Deer...head shots?

Snal~

Snal~

I Run A Tight Shipwreck (Tragic Boating Accident)
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Not sure if I've already asked this...the mind is a terrible thang.

Is it ethical, reasonable, to take head shots on deer for a quick drop?

I have deer that cross my property between gameland and water. I only have 2.27 acres, but there's a buffer zone separating me from neighbors.
I have a clear safe zone for rifle and crossbow, but my concern is more about tracking.

I have close shot ability, well within my rifle or crossbow ability, but tracking a heart/lung shot would get interesting.

Is it reasonable to assume that a head shot from a rifle or crossbow would drop the deer quickly?
 
Snal~ said:
Is it reasonable to assume that a head shot from a rifle or crossbow would drop the deer quickly?
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If you get a good shot, yes, I’d think they’d drop, quick.

Point of reference. I hit one last December with a chest shot with a 5.56. Nicked the heart. It kicked its back legs out (sign of being hit) bolted, made it about 100’ or so, 10’ into the woods and dropped.
 
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Nothing survives a shot to the central nervous system.

Deer are a skittish creature though, so you’d do well to be sure it’s quartering away/can’t see your direction. A little movement and you may just shoot off a jaw (I seent it) or other poor placement.
 
eh, to me it’s “yeah, but whyyy”. Take out it’s shoulder and vitals with one shot so you’re not aiming at a 4” moving target.

Side note: 5.56 for deer hunting. Again, yeah, but whyyyy.
 
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My concern is possibly having to blood track through back yards behind the kill zone, but everybody around here hunts. It'd just be more convenient for me to drop it in it's tracks.
 
The heads move a lot.
We used to shoot'em in the neck for a quick drop but even that wasn't 100%. Close, tho'..
That lil dimple just above the shoulder is spine. But it'll cost ya some backstrap.
One of the advantages of the "big slow rock". Eat right up to the hole. :cool:
 
Your average hunter should just take the heart/lung shot and cut back on their sniper fantasies.
 
Sure, as mentioned above a solid brain hit/lights out is far more difficult the heart/lungs. If you can hit a kill zone the size of a small cantaloupe in any condition/angle/situation, you don't need our permission.


Has a wounded animal been an issue before? Whats been your previous experiences on your 2.5 acres? You may just be looking for a solution to a problem that doesn't exist.
 
Take the head shot if you’re comfortable. There’s always that one doe that always knows you’re there and will stand there and stare at you. Shoot that one first. Right between the eyes. If you pay attention, the others will usually stop 50 yards away and look back, shoot one of those next.
 
BlueGecko said:
Sure, as mentioned above a solid brain hit/lights out is far more difficult the heart/lungs. If you can hit a kill zone the size of a small cantaloupe in any condition/angle/situation, you don't need our permission.


Has a wounded animal been an issue before? Whats been your previous experiences on your 2.5 acres? You may just be looking for a solution to a problem that doesn't exist.
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Never hunted my 2.5 acres before. The only issue is that I'd rather not track the game very far.
 
Snal~ said:
Not sure if I've already asked this...the mind is a terrible thang.

Is it ethical, reasonable, to take head shots on deer for a quick drop?

I have deer that cross my property between gameland and water. I only have 2.27 acres, but there's a buffer zone separating me from neighbors.
I have a clear safe zone for rifle and crossbow, but my concern is more about tracking.

I have close shot ability, well within my rifle or crossbow ability, but tracking a heart/lung shot would get interesting.

Is it reasonable to assume that a head shot from a rifle or crossbow would drop the deer quickly?
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If you are confident in the shot, then I wouldn’t have any hesitation.
I know there is a member on here who put one down with a 9 mm Glock last year.
I am an avid bowhunter and put two down last year with neck shots, because this is the only shot that I could get on them. There are members who will swear against it, some of this are the same people that don’t practice, take out the ole 270/30-06/30.30 ect only during hunting season and wonder why the shit was high or low.

Head, neck, spine, vitals.
 
Head shot will drop them, I had an old doe walk up to my stand after I shot a bobcat. Picture below I think I was 16 at the time. Parents got me an 870 for Christmas and got lucky that night.

Buckshot 20 yards pattern is mostly face, instantly drops. No reason to gut them really clean, highly recommend if you're a good shot (or lucky) . I did not get the sweet meat (tenderloin ?) @thrillhill says he has magic fingers and can get sweet meat without gutting the deer...

I don't particularly like spine shots because I try to stay away from the backstraps.
Cluck Norris said:
I know there is a member on here who put one down with a 9 mm Glock last year.
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I shot one with a p01 in the neck in 2021, really riled some people up when I said I was using 124 grain +p hst...

Screenshot_20230906_204501_Photos~2.jpg
 
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Burt Gummer said:
Take the head shot if you’re comfortable. There’s always that one doe that always knows you’re there and will stand there and stare at you. Shoot that one first. Right between the eyes. If you pay attention, the others will usually stop 50 yards away and look back, shoot one of those next.
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And if you’re fast enough you can get one between the first one and second…. Not telling y’all my record in a sitting so as not to incriminate myself
 
You'll need something other than brains to tan the hide.
Several ways to tan the skin.
 
