With the various discussions about bullet selection for certain species, the latest being elk, just for the grins of it, what location on an animal, under relatively normal circumstances do you try to place your first shot?

I prefer and recommend to my clients when guiding someone to try and take out the front shoulders. Main reason being it is normally going to get the animal off its feet reasonably quick. I know some question meat loss with such a placement, but I have never really noticed that much meat on the front shoulders of most game animals and with a well constructed bullet, in my experience there is not a lot of meat loss.

What are other people's "Target" of choice when the target is covered with hair and presenting a reasonably doable-unhurried shot?

I'll try to bust through both shoulders if possible, which is why I prefer tougher bullets. No promises on the unhurried shots though, because I'm seldom a blind or stand hunter.

I aim for the heart. Aim point changes with orientation of animal. Texas heart shots only on wounded fleeing game.

Dave

High shoulder shot is my preference. A little high and you get the spine, a little low and you get the lungs. Big target that anchors them quick.

On broadside shots, break both shoulders....quartering shots, aim for the exit hole, with the heart in the path. Timber elk, with a .375 H&H and 300 grain swift aframes, aim for the heart, no matter the angle. I always get full length penetration with an exit hole, and little to no meat damage.....Oh, and NO tracking required! Andy#3

On broadside elk, I aim straight up the leg about half way into the body. This seems to give the greatest room for error. Note: Point of aim changes depending on orientation of the animal.

Some of the "trickier shots might be cool but the margin of error is small and not worth the risk IMHO.

Like already said, an "elk" bullet doesn't do overly much damage to the meat of the shoulder.

Zeke

Shoulder/high shoulder are the first preference, but as you saw on the last two deer I shot, Randall, they were shot through the ribs just high of the leg joint and neither of them moved again, except straight down.

Find the elbow, raise the cross hairs 2-3 inches. Blow out the top of the heart and both lungs.

"Break both shoulders" Do you mean the bones, and if so exactly which bones do you mean?

Out to 100 yards with an undisturbed animal my preference is a neck shot. Always DRT. On longer shots or running game taking out the front shoulders minimizes tracking. Heart shots will many times result in a "death run" which will sometimes put the animal in a spot where recovery is more difficult.

Double lung or I don't shoot.
No way I'd ever shoot shoulders on eating game and ruin all that meat.

They might run, but, seldom over 100-200yds max. That's not far enough to get lost. Might go down the far hill and make it hell to pack out though, still better than ruining half the meat.

That's the way I was taught by the Old Elk Killers.

George

Front shoulders is a great shot. I'm fine with losing a little meat and increasing my odds of finding the animal. Having said that, and especially with elk, a few inches behind
the front works well too.

As long as you make sure the bullet ends in the middle of the chest, or passes through the middle of the chest.

That is what I have been doing for years, and it works.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
As long as you make sure the bullet ends in the middle of the chest, or passes through the middle of the chest.

That is what I have been doing for years, and it works.

+1

Broadside, point of the shoulder breaking both shoulders. quartering shot; aim to break the shoulder at the point on the offside.

If given the best opportunity I aim for the top of the heart, if I'm off a bit left right up down I still have a good shot. I aim for this spot from a variety of angles except I never take a butt shot or advocate one unless the animal was previously hit.
In some instances if you don't have the heart shot opportunity there are a couple deadly shots that I take, high shoulder shot, neck or even spine over the shoulders if you are above a feeding animal (like on a ridge).
I'm sure I'm the odd man out here but for years I've used Sierra bullets. My 30/06 with 180 grain Sierra's have dropped dozens of elk and I always get an exit and very dead elk. I've often wondered if my typical shot of choice were breaking shoulders if I would have opted for a different bullet. What I'm getting at is there is no do it all bullet or shot placement for everyone, people must tailor there shots and bullet choice so they mesh.
If someone were to pick say a Barnes or an A frame it may not be as great of a killer using the type of shot placement I use but those same bullets placed on big bones will be dramatic killers.
Everyone is different in shot placement and bullet selection.
Good luck with yours...

