Neck shots?

[firecrotch]

I used to shoot everything in the neck untill i realized that i was ruining perfectly good meat. I was finding on an average mule deer i was able to get 20 lbs of meat off the neck, and elk around 35 lbs. When i shot them in the neck i was ruining half of that if not more. For me neck shot means TKO, but ive also never had a deer run off after a good shot behind the shoulder/on the shoulder.

[Skyvalhunter]

Alot of my shots have been neck or base of the skull shots. But for me it depends on the distance as to weather I will take that shot.

[rasbo]

this where I shoot all my deer,unless Im bow hunting

[farmin4u_98948]

I always go for a neck if I have time to set up.  I shoot a wsm 270.   The  second elk was shot a bit closer to the head . It seems to not have any  entry . Dead is dead

[338_Thumper]

I used to shoot neck shots alot years ago but we shot hundreds of rounds all summer long . Over the years Elk hunting I saw alot of elk wounded by high or low neck shots and get away . I only shoot in the Boiler room now - With a .338 it's a Guarantee kill. Now this year my 6x6 was 210 yards away (With the Rangefinder) and in a bunch of cows with no shot except a neck shot and they were getting ready to go into the woods. I was sitting down with my gun resting on my shooting sticks and I shoot dime size groups at 200 yards so I was pretty confident of my shot - Also by shooting at the neck the cows were out of the shooting lane - Well boom and the shoot was dead center in the neck and he dropped Instantly .
Only Problem I see with Neck Shooting is that most Hunters don't practice enough during the year with their gun and only shoot a couple of times (If that even) before hunting season and then take a neck shot - Alot of times then you got a wounded animal.

[WSU]

Personally not a fan.  I've seen three different animals get neck shot and not go down.  First was a bull I killed two years ago with a muzzy.  Lung shot it and it ran into the reprod.  It was still alive, but very near death, when I went to recover it.  I shot it 3 more times in the neck with my muzzy from about 10 yards.  Each time it would flop over then lift its head again.  I finally just shot it in the head.  I also shot a cow elk with my .300 win in the neck.  I she just kept running and didn't miss a step (I had previously shot her in the lungs, so she died 40 or 50 yards away).  I also saw a large muley buck get shot in the neck with a .300 win from about 40 or 50 yards.  He took off running and took a few more shots to bring down, including one a couple of minutes later.  Prior to these experiences I had shot 2 deer in the neck.  Both hit the jugular and not the spine, but it was instant lights out each time.  Since seeing the last 3 results I will not be shooting anything in the neck.

[saylean]

Not a neck shooter. Im not bad mouthing others, just not my thing. I prefer broadsides. I would and have passed on neck shots. However, I did take a head shot about 2 years ago on a deer, as it was all I had of him (rifle).

[Hunterman]

95% of all my deer have been shot in the head or neck, and 99% of the elk the same way..I hate to track..To me a body shot(heart/lung) (although a good shot) give the animal "That Wild Taste"..A shot to the head or neck doesn't put the adrenaline in the meat..

Hunterman(Tony)

[Bean Counter]

I shot a doe in the neck in an antler less unit using a shotgun slug. She was 10 yards away and facing me at twelve o'clock. Interestingly, I didn't hit her CNS but she toppled none the less. I think it was the carotid artery and the shock of it all.

Other than that, its always lung shots. yes, its more messy, but much more forgiving for error (wind, movement of the animal, jitters, etc).

[Skillet]

Shot a decent (for me) whitetail in the neck once.  Range about 20 yards, he was staring right at me, all I saw over the brush was his head down to the throat patch.  Hit his spine - he was dead before he hit the ground.  The spine is a small target, but if that's all ya got... it sure works.

[BlackRidge]

I feel I practice enough where I'd feel comfortable taking a neck shot if I was forced to, but would much rather wait for something broadside. I've just heard too many horror stories where it doesnt get the job done quickly enough, or at all.

That dome shot is pretty nasty Ras, effective tho

[carpsniperg2]

I think a lot of guys on here would rather take a vitals shot. But if the only shot option was a neck shot, most would take it.

[steve04]

Neck shot doe with arrow. She piled-up about 50 yards from where she was shot.  This shot was not by myself nor was it intentional.....just bad shooting habits. The broadhead had to be pulled out with vise grips it....even then it took some work to get that thing out. muzzy mx4

[ORCA_SIX]

I have shot a few deer and one elk in the neck and it did the trick. All three were DRT (DEAD RIGHT THERE). But dead is dead anyway you can get it, as someone posted earlier. I seen a few deer and some animals in Africa killed by the Texas Heart Shot (in from the rear). That did the trick also. Some guys prefer the vitals to track blood. Personally, I prefer the shot opportunity that is best given and what I feel comfortable with. Neck, Head, Vitals, etc. But when I was in Africa, we did a lot of neck and back of the head shots for a majority of our cull hunting. So we could save the meat. But you definitely want to practice and have good DOPE on the gun your shooting.

This is one afternoon. All below the ear or neck shots from 50-250 yards. The other is a Kudu, back of the head in some prickly pears. The only shot I had available. DRT 

[bwhntr350]

 I never took the time to read all these posts, basically because it would do me no good, lol. My father taught me that a neck shot is much too risky and I have never taken one. His boss (back when he worked) used to hunt Wyoming with a couple of my Dad's friends and two years in a row, and 3 out 5 years he took neck shots at bull elk and never found a single one of them, and that was with the others helping in the tracking process.

 I work with a guy that takes nothing but neck shots and seems to do alright.

 I guess that I just don't understand why? A lung shot will be a guaranteed kill.
 A neck shot is obviously questionable, and beings it was asked here helps confirm that. Nobody has ever started a thread on whether or not a lung shot is debatable for a quick kill.

 Just trying to weight in pros and cons and to make it easy, I will just continue bowhunting where a neck shot is never an option!