Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting So, when you lung shoot a deer...

I assume I have hit him well as I normally watch the reaction and them until they fall. Stand or blind hunting allows an easier shot most of the time if you are patient.
Last year I had my wife shoot her buck twice because I wasn't sure how high or how far back the bullet was . He went about 100 yards, stopped, then started walking toward the fence and brush.
She hit him again to make my life easier. Weak little .270.


stumpy

Jeff, that reminded me of a buck I shot about 15+ years ago. Jumped two nice ones out of a planted pine bottom. The lead deer was bigger , but the second deer was a piebald that looked remarkably like an appaloosa horse. Couldn't keep my rifle from moving to him as they ran up the far hillside.

Unfortunately, I blew the shot and hit him in his 'back shoulder'(love that term). Not only that, the slug went through and blew off his 'jewels'. There was nothing left but the upper skin of his scrotum.

He tried to keep going but was only able to make it a few more yards, then he just kinda stood there all scrunched up (as you might expect) while I settled down and put a finisher through his neck.

Now THAT must've really hurt!

I'll go for the heart and double lung shot every time.
A fast steppin .277 caliber 130 or 140 grain bullet or a fast steppin .25 caliber 100 or 120 grain bullet thru the heart and both lungs will put a deer on the ground real quick, IME.

I will usually try for another shot if its offered. Deer are usually in thicker brush but so far they have all left good blood trails.

You should have seen my first buck antelope. 14 year olds don't have patience for schit. I hit him the first time tight behind the shoulder, he humped up and trotted about 5 yards and stopped. Hit him again about the same place with the same reaction. Hit him again a little lower(just over the heart) he humped up hard that time and I figured I was hitting him too far back. Aimed in FRONT of his shoulder and broke the base of his neck. You could cover the first three shots with the palm of your hand. I bet it took all of 45 seconds from the first shot to the last. LOL Still don't know how he kept his feet with 3 130 gr. 270's through his lungs.

I bet you were using factory ammo and the shot was well over 100 yards.

Not exactly. 130 gr. nosler solid bases(my dad's favorite at the time) over 58 gr H4831. Kinda had to dig to find that one, written in a Speer #4 manual.

The goat started at about 125 yards and died at around 150, if memory serves. Still my biggest to date- 15 5/8 & 15 1/2 with good bases and cutters.

Hmmmm, I can't explain your experience.
Your load should be traveling about close to 3000 fps at the muzzle. And at impact it should enough energy to turn the heart and lungs into soup.

Soup is too nice a word for what that bucks chest cavity looked like, as you can imagine. There wasn't much left. Never seen anything like it since. I don't expect to see it ever again. Just one of those things I guess.

Having grown up where hunting with dogs was legal and people in general had enough land to do it I have a few observations.

1. If you shoot a deer and double lung it - it won't go far.

2. If you double lung a deer in front of the dogs you can sit where you are and listen to find out if it went down or not as has been my experience the dogs will be all over it once it goes down and you can hear them.

I also wonder when people say "in front of the dogs".....in my experience deer were normally shot way out from the dogs. Never really out in front like say a rabbit.

Maybe we just did it different/wrong/right.

Around here we really refer it it as blood soup. Sometimes with that shot they will not bleed much.
A few years ago I shot a 120 lb whitetail that was running flat out with a handloaded 140 gr Hornady SST that was chorno'ed at a little less than 3100 fps. The range was about 50 yards. At the shot the deer slided about 5 yards on it's bellie and rolled over on the entrance hole and went into a death spin throwing blood and heart/lung tissue for 10 feet.
The bullet made a .277� entrance hole between the ribs. The exit hole was measured .402� and it also between the ribs.
I bought my first .270 Win a little over 10 years ago. I bought my 2ndn.270 Win 6 years ago as a backup. I have been very happy with both of them. Nothing I've shot has traveled staggered more than 15 yards and most just fell over into a death spin.

NathanL,
Yep, you are right on all three counts.

I grew up hunting in East Texas with dogs.Killed my first deer in fromt of dogs and always enjoyed it. Hunting deer with dogs has been outlawed here for years now but I havent forgotten how. Always used a shotgun with buckshot back then.Guess we didnt know any better, but I do know I never stopped shooting until the deer was down or out of sight. Then you waited on the dogs to get there and catch. Fond memories but I now think I must be gettin old

That's been my experience also, maybe a 15-20 yard wobbly stumble then a dead deer. That goat was the most amazing display of "packin' lead" I've ever seen, and that includes a fair number of elk. Like I said I don't expect to ever see the like again.

A whitetail that is double lunged will go as far as 60 yards or so. He will usually travel down hill if he/she can and generally leave a nice pink blood trail. I also understand they get very thirsty very fast so down hill to water if the blood trail can't be found. Since there is not much in the pleural cavity you can usually expect a pass-thru of about the same size as the entrance hole.

Mc

Ah... yes... ouch.

The things we do to deer, in the name of killing 'em...

this doe went 45yds through some really thick brush. there was lungs and blood slattered 15 ft back from where she was standing.200gr accubound at 170yds

Too funny Bill, and pretty much my experience. Tried once at one about 100 yds out on afterburner, don't expect I'll try again.

In answer to the original question, no, if I were sure of my shot I probably wouldn't fire again. I usually don't get the chance, I hunt in pasture land that is broken buy lots of mesquite and cedar, it's never far for them to get to cover. Happily as others have said a bullet through the lungs and they don't go far. I set and watch for a while, maybe 10 minutes, then go looking, usually they're no more that 60 or 70 yards.

Oh, yeah, it's not legal to hunt with dogs here and we have a few ferals around so if I saw a dog chasing a deer I might just take a shot at it too.

Seems like most of you are referring to fairly close range shooting. I've found that shooting a deer thru the lungs with a cranked up NBT at normal woods range usually has a stunningly impressive result.

When I started processing deer, I was amazed at how little meat is on an average white tail deer's shoulders.

The only time I will hit them in the lung now, is to beak the shoulder on the off side. Otherwise, I shoot them through the shoulders. I have had deer run 200 yards shot completely through both lungs. In some cases, lung shot deer were very difficult to in thick woods. I learned my lesson on lung shooting deer.

If you are concerned about the meat on the shoulders, you should be saving the meat on the neck, and almost everyone throws the neck in the garbage.

Wrong again. Looks like you are in the back straps and hams only catagory. miles