Thread: Neckshot placement

Hi team,

Just wanting to get some info (pics prefered) of where exactly you aim on a deer when taking a neck shot.
I have never attemped one and am curious what part of the neck is taking the shot and how this effectively kills it? Is it the vertebrae or is it more the big arteries or straight shock?
Be great to see some diagrams on this if you have any.

Cheers

Best to go for the vertebre

right, gun, 243 say 300 yards standing,cross on head bang,if you hit the deer all is good,

Yip vertebrae but where on the neck? They are quite long Toby...
Close to the shoulder, in the middle or closer to the head?

Originally Posted by Gibo

Yip vertebrae but where on the neck? They are quite long Toby...
Close to the shoulder, in the middle or closer to the head?

It will depend on what angle the deer is standing relative to your line of sight and which part of the neck you can see clearly after identifying your target.

A Deers neck is the absolute last place i would aim to kill a Deer.

Originally Posted by 7mmsaum

It will depend on what angle the deer is standing relative to your line of sight and which part of the neck you can see clearly after identifying your target.

A Deers neck is the absolute last place i would aim to kill a Deer.

Cheers 7mmsaum. Yeah Im a Hilar shooter but thought if I only have a neck shot available it pays to know something about it.

These pics might help.

Sweet Ive seen a deer skeleton before Toby.

Diagrams I have seen place it on the base of the neck

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Also read that a big stag has a lot of muscle on the neck so its best to go for a heart/lung

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Originally Posted by phillipgr

Diagrams I have seen place it on the base of the neck

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Sweet so just forward of the shoulder blade in the red circle.
Reason I ask really is one of the eight fallow I saw on Sunday was against a bank but back end obscured and I could only see its head and start of shoulder. I prefer the chest but hey cant always see all that area.
Oh and it was a recon mission so didnt have me rifle to shoot any of them.

There's a book avail, fairly old that discusses the radial shock affect of a projectile going thru an animal. The way in a neck shot that the radial shock wave destroys the nervous system. It maybe called Sharp Shooter. I saw an old film manys years ago on how a bullet kills.

It's always a bit risky with neck shots 'cos you have to get it right. But from my experience the atlas joint is the spot. That's the last vertabre of the neck that the head hangs off. You either hit it for an instant kill, or miss all together. Mostly, everywhere else on the neck the humane kill margin begins to decrease.

The worst thing that you can do is misplace your shot and leave a deer with a ruined jaw, or a bloody great flesh wound on its neck somewhere.

Originally Posted by Maca49

There's a book avail, fairly old that discusses the radial shock affect of a projectile going thru an animal. The way in a neck shot that the radial shock wave destroys the nervous system. It maybe called Sharp Shooter. I saw an old film manys years ago on how a bullet kills.

Cheers Maca, Might sort out some reading. Theres a bit about it in my books at home but nothing specific to the neck area.

base of neck for me but out past two hundred I go vital.