# Hunting > Hunting >  Head shot vs heart / lung which do you use most?

## Rushy

I am interested to know whether you use the head shot or heart / lung shot the most.  There is no doubt that a good shot to the swede knocks out the central nervous system and death is instant but the target size is smaller so the margin for error is greater.  On the other hand if you hit them in the bigger target area of the pump and bellows some animals will gap it on residual oxygen in the blood stream and sometimes in dense bush you are left with having to track down the kill on dusk.

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## JoshC

Depends totally on the situation, animal angle, weather conditions, range etc. Personally I like a neck shot on anything out to 150m if lying prone, confidently take a neck shot out to 100m free standing, headshot within 50m, but will generally opt for a shoulder shot on anything past those sort of ranges. The majority of the deer Im shooting these days, on average about 5-6 a month, Im shooting with a 223, so more careful bullet placement is needed. I never aim to hit "heart and lungs, they're "behind" the shoulder. I hold on the shoulder in an effort to smash it, and everything behind the shoulder blade. An animal can't run far with no front wheels, and often the shock of a shoulder shot will drop the animal on the spot. If shooting down on an animal aim to send the bullet through the spine, between the shoulders. Pole axes them.

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## Spook

Nothing worse than seeing a deer run off with it's jaw totally blown off...just no way can you track that...I prefer lung shot if side on as there is less meat damage. Head on is chest shot and if bolting away, then up the gunga-din

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## DAF

I will neck shoot if I'm close enough and conditions are ideal, else just behind the shoulder, I have found with the 162Gr A-Max, nothing has ever run and they just crash to the ground, except one occasion where it reared up and landed 30 yards closer.

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## Nick.m

When im hunting its generally all bush stalking, therefore the shots vary all the time depending on whats presented, i do however prefer a head or neck shot as generally they drop on the spot. Last animal i shot (on Monday) was a chest shot unfortunately due to fark loads of windfall i couldn't find the hind  :Oh Noes: .

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## sako75

> Nothing worse than seeing a deer run off with it's jaw totally blown off...just no way can you track that...I prefer lung shot if side on as there is less meat damage. Head on is chest shot and if bolting away, then up the gunga-din


+1 Never lost one yet. 
Seen a jaw shot off by a very competent hunter. Followed the blood trail till it dried up. Every time we got close, it would bolt again. Mate was devastated 

Never been keen to try the muck hole shot

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## R93

I never dwell on the issue at all. I just take whatever kill shot is available. I have used a .223 for years for 99% of my meat shooting and have lost one animal due too a poor shot.
My crosshairs are naturally drawn too the head or neck due to yrs of shooting from machines and for money. Situation at the time dictates if I shoot for the small bits or not. Clean shot on the docket means more coin. Not an issue for most today.

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## P38

Head shots arn't for me.

I leave the fancy shooting to the experts.

Heart lung shot for me everytime........ 

I always try to aim for the boiler room so as the bullet path will break the off side shoulder.

Much bigger target to aim at and gets the job done quickly.

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## kimjon

Hi there

For shots taken inside of 50m (standing, no support) I'll pretty much head shoot most animals 90% of the time, but if required I'll quickly move my aim to any kill zone that will work for the situation.

For shots 50m and beyond (standing, no support) I tend to just shoulder shoot (double lung shot in line with front leg and up high) most animals, this tend to drop them on the spot!

I tend not to actually think about my shots too much, it just seems to happen on a subconscious level. I guess I’ve been doing it so long now its second nature.

kj

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## Barefoot

Given the luxury of time/options - neck shot, followed by behind the shoulder as second choice.

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## Tahr

Josh and R93 are onto it. You never know. Pick your shots depending on the situation and context. 

Heart/lungs is a misnomer. If you hit the heart you are probably aiming too low, and the deer will bolt with a "heart rush". For the lungs, aim higher and a little further back. Or higher on the shoulder in line with the shoulder bone to take out the lungs, bust the shoulder and create shock into the spine, but not so high that the bullet does't destroy the lungs. 

Head and neck are for the experienced or when it is a viable and certain option.

