Headshots?

wabi · Post by **wabi** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 5:27 pm

Doe Master wrote:Eltin the reason why it is highly not recommended is keep in mind that a arrow kills by hemmorage and a bullet kills by shock .The head shot with a bullet effects the surrounding area in the brain and spinal column that is why it can be effective.But conversely the arrow does not have that shocking power to have this effect .Don`t want to come off like we are preaching but it is OUR responsibly to have a quick and HUMANE kill if at all possible .

Very well stated!

I've bowhunted for many years and about the only time a head shot is practical and ethical is on small game at close range with a steel blunt. A very deadly shot or a miss in most cases. On any game larger than a few pounds the broadhead through the heart - lung area is a much better choice.

chris4570 · Post by **chris4570** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 5:55 pm

Even with a high powered rifle, a head shot is not recommended and is a low percentage shot. With any archery gear I would say NEVER.

I guess

I was fortunate to have learned why one shouldn't take a shot like this. I shot a snowshoe hare a couple years back, using a .22lr. It took two shots. Shooting offhand I took a head shot, the hare flinched at the first shot. Spooked from the noise, I shot again. This time I went for the boiler room. The hare expired. When I went to recover the hare, I found that the first shot destroyed its mouth. But the reaction from the hare was not one of a hit but a miss. Learned a valuable lesson. Had the hare run off, probably would have starved to death.

crazyfarmer · Post by **crazyfarmer** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 7:30 pm

heads shots are either people showing off or by accident. Normally they are by accident since someone was focused on the antlers instead of the lung area.

I definitly wouldnt even think of shooting a buck in the head. What point would mounting something by when the cape and head is messed up. Will it kill a deer, yes.. But why try for the head when you have a bigger kill zone behind the shoulders? Its no definite wrong reason as to why not shoot one in the head though. I just wouldnt try, unless there was a reason for it.

bbbwb · Post by **bbbwb** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 8:34 pm

Definitely no head shots -- "Boiler Room only" Head shots provide too small a target with the high possibility of head movement to complicate the whole scenario.
I was called to shoot a deer that was in trouble. After tracking the animal to its bedding spot and shooting it, I then learned that the bottom jaw had been shot off. It was unable to eat or drink. Inquiring by the hunter hotline of the muzzleloader hunt that ended on the Saturday before, a deer coming towards the hunter, had been shot by muzzleloader and it took off never to be located. There was some snow but no blood trail lasted and the tracks became lost in a maze of other deer tracks in the area. The deer had lasted 3 days and upon the time of the kill, being full of anticipation for meat, I field dressed it only to discover the animal could not be used. Internally, it was a rotten mess. A fine 8 point extremely heavy beamed animal that took 2 of us to load into a truck was wasted. The landowner who had reported the animal in distress was livid at "hunters" and could not say enough against hunting.
Bottom line is to go for the "boiler room" where the life lines can be severed for a quick death, to result in a rewarding, positive, hunt completed with no reason for bad publicity.
bbbwb

VixChix · Post by **VixChix** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 8:58 pm

The only head shots I've taken are "finishing off" shots at point blank range.

Years ago I tracked a mulie on the prairie for hours in knee deep snow after my boyfriend had shot it's lower jaw off. No blood trail. I was finally able to take a prone shot and take out it's shoulder. I was furious. So furious that I broke off the relationship as soon as we were home again. There's no excuse for taking that kind of chance with an animal.

Boo · Post by **Boo** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 9:11 pm

VixChix wrote:The only head shots I've taken are "finishing off" shots at point blank range.

Years ago I tracked a mulie on the prairie for hours in knee deep snow after my boyfriend had shot it's lower jaw off. No blood trail. I was finally able to take a prone shot and take out it's shoulder. I was furious. So furious that I broke off the relationship as soon as we were home again. There's no excuse for taking that kind of chance with an animal.

Now that's my kind of girl!

VixChix · Post by **VixChix** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 9:29 pm

I just checked the link to the other forum posted earlier in this thread. It's a shame to see those broadheads stuck in the skulls and think about the suffering the animal would have had to endure. That's the kind of stuff that gives hunters a bad name.

When I first got to know my husband and found out that he hunted one of the most important things for me were his hunting ethics. I watched him carefully as I'd hunted with some yahoos in the past. I was impressed with his constant vigilance and consideration for firearm safety. He was particular about which shots he was willing to take. I was impressed when I found out he'd done a bit of research into how animals respond to losing members of their family or community. (He's the only hunter I've known that admitted to even thinking about it). It was so refreshing to find a hunting partner that I could respect that I married him.

TPM · Post by **TPM** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 10:19 pm

Boo wrote:
VixChix wrote:The only head shots I've taken are "finishing off" shots at point blank range.

Years ago I tracked a mulie on the prairie for hours in knee deep snow after my boyfriend had shot it's lower jaw off. No blood trail. I was finally able to take a prone shot and take out it's shoulder. I was furious. So furious that I broke off the relationship as soon as we were home again. There's no excuse for taking that kind of chance with an animal.
Now that's my kind of girl!

Mine too....

Boo · Post by **Boo** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 10:20 pm

TPM wrote:
Boo wrote:
VixChix wrote:The only head shots I've taken are "finishing off" shots at point blank range.

