Neck shot ethics

[S-3 ranch]

I love the neck shot, especially with splashy bullets and usually at 100 yards or less , we hunt heavy brush and cactus and a death run could be a lost deer without a good track dog
Plus it’s super clean when gutting/ no bloody mess
I shot this buck in the neck @ 110 yards DRT this year opener
Imo if you can’t shoot accurately then do a chest shot or stay home

 

[Steve300xcw]

The real issue I have with these discussions and testimonials is 99% of people who have had issues won't post and arrogance leads the conversation. The neck shot is extremely lethal but it requires extreme accuracy and real anatomy knowledge that most rookies who read these threads don't possess. Miss by 2" on a neck shot and you likely wounded an animal that will die a week or 3 later.... miss a lung shot by 4" and most will never know because your deer is dead inside of 100 yards.

I'll go out on a limb here and say that there are far..far..far more animals lost to people on here with a bow than a neck shot.

 

[fisherman983]

Every chance I get. Farthest so far has been 550 yards. If the conditions are right I'll take it every time

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[jtill2424]

A good neck shot is a great one to take

 

[Miguy]

Neck shots work great!

 

[wind gypsy]

Hunters in general suck at shooting. We miss enough when aiming for lungs. Neck is a smaller target. Doesn't mean it's not ethical in certain scenarios with certain shooters but the majority of hunters are probably playing with fire.

 

[Laelkhunter]

I love the neck shot, especially with splashy bullets and usually at 100 yards or less , we hunt heavy brush and cactus and a death run could be a lost deer without a good track dog
Plus it’s super clean when gutting/ no bloody mess
I shot this buck in the neck @ 110 yards DRT this year opener
Imo if you can’t shoot accurately then do a chest shot or stay home
View attachment 793867

I see he has a face full of cactus needles.

 

[Titan_Bow]

I’ve shot several doe antelope and whitetail with neck shots. I like it about the best for does, especially in antelope, there’s just so little meat there anyways. If you hit the neck at all she is DRT, expansion of the bullet is going to shut down the central nervous system . In my experience on smaller does, you either kill them or miss them.


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[robby denning]

I took my first one on purpose (don't ask lol) this year. Neck was all I could see, it was 90 yards, lights out!

only draw back was I ruined a very tasty roast.

I'd still rather take the crease behind the shoulder though, bigger target and potentially less wasted meat.

 

[Seak_angler]

Neck shots are very effective, at least in my experience..

 

[Elmer J. Fudd]

I like the neck shot too. But as has been mentioned situation matters. If I’m within a hundred yards and the deer is oblivious to my presence it’s my favorite shot.

 

[dfhutton]

100 and in, is neck or head for me.

 

[robby denning]

100 and in, is neck or head for me.

I should have said "100 and in" too.

 

[nam1975]

The suburban deer culling team around here shots them in the neck or behind the ear with 5.56.
They don’t want to chase deer.
But they are also at night, suppressed, thermal or spotlights and short range.

 

[coyotekilla]

Over 20 whitetail dropped with a 243 & neck shot, they never moved... 100% effective with minimal meat waste, and you either pile them up, or they run off unharmed. You do need a precision shot though, your target is the size of a beer can compared to dinner plate.

 

[blackdog]

For all the neck shooters here, where on the neck are you aiming? Right behind the ear, limiting any neck meat wastage? Or mid-neck for perhaps a little more margin for error? Just curious. My hunting rifles are all sub-MOA rifles and I can hold my own shooting in the field so I'd have zero hesitation to take these shots given reasonable distances but just curious on particular aiming points.

 

[robby denning]

For all the neck shooters here, where on the neck are you aiming? Right behind the ear, limiting any neck meat wastage? Or mid-neck for perhaps a little more margin for error? Just curious. My hunting rifles are all sub-MOA rifles and I can hold my own shooting in the field so I'd have zero hesitation to take these shots given reasonable distances but just curious on particular aiming points.

my sample size of 1 neck shot was mid-neck (didn't wanna miss)

 

[coyotekilla]

For all the neck shooters here, where on the neck are you aiming? Right behind the ear, limiting any neck meat wastage? Or mid-neck for perhaps a little more margin for error? Just curious. My hunting rifles are all sub-MOA rifles and I can hold my own shooting in the field so I'd have zero hesitation to take these shots given reasonable distances but just curious on particular aiming points.

If they are looking at you, bottom of the white on their throat. Don't like taking the shot when their head is down personally, as they move their head alot. Side view, about middle to base of skull.

 

[S-3 ranch]

As I posted earlier I like the neck shot but I do have one failure on it
I shot a large buck ( about 200 lbs )in the neck with my 300wm and couldn’t find him .
The next week I saw him again chasing a doe and was shocked to see him running around with basically 1/2 his neck completely gone and him very sick
So I hammered him with a shoulder shot , he was fevered up and rotten full of maggots only thing holding the head on was some muscle and the spinal cord
A one in a million failure imo , very weird deal
I got the head and coyotes the meat ( next day only bones left)

 

[Steve300xcw]

As I posted earlier I like the neck shot but I do have one failure on it
I shot a large buck ( about 200 lbs )in the neck with my 300wm and couldn’t find him .
The next week I saw him again chasing a doe and was shocked to see him running around with basically 1/2 his neck completely gone and him very sick
So I hammered him with a shoulder shot , he was fevered up and rotten full of maggots only thing holding the head on was some muscle and the spinal cord
A one in a million failure imo , very weird deal
I got the head and coyotes the meat ( next day only bones left)

Thats not a failure. That was a miss