# The Power of a Well Placed Bullet



## T.R. (Sep 7, 2006)

I'm now over 50 and been on the big game trail since I was 14. Many animals have fallen to my well placed bullets. I've learned a few things but do not know it all. Animal reaction to a well placed bullet is not always as predictable as we assume.

I've watched big mulies topple over in their tracks at 200 yards or so from a 170 grain 30-30 bullet through both lungs. I've also seen 'em bound away as if missed at 75 yards or so, then topple after a few jumps. It is a mystery to me.

I've harvested many coastal blacktails with my 44MAG carbine. Reactions have astounded me. One buck rose up on his hind legs and pawed the air like a stallion. Then he toppled over backward and kicked a few times. Another buck charged away and hit the ground stone dead in mid-stride. His chin plowed a shallow furrow in the dirt. Several blacktails just folded up and fell where they stood.

Antelope nearly always drop in their tracks from a double lung hit from my .243 rifle. These fascinating animals seem fragile compared to other big game animals.

Elk get a lot of press. "Bigger is better" according to so-called experts who write columns for magazines funded by ads by magnum focused gun manufacturers. Am I the only one who noticed that elk are not armor-plated? Please show me a big bull who can stand up to a double lung hit from a 300 Savage, .308, 30-06, 7mm-08 or 6.5mm Swede. Just show me one bull who can get away after such damage? This animal does not exist. Elk are not armor-plated despite what that southern Californian urbanite named Craig Boddington is paid to write!

Animals are killed quickly by well placed bullets that form a mushroom shape, hold together, and punch through hide and ribs. Animals are wounded by poor shooting, inadequate comprehension of basic anatomy, and bullets that fail to penetrate through hide and ribs. The diameter of the un-expanded bullet and velocity are lethal factors to consider but will never make up for poor shooting.

Good hunting to you.
TR


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## cut'em (Oct 23, 2004)

I will tell you what I've learned!! My Grand father once told me "Aim for the neck". I to this day will never take any other shot than a neck shot. I live in upstate Ny and have gotten two ten pointers with neck shots and lost a ten and my biggest buck a twelve with a lung shot, not because I couldn't have taken a neck shot but because I thought a lung shot would take it down I love my Browning A-bolt 243 for its accuracy and my 30:06 BAR for its power, but hit an animal in the neck the impact will break its neck the head will drop down and the body will follow. I've watched deer as if they were trying to dig a hole running nowhere cause they were on the ground. The BEST part of this is a hit is a down deer, if it runs off it was a clean miss. It's in your hands!!!! 
AIM FOR THE NECK


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## Bore.224 (Mar 23, 2005)

I know a guy in KY that, well lives by his own rule of law. He shoots deer all year long for food and such. He uses a 22 magnum and said to me when I asked why a 22 mag, he said "cause it cheap, quiet and it works, I just shoot em in the Neck"!!! He can get real close to them as well, in his bean field.


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## usmarine0352 (Nov 26, 2005)

NEVER a NECK SHOT!!!!

I have never have, and will never will take a neck shot.

I believe it's too dicey. To high and you miss, too low and you will hopefully get lucky and hit the vitals.

I like a nice good lung/shoulder shot. Here's why:

1.) Hit HIGH, and break the neck.

2.) Hit LOW, and hit the vitals.

3.) Hit shoulder and in it will immoblize it with little loss of meat or damage.

And no matter what Caliber you shoot, ANY Caliber can hit a bone and BLOW a HUGE HOLE in a deer.

So Don't go with that excuse. I've never had a deer take more then one step when hit. And they've all been shoulder/lung hits.

:sniper:


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## Burly1 (Sep 20, 2003)

After finding a starved, nearly dead doe muley with her bottom jaw shot off several years back, my requirements for a head/neck shot are:
1) Absolutely still, relaxed animal.
2) Rock solid rest.
3) Animal close enough to be completely sure I can place the bullet 
EXACTLY where I want it.
4) Confidence and intimate familiarity with my chosen rifle/scope
/cartridge combination. 
If these parameters are not met, I feel that a head/neck shot is unacceptable, and will not take it. Much better to perhaps lose a little meat than to doom an animal to a death by suffering and starvation.
Good hunting, Burl


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## Chuck Smith (Feb 22, 2005)

I too will never take a head or neck shot....

I have seen too many deer with blown off bottom jaws or head wounds for poor marksmanship.

I always take a shoulder shot or right behind the shoulder.

Like mentioned before.....
1. if high = broken neck/spinal shot
2. If low = vitals hit (not double lung...but damage!)
3. if off to the rear of animal....still can hit vitals (tail end)
4. Right on the mark = DEAD ANIMAL!!!!

I have shot many deer in the past. I have hit them double lung and watched them run off like nothing hit them. I have made direct heart shots and they run for 70 yards. All animals will react differently on each shot. But if you place a good shot...you will have a good trail to follow!

