I've had to change game dealers in order to dispose of the muntjac I shoot.

The plus side is that it doesn't matter where it's shot provided the saddle and haunches are untouched.

Consequently neck shots have been ditched (the last game dealer got shirty if you hit a shoulder) and I am shooting more deer as I'm getting on target and shooting much more quickly and misses have been reduced by 90% (no doubt I will now start a bad streak of misses). If I look back further I can honestly say that 90% of misses have been caused by neck shooting.

I have come across a lot of stalkers who swear they 'only neck shoot' and pause for applause at this. The last one swore this was so even though some of his stalking was on large maize fields with shots of up to 250 yards. I had a look through his rifle scope and it had a large post reticle! Have you seen a fallow doe's neck?!

Quite frankly I plainly disbelieve this sort of thing which I put on the same level as the 500yard shot. My next door neighbour 'only neck shot' but there were a lot of deer with holes in the chest in his chiller and they weren't all mine!

If I hop back 19 years I can still hear and feel the smack and searing pain of getting kicked in the chest by a "neck shot" white tail that my dad put down. I was in the process of getting the legs in the right place so I could dress it out on a side hill. It hadn't yet expired and there was quite a bit of time between the shot and my contact. I learned a lot that day, especially that dads can cry from laughing so hard. Having harvested real close to a hundred white tails the neck shot is something that rarely crosses my mind. I am always drawing the imaginary lines through the body and shoot that way. I guess it comes naturally from bowhunting. I don't so much picture the point of impact or exit, but the area between the two. The neck shot is too iffy for me. I have a very good white tail on the wall that has a healed bullet wound and a healed broad head scar in the neck. That being said, I'll in reality take any clean shot that presents itself. Good hunting!

I once shot a deer I heard coming toward me through the woods because I could hear it breathing. After I finished it off I found a slub hole through its trachea with a little blood. In an effort to return the deer to its rightful owner, I backtracked for over 1 mile, and found no blood anywhere before I quit. In my mind, that deer would have died eventually if I hadn't stepped in, but it was in no way quick or painless. I can see no reason to ever attempt a neck shot after that- there's way too much immediately non vital tissue.

1894,

I have shot a number of animals in the neck, and see absolutely no reason not to do it if you only have that chance, and you are capable of hitting the animal in the neck.

One impala I shot was probably around 180-200 yards away, the rest of the animals I shot in the neck were less than 100 yards away.

Our friend Walter normally likes to do a BBQ while we are in Africa, and he specifically asks for a neck shot animal. Even our PH tries his best to persuade me to shoot the BBQ animals in the neck - something he normally frowns on.

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saeed@ emirates.net.ae

www.accuratereloading.com

I have shot 1 animal in the neck and 3 in the head. The one neck was a buck that was running toward my at about 50 yards. Of the 3 head shots one was a running antelope that I lead too much, one was a buck deer that was facing me with his head down covering his chest area and the third was a buck that was about 20 yards away and all I could see was his head. All 4 animals dropped at the shot. I try for a chest shot but it's not always possible. The biggest buck that my Grandfather ever got had a hole in it's neck just like penrod72 describes. There was no blood to follow. This was a big 8X6 mule deer. He also has a neck bone from a 6X6 that had been shot in the neck with an arrow when it was young. Half an inch either way would have been fatal as the arrow head was right between the jugler vein and the spinal cord. You can see where the bone had grown around the arrowhead. But, it was no match for his .270 Win.

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When in doubt, empty the magazine.

My father, who is still strictly a "meat hunter", was a confirmed "neck-shooter". In fact, his nickname amongst his buddies was "Shoot-em-in-the-neck". This method was very effective for him, as he took many moose and a few deer this way. He was quite a marksman. Since his eyes have been failed him somewhat (not very successful detached retina surgery), I don't believe he still relies on this shot.

I have never used the shot myself, probably because I have never had an opportunity where I had an adequate amount of time to aim at a stationary animal. I don't feel confident enough to shoot at a 2" target (approx. width of average spinal column) otherwise. Between nerves or being out of breath, or having a less than solid rest, it has always been out of the question for me. Under the right circumstances though, it is a great way to preserve an entire carcass for the freezer.

