Texas Heart Shot

[Bean Counter]

I have only did this 1 time. Think I was in my late teens.
I am in no way advocating this type of shot, nor will I probably ever take it again.

It saddens me that not one person asked "why" I took this shot, Just went straight to bashing
To think that some will say hey "say it on H-W" I'm gonna take that shot is just silly.

Why nock nock  , why would you do such a thing  What did that poor, innocent, fragile, delicious, tasteful creature ever do to you? 

C'mon now... don't get butt hurt 

[chukar58]

As hunters it is more important than ever to be aware of our image in the eye of the public and how we conduct ourselves.  Hunting is about personal choice and circumstances and what you have been taught.  I do know a big game animal waundering around with an arrow stuck in its rump gets lots of people's attention.   

[Smossy]

I have only did this 1 time. Think I was in my late teens.
I am in no way advocating this type of shot, nor will I probably ever take it again.

It saddens me that not one person asked "why" I took this shot, Just went straight to bashing
To think that some will say hey "say it on H-W" I'm gonna take that shot is just silly.

Why nock nock  , why would you do such a thing  What did that poor, innocent, fragile, delicious, tasteful creature ever do to you? 

C'mon now... don't get butt hurt 

Haha oh snap! He said that.

[RadSav]

I can honestly say I have never blood trailed an animal more than 200 yards shot solidly in the hams with a well designed properly sharpened broadhead.  Most being recovered in less than 100 yards.  Wish I could say the same thing about animals taken in just one lung or the liver.  While the heart lung area should always be the first choice on any animal I won't lose sleep if an arrow goes off target and hits solidly in the ham.  Fred Bear actually thought it was the preferred shot on animals with a similar physiology/anatomy to deer.

With a rifle the amount of meat loss is so great the shot is ill advised.  But with an arrow there is nearly no loss of meat.

The further you get from the heart and into the extremities blood vessels get smaller.  Yet at the same time they multiply in volume.  As a result the buttocks holds nearly the same quantity of blood as areas closer to the heart.  These smaller vessels and dense tissue clot easier yet must drain primarily external.  With these smaller vessels it is increasingly important to have a broadhead super sharp with few edge burrs that create platelet traps of tissue.  And to assist in prolonging coagulation the ferrule and vent configurations should limit the amount of oxygen sucked into the wound as oxygen is a major stimulant that bonds blood platelets and forms the foundation of coagulation.  Rapid coagulation is your biggest enemy when addressing dense tissue shots.  Due to the high percentage of external discharge of blood a solid ham shot produces one of the more extraordinary blood trails.

While I do not fear the ham shot on the entire Cervidae family of animals I do fear this shot on the Ursidae family of animals.  Their anatomy/physiology has a much reduced concentration of larger blood vessels in the buttock area coming closer to the resemblance of humans.  Thus the optimal target is much smaller and much more difficult to locate consistently.

In my ideal world every animal I shoot would be facing away 10 to 25 degrees from broadside.  My arrow would enter behind the shoulder closest to me and destroy the shoulder opposite.  Every shot would completely dissect the ascending and descending aorta's from the heart while simultaneously punching through both lungs.  Unfortunately my ideal world struggles to exist amongst reality in the hunting field.  So the equipment I use is supportive of those shots that fall short of those ideal.  And I fear little the occasional shot in the hams.  My quarry should still expire rapidly and humanely and recovery is almost guaranteed successful.

[huntnnw]

Ill tell you right now if I stick a elk or a buck and hes still standing and hasnt gone down  I will let an arrow fly anywhere I can get one in!

[grundy53]

Got to love a the "ethics" threads. Very entertaining.

sent from my typewriter

[dreamingbig]

I can 100% say I have never and will never take it, even with a rifle.   I have let multiple animals walk because that was my only shot.

  That said I did have my arrow deflect last year on a whitetail doe.  Entered behind the last rib and exited above the tail on the opposite side.  The blood trail was massive and short.

[blindpig]

I've heard of the shot but to see it in picture, wow.

[Pilot_Hunter]

A 'Texas Heart Shot' is just making fun of Texans saying they can't hit the heart and hit the animal in the butt. There is so much meat in the rump, why would you risk damaging all that meat?