Chuck


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## MossyMO (Feb 12, 2004)

Reading the posts here made think about a topic I had read a while ago. It was more in reference to bow hunting, but I think it pertinent to the conversation.

* A lung-shot deer will run hard 50 to 65 yards. After that he will 
usually walk until he falls. The blood will sometimes have tiny bubbles in it. This blood trail usually gets better as you track the deer. However, if the deer is hit high in the lungs, the blood trail may sometimes become light and even disappear completely. The deer could be "filling up" inside with blood, showing very little external bleeding. The hair from the lung area is coarse and brown with black tips. The deer will usually go down in less than 125 yards. Give the deer 30 minutes before tracking.

* A heart-shot deer will sometimes jump wildly when hit. The blood trail may be sparse for the first 20 yards or so. A heart shot deer may track as much as a quarter of a mile, depending on what part of the heart is damaged. The usual is less than 125 yards. The hair from this shot will be long brown or grayish guard hairs. Again, a 30 minute wait is advised. But, if while trailing you find where he has bedded back off and wait an hour before taking up the trail again.

* A liver-shot deer. The liver lies against the diaphragm in the 
approximate center of the deer. It is a definite killing shot. The blood trail will be decent to follow and the deer should bed down and die within 200 yards, if not pushed. A one-hour wait is best. The hair from the liver area is brownish gray and much shorter than the hair from the lung area. If you push the deer out of his bed, back off and wait another hour.

* A gut-shot deer is probably the most difficult to recover because of the poor blood trail and the hunter's impatience to wait him out. A lot of bowhunters want to hurry up and find the deer. Since the liver and stomach are close together, it is possible that the deer will go down and die quickly if the shot also penetrates the liver. If the deer is dead in an hour, he will still be dead in 4 hours. Have patience, he will not go anywhere. Wait him out for at least 4 hours. Wait overnight if the deer is 
shot in the evening.

When a deer is shot in the stomach area, he will usually take several short jumps and commence walking or running. His back will usually hunch up and his legs will be spread wide. The hair from this wound is brownish gray and short. The lower the shot is on the animal, the lighter colored the hair will be. The blood trail is usually poor with small pieces of ingested material (stomach contents). If the intestines are punctured there will be green slimy material or feces Take your bow with you because a second shot might be required.

* A spine-shot deer will usually drop in his tracks or hobble off. Either way, a second shot will probably be required to finish off the deer. If a spine-shot deer hobbles off, wait a half-hour and track slowly and quietly. Look for the deer bedded down.

* A neck-shot deer will either die in 100 yards or he will recover from the wound. The lower portion of the neck contains the windpipe, neck bone (spine), and carotid (jugular) arteries. If the arteries are hit, the deer will run hard and drop in less than 100 yards. The blood trail will be easy to follow. A shot above the neck bone will give you a good blood trail for about 150 to 200 yards before quitting. The deer will more than likely recover to be hunted again.

* A hip-shot deer. A large artery (femoral) runs down the inside of each deer leg. This artery is protected from the side by the leg bones. The femoral artery is most often severed from the rear or at an angle. If this artery is cut, the bleeding will be profuse and the deer will usually be found in less than 100 yards. The ham of a deer is also rich in veins with a lot of blood. A hip-shot deer should be tracked immediately. Track him slowly and quietly to keep him moving (walking). If you jump him and he runs, back off for a few minutes then continue trailing. You want him to walk, not run. A walking deer is easier to trail.

* An artery-shot deer will almost always go down in less than 100 yards. The aortic artery runs just under the backbone from heart to hips, where it branches to become the femoral arteries. The heart also pumps blood to the brain through the carotid (jugular) arteries.

Sever any of these arteries and you've got yourself a deer. There is one catch, these arteries are tough. It takes a sharp broadhead to cut through them. A dull broadhead will just push them aside. Keep your broadheads sharp! Give the deer half an hour before tracking.


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## Dave_w (May 25, 2005)

Hmm. Or we could just do what hunters have done for longer than any of us have been around, and just keep shooting to the shoulder. Problem with trying to build a better mousetrap is, most of the time, you just screw up a perfectly good one.


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## sdeprie (May 1, 2004)

I, too, am not a fan of the neck shot. All of the negative remarks above come to mind. However, a couple of years ago, that was the only shot offered by the deer as it stood behind a tree and looked around it. Wait till it moves? Just how steady do you think my nerves are? I actually considered shooting THROUGH the tree. (Now, how dumb is that?) With MUCH deliberation, a very careful aim and a certain amount of nervousness, I pulled the trigger and the deer went, exactly 2 feet, straight down. At 80 yards with a red dot, a neck shot is a tricky thing, but if done right, it works. At that point I was wishing I had a little lighter caliber. A 358 Winchester takes out a LOT of neck.


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