Effective game killing, shot placement and more...

[Koda]

Been doing some reading on shot placement and keep returning to this bookmark. Lost of information packed into one article, as well as a large resource for terminal ballistics for hunting in the rest of his website (the entire website is fascinating, check out the wound database for your caliber...). I will ask a question in a minute... but Ive homed in on some takeaways from this that hunters may find valuable and Id be interested in hearing opinions and experiences on shot placement and effective game killing.

• lung shots kill thru blood loss, not destruction of the organ. Since they often run a short distance, I always assumed it was from lack of oxygen.
• Hydrostatic shock begins to lesson at impact velocities below 2600fps.... note this covers most common big game calibers beyond about 300yds, essentially relying only on projectile performance to quickly kill.
• If a bullet is too light and fast for the intended game it may simply lack enough kinetic energy to cause hydrostatic shock. I'm not certain I understand this...
• The further you shoot, the softer your bullet needs to me. Note for the long range hunters...
• Homogeneous bullets tend to work best at high impact velocities initiating hydrostatic shock at impact velocities above 2600fps
• The greatest benefit of homogeneous (monolithic, copper...) bullets is they penetrate well.

Shot placement: aim for the lungs or... preferably, the Autonomic Plexus, AKA the "Forwards Shoulder Shot".

I haven't heard of the Autonomic Plexus or rather the Forwards Shoulder Shot. Line the crosshair up with the front edge of the forward leg... Has anyone specifically tried this?

Effective Game Killing

Effective game killing- How bullets kill and where to aim to ensure a fast clean kill.

www.ballisticstudies.com

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[TTSX]

My experience is lungs put them down before they know they've been shot. How far do you run when the wind is knocked out of you?

I've seen bullets hit at 30ft which were likely 2900ft/sec or faster at impact. They went through like an arrow, causing very little internal damage requiring multiple shots to the same body area just to get the animal to stand up. I don't fully understand it, either.

I try not to shoot large muscle groups if possible, though my last kills would tell you I hate backstrap.... unfortunate happenings when the bullet enters the animal. Sometimes bullets to weird things.

 

[DLS]

The Forward Shoulder Shot works when the animal is quartering toward you. If the animal is broadside or rear on, a shot forward of the shoulder will also go forward of the nerve plexus you are attempting to destroy.

It the animal is facing you and you hit the plexus the animal comes crashing down ... totally unconscious before it hits the ground and dead a few seconds later as the brain starves for oxygen. It's the epitome of a "lights out" hit.

 

[Koda]

My experience is lungs put them down before they know they've been shot. How far do you run when the wind is knocked out of you?

I've seen bullets hit at 30ft which were likely 2900ft/sec or faster at impact. They went through like an arrow, causing very little internal damage requiring multiple shots to the same body area just to get the animal to stand up. I don't fully understand it, either.

I try not to shoot large muscle groups if possible, though my last kills would tell you I hate backstrap.... unfortunate happenings when the bullet enters the animal. Sometimes bullets to weird things.

The lungs is a shure kill and fairly quick. Ive had them drop but most run about 50 yards. I always assumed they ran out of oxygen in the blood but the article suggests blood loss. I dunno but it works. Various angles of quartering (from or away) make things interesting but the lungs still work if you can drive thru to them. That forward shoulder shot in the article suggests an instant drop but seems really specific position and small target plus a good chance of hitting the front shoulder joint.

I figure most hunters just aim for the lungs. Makes sense.

 

[DLS]

The blood loss leads to a drop in blood pressure which caused the brain to deoxygenate. Even if there was a large amount of oxygen in the blood, it does the brain no good if there is not enough pressure in the piping system to get it there.

 

[TTSX]

The Forward Shoulder Shot works when the animal is quartering toward you. If the animal is broadside or rear on a shot forward of the shoulder will also go forward of the nerve plexus you are attempting to destroy.

It the animal is facing you and you hit the plexus the animal comes crashing down ... totally unconscious before it hits the ground and dead a few seconds later as the brain starves for oxygen. It's the epitome of a "lights out" hit.

That might explain a deer my friend shot through the chest. Bullet traveled down the length of the spine, never came out. Deer dropped, rolled downhill and never so much as twitched...

 

[Koda]

The Forward Shoulder Shot works when the animal is quartering toward you. If the animal is broadside or rear on, a shot forward of the shoulder will also go forward of the nerve plexus you are attempting to destroy.

It the animal is facing you and you hit the plexus the animal comes crashing down ... totally unconscious before it hits the ground and dead a few seconds later as the brain starves for oxygen. It's the epitome of a "lights out" hit.

So the Autonomic Plexus shot works but just limited to front and quartering shots...