I enjoyed the one broadside Elk I shot and took a little shoulder blade through both lungs and out the other shoulder blade. Rest of them, I aim as Saeed indicated he does. Have traversed quite a length of elk a few times. Always worked.

quote:

"Break both shoulders" Do you mean the bones, and if so exactly which bones do you mean?

That is a difficult one to respond to without being taken wrong, Last time I looked, there is only one bone in the shoulder itself. There are ribs behind the shoulder blade/scapula and if the shot is high enough it will hit the spine, but for me it is a case of simply trying to get the animal off its feet/reducing its ability to travel any real distance before dying.

As to the subject of meat loss, yes there will be some meat that can not be salvaged, but for me personally, comparing the loss of a few pounds of meat with a shoulder shot or even a shot taking out both shoulders, with the possibility of losing the entire animal due to its traveling into an area where it can not be retrieved or just plain lost and unable to be found, I will make that sacrifice.

Thank You to all responders.

I like to fragment the scapula if possible. It throws bone shards through the lungs and major blood vessels very effectively. Most animals, regardless of the species, either go straight down, or stagger a few steps and drop. If you are high, you still get the top of the lungs and, or the spine. Low, and you still trash the lungs, and might clip the top of the heart, or the aorta.

quote:

I like to fragment the scapula if possible

There ya go you just ruined the Flat Iron cut!

In the early years I would look for a heart shot, was taught later on a Jack Hooker elk hunt to shoot the lungs. They don't go very far with no air.
It's a little different in swamps or heavy brush, but I mostly hunt sage flats where I can see where they go.

I shot a bull elk on the point of the shoulder at not over 25 feet and it never slowed down. When we got it down from a prior shot and I finished it. There was just a big bubble and pulverized bone and inch deep and about 6" dia.
'06 150gr. unk brand now, too long ago. Possibly a Herter's Wasp Waist.

The most effective shot on another bull was a .22 in the soft spot under the ear. I swear his head hit him in the ass before he went down. Impressive! I was just a kid and had bad influence in those years. We'd been out trying to get one a few times and I was out alone that day shooting pine squirrels when he looked around a tree at about 50 feet. Yes, Aug. No, I wouldn't do it again and was wrong doing so then.

George

I try to break the opposite shoulder. Or just double lung them.

I had a lengthy contribution to this thread all written out but I'll bite my tongue.

Some of you guys can keep your "trick" shots with zero margin for error. I'll shoot for the middle of the boiler-room and eat elk steaks again tonight!

Curmudgeon,
Zeke

quote:

High shoulder shot is my preference. A little high and you get the spine, a little low and you get the lungs. Big target that anchors them quick.

Last week I shot a Mountain Zebra and saw another one shot using a high shoulder shot. They both dropped in their tracks. One was at 387 yards the other about 50 yards. They were the ONLY ones that dropped in there tracks out of 7 Zebra.

My shots are either through the shoulders or just behind in the lungs. I don't mind hitting the shoulder at all because I have seen Elk lost by buddies trying to save meat by trying the perfect shot worried about bloodshot meat. Loosing the whole animal is the worst thing that can happen. Good Shooting.

Just behind the front shoulder, 1/3 of the way up.

quote:

Originally posted by Colorado Bob:
Just behind the front shoulder, 1/3 of the way up.

+1, can't get away from this, just naturally go for the same shot, been doing it for 20+ years and it always works with minimal meat damage and short trails.

quote:

Originally posted by ZekeShikar:
I had a lengthy contribution to this thread all written out but I'll bite my tongue.

Some of you guys can keep your "trick" shots with zero margin for error. I'll shoot for the middle of the boiler-room and eat elk steaks again tonight!



Curmudgeon,
Zeke

There ya go!

