# Deer's Reaction to Being Shot and Where to Shoot



## 147 Grain (Feb 18, 2005)

Whenever a bullet strikes your intended target - like deer - if carefully observed, (9 times out of 10) its reaction will tell you if you hit your mark or not.

*Heart or Lung Shot*
Upon being hit in the heart or lung area, most deer will usually jump or bound forward - kicking out with their hind legs. This shot produces a _bright_ red frothy blood trail with pink or white flecks of lung tissue in it.

*Liver Shot*
No deer can survive a shot to the liver. Reactions include running a short distance with its head high or well forward before dying within 100 yards. Blood trails tends to be very _dark_ red / thick and glutinous.

*Stomach or Gut Shot*
Gut-shot deer usually hunch-up and _stagger_ away into nearby cover with their head held low. This poor shot usually produces a lot of green-like splashes of rumen from the stomach - content that sometimes has a lot of pines, acorns, or hair, but with very little blood.


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## 147 Grain (Feb 18, 2005)

Found the following links that hopefully will be helpful to everyone:

Deer / Elk Anatomy Overview: http://www.bowhunting.net/NAspecies/elk2.html

In looking at a deer or elk's circulatory system and bone structure, there appears to be two good spots to shoot for:










1. Heart and Lung area slightly behind the front leg / near the top of the shoulder.










2. Spine / Base of Neck Area. Following the forward portion of the front leg 1/2 to 2/3'rds up to where the neck meets the spine. There are a lot of major support bones in this area that when broken, should anchor the animal very quickly.


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