Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Bowhunting Frontal Chest shot

Do any of you have experience taking full frontal chest shots with your bow, assuming some elevation from a tree stand? Obviously not my most desired shot placement, but sometimes that's all a deer will offer up.

I would think you would catch lung (probably only one), perhaps heart and liver, more than likely and the arrow would settle on the stomach, but no exit. I wouldnt tnink there would much blood to follow if needed. I know this shot will kill them, but really curious as to how long it would take them to die and what the blood trail would looked like....if there is one. I rattled in a nice 10pt in KS the other day and this was the only shot I was given. I let him walk.

Curious if any of you have had personal experience with this shot on deer?

Yes, a desert(Sonoran) mule deer that was taken after a high speed chase on while afoot and that was again encountered at 80+ yards, while facing dead-on to the archer. The loosed arrow struck at the base of the throat and then buried itself to the fletching (28 inches) and deep into the chest cavity. The buck went about 15 yards before expiring.

I shot a nice Illinois 8 pt full frontal @ 12-15 yds in thick cover and had a complete pass through. Aimed for and hit him at the base of his neck between the shoulders; arrow exited the center rear rib cage. He ran, maybe, 30 yds with good blood; not that I needed it.

I wouldn't recommend the frontal shot from a tree stand. The angle is all wrong.

That said, I took an antelope in Wyoming last year with the frontal @18 yards. The arrow entered the sweet spot and ended up sticking out of his anus about 20". Death sprint for 30 yards and he was through.

Effective shot at ground level IMO.

Look at bone structure. See there is a hole that allows you in. Not very large.

See that all other ribs overlap basically, like armor in a way.

VERY EASY to deflect. Ground or air I'll never take a frontal shot with a bow, even though I shoot decently heavy arrows and heavier COC heads and not that expandble stuff.

Would be very easy to kill quickly with the proper hit. Be VERY easy to only wound.

For sure. A deer dropping at the shot to turn and run...... There would be increased chances of a muffed antler, head or neck hit, also.

Frontals are now considered a very effective shot. Surf Bowsite and Archerytalk sometime and you'll see that it's true.

Not from a tree stand though IMO.

Deer can move at the shot regardless if it's broadside or head on.

Sure, I trust sites with folks I dont' even know. Vs my personal bow tally of over 100 big game animals harvested....

Just like believing what you read here. You have to know the folks and even then...

FWIW, once I had put a deflected arrow through under the shoulder, and then took the time to look at bone structure after an older bowhunter mentioned it, well it all made sense. Workable? Yes. Smart, depends.... are there much better shots for various reasons? Definitely.

With a bow, you should understand that you should accept the fact you just dno't always get a good shot. That was part of the attraction. Having to put more hours in before it all got right.

Want to simply shoot a buck? I can do that out my door as I walk to the car every morning almost.

A lot of things work better now thanks to Bowsite, Archerytalk, and the internet in general. If you are uncomfortable with the shot and would rather let the buck walk to possibly get a broadside or quartering away shot later there is nothing wrong with that. Do what you are comfortable with.

I took a full frontal one time, deer spooked and it didn't look good. Thankfully he run in somewhat of a half circle and gave me a broadside shot and I stuck on into the boiler room.

I would NEVER take the shot intentionally ,however a long time ago I had a doe spin towards me at the release and yes I caught front chest got one lung,went 75 yds moved in for a quick finishing shot

It's up to you, of course.

The fact is, is that many well known and / or prolific bowhunters use the frontal shot with great success.

Your 100 animals is an impressive body count, but I'd wager you've never even tried a frontal. So it seems to me like you're passing judgement on something you're completely ignorant about.

I saw too many cases years ago with a Wing Redwing Hunter and micro flights where a deer would look up at the shot, frown, and dodge a Bear razor head. If broadside and they duck now, I don't hit antlers, head or neck with my compound, but I have spined a bunch. Those don't go far.

Once on a doe and the trajectory was almost level. She didn't go 15 yards, very lethal. Today though, I would wait on a better shot at a big doe because the probability exists that I will get a lot more and better shots. If it were a huge buck, he was close, and that was the only shot I was going to get I would take it unless the angle was too steep.

Again ,this is MY opinion only but we as hunters ethically need to take and MAKE high percentage shots when ever possible ,no animal deserves to be a coyote dinner,we owe it to the animal and if we're honest to ourselves as well

My last kill was frontal, but from the ground. In a tree stand, I took one last year by placing the shot through the top of the neck, just in front of the shoulders. The deer dropped straight down and never twitched, leading me to believe that it was dead before hitting the ground. I have killed a lot of deer by gun in my 55 years of hunting and have never killed one any faster than this one with the bow.

I would in no way disagree with the need to take high percentage shots. There is no guarantee however, that the shot will go as planned. In that event, I prefer the animal becomes coyote feed as opposed to being a cripple or, totally wasted. In nature, everything has its' place. The lowly coyote needs lunch also. Our maker has a master plan and like it or not, the coyote is a part of that plan.

If you read, you'd have read about my deflected arrow under the shoulder, that one was aimed... at the chest.
One general rule for me, if you can see the chest, then they are likely alert and looking at SOMETHING, maybe not me, but I prefer a head down deer to start with.

RE not having shot the head on shot often, going with a lot of kills, I also guided a fair bit, and hunted from about age 16 through about 42 or so on a bow only lease... you get to see a lot from those scenarios.

The best shot IMHO, is a raking from rear to front, at an angle, and it cuts about everything there is to cut. Even if you start with guts.
BUT it leaves little or no blood trail at times. But so far I've never seen a deer make more than about 150ish yards shot that way and if you can't grid search find a deer in 150 yards...

THIS pisses me off and I used to harp on it in hunter ed.

WHY take more of a chance on a huge buck than on a doe or such? If anything I'd take more of a chance on a doe, they are much more common.

I tend to not take chances much anymore though totally.

But I respect the mature deer such that antler size is NOT what will dictate how chancy I get with shot distance, placement, or animal attitude.