Neck Shots on Deer?

[kdlong]

you are right elkstalkr to each their own. i'm like you i don't mind trailing a good blood trail.

 

[makeithappen]

I've never attempted nor really considered a neck shot. Just seems like the kill zone is too small. I aim for the lower section of the lungs. If I hit low, heart shot. If I hit high, lungs/spine. That's just how I figure it though.

 

[makeithappen]

I sometimes think I need a bigger gun.

Well, you're in the right place then my friend. lol

 

[AllOut]

Well, you're in the right place then my friend. lol

I blew through both shoulders with a 300 win mag last year (buck field dressed 180 iirc) Bullet was pressing out on the back side skin... Perfect, penetration and energy dump. The buck never even took a step DRT.
I'm gonna try a 300 Ultra Mag this year. Not sure if it will be up to the task of a shoulder shot or not LOL

 

[DRC458]

I helped TRY to recover a doe one year that somebody attempted a neck shot on. Shot off her lower jaw. We never did catch up to her, but you know she died a slow and agonizing death. On the other hand, I knew a fellow who swore by the neck shot and said it was the only shot he would take. I saw some of the deer he killed, but I never heard any stories about how many he missed or might have wounded and lost. I'll stick with the chest shot, but to each his own.

 

[deerwhacker444]

I am pretty stinkin' new to deer though as I have only shot 4, 3 with rifle and 1 with muzzleloader. I sometimes think I need a bigger gun.

A .224 hole thru the heart is better than a .458 hole thru the haunch. You're doing fine,..don't change a thing.

 

[VIKING]

I guess it all depends on what you are comfortable with. I hunted for many years with a 243 and shot most all the deer in the neck. Every deer would fall straight down. I finally bought a 7 mag and started shooting behind the shoulders and most every deer would run a few yards but of course the blood trail was great. I also have to wonder about the deer with the hanging jaws. Was it a bad neck shot or a bad head shot? I would always try for the area just a few inches in front of the shoulders. Another point is the 243 was a 1968 model 700 bench rest gun that was extremely accurate.

 

[dennishoddy]

I blew through both shoulders with a 300 win mag last year (buck field dressed 180 iirc) Bullet was pressing out on the back side skin... Perfect, penetration and energy dump. The buck never even took a step DRT.
I'm gonna try a 300 Ultra Mag this year. Not sure if it will be up to the task of a shoulder shot or not LOL

What was the range you shot that deer with .300 win mag?
I've killed them out to 450 yds with a .30-06, through the shoulders and never had anything other than a pass through.
I guess if it were a varmint round, it could happen.

 

[ripnbst]

I blew through both shoulders with a 300 win mag last year (buck field dressed 180 iirc) Bullet was pressing out on the back side skin... Perfect, penetration and energy dump. The buck never even took a step DRT.
I'm gonna try a 300 Ultra Mag this year. Not sure if it will be up to the task of a shoulder shot or not LOL

You're doing it wrong.

 

[7stw]

I do not like a neck shot. I do however shoot my does in the head if the conditions are right. Theirs way to much room for error on a neck shot. Hit the void and they'll drop like a stone then get up and run off. Saw a good friend have this happen on an antelope hunt in wy, we eventually got the goat killed but only after an extensive search and a double lung shot. I'm a beliver in shoulder shots. As said above usually not much tracking and with the right bullet a text book wound channel. But to each their own. Ive got my "ethics" and you have yours. And a spine shot animal will eventually die but not quickly. I'd put as much faith in a neck shot as a "Texas heart shot" and I'm not willing to pull the trigger on either, I'd rather eat tag soup.