Thread: Shot placement --- how to suck eggs...

Most who have shot a lot of game will be well aware of this but for those that haven't ...

This may be helpful.

I often hear hunters say this projectile is crap "it just ran off" or this one is good it "puts them down hard" and so on and so on based on what they have seen...
I'll repeat what I always say - it's shot placement that matters most.

Both these animals where shot well and what you see here is very typical of what a lot of hunters will experience with the animal doing a small leap then bolting after being shot in this area.

Which is centre shoulder just behind the crease of the front leg...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvkQwHsfDo8

Now the game in the next clip is shot just forward of the front shoulder being the base of the neck...

Same projectile... Same load...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3q46J8WB-s

Now I'm not saying either placement is better than the other this is purely to display how the game reacts to each hit.
Keeping in mind all the hunter ever sees if he's lucky is an animal either falling over on the spot or appearing to just run off... at which point he hastily forms an opinion on the projectile...

... Food for thought

Nice shooting Doc.

Good shooting, the neck shot, or anything forward of the front shoulder imparts a lot more energy into the spine which may play a part in why it drops them, you aint running nowhere with any decent amount of shock or damage to the spinal cord, it would be interesting to know what shot actually kills the animal faster as I have a feeling that allthough it may stop them on the spot, the animal that was shot forward of the shoulder may not be any more dead than the animal thats running a few steps with a hole through its vitals?

Yea the high shoulder shot usually drops em like a stone also but if a bit to high and hitting only the spine they can take a bit longer to die.....see quite a few vids using the high shoulder/spine shot and usually they quickly cut as soon as the animal drops so you dont see it trieing to lift its head etc.

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Good vid! The bullets flight is nicely captured neatly showing the impact point. At those ranges in that country, I'm guessing it's not a recovery mission.

Love the look on the face of the bystander goat in the second vid. He's all like "WTF just happened"

Yep nice shooting Doc

Both with the Rifle and the Camera.

Good visuals highlighting shot placement.

Cheers
Pete

Very good Doc"

With a high shoulder shot that doesn't actually smash the spine they often drop only to get up and run off once the shock settles

Originally Posted by PerazziSC3

With a high shoulder shot that doesn't actually smash the spine they often drop only to get up and run off once the shock settles

I have had that happen with neck shots on a number of occasions.

Without a doubt shot placement has always been the key to being successful. You hear it all the time that this projectile is crap or that one is great because of what people have observed in the field but doesnt always tell the whole story.
Prime example is people that rubbish certain Cals because they shot a couple of animals that ran off with it and formed a opinion that the Cal is crap
The 243 has been bagged a few times but the fact is its poor shot placement thats the main problem, not the 80gr or 100 gr projectile being too light to knock a deer over .
Its true that some projectiles are better suited for a certain range, ie some soft point 308s are only good for 300 -350m and dont work as good as something else that works well out to 700m etc. Then again some dont expand as good at speed and short range as they do at long range so knowing your projectile and its limits does help using the right tools for the job.
Still, shot placement is everything

Good shooting DOC, I totally agree with deer243 re placement of bullets and the bad rap calibers get when things go wrong. Recently when my grandson took a shot at a deer at 243 yards with a 243 and a 90 gr BT the end result was a lost deer. Had he hit the deer 3-4 inches higher he would have had his first deer. Nothing to do with cal or bullet type causing the loss just bullet placement. When the deer ran off after the hit the front left leg was swinging and when we followed up we found a couple of pieces of leg bone.
The 243 is a great performer but you still have to hit them right.

What about right on the shoulder.
Anchors them fast so they can't run with a broken leg, with major vitals behind it. Also helps initiate expansion (hitting bone). A wasted front leg meat being better than loosing the whole animal.

That's always a good shot bully, can't run far with busted shoulders.

Nice videos Doc. Cool how you anticipated the light coloured goat taking a few steps forward as you shot. Highlights the importance of knowing exactly what you are doing when taking extreme range shots at live targets. It could be very easy to inflict a nasty non fatal wound otherwise.