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Shooting at Deer from Different Angles

7K views 18 replies 8 participants last post by  3212 
#1 ·
#3 ·
Butt, (not a misspell), what do we do when a trophy buck is standing looking striaght at you at 70 yards away. Take the shot through the lower chest cavity, and hope you can get some one else to field dress the animal, since the round exited it's butt, or take a neck shot to drop the animal, and a second shot to finish it?
 
#4 ·
Butt, (not a misspell), what do we do when a trophy buck is standing looking striaght at you at 70 yards away. Take the shot through the lower chest cavity, and hope you can get some one else to field dress the animal, since the round exited it's butt, or take a neck shot to drop the animal, and a second shot to finish it?
If this is not a rhetorical question, my answer is forget the neck shot always. In the scenario you described, your "lower chest cavity" is the best option. At that range, most people can make that shot. The last buck I killed was shot with a 300 SWM straight on at about 40 yards and was drilled right through the heart. There was no problem field dressing it although, to be honest, I can't tell you why it wasn't a mess. I was using 150 TTSX Barnes handloads with a muzzle velocity of 3064 ft/sec.
 
#5 ·
Nice Article Onehorse...

I never tried to think it through to the degree that you have. I remember and have taught my Son to aim for the opposite front leg on a quartering shot. He was taught to go 1/3 up the body following the front leg up on a broadside shot. With the animal quartering to or from you if you use that hidden from leg as your aiming point the bullet will travel through the boiler room on the Deer heading for that leg.

Karl
 
#6 ·
I never tried to think it through to the degree that you have. I remember and have taught my Son to aim for the opposite front leg on a quartering shot. He was taught to go 1/3 up the body following the front leg up on a broadside shot. With the animal quartering to or from you if you use that hidden from leg as your aiming point the bullet will travel through the boiler room on the Deer heading for that leg.

Karl
You taught your son well!
 
#8 ·
If its a trophy buck the last thing on your mind should be steak or backstrap
shoot for as much damage as possible! And even if you think you don't need it be ready for the second shot!
daddus
If you were thinking about where you shoot it you may already be to late.
 
#9 ·
Hope and prayer are not ethical questions or actions in hunting. Patience and waiting for the correct shot is the only thing that should enter your mind. Letting a trophy walk away because it never gave the right shot is the measure of a true hunter. When using smaller calibers for deer it is vital to get the bullet into the heart or lungs. The problem with a frontal shot with say a 243 is most likely there will be no exit hole and nothing much from the entrance hole for blood tracking. Be patient most times a few more steps and the deer will present a better shot. I'm not an advocate of neck shots for the majority of hunters as the margin for error is huge.
 
#10 ·
Well said HM, I'd also like to add that As soon as I spot a deer the first thing i'm always thinking is shot placement, if a shot doesn't present itself then it's always best to give that deer a Pass that day.
Secondly, if you spot what you think is a "Trophy" buck and that's what prompts your shot on that deer, you're probably hunting for the wrong reasons.
If Antlers are what you're after, just Go to Ebay, Antlers are readily available there and it's safer buying them than it is to just throw lead all over the place hoping for a kill shot.
 
#12 ·
Don't sell the 243 short. It can be a very effective round. The largest bull elk I ever mounted for a client while I was a taxidermist for 20 years, was killed by a 16 year old with a .243. He was using Barnes handloads, and the elk went down with one shot throught the heart!
 
#17 ·
Just to be clear, I'm not advocating the .243 for any game even close to the size of an elk. In fact, while I was a taxidermist, a hunter brought me a black bear that he had killed with a .22, and I'd hardly call that a bear round. I think luck had a lot to do with both of these kills.

For 3212: As for wanting bullets to fragment, that's a big mistake!!! If you intentionally used bullets that would fragment so they would work for frontal shots, what happens when you get a shot that hits bone? I just don't understand the logic to this. Effective big game bullets stay together and expand. Even in the scenario you presented, it's more desirable any day to have a a dead deer on the ground (even IF the field dressing MIGHT be a little messy), than a wounded deer (with bullet fragments inside) running off and dying a slow wasted death. Fragmenting bullets are for varmints - big game animals deserve better.
 
#14 ·
I need to qualify my ideas about taking the frontal chest shot.You need a bullet that fragments inside the deer.Many of the heavier calibers/bullet designs would make it through the deer lengthwise and create a mess.I know there are opposing ideas about whether a bullet should pass through and create a large exit wound for bleed out and tracking.Or should it expend all its energy inside the deer with many fragments doing alot of damage.I have hunted with a large group for many years and have helped in attempts to recover deer that had pass through wounds from bullets that did not open up enough in thin skinned deer.
 
#18 ·
Onehorse, I knew what you were saying and completely agree 100%! I haven't shot tho model 70 yet, too much going on right now but later this summer I will hit the range with it. The rifle came with a couple of boxes of shells and I'll sight in with them and then decide what to use. Onehorse the rifle came with a great custom made for the model 70 like new leather scabbard, anyone you know in need of one it's a great workmanship piece made in the 60's looks brand new. I don't know much about them but the top 1/3 can be removed as it's all hooked together with straps. Fleese lined too. I have no use for it and have no idea as to value.
 
#19 · (Edited)
This has been my experience with the Remington 100 grain corelokts.If I don't hit a rib on the entrance I do get an exit wound about double the size of the bullet.If I do hit a rib or shoulder,which usually happens, I get bone and bullet fragments all over the chest cavity and the deer is going nowhere.I do not use bullets specifically designed to fragment.
 
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