Head Shot

[WC Deer Hunter]

I do not agree with this at all. There are many adults who hunt with .410 slugs. Allowing the use of .410 has not, "filled the woods with little kids shooting AT deer." Yes it has opened the door to more hunters, and yes many of those hunters are younger. However you have to consider this, no matter what weapon you choose to hunt with, you need to practice and become proficient in shooting before you go huntint. Because someone is a child it does not mean that they can not shoot well. I have a son who shot his first deer with a .410 when he was 9. We practiced many hours for many months. He did not take shots over 30 yards with the .410. If someone gives a kid the chance to go hunting then it is that persons responsible for making sure they practice and not take shots that either they or their weapon can not make. If you are going to say that hunting with a .410 is something terrible that we allowed to happen then maybe we should not allow people to buy weapons and ammo the night before the opening day of deer season. I know we have all been in walmart the night before deer season opens and see people buying their gun, ammo, hunter orange, and hot hands. These people have not practiced with this weapon. So they would be shooting "at" things and not making shots as you mentioned. But the funny part is it does not matter what weapon anyone is hunting with. It could be 10,12,16,20,28 guage or a .410. It could also be a rifle. Many kids have started hunting with single shot rifles. I am against people shooting "at" deer and not taking good shots that both they and their weapon are capable of taking. I know that my two sons would shoot better than any person that plans to go hunting with a weapon that they have purchased less than 12 hours before and are not going to practice with. I am not against getting young hunters involved in the sport and into the outdoors. Just because the person is young it does not mean that they can not shoot and hunt ethically Sorry for the thread jack!

This^^^^^

 

[Yeah]

I've head shot plenty of ungulates and various other animals and will continue to when the opportunities present themselves. If you don't care about the hide or the horns, the head contains the least amount of choice edible bits.

There will always be people on the sidelines trying to impose their own limitations on others. Only you can know what you can hit or not hit.

 

[shooter1054]

The reason I suggest that a COM shot is more ethical than a head shot is that there is more room for error. If a COM shot is off by 3", it's still a quick kill. If a head shot is off by the same 3" at best it's a clean miss and worst is a wounded deer. If you CAN make that shot, that is your choice to take it. The problem is that a lot of people will have a hard time making it with the excitement of the moment. As well as a lot of people I see at the range "practicing", will hit a paper plate about 5 times at 50 yards and say "well, that's good enough for the woods." These are the people I don't want to see taking less than optimal shots. As I said, if you CAN make that shot, take it. If you MIGHT make that shot, pass.

 

[NDhunter]

The reason I suggest that a COM shot is more ethical than a head shot is that there is more room for error. If a COM shot is off by 3", it's still a quick kill. If a head shot is off by the same 3" at best it's a clean miss and worst is a wounded deer. If you CAN make that shot, that is your choice to take it. The problem is that a lot of people will have a hard time making it with the excitement of the moment. As well as a lot of people I see at the range "practicing", will hit a paper plate about 5 times at 50 yards and say "well, that's good enough for the woods." These are the people I don't want to see taking less than optimal shots. As I said, if you CAN make that shot, take it. If you MIGHT make that shot, pass.

Exactly. Too much can go wrong in the woods to forgo an 8-10" vital area for a vital hit area half that size, if that. Just my , but why take the chance on wounding a deer? I'm not perfect, and I've wounded one before. To me it's the worst feeling in the world, why make life harder than it has to be? If you can hit 3" and you're sure of it, hit the heart and lungs.

 

[Bradsknives]

I know...well, I would hope it would not be intentional, but have any of you seasoned hunters ever experienced someone unintentionally taking a deer with a head shot? I watch a lot of hunting shows and of course their shots are always on target. But, have you seen a newbie jerk the trigger, have the gun zeroed incorrectly, or the deer moves at the very last millisecond and is taken with a head shot?

I thought I told you to forget about everything that you have seen on those TV deer hunting programs.

