head shots

[quadrakid]

what,s your take on the noggin shot? i,ve lived on the coast for the last eighteen years but grew up in the east and spent ten years in the yukon. for some reason guys around here seem to think the head shot is the manly choice. i personally was taught to shoot for the bigger better target, the boiler room.perhaps it became commonplace on coast because it is not fun to track wounded critters in a rain forest? i personally dislike it because of the number of deer i,ve seen with their bottom jaw hanging loose from poor head shots. if this has been gabbed about in previous threads let the mods pull this thread.

[000buck]

depending on conditions and range at the time will determine if i take a header or go for the big pump. I will if 100% sure take the header (20-30 yrds, clear path is sure) not because it benifits the grandure of my genitalia but because I hate to see an animal suffer even a little.

[huntcoop]

A head shot is my absolute last resort, if at all.

[Steeleco]

This year alone both myself and my son have animals in the cross hairs that only presented the head. They both walked away to be found another day.

In my mind it only takes a fraction of an inch to mame but not kill an animal, they deserve the swiftest most humane end possible. It's not impossible to head shoot and kill an animal I just don't like the odds.

[bigwhiteys]

Absolute last resort... It's fun on ditch chickens, squirrels etc... but not something I want try on Big Game. Go for the bigger target as you said.

Happy Hunting!
Carl

[blacktailslayer]

I have taken many headshots over the years on the island. It is quite a common practice around here, especially with the old timers. I will only take close shots(50 yards max), and with a rest. I have never shot one that did not drop stone dead. My aimpoint is always right at the base of the ear. My reason for taking these shots is there is no meat wasted at all. I take all edible meat, even between the ribs, it looks like a skeleton when I am done with it!

[Ozone]

I did it on a buck 22' away since that was all i could see pokin through the chistmas trees. I dont due it on a regular basis.

[Will]

If all I have is a Head shot I'll Pass..............
U Might hit the Horns:lol:

[Jelvis]

I'm one hundred per cent with what Steeleco said.

[Ozone]

U Might hit the Horns:lol:

Personaly I dont give a rats ass about the antlers. Out of the 25 or so deer Ive got over the years I have zero sets.

[brotherjack]

I'm a boiler room shooter if at all possible - but, if I saw a nice short range shot at the head or neck, I would give it some very serious consideration. I've taken a neck shot once, and a spine shot once - both worked out as meat in the freezer (though neither shot was more than 40 yards).

[Will]

Personaly I dont give a rats ass about the antlers. Out of the 25 or so deer Ive got over the years I have zero sets.
That Great for you..........:|
I've got every set of Horns from every deer I've ever shot, so what ?

I do not take head shots for the Obvious reasons mentioned already.
I thought I'd add another one.

[Rod]

I have had numerous animals that presented nothing but a clean head shot, not once have I taken the chance. My opinion is that a 300 yard shot at the boiler room would be better than a 75 yard head shot.

Having said that I have made connecting head shots at wounded animals, if it already has a hole in it I will shoot at any hair I see, rather loose a hind quarter than be responsible for unnecessary suffering.

My $0.02
Rod

[chevy]

I personaly have never and never will take a head shot whether it has a big rack or not it's just not my thing i have also seen animals that have been shot in the head survive and probably suffer from it if you head shot a deer and smack it in the jaw and the deer runs away that deer will suffer because it will be very hard eating without using it's jaw, so it will starve to death, I will never take a head shot ever......

[livingston]

I have shot numerous blacktails with head shots all within 60 yards, I aim for the neck just below the ear.
I wouldn't hesitate too take kneck shots every blacktail I've ever shot dropped in its tracks.More distant shots than that I usually go for the chest.

[3kills]

i wouldnt shoot anything in the head unles i know i was really close and i knew excatly where my rifle was zeroed at...i know lots of guys that do them with success but i know lots that dont have success...there is a moose around here that had no lower jaw cuz some one tried a head shot....should be dead probably any day now....

[JMac]

I don't recommend or take those type of shots myself. However, if your really anal when you sight your rifle in (like I am) and you have a really good solid rest at close range have at it. I'd say a good portion of the hunting rifles out there aren't dialed in worth a pinch of coon sh*t. I've seen so many people try to sight in their rifles with a crappy rest. I've visually watched their gun barrels doing so many little spirals before their gun goes off it would make you sick! If you can't hit the bull at 50 to 100 yards everytime don't bother. I've seen people scatter bullets all over their target from top to bottom. Or they'll shoot 3 to 4 rounds and hit the target once and say good enough for a moose! Under most hunting conditions a guy is usually pretty jacked or winded. Add this to a rifle that is not properly sighted in and combine it with a field hunting/shooting situation and you'll either see the jaw flying off or an antler. Just my two cents. Good luck to you all.