 

[Koda]

That might explain a deer my friend shot through the chest. Bullet traveled down the length of the spine, never came out. Deer dropped, rolled downhill and never so much as twitched...

Maybe he hit him higher in the chest it sounds?

I did that on my last antelope, full frontal shot... my 25-06 pile drived the spine. Ooops, wasted half the backstrap but I never forgot the damage a rifle can do. Dropped instantly of course.

 

[DLS]

deleted for major typos!

 

[DLS]

So the Autonomic Plexus shot works but just limited to front and quartering shots...

If you can drive a bullet through it, the animal will drop. But, reaching it from other angles can be difficult and destroy a lot of meat in the process.

 

[Koda]

If you can drive a bullet through it, the animal will drop. But, reaching it from other angles can be difficult and destroy a lot of meat in the process.

so basically best reserved for frontal shots.
Ive never knew to aim for this on frontal/quartering towards shots just aimed a bit higher intending to drive thru to the lungs. It does waste shoulder meat if the aim is off but still a one shot kill. I will have to try for the Autonomic Plexus if I have the time to place that bullet there. Thanks for the confirmation.

 

[drstrangelove]

I always liked my buddies reference to the Texas heart shot... Right up the Hershey Highway! Nasty meat contamination though. Most humane kill and the quickest put down will always be what what Texas Hog hunters recommend, the zombie head shot through the ear. Now all you traditional hunters, don't get worked up. I know it's not a big target, it royally effs up any possibility of a mount, but with a hyperaccurate rifle where you KNOW where the bullet is going… if it's a meat hunt, well, preserve the meat! Just sayin.

 

[TTSX]

I always liked my buddies reference to the Texas heart shot... Right up the Hershey Highway! Nasty meat contamination though. Most humane kill and the quickest put down will always be what what Texas Hog hunters recommend, the zombie head shot through the ear. Now all you traditional hunters, don't get worked up. I know it's not a big target, it royally effs up any possibility of a mount, but with a hyperaccurate rifle where you KNOW where the bullet is going… if it's a meat hunt, well, preserve the meat! Just sayin.

I'd still euro mount it

 

[Mark W.]

The two fastest kills I have ever had have both taken out the 4" of the spine just below the skull. In both cases one with a 30-30 at 20 yards the other with a .308 at 50-60 yards the deer hit the ground straight below it instantly.

 

[Stomper]

Choot 'em in da pumper!!

 

[belshawelk]

Been doing some reading on shot placement and keep returning to this bookmark. Lost of information packed into one article, as well as a large resource for terminal ballistics for hunting in the rest of his website (the entire website is fascinating, check out the wound database for your caliber...). I will ask a question in a minute... but Ive homed in on some takeaways from this that hunters may find valuable and Id be interested in hearing opinions and experiences on shot placement and effective game killing.

• lung shots kill thru blood loss, not destruction of the organ. Since they often run a short distance, I always assumed it was from lack of oxygen.
• Hydrostatic shock begins to lesson at impact velocities below 2600fps.... note this covers most common big game calibers beyond about 300yds, essentially relying only on projectile performance to quickly kill.
• If a bullet is too light and fast for the intended game it may simply lack enough kinetic energy to cause hydrostatic shock. I'm not certain I understand this...
• The further you shoot, the softer your bullet needs to me. Note for the long range hunters...
• Homogeneous bullets tend to work best at high impact velocities initiating hydrostatic shock at impact velocities above 2600fps
• The greatest benefit of homogeneous (monolithic, copper...) bullets is they penetrate well.

Shot placement: aim for the lungs or... preferably, the Autonomic Plexus, AKA the "Forwards Shoulder Shot".

I haven't heard of the Autonomic Plexus or rather the Forwards Shoulder Shot. Line the crosshair up with the front edge of the forward leg... Has anyone specifically tried this?

View attachment 1089754

Effective Game Killing

Effective game killing- How bullets kill and where to aim to ensure a fast clean kill.

www.ballisticstudies.com

#3 is most important, Speed hurts but its only a percentage ( small) about what kills. It way over rated in the sense that everyone thinks speed is what kills. Nothing ever dies from speed alone or we would kill elk with with a 22 hornet or other speedy rounds. Its energy, speed is just the delivery mechanism and the how well the energy works.

Find a good heavy bullet bullet and a good speed and you have best results especially if you miss a vital. For me on elk, I shoot a heavy solid copper with a crapload of energy moving fast.

 

[Xaevian]

Line the crosshair up with the front edge of the forward leg... Has anyone specifically tried this?

Depends on the angle of shot provided.

I tend to look at animals in 3D more than 2 dimensional initial impact, meaning I factor in expected path of travel, through which organs, and adjust accordingly.