 

[Que]

I only brought this up because I took for granted the lung/heart shot was the "preferred" kill-shot. I guess since all the shows I watch are trailing bucks, they wouldn't risk shooting a trophy in the head. It seems to go either way with does since they are primarily for the freezer and it would seem reasonable to avoid damaging the meat.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQ3_IkuGT-I (Good head shot - go to 1:45)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2VZSedWb8s (Results of bad head shot)

 

[Que]

I thought I told you to forget about everything that you have seen on those TV deer hunting programs.

Yeah, I know.

 

[bwframe]

...There are many adults who hunt with .410 slugs...

I disagree. Name three.

...I have a son who shot his first deer with a .410 when he was 9. We practiced many hours for many months. He did not take shots over 30 yards with the .410...

I am happy for you and your son. More kids should have a father like you that will work with them to make them proficient enough to know where the shot will hit. My guess would be that your son could have handled a 20 gage semi auto just as well?

My experience has been that a whole bunch of youngsters with little to no trigger time were now "big enough" to carry a single shot .410 into the woods, thus they are "legit to hunt?" Maybe the only people I know and see are those sons, nephews and cousins of the geniuses shopping Walmart the night before deer season opens, buying their gun, ammo, hunter orange, and hot hands?

 

[WC Deer Hunter]

I disagree. Name three.


I am happy for you and your son. More kids should have a father like you that will work with them to make them proficient enough to know where the shot will hit. My guess would be that your son could have handled a 20 gage semi auto just as well?

My experience has been that a whole bunch of youngsters with little to no trigger time were now "big enough" to carry a single shot .410 into the woods, thus they are "legit to hunt?" Maybe the only people I know and see are those sons, nephews and cousins of the geniuses shopping Walmart the night before deer season opens, buying their gun, ammo, hunter orange, and hot hands?

So you stalk the walmart gun and hunting departments the night before opening day every year?


I'd have to say that usually the inexperienced "wannabe hunters" that I have met and seen usually go for the biggest gun they can find because they think that's the only way to kill one. They are to stupid to realize it's not the size of the gun but the skills of the person holding it.

I'm sure that what you are saying happens frequently as well though. You just can't fix stupid either way.

 

[71silverbullet]

I am not a deer hunter so I don't have all the acessories that the big deer hunters have (tree stand) however I decided to go deer hunting with my dad about 12-14 years ago (looking back more like18 yrs) anyhoy I was hunting over a power line that ran between the woods on a hill side I was standing in the fork of a maple tree(tree stance). Along comes a deer into the clearing down hill from me, I set up for the shot and as I squeeze the trigger I slip a little in my tree stance. The deer disappeared. Some time passes, I get down out of my tree stance walk over to check for blood (where it was standing when I shot was tall weeds) there layed the deer! No visible blood or anything. I turned its head and it had brain matter on its other cheek. The slug went perfectly in the right ear canal and out the left and put a hole in the left ear upon exiting! You really had to look to tell it had even been shot.

 

[crocket]

my buddy shot a doe in the head with a bow one time. to make a long story short, he was aiming for the front of the chest an the shot was up hill . he was on the ground and the deer was facing him his point of aim was off an he hit her right in the nose.killed her dead where she stood....he got very lucky..

 

[The Bubba Effect]

If you're hunting somewhere where there is Chronic Wasting Disease, be careful of Cerebral/Spinal fluid. I don't remember for sure, but seem to remember something about that when I went out west.

 

[ctbreitwieser]

I am not a deer hunter so I don't have all the acessories that the big deer hunters have (tree stand) however I decided to go deer hunting with my dad about 12-14 years ago (looking back more like18 yrs) anyhoy I was hunting over a power line that ran between the woods on a hill side I was standing in the fork of a maple tree(tree stance). Along comes a deer into the clearing down hill from me, I set up for the shot and as I squeeze the trigger I slip a little in my tree stance. The deer disappeared. Some time passes, I get down out of my tree stance walk over to check for blood (where it was standing when I shot was tall weeds) there layed the deer! No visible blood or anything. I turned its head and it had brain matter on its other cheek. The slug went perfectly in the right ear canal and out the left and put a hole in the left ear upon exiting! You really had to look to tell it had even been shot.

Ya, and one time, I was getting ready to shoot, and slipped out of my treestand, but pulled the trigger anyways, and just happend to drop it dead in its tracks.

