Shot placement question
 

Shot placement is very important with large and potentially dangerous game.

Should the shot be in the shoulders to knock the animal down?

Shot the shot be in the heart lung area to shut down the animal's metabolic functions?

Both shot placement methods are considered acceptable.

Which one do you prefer, if at all?


BB416 and Huntinstuff, please do not think I am stealing an argument from you guys. You two brought up a very good question I thought should be shared with the rest of the forum.

Shoulders.

I almost always choose the heart/lung shot,although that often results in striking one shoulder.

I prefer the 1/4 away heart lung far shoulder exit!! Every animal I have shot with this method never took 1 step towards me!

I would never argue with Randy ...:scared0018:


All depends

Sometimes I want to anchor an animal and other times a lung shot is perfectly fine.For bears or dangerous game I try for shoulder...

High shoulder shots like TJ recommends do offer the best result for a killing shot as you can miss quite a bit in either direction and skill have a good result..

All depends on the hunter and situation and if the animal dies quickly then thats a perfect shot in my mind :)

Depends upon the situation. If you're stand hunting or baiting or what not to allow a broadside shot, then heart / lungs. IMO the only Nth American animals that classify as both large and dangerous are the big bears - Alaskan, polar or grizzly. Moose or Elk?? Sure they could rough you up but why would you break the front shoulders and lose the meat? If you're head hunting then shoulders.

Texas heart shot....all the way! :scared0018:

X2, 1 in the chest running towards you, 2 in the ass running away.

x2 any bear if I'm on the ground shoulders.elk or moose lungs/hart and I try not to get the off shoulder.

Lungs every time.If I was too close to a grizzly than high shoulder.Shot 20+ blacks all lungs never an issue.

Last light shoulders,first light and day time heart/lungs if at all possible.

Everything in the shoulder , except antlerless , they get it in the head. I dont like haveing to chase anything.

hahahahahaha! I got a good laugh outta that one....i'll have to try that placement next year! :lol:

I shoot them wherever the bullet strikes.

Truth is most hunters will tell you they can hit the eye of a sparrow at 1,000 yards, while the best they can do is hope to hit somewhere on the body at ranges under 200 yards.

I can hit the kill zone, Heart Lung area, 99% of the time at ranges under 200 yards. Since that is the easiest target to hit, that is what I aim for.
I avoid shots at longer ranges. I'm simply not that good.
I haven't been hunting all that long, only 47 years now. Besides, I don't own one of those super guns. I use old fashioned equipment, like 30-06 and 30-30.
Such guns are only capable of hitting a one inch target at 100 yards under the very best of circumstances. (Good steady rest, lots of time to aim, ext.) For each additional 100 yards the target doubles in size. Many, if not most, hunting guns are doing good to hit a 2 inch target at 100 yards. Do the math.
Factor in an offhand shot, much less a hurried off hand shot, and mathematics tells me that a 14 inch target is a poor bet past 200 yards, at least for the typical hunter.

Think about it. If you aim for the shoulder, what you are actually aiming for is the upper leg bone. You are trying to hit a two inch wide target you can't even see. Or you could try for the shoulder Blade. That's a much bigger target, it's also a fools target. It will knock an animal flat. But the animal WILL get up again and they WILL be twice as hard to stop when they do.
I have done it, unintentionally, and I have watched others do it far too many times to try that shot intentionally.
Now some would argue that they are not trying to hit the leg bone, only the leg mussel. No kidding! So why not dump out half of your powder first and then shoot for the heart?
Or you could try for the back bone. It's a bigger target. But it's also hidden, and a miss would most likely result in a fatally wounded animal that will go for a very long way.

Now if you are one of those remarkable folks that can hit the eye of a sparrow at 1,000 yards, by all means go for the shoulder shot. Better still shoot them in the ear. If you're that good, it's the shot for you.
That was the shot of choice for us when we butchered a cow or other domestic animal. Instant death every time, and no loss of meat.

If you are an average hunter, I would suggest that the heart/lung shot is a better choice for you.

Absolutely the ideal situation! And just to clarify, the far shoulder meaning breaking the offside leg.

this is hard to describe...
if an animal is standing broadside, chances are one of the front two legs will be positioned between the lead leg and the two rears. it can be the critters drivers side or passenger side leg, as long as its in the 'middle'.
put the vertical crosshair on the 'center' front leg find the center mass (and below) then trip.
this works at almost every angle and has a great chance of hitting something important and like 3D said it takes out the opposite shoudler and everything in the middle

heart/lungs or head only.
no need to waste any meat with a shoulder shot, unless your not keeping the meat.

