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So you that say "high shoulder" I assume you mean through the shoulder blades? Looking at a deer anatomy it looks like I would need to hold in front of the leg, maybe 2/3rds up the body? I have been a " behind the shoulder" guy ever since I shot my 1st deer in 2001, most run 20-50 yards, though some go further. Just not sure where on a deer I should hold for said shot. Someone care to enlighten me?! Get some of the Safari Press Perfect Shot targets and see if you can make it before you try it on a deer.
Living in a world of G17s and 700s, wishing for P7s and 202s
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I would recommend the “ shoulder shot” as in the front leg and the middle of the neck. ( where they would intersect)
Last edited by Angus1895; 11/22/21.
"Shoot low sheriff, I think he's riding a shetland!" B. Wills
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I usually hunted woods in relatively small plots of farm ground with fenced property lines in all directions not too far way. My hunting areas also often had large overgrown blow-downs and limb piles left behind from logging along with huge thick mazes of blackberry and honeysuckle to deal with, so whenever given the opportunity, the high shoulder 'DRT' shot was my preferred shot. The older I got the more I preferred it. Most were taken with 130 grain .270s and in my experience meat loss was relatively negligible.
As always, YMMV...
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Mach3: I would NEVER under ANY circumstance intentionally shoot a Deer (Elk or Antelope) "high in the shoulder"!
I have seen Deer, Elk and Antelope that other people have "shot high in the shoulder" and the results are disgusting and wasteful.
PERIOD!
If a person has time to "shoot a Deer high in the shoulder" then that person has time to correctly shoot said Deer in the heart/lungs avoiding the shoulders and the wastefulness of that.
Sheesh.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy In the wide open areas of Montana, I would agree with you. However, here in South Carolina, a high shoulder shot or a neck shot if under 200 yards will result in a found deer without a LOST deer. THICK Woods, crops and laid out areas are stupid thick here and there are untold lost deer annually from "right behind the shoulder" shot.
Last edited by Sasha_and_Abby; 11/23/21.
"If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die, I want to go where they went"
Will Rogers
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I shoot for double lung, broad-side. I have never had a deer move from the spot, except for a doe shot with a 50-70 Govt and sofft lead bullet. In that case the slug went right through and she took a few wobbly steps. Likewise for a .54 cal rounball load in a muzzleloader.
However I have always used larger calibers.. 35 Rem (with 180 JFP), 356 Win, 33 WCF, 338ME, 45-70, 450ME, 12 gauge slugs. Mostly the 45-70 loaded with 300 JHP
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Campfire Ranger
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Mach3: I would NEVER under ANY circumstance intentionally shoot a Deer (Elk or Antelope) "high in the shoulder"!
I have seen Deer, Elk and Antelope that other people have "shot high in the shoulder" and the results are disgusting and wasteful.
PERIOD!
If a person has time to "shoot a Deer high in the shoulder" then that person has time to correctly shoot said Deer in the heart/lungs avoiding the shoulders and the wastefulness of that.
Sheesh.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy Why waste the heart? Better eating than a shoulder full of silver skin and connective tissue. Wasteful?? Chickens and hounds need to eat too.
The last time that bear ate a lawyer he had the runs for 33 days!
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Mach3: I would NEVER under ANY circumstance intentionally shoot a Deer (Elk or Antelope) "high in the shoulder"!
I have seen Deer, Elk and Antelope that other people have "shot high in the shoulder" and the results are disgusting and wasteful.
PERIOD!
If a person has time to "shoot a Deer high in the shoulder" then that person has time to correctly shoot said Deer in the heart/lungs avoiding the shoulders and the wastefulness of that.
Sheesh.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy Agreed
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Campfire Ranger
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Mach3: I would NEVER under ANY circumstance intentionally shoot a Deer (Elk or Antelope) "high in the shoulder"!
I have seen Deer, Elk and Antelope that other people have "shot high in the shoulder" and the results are disgusting and wasteful.
PERIOD!
If a person has time to "shoot a Deer high in the shoulder" then that person has time to correctly shoot said Deer in the heart/lungs avoiding the shoulders and the wastefulness of that.
Sheesh.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy Agreed I simply do not understand this logic. I'm generally a boiler-room proponent (partly because it presents the most margin for error) but if one is using a stout bullet and wants to work the shoulder, there's generally not a big loss of meat. Regionalism is often overlooked by members and it's apparent here – small confines due to property boundaries, hellish cover, time-of-day, etc. makes for different decisions on bullet placement (and bullet choice) than what others might be accustomed. Varmintstooge occupies an awfully small bubble and his insular mind thinks the rest of the world follows suit. 
![[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]](https://i.imgur.com/X0n16mr.png) WWP53D
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I know this is a deer thread but the point is the same — I took my last 6x6 bull with a high shoulder shot because he was behind a little ridge that obscured the bottom half of his chest.