[~T-BONE~]

I have taken many headshots over the years on the island. It is quite a common practice around here, especially with the old timers. I will only take close shots(50 yards max), and with a rest. I have never shot one that did not drop stone dead. My aimpoint is always right at the base of the ear. My reason for taking these shots is there is no meat wasted at all. I take all edible meat, even between the ribs, it looks like a skeleton when I am done with it!

Goood for you! I agree with Blacktail Slayer, I know quite a few older hunters personally that headshoot as well, (behind the ear).When you cut your own game you'll understand. A good rest at under at reasonable distance of 75 yards should be easy if the suspect is not spooked. But for a trophy at a distance it'll be one in the boiler. Otherwise I won't be shooting. But really it comes down to how calm you are and again how well you know your gun

[ratherbefishin]

all depends on the conditions-but I wouldn;t take a head shot without a solid rest.However,if I was shooting at a moose-had one in behind the shoulder,then taking a head shot to put it right down makes sense especially if it was near a swamp or water

[todbartell]

I dont like them, JMO

too much shit can go wrong, a deer can move its head extremely fast at any time

[tmarschall]

I will take a head shot... under right conditions... but... I can put 3 shots at 100 yds on paper that a 25 cent piece will cover also. That being said... listen to what happened one day. early morning and a doe comes out about 30 yds out. I'm ready for some fresh jerky so I squeeze off a round, bench rest, looking down a bit at her, holding just above the black of her nose. She runs away apparently untouched, no sign of any injusry. I am totally befuddled.... maybe there was no lead in that bullet??? I haven't a clue what happened. But obviously it was over confidence or some related phenomenon!! Same day, late afternoon, left the blind before end of shooting light. Walking thru an oak flat when I see a good sized 2-point starring at me about 80 yds out, facing straight at me. Remembering what had happened earlier that morning, I think... why am I even considering a head shot at 80 yds from a standing position.... but something told me I could make the shot. BOOM... deer falls dead in its tracks. I have passed on similar shots because they just didn't feel right. Does anyone else ever experience that? In all my years of hunting, I would say maybe 25% of the deer I have taken were head shots. I found as has been stated, no wasted meat!!

[meat hunter]

I take head, neck and heart shots. I don't like to waste meat and I have found that a heart shot bullet can end up in a front quarter, on a carcass weighing 65lb it doesn't leave you a lot of tasty island deer left.

[moosecaller]

On moose I take head shots if presented it is a fairly big target, the last four moose I have shot were head shots, and most of the others were neck, I cannot remember the last time I shot a moose in the boiler room. But I call and none of my last 15 years of moose hunting have been over 60-70 feet, all of them were up close and personal so a head shot is a good bet to drop them in their tracks.

[Brambles]

I have no problem taking a head shot in the right circumstances. I have seen lots of game shot in the head and not one has got away, quite to the contrary, they drop like rocks. I have personally taken 3 animals with head shots and all worked perfectly. I'm confident in my rifles and my shooting that I can make the shot given the right circumstances. Hey and zero meat loss.

Now Neck shots I'm not so sure about, I'd sooner shoot for the head than the neck.

[ianwuzhere]

only head shot one deer- will if get a close shot but prefer body. does that mean i am a girly man or a manly man??

[Marc]

Out of the 3 bears I've shot two have been head shots. The first one was around 75 yards away from a solid rest and I poked him in between the grapes with a 300 win mag. Droped him in his tracks. This was the only shot he was giving me and I also had another hunter on aim from a different angle letting me take the animal. Second bear I jumped him out of a ditch and he was in the bushes looking at me at 32 yards. again poked him in the melon with a 45/70 droped him like a bag of hammers. I'm not a big fan of head shots but if it's all that will present itself, I've got a steady rest, and the animal is close range stairing head on, I'll take the shot. If he offers anything else that I can hit the vitals then that's the shot I prefer. I guess it's a judgement call you personaly have to make, know your rifle and it's point of aim.

Marc.

[The Hermit]

True story... I took a crack at a deer that was walking across the road about fifty yards away. I was standing on the inside of a bend and there were a few alders between us. I aimed for the boiler room and he spun around on his rear legs and dropped on the spot. Cool me thinks and trots up there!!

I drop my pack and lay my gun down on it and get ready to gut him. I have him by the horns to get him in position and damned if he doesn't start really kicking and trying to get up! Freaked me out! I grab the gun and put one into his noggin behind the ear.

