"Anchoring" Shots

[Hoodie]

I would base my decision off the bullet.

I'd be more inclined to aim for heavy bone with a mono to facilitate good expansion. I'd be more likely to stay off the shoulder with a bullet prone to fragmenting like an ELD-X.

I killed my elk this past year with a 143 grain ELD-X behind the shoulder. I shot twice in rapid succession (second shot was likely unnecessary). The results were impressive, but with that bullet I basically stick to the same shot placement I would with an arrow. I wouldn't want to see what would happen to a shoulder hit with one.

With something like a Partition or Accubond I think you could do either based on personal preference. I feel like that's one of the biggest strengths of that style of bullet.

 

[brad407210]

I run a 150 Barnes TTSX in a 30-06 for whitetails so that I can shoot from any direction and know I'll make it to the vitals, but I prefer to go for center of vitals instead of the high shoulder. Unless I put it in the liver or guts I've never seen a deer make it more than 100 yards with this combo and good neighbors should let you retrieve one in that situation. I have a couple spots on public land where I aim for high shoulder when hunting close to the line if they are broadside, but that's just because I don't want the people on private knowing what tree I was in and cut me off in the future. Once you try whole roasting a front shoulder that wasn't hit you'll try a lot harder to get a perfect broadside shot in the future when you can keep it in the ribs. My wife gets made if I clip shoulders now because the whole roasted shoulder is her favorite meal and the happier I keep her the more I get to hunt so that's a simple call.

 

[WDE]

I am a fan of the shoulder shot on whitetails. 30-06 with a 165 or 168 gr puts them down with authority.

 

[83cj-7]

What I refer to as the “off switch”. As far as deer, it doesn’t take a big gun for dramatic kills. Won’t even venture a guess how many I have dropped with a 87 Vmax at 2850fps.

 

[matthiasbadger]

Sounds like there are more than a few people who use the shoulder shot with good success. The next potential issue I see with it is its effect on meat quality. Correct me if I'm wrong here but from what I understand, a big part of meat quality is ensuring that there isn't too much blood in it. If you shoot a deer in the heart or lungs it dies from exsanguination (loss of blood) which is convenient because now you have a carcass full of meat without much blood to worry about. If you shoot a deer in the shoulder and damage the nervous system and it dies immediately, all that blood is still in the cardiovascular system. Wouldn't that make for lower quality meat?

 

[lycoflyfisher]

The old school butchering method was a headshot and cutting the throat of an animal to drain blood. In my experience, the quicker an animal expires and the less alert the animal was at time of shoot leads to the best meat. If worried about blood content, take a drt shot and cut the throat to drain. For whitetails I do not believe this is a big issue.

 

[brad407210]

Anytime I've bag flopped one on a property line there was still a lot of blood that would drain out when gutting so I wouldn't worry. I actually have my best luck if I leave ground burger in a strainer in a bowl overnight before cooking, you'll drain an ounce or two of blood out of a pound of burger and that's seemed to make the biggest difference for me.

 

[Southforkguy]

I always aim for the shoulder on deer. Hammer em. Lose a little sausage meat but usually pancakes em. 7mm08 with Hornady superformance 139gr

 

[wildwilderness]

Always with a rifle and copper bullets.

 

[hodgeman]

200 yards (nearest tree was ranged at 212), broadside/slightly quartering away. Shot with a 6.5 Creedmoor 130 gr. Barnes TSX. Here's a pic of the largest spot of blood I found, within 10 yards of where the deer was standing when shot. I'm pretty sure my shot was a little bit high, maybe halfway or even two-thirds of the way up the body. Perhaps that explains the poor blood trail, at least in part?

That's a pretty standard shot. Rather than look to pound a bullet through the edible bits, maybe use a softer bullet into the ribs.

The TSX and mono bullets have their place, but IMHO...it's not rear lung shots on thinnish animals like whitetail does. There's just not a lot of resistance there to open a tough bullet. If you gotta use a mono, the shoulder will offer the most resistance to help open it up.

I've seen that a 120gr Ballistic Tip or 143ELDX is a lot more dramatic on a lighter animals.

 

[Calcoyote]

Another fan of the high shoulder shot here. For deer I run a Barnes TTSX 110g at 3420 fps out of a Tikka 270 Win. My 2019 Whitetail dropped in his tracks at 120 yards. My 2020 Whitetail was shot at less than 35 yards and then ran about 20 yards.

 

[TheArdentOutdoorsman]

If the deer is broadside or close to it, unsure why one would even consider it. With a powerful enough rifle you can get away with a lot of shots but I don't think it's the wisest choice. To me it's equivalent to someone saying they plan to shoot the femoral artery. It may happen and workout well by chance but I don't think I'd tout it as being a go to shot by any means. I'd consider it a last resort only under special circumstances, as some have touched on. Just my 2cents.

 

[DDD]

I was taught to shoot front shoulder, I have switch to lung/heart shots. Less meat damage and a quick clean kill even if they do take a few steps.

 

[FLAK]

Love those DRT's.

 

[WCB]

I've seen it done a bunch....I personally aim straight up the middle of the leg 1/2 up the body puts the shot dead center in the middle of the vitals. Not the back of the leg or behind the shoulder but right through the middle..I don't care whether legs are forward or back. very little meat wrecked and deer usually snow plow to their death. It works and you know your capabilities of hitting the right spot.

I have witnessed guys try the high shoulder shot and shoot high and shoot through the backstraps. IMO I would favor a bit lower to give yourself more wiggle room. This happens a bit more on Elk as they have that hump on their shoulders so guys think they are shooting high shoulder when they are actually still above the spine.

No idea why guys started inserting calibers into this as you are shooting a 6.5 at very close range with a bullet that will have no issues going through shoulder. I have seen 22-250s kill mule deer hit high in the shoulder at 300+ yards and fold up right there using partitions.

 

[rclouse79]

I am a fan of lungs with no meat loss if possible. I have taken frontal shots with my rifle with no meat loss and they have always dropped in their tracks. I also learned after last bear season to study the anatomy of the specific animal you are hunting. The brief research I did after the season showed their vitals are further back than that of a deer.

 

[JakeSCH]

I would say that the bullet construction, weight, caliber, and situation should steer what kind of shot you are taking.

Personally, I would avoid putting bergers, ELD's, etc type bullets into a shoulder while a shoulder shot is near my favorite when using a mono metal.

My bull this year was taken with a hammer hunter through the upper shoulder, dropped in place which was great because I was about 200y from private land that he was heading toward.

 

[JGuest]

I generally shoot for vitals with high power.

If I'm shooting a traditional muzzle loader I shoot an anchoring shot as vitals with a round ball won't anchor a deer every single time. I've not had many runners, but a follow up shot takes some time with traditional in a situation where seconds matter.

 

[30338]

I tend to shoot shoulders with 6.5 caliber 140 berger vld bullets. Elk, bear, mule deer, antelope, whitetails, bears, mtn goat, etc. Very little lost meat and kills very well.

 

[Skullwhite_designs]

I'm a big fan of the high shoulder shot. Usually when hunting does at the end of the season that's the shot I look for. Usually drops them in their tracks. Not as much meat damage as you would think either.