.

 

[ZS84]

I disagree. Name three.


I am happy for you and your son. More kids should have a father like you that will work with them to make them proficient enough to know where the shot will hit. My guess would be that your son could have handled a 20 gage semi auto just as well?

My experience has been that a whole bunch of youngsters with little to no trigger time were now "big enough" to carry a single shot .410 into the woods, thus they are "legit to hunt?" Maybe the only people I know and see are those sons, nephews and cousins of the geniuses shopping Walmart the night before deer season opens, buying their gun, ammo, hunter orange, and hot hands?

I know that my uncle hunts with a .410 and a guy that I sold some furs to said he did as well. (that is two) I have seen several adults buying .410 ammo for deer season because they say they like how flat they shoot. (does that count as 2 1/2?) I know my uncle does this because he likes to hold his shots to very little range. He says he likes the challenge. This is why he also likes to hunt with a revolver with a 4inch barrel. I would rather have a 20 gauge or larger but that is me. I hunt with a 12 guage like most others. At the time my son had shot a 20 guage but he did not feel as comfortable with it and was then flinching when he pulled the trigger. Igave him the gun without a slug and told him it was loaded and just to aim down range at the target and squeeze the trigger. He flinched big time. However with the .410 he was comfortable and did not flinch. I do agree that way too many people give their child, nephew, cousin a .410 and shoot it a few times and head to the woods and this is one of the worst things that you can do. I just also believe that their are many people that have an extra 12 gauge and tell their buddy to go get a deer tag, hunter orange and some slugs and they take them out hunting without having their friend ever go out and shoot. To me it is a matter of people not spending time behind the weapon (no matter what the guage) which causes this problem.

 

[71silverbullet]

Ya, and one time, I was getting ready to shoot, and slipped out of my treestand, but pulled the trigger anyways, and just happend to drop it dead in its tracks.

.

I take no credit for the shot, it was a total fluke, there's no way I could replicate it. I was using a mossberg 500 smoothe bore, but the slug did enter through one ear and exit the other. Stranger things have happened.

 

[Pete]

My boy shot a 145 inch 8 pointer with a 20 gauge last year. It was his first deer. When we went up to it, I saw it was hit in the nose under its left eye. The buck had taken a half step to his left & stretched his neck out at us as the shot was fired.

I asked him what he was aiming at. His answer was "I don't know". I put it down to his aim was focused on what he was looking at - the rack the buck was carrying. I'm glad the buck went down instantly.

 

[Fordtough25]

I took a deer with a headshot from a 12 gauge when I was about 14. He was running towards the tree I was in from 12 o clock. I took a shot at his high chest area and he stuck his head out as I shot. It hit him below the eye, above the nose and the slug went down through his neck into his chest.

Not to be comical, but he was running full bore and it was like God hit him with a sledge hammer, his head slammed into the ground and he went end over end.

I had just about the same thing happen to me several years back, crazy for sure! I usually aim for the lungs myself, the last doe I got didn't have a heart left when I gutted her but she still ran 60 yards from point of impact. From my experience if they can think and breath they can move. Had to pack her out of some rough country, but man did she taste good!

 

[J_Wales]

If one has a clean shot, head shots are fine.

I took a doe two years ago with a head shot when she came straight at me while I was sitting at the base of a tree. She dropped like a sack of rocks.

That said, if the deer offers another option I'm likely taking it. If the head shot is the only option but it is anything less than clean I am passing.

I'm not much of one to want to see the deer suffer and I'm not a big fan of tracking long long blood trails.

 

[J_Wales]

I had just about the same thing happen to me several years back, crazy for sure! I usually aim for the lungs myself, the last doe I got didn't have a heart left when I gutted her but she still ran 60 yards from point of impact. From my experience if they can think and breath they can move. Had to pack her out of some rough country, but man did she taste good!

Too bad you lost the heart though. Fried strips of deer heart is ggggooooooooooddd eating!

Man, how many more days until deer season?

 

[ctbreitwieser]

Man, how many more days until deer season?

Too many, Ill finally be home for this next one! Its been way to long.