I gut him but can't find entry or exit wounds and then I noticed one of his antlers is broken off about half way up. I looked all over and couldn't find it and eventually see it in the branches of an alder about five feet away! I figure the bullet must have ticked an alder and hit him in the antler knocking him out but not killing him!

So the moral of the story for all you terrific shots out there is to aim for the antlers! ;-)

[Leaseman]

Know what your gun can do and know what you can do.....I will take head shots up to 100+yards in the past and will do in the future...never a problem as long as I feel comfortable with the shot....

Mike

[Wildman]

I will only take a head shot if that is the only option. I would rather shoot for the heart and lungs myself. But under certian circumstances, such as say a buck in the midst of a cutblock which has tall fireweed and all I can see is the head, then rather than guessing where or which way the body is facing, I will then shoot for the head. And only if I am close enough, say under 50 yards , I have a good rest, and confidant that I will hit him.

[Mr. Dean]

I dont like them, JMO

too much shit can go wrong, a deer can move its head extremely fast at any time


I learned this, first hand.

A Deer I nailed last year presented both head and broadside (boiler room) targets. I had an excellent rest, the distance too the target was easy for me to hit a golf ball from all day long with the rifle that I had and the wind was to my face. I ended up going for the vitals and I'm very glad that I did.

During that miniscule fragment of a second before the thunder roared (firing pin dropping on the primer), the Deer began to jump/jerked. The 'perfect' shot that should've taken out ALL the vitals was off by about 4-5 inches. I was lucky enough though to still manage getting a chunk of one lung.

The shot wasn't a perfect one but still was a bang-flop. The Deer fell on the spot and didn't get up. It wasn't an 'instant' kill but nonetheless, he bled out on the patch of ground where he laid AND I was lucky enough that the bullet slipped on through - o meat loss. :smile:

If I had decided to go for the head.........That Deer would still be in the forest, likely dead from a poorly placed bullet.

Going for the larger target, in this case, has convinced me to NEVER go for the head. I'd rather potentially lose a roast to losing an entire animal that may very well end up suffering - Not to imply that that couldn't happed w/ a vital shot but the larger target stacks the odds more in your favour (IMHO).

[Fisher-Dude]

I will never do a head shot. At close range with a good rest, or on an animal that has already been hit, I will do a neck shot if that's all that is presented. I shoot for the boiler room 95% of the time and haven't lost one yet (first one went down in 1976).

For those who are worried about meat loss, get away from the crappy bullets you are using (ie Nosler Partitions! <<<Goat Guy can attest!) and go to a good quality bonded bullet. Both of the deer I got last year were boiler room kills with 180 grain Remington Ultra Bondeds from a 300WM, and the butcher commented on each that "you didn't lose more than 2 lbs of meat".

[Franko Manini]

I'm not into head shots at all. I'd feel terrible if I wounded an animal and there's too much opportunity to do so with a head shot. Go for the big vitals and you're better off in the long run I think.

A buddy of mine wounded an animal once and we couldn't find it. It took him a year to get over it.

Besides, if you shoot a buck in the noggin', it wrecks the handles for pullin' him out of the bush!

[NEEHAMA]

HYPOCRITES! ALL OF YOU!! YOU ALL SHOOT GROUSE IN THE HEAD with a 22! WHAT's THE DAMN DIFFERENCE? HOW MANY GROUSE FLEW AWAY WITH BEAKS MISSING AND YOU WALK AWAY THINKING YOU MISSED. i recovered one grouse with a 22 hole in the upper breast and another missing a beak??!! is it a smaller animal so it's ok? i don't get it? if your anti head shooter on all creatures then fine i apologize. but don't shoot coyotes and grouse in the heads then go off about how cruel it is to head shoot a friken deer!! it's same thing! personally if i was sitting and had good rest and a close animal i would head shoot it. my first choice is lungs. if you nail it in the head your a champ if you shoot it's face off your a zero. JUST BECAUSE IT'S AN UNGULATE DOESN'T MEAN IT HAS MORE RIGHT'S NOT TO BE WOUNDED.

[bruno]

I always shoot just behind the front leg 1/3 off the bottom of the chest.
Dead and bled.

[greybark]

8) I would like to make two points .
The first , justification of a head shot that it saves meat damage is a false premise . If the shot is back slightly from the leg and shoulder bone then only a rib or two is damaged .
8) Second point . If on any cold , windy or hot day all those who advocate head shots suddenly found themselves on a 100 yd range and told of a hurry up (hunting senario)time limit to hit a 4 in circle . Any hit outside that circle would result in a terrible loss of an animal . How many of you would place 9 of 10 shots in the 4 in circle ? Be honest .

