Paul,

I ALSO enjoyed your post. Well put Sir and Happy Thanksgiving!

$bob$

Seems I waded into a gunfight. I only wanted to add that I trust NBT's to work for me. I don't feel that shoulder shots are unethical or wasteful, indeed they do tend to incapacitate an animal on the spot. Away and angled shots get one further back from me. The vitals still must be in the line of bullet travel, IMHO.

Let's see where should I start? I am a shoulder shot proponent in many circumstances. Why? Because my own experience and the collective experience of others tells me that shoulder shot deer do not run as far. A shoulder shot will most often involve lung or heart destruction in the same fashion as a shot placed just rearward of the shoulder. In my neck of the woods in a fading light situation, it is important and ethical to anchor an animal as quickly as possible. A deer that runs 80 yards into a 5 year old cut-over stands a good chance of going unrecovered until the following morning. In the 70 degree weather we have experienced lately, that deer will be spoiled. All of it, not just the area around the bullet hole. While a shoulder shot deer may indeed run a good distance, most hunters have experienced appreciably quicker kills when one or both shoulders are broken and everything that lies in between (lungs and heart) are demolished in the process. The bone fragments from a near side shoulder shot become secondary projectiles and are often found deeply imbedded in heart and lung tissue. Therein lies my preferrence for shoulder shots. The down side of the shoulder shot is the meat damage no doubt. Just how much is lost? I'll bet if I weighed all the meat I cut away from shoulder shot deer it would amount to less than 5 pounds. When hunting thick stuff I'll gladly sacrifice the meat for increased odds the animal will not run off and die without being recovered. If that is unethical, then brand me so, I'll gladly bear the burden.

When I hunted the open country in Kodiak Alaska I preferred shots just rearward of the shoulder when possible. There was almost no chance a deer would go unrecovered even with a 100 yard death dash.

I am amazed that differences of opinion often digress into personal attacks. I guess if I ever go to Montana, I'll keep my opinions to myself.

While we are disagreeing, I'll also say that I do not like plastic tip bullets for big game of any size. Why? Because the only deer I ever hit and lost was hit with a 150 NBT launched at 2900 fps out of a 30-06. Is one negative experience a valid foundation upon which to base decisions. I'll answer that with an unequivocal NO! In fact I load the same round for a very good friend who swears by them and non-shoulder shots. Last year he killed two deer with one shot. He thinks the stuff I make him is magic, yet I won't shoot it myself. Instead I opt for Partitions and shoulder shots. Philosophically we are completely different yet somehow we remain good friends with healthy respect for each other. I must admit we have some good natured fun taking jabs at each other's choices. I guess the veil of internet annonymity emboldens some of us enough to say really mean spirited things to some who do not share our opinions. I for one am thankful the world is full of people with differing opinions and ideas. Someone once said nothing kills good chat quicker than agreement. Look at the threads that get the most attention. They normally have some disagreement or controversy. It is possible to air out our differences amicably and respectfully.

Paul

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