Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting What is the motivation to shoot deer in the shoulder?

A car can't move w/o wheels. powdr

I shoot [bleep] until it dies-simple as that. Behind the shoulder or on the point of it both work fine for me.

Tanner

Some good reasons to shoot deer in the shoulder:

-To kill it.
-It's a vital area,and a shot there can immobilize it. See above.
-That might be the shot you are presented.

If guy stops using tin foil bullets,he may find that shoulder shots can be taken without spoiling everything forward of the diaphragm.

Mornin Fred -

I am hunting private property that is surrounded on 3 sides by owners who don't allow hunting. It's important to me to DROP a deer ASAP.

I am posting 2 pics of HI-shoulder shots from last season. As you'll see there was minimal meat loss.

Also with this shot the animal is dead IMMEDIATELY. The spinal cord gets severed and it's along the bottom of the back strap. There was no kicking, pawing, crawling or anything. I watch them hit the ground and there is NO movement.

If your shot hits lower there will be more meat damaged.





For NO meat loss and if it's not important that the deer runs some distance, the lung shot is deadly.

This. I question why someone who's hunted as much as they say, why they would question "why a shoulder shot" in the first place.

Yepper. It works for me too.
Besides knocking out the front wheel drive, good chances it'll blow up the heart too.
Happened to this one...

When/where dictates how/when I shoot..........

This doe died 20 yards from a neighbors back yard, where I needed it to NOT GO.

The crossbow/shot placement did it's job........

punching some bone gives TSXs something to work with and prevents your food from using it's last 30 seconds to make your next several hours suck.

They don't give a chit, plain and simple and it looks better on their so called TV shows to see whatever dropping at the shot.

Look at how many shows these days wait until the next morning to go retrieve whatever game, as it makes better shooting light.

I use the shoulder shot only if I have to stop the deer right there otherwise it sure makes a mess of things.

I'm blue/green and red/orange color blind. (I can see the colors but they look a lot a like, don't stick out to me - sucks but I also can see deer MUCH faster than normal vision people. Movement is like a klieglight to me, not so much to others.)

Blood on leaves isn't the easiest thing in the world for me to see. I drill shoulders so they don't run.

Runt shot a buck this year and stewed the lungs. Was 70 yards before we found blood and about 90 before the deer was found.

My father is a great tracker as is my brother so I either have to know they're in camp or take out the steers. I rather take out the steers and just show up bloody....

Taking out the shoulders put's them on he ground quick. I don't mess with shoulder meat. Too much trouble for too little reward. I'd rather shoot another.

Keep the shoulder whole, wrap it in foil and throw it on the grill for a few hours. You end up with something like this.

If God didn't want us to shoot deer in the shoulders He wouldn't have but the goodies betwixt them.

It amazes me how many folks here find critters don't go anywhere when shoulder shot. Different situations and experiences I guess.

I have found no difference in how far critters run whether shot through the shoulder or directly behind it. Sometimes they make it a few steps and sometimes they don't. High shoulder shots excluded of course.

This is why I try to avoid shoulders, even with premium bullets.



This elk made it about 10 steps after a 200 grain accubond broke both shoulders (by accident). 10 steps is not far enough to make any difference, but that gritty, nasty bone marrow and bone fragments were everywhere.
Roughly half of the critters I hit behind the shoulder don't even make it 10 steps. Again, no upside to drilling shoulders as I see it, unless it simply gives you confidence.

Yep.

Tin foil bullets at the speed of light, ain't that the truth...

CWM/Skane: Yea we love our plastic tipped and fragile skinned bullets for their wonderful accuracy and aerodynamic flight;prep ourselves for that long shot then shoot some beast at 100 yards and wonder why we have blown the fronts to smithereens,with exits the size of watermelons....

You're going to spoil some meat with shoulder shots with anything because you have to break a few eggs to make an omelet...but if you use a high velocity cartridge the carnage can be kept under control by using a bit tougher bullet.