Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting The high shoulder rifle shot

As long as you don't use soft explosive bullets it doesn't bruise up that much meat. I do it with a 300 Weatherby and still have some shoulder meat left to grind up.

The back edge of the front leg and halfway up the chest usually takes out the lungs and hits scapula. It comes close to the spine, which nearly always results in DRT. That’s my version of the high-shoulder shot.

Unless pursued by dogs almost every deer I've shot that remained ambulatory turned around and went back the way he came.

I had the opportunity to use the high shoulder shot my last day in the woods this season. I had a shot at a doe right on the edge of some thick cover. She stepped out just before dark. I was already packing up getting ready to leave the stand. I had just put my binoculars in my pack. I grabbed my gun to leave the stand and saw some movement about 75 yds out. I got her in the scope and confirmed that it was a legal deer. I thought almost dark and thick cover, good time to use this shot. she was quartering away at a pretty good angle. I put the crosshairs high on the shoulder and squeezed one off. She dropped in her tracks like a sack of potatoes. Didn't even twitch when she hit the ground, DRT. 6.5 Creedmoor with a 143gr Hornady ELD-X. Clean pass through in the shoulder and out the base of the neck on the opposite side.

To my mind that isn’t all that high but what do I know. I would call that a shoulder shot.

Years ago I watch film of a guy shooting a bunch of game in Africa and he was shooting everything spine height or just below at the shoulder. So when I see “high shoulder” that’s what I think of, wrong or right.


When I stopped and thought about it, the only ones I’be had turn around and go back the way they came were ones I missed.

I honestly can't remember having one turn around and head back after being shot. Everyone that continued on after the shot headed in the direction they were traveling I believe

cas6969, That's higher than I usually shoot them. Here is the exit hole in the base of the neck.

I can't ever remember a deer turning and going back to where it came from. Regardless of where it was hit or with what gun

I get a great deal of pleasure shooting them right through the heart. Short run with a very easy to track blood trail. If I’m doe hunting (meat) hunting and I have a very steady rest (I’m sitting in a box) and the range is short, I’ll shoot them right in the head. It’s so much nicer to field dress them when they are head shot.

Describes it very well….and is a fairly large target area.

I get a lot of enjoyment seeing the deer headed to the ground after the shot in my scope. And not having to look for them in some thorny briar patch.

I hold very slightly above halfway and back edge of front leg on direct broadside for my version.

If the spine is broken the shot hit higher than I intend and the bullet slapping the scapula below the spine really seem to stun the CNS. Today I learned that the brachial plexus is a thing.

Bleeding is good because of the large arteries close to the spine and the heart seems to stop from blood loss not CNS damage.

Very little meat loss with VLDs and as Tim said I will trade shoulder meat for heart/liver on a 4 to 1 basis.