If you pre-dermine where you are going to aim, you will wound and lose deer.

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## James

Head/neck: only 100 yards and under for me. And only if 1)The rifle I'm using is consistently under .75MOA.   2)The animal is dead still.  And 3) I'm set up solid on the bipod/rear bag. I feel I owe the animal this much respect.

Heart/Lungs for all other distances. I understand the rationale for breaking the front shoulders...but I eat too much to give up those bags of mince  :Wink:    Thankfully I've never had anything run more than 20 metres after a shot to the engine room.

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## 260hunter

Through the big bit with unless within 50metres. Then it depends on what is presented within said 50 metres. I have  yet to loose a big game animal by knowing my limitations and only taking shots I am certain of. I have left many beasties because I was not confident enough to try shooting beyond my capability. 

I may not be the best shot on the hill but I sleep easily at night.

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## Munsey

Unless you are selling game I can't see the point in neck or head shots, the only time is they are so dam close or you hunt with the wrong  caliber

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## Ackley

On fallow 100% of the time head shots out to 225yds.always from a solid rest. When I say head I mean where the head and neck join from side on or behind. I don't shoot until an animal stands correctly as there are plenty of deer were I hunt. With Sambar it is what ever as the best shot avaliable at the time, high shoulder is my preference, as all hunting is in heavy bush. I'm old enough and have shot enough game to be happy enough to let an animal walk if I'm not confident of the shot.

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## R93

> Unless you are selling game I can't see the point in neck or head shots, the only time is they are so dam close or you hunt with the wrong  caliber


I know where your coming from but whats the right calibre Munsey? I have seen plenty of animals soak up all manner of big calibres and run, some never too be seen again. I like to try dropping them in their tracks.
If I am shooting meat for myself, I get close and it is always head or neck shot, so when I stick them they bleed out for ages as the heart is usually still pumping.  
If someone can say every animal they have shot in the body has dropped on the spot, I would say they havnt shot many animals. There is no perfect calibre or shot in my opinion.

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## leathel

Aim big miss small  :Wink: 

So for me lung/ heart on bush animals, Fellow I head shoot in the open, the area I shoot they dont tend to jump fences and in the open padpock a second shot is easy enough to get....and no meat wasted

 I have seen some slow deaths with head shots... Animals with rotting noses and skinny as from people not quite getting it right... Its not nice and in the bush to much margin for error.... Good rest and close maybee head in the bush but my bush shots are 99% heart/ Lung

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## Scribe

> I know where your coming from but whats the right calibre Munsey? I have seen plenty of animals soak up all manner of big calibres and run, some never too be seen again. I like to try dropping them in their tracks.
> If I am shooting meat for myself, I get close and it is always head or neck shot, so when I stick them they bleed out for ages as the heart is usually still pumping.  
> If someone can say every animal they have shot in the body has dropped on the spot, I would say they havnt shot many animals. There is no perfect calibre or shot in my opinion.


To true.
Take any calibre you like....Shoot enough deer and you will have your losses. When you shoot the open tops even the tips of the tussock can destroy a bullet on the way to a target and wound instead of kill. In the bush contact with a twig or a stick will destroy any  projectile on its way to the target. The bush bucking capability that people might tell you about of their own high powered rifle can be pretty well ignored.

If in doubt go into any really dark patch of bush or jungle someday and fire a 20 round burst of tracer through the trees ..308/5.56 take you pick it wont make much difference. You will see that a larger percentage of these projectiles than you might think end up spinning off an nearly a right angle to the line of sight.

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## RimfireNZ

I don't really think about it. I'f I'm meat hunting and I get a chance I'll take a headshot. If I've got a bipod or a good rest and am probably no further than 150m. If any doubt comes into my mind I just aim for the boiler room.

I have taken a fallow at 250 with a target 22-250 and a high mag scope, but I probably wouldn't do that again (especially with my 7mm).

Goats etc I'll just go for the boiler room.

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## Rushy

Some great comments.  I probably should have added at the beginning that I mostly aim to mess up the lungs regardless of the initial point of impact (front or side on).

