Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Neck Shots

Poor bastard, the buck and hunter. I learned long ago to shoulder shoot on bucks. I neck or head shoot all the doe's I kill to eat. There's a big doe contest Saturday, 1st prize is $1k cash. I'll be shoulder shooting a few to weigh up and donate.

I don’t do neck shots but I shoot almost all the does in the head.

I don't shoot for the neck myself.

My "neck" shots, results in a DRT and no tracking. Plenty of room for error and still get a recovery.

Maybe actually try for the left edge of the red dot, a little more in the neck.

Within about 100or so yds, sure. I don't understand to attitude of guy's saying it's a bad shot. I read all about how accurate their rifles are and a rifle doing even 1" at 100yds I'd think is good to go with a neck shot. My favorite spot is the area just behind the head where the neck comes out, instant death! Not only that but very little lost meat!

Same guys say it's risky but want to shoot 500+ yards on critters.

I'm sure the red dot works but I can't help but hold for the black circle.

That would work too but not near the chance of anchoring them in their tracks.

Brian, do you get any "bloodshot" to the backstrap, with this shot ?

I don’t like head shots whatsoever! Neck shots are marginally better, but not great.

Why not aim for a fatal double lung shot? Why ruin good neck meat?

To each their own…

Maybe in the very tip.

Rather have a half pound of lost meat than be on my knees tracking a deer. Save that for archery hunting.

I made a quarter to steep neck shot on a nice 9pt a few yrs ago at 15yds with a 25/06 it won’t a nice evening for either of us one reason I stepped up to a heavier cartridge

High shoulder shots = dead on there feet zero tracking

I got to kill a cow elk with my Colt Woodsman when I was guiding elk hunters. A very experienced old timer shot the cow in the neck and she dropped at the shot. Being younger I proceeded to the kill site while he struggled up the mountain. As I got to the elk, she regained her footing and came, locomotive style, right past me in high gear. Being the guide all I ever carried was my little 22. Dropped her with a quick double tap to the back of the head as she passed. The shot the hunter took was dead center in the neck, it just missed the spine by an inch. Old un-mounted mountain men, in need of a horse, would often shoot a wild horse in the neck, hoping to spine shock it, and tie it up before it woke up. Might have to shoot several before one lived through the shot. Head shots are no better, I have seen several that were un-sucsessful that lead to a miserable wound and few recovered.

I notice quite a few replies stating (Head Shots) are marginally better well when the conditions are right there is no comparison to a head shot they are 100% effective if placed properly .

After guiding for 9 years and have been hunting with many people for 60 years I can tell horror stories about head shot gone wrong. I have a list of head shots where the animal and or person survived.

Exactly! They are not a kill or clean miss proposition! Unethical IMHO.

100 yards or less and it's the shot I usually take if the deer is positioned correctly. I killed three last year with a neck shot, and they all were DRT.

I shot a doe mule deer in the neck with a 25/06 using Remington 100 grain factory ammo. At the shot she dropped and got right back up. A 2-mile tracking job got me 25 yards away at dark thirty. I could see blood running down her neck. A well-aimed shot and all that happened was her hearing and running away to never being seen again. I had a factory dud. Later I hit the same primer 3 more times and nothing. It went into my collection of factory failures.

Undoubtedly you have guided different levels of hunters and marksmanship abilities,in your experience I have no doubt you wouldn’t recommend them. However no one can argue they don’t produce results. This doe was taken by me las year

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