 

[bbbass]

preferably, the Autonomic Plexus, AKA the "Forwards Shoulder Shot".

I haven't heard of the Autonomic Plexus or rather the Forwards Shoulder Shot. Line the crosshair up with the front edge of the forward leg... Has anyone specifically tried this?

I've read about it, but never had occasion to try it.

've seen bullets hit at 30ft which were likely 2900ft/sec or faster at impact. They went through like an arrow, causing very little internal damage requiring multiple shots to the same body area just to get the animal to stand up. I don't fully understand it, either.

The last elk I killed, from my fav sitting spot behind a downed Yellow Pine log, my initial shot was at about 25yds.... that damned spike wheeled around and took off so fast that I thought I had somehow missed (never really looked at trajectory that close). So I stood up, jacked another round, and as he was quartering away, aimed at the back of the rib cage and dumped him. He rolled 100yds down into the creek. When I gutted him, both lungs and heart were destroyed. Never knew if the first bullet failed from being so close.

The two fastest kills I have ever had have both taken out the 4" of the spine just below the skull. In both cases one with a 30-30 at 20 yards the other with a .308 at 50-60 yards the deer hit the ground straight below it instantly.

A few of my hunting buddies specialized in that shot. I was never brave enough and confident enough to try it. Figured I'd miss too high, or too low and have a wounded animal to chase. (My ID buddy's Mom shot a nice muley with her 25/32 or whatever it was out of her lever gun... shot it in the throat, going for the spine, and we had to track it down and kill it. Bummer death for the poor deer.)

 

[Howard1955]

Lung shots are a tried and true method, but the hunter might have to scout around to find where the deer finally stopped running.

An exploded heart can drop them in their tracks, but some deer might go a short distance before falling. One of mine was able to spin around and take a couple of steps before it fell. The lower half of its heart was gone.

A high-shoulder or neck shot that destroys the spine will definitely drop them where they stand. As will a bullet to the brain.

 

[Mark W.]

I've read about it, but never had occasion to try it.




The last elk I killed, from my fav sitting spot behind a downed Yellow Pine log, my initial shot was at about 25yds.... that damned spike wheeled around and took off so fast that I thought I had somehow missed (never really looked at trajectory that close). So I stood up, jacked another round, and as he was quartering away, aimed at the back of the rib cage and dumped him. He rolled 100yds down into the creek. When I gutted him, both lungs and heart were destroyed. Never knew if the first bullet failed from being so close.



A few of my hunting buddies specialized in that shot. I was never brave enough and confident enough to try it. Figured I'd miss too high, or too low and have a wounded animal to chase. (My ID buddy's Mom shot a nice muley with her 25/32 or whatever it was out of her lever gun... shot it in the throat, going for the spine, and we had to track it down and kill it. Bummer death for the poor deer.)

The first one at 20 yards I had a classic Deer hunting moment. You know the one where you just know if you stop to take a dump you will see a deer wander past! Well I took a dump and as I stood up and turned around there 20 yards away from me was a young buck. I carefully pulled the hammer on the Win model 94 I was carrying back to full cock. Raised the carbine to my shoulder and as the deer acted like he was tasting the air like a snake would. I put the front sight right dead center in his forehead (I was meat hunting and it was a spike) being he was so close the bullet skinned his chin and exited out the back of his neck making about a 1.5" x 3" hole as about 4" of back bone went out the hole. 55lbs of Venison veal. YUM YUM.

They other was just stupid. I was watching a couple rifles for the neighbor as they were on a long vacation. One of the rifles was a model 99 Savage in .308 Having never anything with a model 99 I thought what the heck I'll go out for an evening hunt after work. I had almost a full box of misc .308 picked up at various garage sales. As I walked into one of my favorite spots close to home I see 5-7 deer entering the other side of the little grass field I was approaching somewhere between 50 and 60yards away. I took aim and fired at the only one I could tell for sure was a buck. The little grass field is down an East facing slope so evening light was slim. The muzzle blast effectively blinded me. And of course the majority of the deer scattered. I figured I had missed but the buck was still standing there so I took aim again and nothing. He moved about 7-8 feet Once my vision returned I took a solid left shoulder aim and fired. He hit the ground like a ton of bricks.

I walked up on him and saw the shot had hit about 2" below the skull and about dead center with the left side of the spinal column.

The reason he didn't run off was that first round basically blew his nose off and obviously stunned him really bad. I am glad I was able to finish the kill quickly.

Only time I have ever gone hunting with an unknown rifle with unknown ammo and unknown sights. And I got super lucky Cause at 50 yards I wouldn't have even been on the paper.

That one made about 65lbs of really good meat and a little set of Forked antlers.