Hunting Handbook - Deer hunting?

Deer hunting?

When I watch hunting shows I wonder why the hunter doesn't shoot the deer in the head, rather than in its body. Why don't they?

Public Comments

If you try to shoot the deer in the head, your are shrinking your target area. By shooting the deer in the shoulder, chest area, you are giving yourself some leeway in case you or the deer move. Plus, when you take a head shot, you cannot mount the head as trophy.
The head bones are pretty thick, you don't want to risk wounding the animal, you want a quick,clean dispatch. Even though I no longer hunt for pleasure, I would never want to cause unnecessary pain and suffering, which is a reality with a mis-placed shot.
Shooting for the largest part of the body is the most responsible way.
you want to hit the deer in the hart so it dont feel the pain and it dies fast
The head is a smaller target, you lose the opportunity of a trophy, and have a greater chance of merely wounding the animal than if you shoot at its vital organs.
Head shots are a low percentage shot as the lungs are much larger and less mobile than the head.
The head moves a lot and it would be a very tough shot.
1= It’s not the head you wont to aim for it would be the brain, I do feel sorry for the deer who ends up with it’s jaw blown away because some one missed the brain which = Starvation. 2= The head moves any direction quite quickly and unexpectedly, there by setting the stage for a disaster. 3= It’s not amusing how many Weekend Hunters don’t even shoot their rifle before deer season, and are lucky if they could hit a Mac Truck with their fist. Their excuses, Ammo is Expensive or If you’re a Good Shot you don’t have to Practice. 4= Please Don’t Give This Type of Hunter any more dumb Ideas. And who ever is under the belief that if you hit the heart it’s a quick painless death, sometimes. And sometimes not, that puppy can act like a Timex watch, take a licking and keep on ticking long enough to hall his adrenaline pumped hide much farther through dense brush then you wont to hall him back through, and that’s after you discover you actually subdivided his Ticker. Don’t be under the false impression that just because they profess to be a hunter. That automatically makes them Ethical, Humane or even Intelligent. It’s bad hunters that give Good Upstanding hunter a bad name.
Because, the head is a very small target, and you can miss if your bullet go even an inch higher. With a broadside shot, you have a larger target, and you are usuallu hitting the lungs and the heart. Head shots could also ruin mounts if you plan on mounting it.
A deer's brain is smaller than your fist, and if your shot isn't perfect you can knock off its nose, and it'll run far enough for you to lose it and die a horrible death. A neck or especially a chest shot leaves a little room for error while still allowing a quick, humane kill.
Because the odds on hitting thehead are very small. Just like defense shooting, you go to center of mass. I usually go for the neck.
Sometimes, the deer is at a pretty far distance and the only vital area on a deer's head is it's brain...which is pretty small and hard to hit considering that a deer often moves his head around. It's quite the risky shot... When you shoot a deer in the shoulder, this target contains many vital parts of the deer. For Example, you've got the Heart, and the lungs. Also, when the shot hits the shoulder, it shatters all the bones near it which makes it hard and almost impossible for the deer to get far. Some people also shoot Deer in the neck since that area contains nothing BUT vital spots... Spine, windpipe and major arteries. In my family, we are big moose hunters and whenever the animal is close enough, we aim for the neck.....about 6" behind the ear.....brings'em down, and fast to...
Some hunters cant hit the body must less the head. Ive never known a hunter that has killed a deer by shooting it in the head, and matter a fact you dont shoot anything in the head.
At a distance you DON'T know to the inch where your bullet is going to hit...so the hunters are going to choose a area of the game animal to shoot at you the most vital organs that will drop the animal the fastest. Plus alot of them want them mounted and don't want to damage the goods.
I agree with so many people here. You should never listen to the person who told you to shoot deer in the head. NEVER. one place you can shoot a deer that no one has mentioned is in the chest. The sternum is not going to stop a bullet. If all you see is the butt don't shoot. I disagree with one person though (I ignore the hippies). You shoot squirrels in the head. I suspect he was just talking about big game I do believe this is the first time that there has been so many answers without a bunch of idiots piping in.
ihave shot them in the head and only on a feeding deer at totle ease i have also missed and hit the horn and nocked out the buck and have him jump up and want to fight as i was about to gut him he got a knife stuck in his heck he ran off with the knife i found the deer and finly the knife but that was stupid of me not to check it for dead .heck i shot it in the head why wwas there not a massive wound in the head ...derrrrr i get rather excited when i score .i like the neckk shot on standing dear and the shoulder shot on movey deer even just a little walking and i amshotting should
Domilinka's answer it right on the head Head is a smaller, more active part of deer. Heart/lungs larger more stable target and more deadly.
You make a very good point here. For starters head shots are not impossible but must be executed properly. I have done both a proper and I have also shot low and made other problems. It does cause an instant kill but it makes a horrible mess. Plus head shots ruin the skull and hide for head mounts if its a nice buck. The reason it is shot in the vitals or body, is because when the vitals are penetrated the deer will go down instantly (done it) or run a short distance bleeding itself out . This shot is cleaner as there is less mess and photographs can be taken without the gory affect. Another point was made that the shooting area is reduce by just aiming for the head. This is both true and false. The vitals are about the same size of the head so really not reducing the size just not having anything else around it to take the impact if you miss. But its true that it is reduced as the vitals has other body around it that will atleas wound the deer so that you can take a second finishing shot. The reason it is NEVER done on tv is that is too gory to do head shots are messy and that would not make good tv and it would give hunting bad media attention. I hope that helps.
If u shoot the deer right behind the shoulder u have more of a chane of killing it because it is a bigger target. u have the hart lungs live and other vital body parts in that are and u are less lickly to them like u would if u were to shoot them in the head
D58 after reading yours I stop. NO 1 could have said it better, including myself. One shot, make it count. Put 'em on the ground fast, weather with bow or gun. Need more hunters like D58, ethics is the biggest part. As hunter's we don't need to add coal to the fire the ANTI hunting Activist have formed already. The media would have a feild day with acts like this being brought public. A head shot should only be done to finish/humanly end a suffering animal. Maybe you should attend a HUNTER EDUCATION CLASS and learn the ETHICS of hunting. HUNT HARD & HUNT SAFE Tim Creator & Host of; Darkwoods Outdoors & Real Huntin'
They shoot the deers body because a. they have a larger target b. They would probably have it taxidermied as trophy.
The head would be an excellent shot and very good way to get a clean kill. But do you think you could hit a deer in the head at 2-300 yards, maybe more?.
well shooting the head shrinks your target keep in mind a deer always moves its head around chest shots offer a bigger target and shooting it in the head can ruin the trophy