REMEMBER -- Keep Your Fingertab On --

[NEEHAMA]

i agree, i wouldn't attempt the head shot over 70 yards. with a good rest and no buck fever it can happen. however if i get a monster im my sights it's over for me! i shot a four point white tail this september and needed to lay down with my binoculars to confim it was in fact a buck i was shaken so bad! who's needs a rest for their bino's for crying out loud!

[dana]

Neehama,
I take it you don't glass much. To be an effective glasser, one always need a rest.

As for the headshot, I don't like them. When I was young and foolish, I tried a headshot on a muley doe. She ran away shaking her head. No blood, nothing. A few hours later I saw a doe with one ear floppin' down. Another time I tried a headshot on a buck I had already lung punched. He was standing dead but I wanted to drop him. Held on his head and he dropped like a sack 'o potatoes. Walked up to him and he got up and ran, piled into some blowdown and then died. All my headshot had done was blow an antler clean off at the base. Now I treat headshots the same as I do Texas Heartshots. I PASS and wait for a better shot opportunity.

[Islandeer]

Head shots have know room for error. Plain and simple. Take them if you want, behind the shoulder for me.

[willyqbc]

certain animals (no deer) under certain conditions ( good rest or prone) I will take headshots.

Greybark...your rushed hunting scenario at the range....that is one of the conditions mentioned above. If I feel I need to be quick I will go center mass behind the shoulder. If I'm not rushed and have time to get set-up I have no problem with the head shot.

Just my opinion.!
Chris

[greybark]

8) Hey all , I wonder how many of the head shot group during the preshot prep would take in consideration -- Confirmed rifle sighting , Wind , Uphill or downhill , Distance , Temperature and Heat Mirage . Failure to allow for any of the above will move that shot out of that 4 in group . Like NeeH posted you would feel like a zero .

REMEMBER -- Keep Your Fingertab On --

[Hank Hunter]

My buddy has a nice moose rack with a hole through the palm, his first (head shot) I doubt if it even blinked. The other two in the boiler room did the job

[Franko Manini]

8) I would like to make two points .
The first , justification of a head shot that it saves meat damage is a false premise . If the shot is back slightly from the leg and shoulder bone then only a rib or two is damaged .
8) Second point . If on any cold , windy or hot day all those who advocate head shots suddenly found themselves on a 100 yd range and told of a hurry up (hunting senario)time limit to hit a 4 in circle . Any hit outside that circle would result in a terrible loss of an animal . How many of you would place 9 of 10 shots in the 4 in circle ? Be honest .

REMEMBER -- Keep Your Fingertab On --

And that's at a marked 100 yard target. How many animals have any of us shot that were exactly 100 yards away? usually there is some "estimation" as to the actual range, not to mention consideration of elevation. Then there's buck fever, increased heart rate, being winded from a climb, etc.

I know there are great shots with lots of experience that can make these types of shots, but I ain't one of them. I don't advocate them for ME, anyone else can do what they want.

[Franko Manini]

HYPOCRITES! ALL OF YOU!! YOU ALL SHOOT GROUSE IN THE HEAD with a 22! WHAT's THE DAMN DIFFERENCE? HOW MANY GROUSE FLEW AWAY WITH BEAKS MISSING AND YOU WALK AWAY THINKING YOU MISSED. i recovered one grouse with a 22 hole in the upper breast and another missing a beak??!! is it a smaller animal so it's ok? i don't get it? if your anti head shooter on all creatures then fine i apologize. but don't shoot coyotes and grouse in the heads then go off about how cruel it is to head shoot a friken deer!! it's same thing! personally if i was sitting and had good rest and a close animal i would head shoot it. my first choice is lungs. if you nail it in the head your a champ if you shoot it's face off your a zero. JUST BECAUSE IT'S AN UNGULATE DOESN'T MEAN IT HAS MORE RIGHT'S NOT TO BE WOUNDED.

I shoot grouse with a shotgun. I'd go hungry if I used a .22!