FWIW, Canuck

PS: 257 AI, Your signature line reminded me of a saying one of my buddies always uses..."As long as there's lead in the air, there's hope!".

Recently in Tanzania, my PH (who is a legend only in his own mind) tried to convince me to take only neck shots. That way he would not have to track any wounded game. I considered his advice and rejected it since with my poor shooting abilities I wanted him to exercise his tracking abilities, since that was about the only exercise he was going to get. I saw him demonstrate the art of the neck shot on a Hartebeest at about 100 yrds within a 7 STW (without ever getting out of the LandRover of Course and using a solid rest to boot). The Hartebeest dropped to the shot, but then got up and ran off for parts unknown and despite a half hour of tracking was never recovered. Following this convincing demonstration I proceeded to shoot everything in the chest or shoulder.Unfortunately, No undue exercise was needed! With that said, there is nothing wrong with a neck shot and I've done it many times,however, I'll generally only do it if I don't have a better option.-Rob

Like all things, a neck shot in the right circumstances and under the right conditions can be devastating. However, a hunter who limits himself to only neck shots because he has had bad experiences with heart/lung shots is probably the same hunter who believes in "magic" magnums and 500 yard game shots. Everything has its place and I'd no sooner pass on a trophey animal becuase the only shot I could make was a neck shot than I would say no to a date with Cindy Crawford...though I admit I'd have a better chance of getting a shot at a primo buck than having anything to do with Cindy...Damn it!

Like a lot of others, I consider the neck to be just another vital area with certain limitations. I do think that it is one of the best areas for a small caliber, but use judgement and not use it when the animal is moving, at extreme distance, or covered with brush, etc. Like others I have seen quite a few animals drop like a rock but I have also had to help a conservation agent put down a starving deer which had been shot in the throat.

Jeff,

Don't put yourself down like that hun, if your ever in town, please feel free to look me up. Busy this weekend hunting hogs, but after that, who knows???

Cindy
xxxxxx

Wow, posting the same time as C.C......

I did have a question about you english deer hunters, I guess you can sell your meat. Is there much of a market for it, and how much do you get for it?

Mark,

Most of the venison from the UK goes to the European market or did before the FMD outbreak. All meat exports sre now banned and the venison market has fallen on its arse.

Pre FMD, prices varied from place to place along with the type of venison. Red in Scotland would go for roughly between 45p and 60p per pound where as I was getting 100p-130p per pound for Roe....That is for a carcass with the head and feet off but skin on. A typical Roe carcass will average say 30lb at the dealer while a Fallow pricket will be around 70-90lb with Reds being 100lb plus....

I can still get 130p per pound for Fallow, but don't tell Deerdogs or 1894 that:-)

Pete

[This message has been edited by Pete E (edited 09-21-2001).]

Cindy,
Funny you should mention hog-hunting. Now that you're free of that Richard Gere wierdo maybe you'd like to go out with a REAL man?
I'll even let you touch my Freedom Arms .475 Linebaugh with a 6 inch barrel...its a wonderful hog killer!

Jeff,

Life is so much more fun without Richard, especially for my hamsters....

Not sure about your 6"...momma always said to go for something longer.....Must say I'm kinda partial to a guy you uses a spear....less risky for the curs too.

Really looking forward to the weekend though as its along time since I've got my hands on a decent piece of meat...Richard was just not that way inclined...
Love,
Cindy
xxxx

Cindy, don't take Jeff's word for it. He uses a muzzle break which is false length. Besides it just makes more noise while reducing the recoil.

I see nothing wrong with a high neck shot or Cindy Crawford...

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Ray Atkinson

ray@atkinsonhunting.com
atkinsonhunting.com

Ray,

We'd like to know what weapon you're going to use?

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saeed@ emirates.net.ae

www.accuratereloading.com

Funny thing is not all hunters were created equal. Some are excellent shots freestanding with the abilities of a topshelf silhoutte shooter to control breating etc.
Others like me, are happy enought to hit the 5" kill zone. The neck on most deer type animals doesn't present a very large target, the fact that they are very usually moving their heads around means that this small target area is moving as well.
Really having seen humans and animals with serious neck injuries I think there isn't a lot to be said about it. If you know your animal and are a godo shot you can probably geta good energy transfer enough to put the animal down or hit the spine and drop it, but a heart lung shot with plenty of flesh for a good energy transfer is much better.

