Free: Contests & Raffles.
This simple shot placement technique will help you make more effective shots this season.It happens to every hunter at some point in his or her hunting career. They hit a deer with a marginal or poor shot, and then must endure a long and difficult recovery, or worse yet, they’re unable to find the deer. Losing a deer is a terrible event and has caused countless sleepless nights for hunters. What percentage of wounded deer aren’t recovered, and more importantly, what can we do to minimize the chance that will happen to us this season?
The diagram shown above shows exactly where a deer’s vitals are located (note that part of the lungs are cut away to show placement of the heart). That’s the first step to proper shot placement. Notice how the majority of the heart is directly above the leg – not behind it. Notice how the lungs extend from the belly to the backbone, which is about halfway to two-thirds up the body in the neck region to three-quarters up the body farther back. Notice the backbone does not run along the top of the body as many hunters believe. Finally, notice how there is no room between the lungs and spine. So, the often-discussed area by archers where they did not recover a deer because they hit it “above the lungs and below the backbone” simply does not exist. It’s likely these shots actually hit above the backbone and through flesh where there are no vitals.
Where is this magical spot? The beauty of its location is it is arguably the easiest spot to quickly locate while afield. Simply draw a vertical line straight up the deer’s front leg. Then draw a horizontal line across the body splitting it in half. Where those lines cross is your aimpoint. As seen above, this spot is at the top of the heart and through both lungs. Hit it and collect your deer. This shot ruins a minimal amount of venison and affords the greatest shooting error. You can literally hit several inches forward, behind, above or below this mark and still have a lethal shot.
Always my aimpoint but I always feel so disappointed when I blow up the heart. One of my favorite meals and seems to always take a direct hit or need serious trim work. Cost of doing business.
