If you are very confident with your rifle, would any of you take a neck shot on a deer?

[Ontario Honker Hunter]

I meant lung shot not "body shot". Sorry.

[Jere Smith]

Only if it's short range and standing still.

[jbird]

I'm with several of the above, if it's close, still, and I don't have a clear shot at the boiler-room.

[99explorer]

I personally think neck shots are a high risk proposition. The neck is a small target, and the spine is an even smaller target within the neck.
I know a hunter who blew away a buck's lower jaw while attempting a neck shot, and lost the deer to suffer a slow lingering death. The hunter felt terrible about it.

[DakotaMan]

Just behind the shoulder is my preference too. My dad however, shot every deer in the neck (see one of his neck shots on my profile) and did fine. I feel the behind the shoulder shop ruins less meat and is more forgiving in the event of a miss. Dad never missed though and his deer were always found right in the tracks they were standing in when he shot.

[RylieGipson]

I might take a neck shot on a doe but not a buck,if your gona get a shoulder mount then take the lung and heart shots.

[Hunter Savage]

yes I will take a neck shot if I know its is a sure thing any questions in my mind and I will pass and wait for a better shot , the buck I took this year was with a neck shot.

[J4huntfish]

no, i would rather have the right shot placement in the heart so it will go down with one shot and no tracking required, all my deer that ive shot with my 7mm remington mag have just dropped and havnt even moved when i shoot them, if i know their is i cance i will wound the deer i will not take it, why take the chance?, the only reason for that is your benefit not the deers

[joelr271]

The Federal "sharpshooters" that thin out herds outside of hunting season or in residential areas typically go with a neck shot because they usually do not go very far and it is highly effective. I have never had a deer make it more than 20 yards after shooting it in the neck. If it does go a little further, the blood trail is usually pretty substantial and tracking is a non-issue.

[AJMcClure]

The neck meat on a rutting buck is great either roasted or boned out and ground up. We are talking a large amount of protein. To begin with I like to start skinning just below where the deer's head hits the neck after I skin the deer I like to use a boning saw, or a reciprocating saw (faster, but you have to clean the attachment part of the recip. saw) to remove this 30lb hunk of meat and bone. Rib's don't hold very much meat, so right behind the shoulder is a good clean shot, that and the brain shot which is smaller. I have given some packages of lean venison out, without any fat added and I am delighted at request for more organic and almost fat free protein. Cheers to getting the most meat out of all game.

[Sarge01]

When I was still working I had to answer several calls from people to come out and kill deer that had been shot in the neck and were still alive. A little low and you shoot the windpipe into and then the deer is walking around breathing through a hole in its neck. I have had to kill a couple of those. It is a shot that I just won't take.

[WA Mtnhunter]

For all the reasons stated, I won't take neck shots. It is a vital zone the size of a radiator hose on most deer and not much bigger on elk. Just answering the question on my preferences. Your experiences will solidify your ethics on this sooner or later.

[Keith Costley]

I would take a neck shot at a deer as a last resort. And that all would depend how badly I wanted to harvest the deer.

[tennesseedeerhunter]

im pretty confident in my 270 ive shot alot of deer and the neck and they all fall dead mostly because it blows a hole you could stick your fist through, through their necks

[Clay Cooper]

WAM DITTO's!

Neck shot? NO WAY! Always use the same technique every time, just behind the shoulder just like 2nd nature!


What if you shoot to far forward or down just clipping the wind pipe? Lost deer, later dead deer! GOOD JOB, NOT!