Behind the shoulders through the lungs. I eat what I kill and like to eat shoulder meat more than rib meat.

I eat what I kill also, but I gladly trade the small amount of meat that is "Ruined" with a shoulder shot, over a long possibly, fruitless tracking/recovery job any day.

It is all about personal choice/experience.

quote:

Originally posted by Colorado Bob:
Just behind the front shoulder, 1/3 of the way up.

+ Another. This has been my preferred shot for the past 50 years on every North American game animal that I have hunted.

My freezer has been full of elk meat for most of those years, and I get very upset with myself if I "miss" and hit a shoulder.

I shoot for top of the heart gets both lungs too if it's broadside shot. No sense, in my opinion, ruining all of that meat with a shoulder shot.

The head kills them dead.

But I shoot several thousand rounds of ammo a year.

If it has horns or antlers or a skull I want, I will most likely shoot them in the neck.

Long distance I go for the spine.

I shoot deer and elk behind the shoulder, never had a problem killing them..As to meat damage, a elk has a lot of hamburger on his shoulders and I love elk hamburger..On deer it makes little difference as not much meat on deer shoulders, but why waste any and why blow bone slivers through meat..I eat my deer and my elk, its our primary source of protein in my family. Its heart healthy..I also don't mind a Texas heart shot, it ruins no meat at all as a rule, and a bullet end to end kills quick, does not taint the meat if you clean it quickly and properly, the comments on the Texas heart shot or an old wives tale that newbies accept as fact when in reality its just BS..A neck shot is quick and ruins little meat but if your shot is off and inch or two you can break the jaw and that animal will starve to death, same for the head shot, it's risky..

I think everyone should kill quickly if possible, but killing cleanly is equally important.

quote:

Originally posted by Big Wonderful Wyoming:
The head kills them dead.

But I shoot several thousand rounds of ammo a year.

If it has horns or antlers or a skull I want, I will most likely shoot them in the neck.

Long distance I go for the spine.

This question come up often on these various hunting forums. A deer's brain is about the size of a tennis ball. An elk's brain is a little smaller than a softball. An elk's heart and lungs are a little larger than a basketball.

The spinal cord of a deer isn't any larger than a broom handle, and of an elk its smaller than a shovel handle. The spine in the neck is curved and is a variable distance below the top of the neck. The spine in the back is just below the back straps, one of the choices cuts of meat. It is also a variable distance below the top of the back.

I also shoot several thousand rounds of ammo each year. Most hunters do not. The brain and spine are not very large targets, and even for the best rifleman shooting under ideal conditions, these targets can be difficult to reliably hit.

A miss on these targets of only a few inches will most likely result in a lost animal. I respect the animals too much to attempt these shots.

quote:

Originally posted by Thunder Head:
Find the elbow, raise the cross hairs 2-3 inches. Blow out the top of the heart and both lungs.

+1 that's always been my choice for deer and elk. A good shot there typically puts the animal down, never had one go more than 30 yards even with lighter (243) rifles.

Shoulder with a big slow bullet.Not much for meat loss and usually DRT.

I shoot as much as anyone I know, I like the behind the shoulder shot best, I don't care how good a shot anyone claims, you are not fail proof and can miss by a few inches even from a blind..Ive taken head and neck shots a number of times but its not my choice if I have an option..Ive seen too many screw ups with head and neck shots even at close range..but to each his own, I just speak for myself.

The main reason I have hunted big game, has been for meat.

But after almost 50 years worth of hunting, the amount of meat lost with a shoulder shot is acceptable, when compared with possibly losing the whole animal due to a bad/misplaced shot.

Add to the equation that Lora and I butcher/process the game we kill and with my choice in bullets, rarely have we ever lost an entire shoulder.

Just an opinion here, but if someone is using a bullet that creates enough damage to lose an entire shoulder, they probably need to look at changing bullets.

To each there own, I will stick with shoulder shots because they have been working for me for a long time and I see no reason to change.