Years ago I tracked a mulie on the prairie for hours in knee deep snow after my boyfriend had shot it's lower jaw off. No blood trail. I was finally able to take a prone shot and take out it's shoulder. I was furious. So furious that I broke off the relationship as soon as we were home again. There's no excuse for taking that kind of chance with an animal.
Now that's my kind of girl!
Mine too....

LOL!

dick195252 · Post by **dick195252** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 2:25 am

I would never try a head shot

Grizzly Adam · Post by **Grizzly Adam** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 7:31 am

Boo wrote:
TPM wrote:
Boo wrote:Now that's my kind of girl!
Mine too....
LOL!

Hey, Ya'll ... VixChix is the whole forum's kind of girl! Truly one of us!

sumner4991 · Post by **sumner4991** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 11:32 pm

I kind of hate to admit it, but, I have taken head shots with my .270. However, things have to be perfect. As stated, there is little room for error and the actual kill area is very small. Any hit around the mouth/nose is a wound . . .it's a low percentage shot. Most of the shots I have taken were to finish the deer off. I've taken a few that were simply head shots and the deer dropped like rocks. However, I had some training from my Uncle . . .he taught me how to kill cows and hogs via the head shots at close range(slaughtering) with a .22 rifle. The head has a vital area just like the body. Different animals have different shaped heads. I shot squirrels, rabbits and ground hogs almost exclusively via head shots for years. It's kind of an art I guess.

The only deer I killed via a head shot with the bow was this year. I spine shot a button buck(I posted a picture, the mark is visable). I finished it off with a shot to the head. The deer was hiding in a gully and the head was about all the shot I had. From exactly 12 yards away, on an animal that's already down, the bolt went through the head so quick that the head didn't even wobble. I thought I had missed. The head stayed raised for about 3 seconds, then dropped. It was a perfect hit with great results. However, I will never try a head shot on a deer with my bow unless it's to finish the job.

You have a much greater chance of actually harvesting a deer if you aim for the heart.

Adrian J Hare · Post by **Adrian J Hare** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 8:57 am

This is one thing that aggrevates me to no end. People that call themselves hunters and archers at that and take stupid shots that make everyone of us look bad.

This year alone I have seen two different deer shot in the neck and the head with arrows. What in the hell is wrong with people Can you not pass up a shot for an ethical shot.

Whats the scoop on the pictures, is there a story behind it ? was that your shot ? did you find it ? Not impressing at all....

This is why we all will have to take a Bow hunters corse in the future to beable to hunt with a Bow, all because of the lack of experence

...

Grizzly Adam · Post by **Grizzly Adam** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 9:07 am

sumner4991 wrote:I kind of hate to admit it, but, I have taken head shots with my .270. The only deer I killed via a head shot with the bow was this year. However, I will never try a head shot on a deer with my bow unless it's to finish the job.

Sumner, I think you're in a safe environment to admit both acts. I wouldn't expect this group to launch an attack, even if they disapprove.

Whether one disapproves or not, it is necessary to keep in mind that taking head shots with a rifle (within reasonable range) is a far higher percentage scenario than is taking a head shot with a bow of any sort. I don't do it myself, but I do sometimes kill them with neck shots, because it drops them on the spot and leaves such a pristine carcass for butchering. It depends on what sort of shooting situation I'm in ... if I can get a bench-like rest, I'm good for a neck shot, and I could take a head shot. It is my preference not to, because head shots are more suitable for expert riflemen in optimum conditions, and honestly, it's usually too windy here.

A large part of hunting ethically is knowing your own abilities ... and limits.

As for finishing a wounded deer, I see no problem with what you did, especially in that situation.

On other forums, I have taken considerable heat from other posters for openly admitting that I have dispatched a number of wounded deer with a knife, rather than shooting them again. Some of these critics, although they had admitted in other threads to having killed no or very few deer, found it appropriate to lambast me for my choice not to waste another cartridge in finishing my prey. I never dignified their criticisms with a reply ... because the fact is they didn't know what they were talking about, but were merely chanting the mantra they'd picked up from others like them. Many of us country boys knew how to stick a wounded animal before we ever went deer hunting!

When it comes to what's "ethical," there are some "grey" areas of individual choice ... and knowledge and experience does make a difference sometimes.

As for me, I imagine you knew what you could do, and what you were doing ... both when taking head shots with your rifle and when delivering the coup de grace to that dying buck.

And ain't it nice to post in a safe zone like this forum?

Grizzly Adam · Post by **Grizzly Adam** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 9:14 am

Adrian J Hare wrote:This is one thing that aggrevates me to no end. People that call themselves hunters and archers at that and take stupid shots that make everyone of us look bad.

This year alone I have seen two different deer shot in the neck and the head with arrows. What in the hell is wrong with people Can you not pass up a shot for an ethical shot.

Whats the scoop on the pictures, is there a story behind it ? was that your shot ? did you find it ? Not impressing at all....

This is why we all will have to take a Bow hunters corse in the future to beable to hunt with a Bow, all because of the lack of experence ...

Hey, Adrian ...

You posted while I was replying to Sumner.

Eltin, who started the thread, asked a question about some experiments he'd done with a skull, from his inexperience. Nothing wrong with that.

The pics are from a muzzleloader who killed a deer that had been shot in the head by an archer, as it says.

The links are for similar scenarios.

Eltin did the right thing by asking, don't you think?