Blasting the shoulders out is a great way to anchor an animal for sure. Good bullet.

I tend to shoot behind the shoulder because i know it works every time. Yes i might have to track the animal but i tend to take my time so to me, tracking is just part of it all

Mostly, my animal is dead within 100yds of where it was shot, but i dont pursue right away so really i just delay getting my animal

shoulder usually

Gotta agree its the only sportmans way of fair chase:sHa_shakeshout::bad_boys_20::character0110:

Slightly quartering away, taking vitals and off shoulder. Or Broadside waiting for onside leg to step forward tucking bullet in close behind shoulder. I Dont like hitting lots of bone on entry unless I can be posative it will anchor the animal. An animal can go along ways with a smashed shoulder but there time is very limited with a hole in a vital organ.

The situation dictates my choice in shot, all situations are different. I shoot to kill immediately on any animal dangerous/large or not. I dont shoot worrying if im gunna waste a steak or not. I shoot for a clean humane kill.

SG

:sign0176: Man you guys are good! Me? I'm just thinking "Stop shaking and try to hit it in the middle..." LOL

I guess one thing that bears discussing here is the distance being shot. I became a huge fan of the high shoulder shot after I started extending the ranges I shoot. The first advantage is that it allows for a fairly wide margain of error. In fact, it's a hard shot to screw up, other than completely missing which is much preferable to a non fatal hit. Second, the results are typically a drop on the spot response. This is important when shooting long ranges as it can take a fair amount of time to get to the scene of a hit when you have to walk a 1/2 kilometer or more. Even finding exactly where the animal was standing can be a challenge if there is no snow so walking to an animal that dropped on the spot is preferable. Anyhow, that's why I'm a fan of the high shoulder.

2500 dollar question. you did not indicate at what distance.a shoulder shot may not anchor a dangerous critter and they may still be able to cover a bit of ground before expiring. so, four very close quarters dangerous game,behind the ear,between eyes,neck,spine.

Must have copied that down from a Best of The West episode LOL sounds word for word from one of their speeches!

SG

x2 If you aren't concerned about ruining meat then blast away at the shoulders and put a second round into it when it goes down. I almost always wait for a nice broadside shot and put a round behind the shoulder through both lungs. I don't mind tracking the animal because it's part of hunting IMHO. Besides, if they don't drop they usually run straight and not very far. :character0053:

Great answer

FTIW the OP asked for opinions of shot placement based upon "large & dangerous" game. You go on & on about about shots at or beyond 200yds... At 200yds nothings really dangerous, if it's moving don't shoot. If it's in the open there's probably no reason that you can't set up to have a stable shooting platform, whether that's prone, sitting down or resting against a tree. Shooting beyond 200yds is not all that difficult. The 2 basics are practice and patience.
Also BTW, I am a heart/lung shooter on animals I intend to eat. Bears get shot according to their distance, how they are positioned and what happens to be in my hands at the time.
Lastly, I disagree with your statement of what "WILL" happen with a shoulder shot animal. If you have enough gun and a good bullet a shoulder shot animal will not get up. There may be nothing left to eat but if I shoot a moose thru both front shoulders with any of my Weatherby's it will not be getting up.

I couldn't agree more, high shoulder with a magnum powered rifle and thier head has to catch up with thier ars most of the time they drop that fast in thier tracks.I think the hydrostatic shock on the spinal cord system just shuts everything down like a light switch. At least that what happens when I hit them high with my STW. And no I'm not talking spine shot, just under it or where the spine meets the neck is good also. I get a kick out of the guys shooting those little southern deer and they run off almost every time.

I had a client tell me that, almost word for word. The next day I watched as he fired three shots at a Black Bear. Broke both front legs, blew out one shoulder blade and drilled a huge hole through the upper neck.
I had to finish that Bear off. I carried a 30-06, he a 375 H&H Magnum.

It seems to me that a lot of folks put a lot of faith in one shot based on one or two lucky shots. While others put their faith in hand held cannons.
I put my faith in close range and careful shot placement.

But as I said, I'm not a professional.

How about you?