A 7mm, 140-gr TTSX shattered the first couple vertebrae of his thoracic spine and kept going. Absolutely no significant meat loss and have made this shot on a big zebra, gemsbok, as well as deer, and other elk, and wouldn’t hesitate again.
It’s almost always an immediately anchoring and deadly shot, and without too frangible bullets (almost all have been with mono-metals), have not lost significant amounts of meat either.
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One of the major advantages of "monolithic" bullets, such as the Barnes TTSX and a bunch of others, is they "waste" almost no meat, even with the high shoudler/spine shot, yet drop 'em right there. This is because they don't fragment nearly as much as lead-cored bullets.
Apparently many hunters still haven't realized this, because they've only used the same bullets for decades. The other factor, which is also obvious after somebody's used monos is that you can use a significantly smaller bullet, which will still kill very well (especially with the high shoulder shot), yet ruin very little meat.
A good example would be the pronghorn my wife killed on opening day here in Montana. She shot it through the shoulders at 200 yards with a 70-grain Hornady GMX from a .22-250, started at 3300 fps. This would ruin a LOT of meat with a typical lead-cored bullet, but the antelope dropped right there--and we lost maybe 2-3 ounces of meat.
But whatever.... After a few PMs with MuleDeer a few years back I swapped to this shot and have been very happy.
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I was skeptical on this idea for shot placement so I dismissed it for years . Last year I decided to give it a try , I am now a believer . I am not much for change ,but after I saw the results I try to take all my deer with this shot now .
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Campfire Ranger
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One of the major advantages of "monolithic" bullets, such as the Barnes TTSX and a bunch of others, is they "waste" almost no meat, even with the high shoudler/spine shot, yet drop 'em right there. This is because they don't fragment nearly as much as lead-cored bullets.
Apparently many hunters still haven't realized this, because they've only used the same bullets for decades. The other factor, which is also obvious after somebody's used monos is that you can use a significantly smaller bullet, which will still kill very well (especially with the high shoulder shot), yet ruin very little meat.
A good example would be the pronghorn my wife killed on opening day here in Montana. She shot it through the shoulders at 200 yards with a 70-grain Hornady GMX from a .22-250, started at 3300 fps. This would ruin a LOT of meat with a typical lead-cored bullet, but the antelope dropped right there--and we lost maybe 2-3 ounces of meat.
But whatever.... Once again I completely agree with MD. It’s been my experience with countless animals that what MuleDeer says is absolutely true! All of my “meat rifles” are tuned for either the TSX or TTSX.
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Very wise IMO chudly.
Wasted meat is one thing, lost game another.
If you wanna have less meat damage, bigger heavier slower boolits will help that deal.
Last edited by Angus1895; 11/24/21.
"Shoot low sheriff, I think he's riding a shetland!" B. Wills
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I thought this one was termed nicely. ![[Linked Image from uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com]](https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170619/8745319c805bdae0843a3b907cdfc1cc.png)
Last edited by LongSpurHunter; 11/24/21.
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I tried for this result this year for the first time & while my placement was a bit further back Roughly 3" The results were devastating instant death. In this case the cartridge was the 6mm Arc w a 108 gr Berger Elite hunter. Shot distance was 254 yards plus per laser range finder. Meat damage was minimal with this quartering away shot that took out the lower portion of the spine.
Simply will never know what would have happened If The shot would have been 2" lower. reason I am a bit concerned is the tissue damage was very minimal Even with the diagonal hit on the lower portion of the spine. Near as I can tell the bullet expansion was very minimal. Like said earlier instant Lights out on what I expect to have been a 300 lb'ish live weight deer..
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control
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If that cartoon is anatomically correct. I am not sure it is…….
It’s a spine shot through the scapula. The brachial plexus , a branch of the nervous system…I think plexus is a branch of the vagus nerve , lies beneath the scapula, so in essence you are affecting two parts of the CNS with the shot.
But personally I don’t believe the scapula and humerus lie that far foreword in relation to the rib cage.
Last edited by Angus1895; 11/25/21.
"Shoot low sheriff, I think he's riding a shetland!" B. Wills
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The meat loss sucks with that shot…but it’s kinda fun to see them drop in their tracks!
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FWIW I have never had a problem tracking, finding, or losing a deer with a bullet through the thoracic cavity. Lots of blood trail, no oxygen to the brain, and one dead deer in short order. Every time. No exceptions. Ever.
The way life should be.
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FWIW I have never had a problem tracking, finding, or losing a deer with a bullet through the thoracic cavity. Lots of blood trail, no oxygen to the brain, and one dead deer in short order. Every time. No exceptions. Ever. Yeah, I'm just overjoyed when people can kill the thing at all. I've seen way too many fruitless tracking jobs. In the ear, Chicago neck, through the heart, whatever. Just kill it.
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high shoulder 100% of the time that it is available.
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