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## linyera

I like the shots to the center of the scapula .The animal loses traction and die at the scene by damage to the lungs and hydraulic shok .

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## Scribe

Ah yes 'Linyera' the scapula shot.  Once I found myself in a neat little clearing amoungst high kanuka on a bench down on the side of Wildsheep Spur. I just stumbled upon it during an aimless sidle along this spur picking up the odd deer as I went. A few people might know where wild sheep spur is, it is not visited often by hunters.

 I sat on a rock and admired what a pretty little place it was I had found. A clear trickle of water ran through the middle of the clearing, the ground cover was half grass, half moss, and marks where a couple of yearling had been running up and down a soft pumice bank just having fun, stood out. It was a quiet place and sheltered without even the sound of wind through through the trees as you would find on a ridge, nor even could the sound of the stream from further down in the valley be heard. The only break in the silence were a few calls from a couple of bellbirds in the kowhai's, to hot to put much effort into it. The perfect place pick up a sika stag or just to sit in the afternoon sun and finish my smoke, which was just what I was doing at the time. 
I was just mulling over the thought that no other human eyes had ever seen this spot before my own, nor any boot but my own had trod this way before. When, I spotted a little mound of bones all covered in moss near my feet. I gave the pile a kick and a scapula shot out of the pile, dislodging its cover of moss as it did so and there drilled as neatly as any machine could have done it, dead center, was the perfect hole made by some cullers 222.

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## veitnamcam

Neck or high lung for me. head only if close and neck is obscured.

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## Luke.S

Usually just shoot where ever I can get a kill shot in, eg shoulder, neck and sometimes the head. 99% of my hunting is in the bush so rarely shoot past 100m and almost all freehand shots so like to aim for the shoulder.

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## hunter308

with my lack of experience in shooting deer I just prefer to go for a shoulder or heart lung shot it is the safest for me and the one that I would feel most comfortable with.

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## Tahr

Every time we squeeze the trigger (or pull it in my case) we should be thinking about the animal's anatomy. Its where the bullet goes after it strikes the animal that is the most important, but to achieve this we need to aim at the most appropriate spot. A high proportion of shots need to be angled into the vitals so understanding what makes an animal tick and the bits it requires to sustain life is very important.

I taught myself (and later my sons) to mark an imaginary X on the animal, and then imagine where the bullets will go if it stays on a direct path. You then move the X if you need to. You can do it in a flash. And it means killing with precision and humanly, rather than aiming at a big bit and ending up with the worst results. 

The problem I've always had though is hitting the X  :Sad: 

There are endless topics on this through google. Most are informative and very useful.

I use a lot of neck shots when the opportunities present. But am long enough in the teeth to know that this is not always possible or appropriate.

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## baldbob

I use the "omg deer" aim at "chestish" area bang!!!!! Puff puff sputter wobble wobble.... You know what I mean lol

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## leathel

Before I took my kids hunting out I downloaded a heap of pics of deer and goats at all angles and got them to put dots on the place they would shoot (MS paint)....interesting exersize especialy the obscured veiws of them, I threw in a few I woun't shoot until they moved and they soon got the aim point sorted  :Wink:  every time they are at work with nothing to do they have another look to see if there are new deer to shoot in the file  :Psmiley:

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## Rock river arms hunter

Shoulder shoot most of the time because that way i know if i break the 2 shoulders its game over rover, on fallow I'll neck shoot em and thats limited to ranges no further than 150m....
Hopefully get the AR a fallow kill soon!

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## Greyghost

Shootim in the big bit , can,t miss then  :Thumbsup:

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## SIKAHUNTER

I seem to get a few green lung shots in!

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## Rushy

> I seem to get a few green lung shots in!


Shift your aiming point forward a tad!

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## SIKAHUNTER

yup, gotta remember where that bullet will exit in relation to how the deer is angled to me  :Wink:

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## sneeze

> with my lack of experience in shooting deer I just prefer to go for a shoulder or heart lung shot it is the safest for me and the one that I would feel most comfortable with.


Seems like an experienced decision to me  :Thumbsup:  Shoulder is always my first option

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