I believe the Game Dealers of this country are responsible for many wounded animals through their insistence on meat preserving neck shots.

I�ll always try to use an upper heart/lung shot, but there are exceptions. Where meat is not an issue (I�m thinking Africa here) I would use a raking body shot if a broadside shot was not presented. In any event the raking shot is aim at taking out lung and or heart so I suppose this is no different. It is just a meat thing.

I did work for a commercial deer stalker one season. Between us we killed 150 plus deer in a couple of months. I was directed to avoid body shots because of reduced venison value. After a couple of weeks I was very confident of my rifle/ ammo/ and my own shot placement ability and I had no qualms about head shooting from that point. But ONLY if the deer was looking directly at me or directly away. That way the chances of a wound are small. - it is either a brain shot or a clean miss. I would not attempt this shot at over 100 metres and I always used a pair of shooting sticks.

Neck shots I do not like unless the animal is facing me with its head down feeding. This only works when hunting grazing deer rather than browsers. In these circumstances it is possible to put the bullet through the back of the lower neck, through the body cavity and if it keeps on going and the angles are right, out of the arsehole or the rear flank without wrecking too much meat. It is a killing shot. I have used it successfully on fallow and impala at 200m It prefer not to take a shot further than 200m.

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Regards

Richard

Both of my grandfathers were confirmed neck shooters on elk. One because his rifle of choice was a 30/30 Win. and this was his most effective shot. The other used a 300H&H with western 180 open points and likewise I think this was his most effective shot.
In the first case the shots were always quite close and in the second he was a very good marksman.
Personally I have used neck shots only when that was the logical aiming point and mostly go for the body. I am perhaps not that good as a marksman! Regards, Bill.
P.S. My wife suggests that I would be very likely to pass up that date with Cindy Crawford if I have any kind of survival instinct.

I tried a neck shot on moose long time ago. The bullet missed the vertebrae, and the moose ran down the side of the mountain. A friend of mine took a neck shot on a moose this year and missed the neck bones, then he shot it through the lungs and the moose dropped on the spot. I have seen moose walking around with holes on the neck, and around the head. The following paragraph is posted at the Alaska F&G Web site, and I completely agree with it:

"The correct answer is the heart-lung vital zone. Any other shot has too great a chance to
wound the animal. There are a lot of stories about the spectacular result of head and neck
shots. Some hunters have said, �Either you kill them instantly or you miss cleanly when
you aim for the brain.� This is absolutely false! Wildlife managers and hunters have found many animals with a nose or jaw missing from attempted brain shots. A neck shot may hit the esophagus or trachea, leaving the animal to run away, leave no blood trail, and die a slow death."

I�ve tried the neck shot only once on a mule deer. Just as I was squeezing the trigger, a squirrel chattered behind the deer. The deer turned its head just in time for me to miss completely. It gave me a look of disgust and wandered off into the brush. From then on I stick to heart-lung shots only.

We once had a kind of nondescript looking shepard-houndX dog come on to the place.It seemed very wary and it took some time before it came to my daughter. The dog had obviously been shot and left for dead. She had been shot through the neck at close range with a high powered rifle and had a hole on the exit side about 3 inches in diameter. My first impulse was to put the dog out of it's misery but it didn't seem too miserable and my daughter wouldn't hear of it. So i took it to the vet instead and had her X-rayed. The shot had entered just behind the ear on the left side and angled rearward clipping the top of the spine and exiting just ahead of the shoulder.
The dog recovered completely in about two months. With the neck shot being this ineffective on a 70 lb dog I cant think it's a great shot on big game. Regards, Bill.

Given my choice, I'll pass on the neck & take that high-probablity lung shot.

Since Bill brought up dogs, I'll retell this one my father-in-law told me about growing up on a farm in North Dakota during the depression....

They would get stray dogs on occasion, and usually chase them off but once a dog showed up and wouldn't leave. A hired hand they had said he would get rid of the dog for them, then got a stick of dynamite and tied it to the dogs tail!

The dog then ran under one of their sheds...