I would use the rifle instead of the crossbow. I would not want to bet on a bolt penetrating the skull reliably. It would be unfortunate to have a Steve Martin deer running around with a bolt stuck in its head. I once shot a deer in the head from about that distance. I think it was with a 7mm RM. She died really quickly. It was a mess with stuff splattered everywhere and eyeballs popping out, but I do not eat much in the head.
 
Back in my wilder days I was told that I could not hit a doe standing 200 yards away with my 17 HMR. Neck shot and she dropped like a sack of taters.

Now I wouldn’t do that today with the 17 but I’d do it with my 308 because I know I can.
 
Squanchy said:
Head shot will drop them, I had an old doe walk up to my stand after I shot a bobcat. Picture below I think I was 16 at the time. Parents got me an 870 for Christmas and got lucky that night.

Buckshot 20 yards pattern is mostly face, instantly drops. No reason to gut them really clean, highly recommend if you're a good shot (or lucky) . I did not get the sweet meat (tenderloin ?) @thrillhill says he has magic fingers and can get sweet meat without gutting the deer...

I don't particularly like spine shots because I try to stay away from the backstraps.

I shot one with a p01 in the neck in 2021, really riled some people up when I said I was using 124 grain +p hst...

View attachment 667285
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Shot a doe with 147 gr. HST at around 40 yards out of a Glock 26 and had a complete pass through behind the shoulder. Exit hole was around 2x the entry hole. She didn’t make it fifty yards.
 
Mack270 said:
Shot a doe with 147 gr. HST at around 40 yards out of a Glock 26 and had a complete pass through behind the shoulder. Exit hole was around 2x the entry hole. She didn’t make it fifty yards.
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That's awesome my 124 did not exit. Round hit neck bone and disintegrated.
 
Mack270 said:
Shot a doe with 147 gr. HST at around 40 yards out of a Glock 26 and had a complete pass through behind the shoulder. Exit hole was around 2x the entry hole. She didn’t make it fifty yards.
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Deer ain't hard ta kill. 🥴
But it would be "unfortunate" for it to flail away and keel over in a neighbor's tomato plants.. 😺
 
Shoot for the shoulder, they are down right there.
Not much meat lost on a shoulder.
 
HawgBonz said:
Deer ain't hard ta kill. 🥴
But it would be "unfortunate" for it to flail away and keel over in a neighbor's tomato plants.. 😺
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True, not suggesting it in the particular situation. Should have clarified that.

To the OP, I’m torn on headshots. They work well but make a mess with high powered rifles and there’s not much room for error which gets worse if the deer isn’t stationary.
 
falconew said:
Had a buddy that used to pop them in the head with a 22 mag.
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Poacher/Spot lighter’s weapon of choice around my parts of the state.
 
yard mongrel said:
I had a POS family member that routinely poached deer with .22mag headshots.
Shit, that was what we used on the farm to kill cows.
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Used by many poachers around here.
 
In my deer hunting life I have probably killed upward of 100 deer. At least a quarter of those were with a bow or crossbow. I've only lost one of those and I found it, or what was left of it after the coyotes and buzzards were done a week later and less than 200 yards as the crow flies from where I hit her.

In the last 7ish years the majority of the deer I've killed have been with a .300 blackout and Barnes 110 gr Tac TX bullets.

I've had one deer not die where it stood. That deer was a doe that made two crazy bounds and headbutted a tree. She went down 15 feet from where the bullet made impact.

Use a good bullet. Aim for the heart. The rest will work itself out.
 
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Just a few rules to head shots.

First, know thy weapon and bullet trajectories.

Second, practice with your weapon. Confirming zero a week before start of the season is NOT practicing! Make sure to practice in the positions you will be shooting in, including in a stand or blind. Steep inclines can affect point of aim / point impact.

Third, create the proper environment to stop the deer in the area and position that will be advantageous for you to make the head shot, ie bait, scents, obstacles, etc.

Fourth, like @Burt Gummer said, the girls will know you’re there. So time your movement accordingly.
 
Base of the neck where it joins the spine just in front of the shoulder. Guaranteed instant kill. Only time to head shoot a deer is when it’s calm and the head comes up after feeding and you’ve timed it several times to make that shot. They always pose and that’s your time to shoot.
 
Deer have a lot of head, but not a lot of brain. Head moves a lot. The neck right in front of the chest does not move much. Any reasonable caliber put in the middle of the neck just ahead of the chest is going to put one on the ground right there. I time mine when they put their head down to eat, unless they are up looking at something and not moving. Even though the neck does not move as much you want them not moving at all when you pull the trigger.

DO NOT head shoot one with a bow of any kind. Even though it can be done, it's a bad idea.

SC rifle season is so long I would not even bother with archery.
 
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