering. Crossing the chest cavity is the best shot I know of.

Where is the best place to put your shot on White tail Deer. in my limited experience I found that behind shoulder with a .30 cal. high velocity round works best for me, they run about 20 yards. but I would like to go down in cartiridge power and place a smaller round with accuracy around an 1" 100 yards or less and not have to track a blood trail! :(

Thanks for all the info. guys. Guess I'll keep hitting them 1/2" behind the shoulder. I have seen films of deer drop like a sack of taters, and it must be alot of energy in the heart area. On film it looks like a shoulder shot.

Mountainfire,
I hunted with an idiot one year who wanted to head shoot a pig so as not to loose any meat. He blew its lower jaw away, it bleed profusely so it was easy to track. We found it 1/2 mile away standing by a creek with its head down.
I've never hunted with that gentleman again. I hope no one else will either. I was mad at myself for letting him try it.
Tom

How long of a shot was it? On a small pig it is a good 5 inch target.
I wouldn't dismiss a head shot, and you had better be proficient no matter where you choose to shoot.

How long of a shot was it? On a small pig it is a good 5 inch target.
I wouldn't dismiss a head shot, and you had better be proficient no matter where you choose to shoot.

The feeder was only about 125 yards. But we had low light conditions. Even with a good rest, the way pigs move around under a feeder, it was a dumb shot at best.

Dark pigs, on a dark background, in the dark.... LOL.... you get the idea. When that happens - I aim for the "middle of the middle", that is, the vertical crosshair lined up on the front leg, and the horizontal crosshair halfway between top and bottom. Due the hump on a pig's shoulder, that's about the tallest part of their body, right over the front leg.

That shot is a sure killer, and often breaks the spine as it runs very low through the shoulders.

Head shots aren't always easy. Sometimes, well, you just get excited!!!!!

The feeder was only about 125 yards. But we had low light conditions. Even with a good rest, the way pigs move around under a feeder, it was a dumb shot at best.

I agree. I take most pigs with a head shot though, usually wait until one puts it's head down to eat. If it's dark enough I just stalk them slowly - they don't see very well and they are engrossed in their eating.

It's pretty easy for us to play monday morning quarterback, so I wont say any more than that. It could happen to anybody; momentary lapse of judgement, adrenaline, overconfidence... Who knows?

Shoulder shots will usually anchor a deer on the spot with most rifles, but the heart lung shot leaves a lot more meat to eat. Now that I am getting older I find that I am way to shaky to try for a neck shot and concentrate on the biggest target. If you are hunting the big bears in AK or Canada breaking a shoulder usually will end their desire to leave in your direction. Never been run over by a lung/heart shot deer yet.