[Will]

I shoot grouse with a shotgun. I'd go hungry if I used a .22!
I also use a Shotgun...........but I don't shoot them in the head:|
I remove the head......:lol:

[blacktailslayer]

For all the "boiler room" advocates I have a story for you. I just returned from the east Kootenay's, hunting elk and whities. I watched another hunter shoot a 4 point whitetail(he had seen it first), while I was there. He had an excellent rest, and a shot of around 300 yards. At the shot the deer stumbled and took off. I watched in the binoculars, and it looked like a shoulder hit. My partners and I offered to help him pack it out, as he was not the fittest fellow I had ever met.
So off we went to get his deer, but when we got there no deer was to be found. He could not find any blood, and was ready to give up. I followed a deer trail into the timber, and found fresh running tracks in the softer soil. I tracked that deer for probably 200 yards before I came upon him. The other hunter had pinned him through both front legs at the knee joint. The deer was trying to snowplough it's way along with it's rear legs. I called my buddy over, who had brought his rifle just in case to finish the deer off.
I know for a fact if we had not been there, that "boiler room" shot deer would have been coyote bait. What it comes down to is not the type of shots you take but the marksman you are. This fellow had no idea how much his bullet dropped and should not have been shooting 300 yards.
I take pride in being an excellent marksman, and I practice shooting year round. I demand my handloads to shoot under 1" at 100 yards. I also shoot out to 400 yards and know my actual bullet drops under hunting conditions. I have seen other hunters at the range put up an 8" pie plate for a target, and when they hit it, put the gun away and say "good enough!".

[dana]

The fact is $hit happens. Field conditions are way different than bench rests shooting paper. Anyone who's hunted for any length of time has had issues with poor shots. It don't matter how good of a shooter you are. You tell me you've never made a poor shot on an animal and I'll tell you you haven't been hunting long enough.

[dana]

I hunt chickens with a 22. I don't aim for the head. Take them out right at the wings and the chicken drops on the spot. :)

[blacktailslayer]

I agree 100 percent with Dana, field conditions are most certainly different than bench rest shooting. We all should know where our guns shoot at any distance we are going to shoot. Practicing shooting from field positions is a good idea also. I think we owe it to the animals we hunt to take them humanely as possible. Pie plate shooting is just not good enough!

[Islandeer]

I agree blacktailslayer, if you can't make the shot, then don't take it. I am a boiler room advacate,why, because you don't lose deer that are hit their. Your story about the Kootenay guy is about a guy screwing up his lung-heart shot and busting up the front legs. Only excellant bushmanship by you enabled him to recover the deer. I take pride in getting close, it's the way I prefer to hunt, and touch wood, I have not lost an animal in 40 years of hunting. Yes, I have had some luck there, and I don't give up easily.

[Fisher-Dude]

The fact is $hit happens. Field conditions are way different than bench rests shooting paper. Anyone who's hunted for any length of time has had issues with poor shots. It don't matter how good of a shooter you are. You tell me you've never made a poor shot on an animal and I'll tell you you haven't been hunting long enough.

I agree fully. The fact that my bullets all touch at 100 yards at the range does not mean they will take a deer's eyeball out at 100 yards. My gun is that accurate, but I'm not. I'm a "good shot" but field conditions, weather, and plain old excitement (if I didn't get excited, I would quit hunting) can all affect shots. I like to take a shot so that when I squeeze the trigger, I know the animal is dead, and a bullet through the lungs does that every time.

[mark]

Im a head shooter, not always, but when i know i can, i do! Nearly all my moose have been head shots, as well a bison, bear, alot of deer! All hit the ground like a sack of potatoes!!! (oh ya, and grouse)

[GoatGuy]

No head shots, strictly shoulder.

Never let my clients use them either - no sense or justification for them. Meat loss? Good one!! And hybrids are behind every corner.

After seeing an old guy (who's a great shot) blow the face off a wt buck I know it isn't something I'd ever want to do. Also seen a bear shot through the ear by a hunter who was trying to shoot it in the shoulders. There's something to be said for buck fever.........

[Radar]

Never taken one for initial shot, have from close range when it was down and to bring a quick end, don't want it to suffer a second more than it has to.

[NEEHAMA]

ya great point Radar. i plugged my elk in the boiler room but slightly back. it was at 350 yards. i then watched it slowly walking away. i knew it was hit but i really didn't want the beast to go too far wounded. put one in the head and it slammed into the ground. no more suffering no more walking away.

[Phred]

I downed one of my moose with a head shot. I was less than 40 yards away staring at his ass. After a bit he turned his head to the right and I shot just below his ear. He didn't move 5 feet.
I've also done a neck shot on a moose that was just as close. The reason I did it was because he was straight on and when he turned his head I could clearly see his vertebrae. I aimed at the vertebrae and down he went.
Unless presented with similar scenarios, I'd always go for a heart/lung shot.
As for chickens and rabbits, I use a .22 and aim for the body. Hardly any meat damage and they don’t go far.

[Elkhound]

I would rather not take a head shot, however, I have taken two deer and a bear with it, solid rests. Know your limitations