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Post by nobearsyet on Jun 26, 2009 11:41:18 GMT -5
Ok guys, when hunting big game with your sixguns where do you guys like to put your bullets? I prefer the ear shot, in the base of the ear, out the orbit on the off side
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Post by boxhead on Jun 26, 2009 12:20:35 GMT -5
On larger big game my preferred shot regardless of firearm is a quartering away shot with the bullet entering behind the near shoulder and centering the off shoulder. For just deer and the like through the lungs low and behind the shoulder works just fine. Doesn't take much to kill a deer.
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Post by Gary @ R&G on Jun 26, 2009 14:03:14 GMT -5
Ditto what Boxhead said.
Brain shot is a bit iffy for me. Works great if you are that good of a shot but not much margin for error. The heart lung area is a little more forgiving.
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Post by Flatlander on Jun 26, 2009 14:56:07 GMT -5
On "big" game with a handgun, I sure feel better breaking bones. The shoulder in particular.
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Post by 2 Dogs on Jun 26, 2009 15:25:31 GMT -5
On South Texas Whitetail one will pretty much get full penetration with a reasonable bullet and load.....Like Flats says, breaking the shoulder always works, but I try to get some lungs too.....
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Post by zeus on Jun 26, 2009 15:45:16 GMT -5
Ok guys, when hunting big game with your sixguns where do you guys like to put your bullets? I prefer the ear shot, in the base of the ear, out the orbit on the off side Seriously??? I don't know your abilities per se but I've stood next to some of the best shooters probably in the country with sixguns and I don't think any of them would "prefer" a head shot. Some of those guys frequent these boards and they will always try to break the offside shoulder on exit and if possible punch through the lungs in the process. That is my preferred shot also. I personally find it hard to believe that any sixgun hunter worth his salt would openly state that he PREFERS brainshots. I feel that is a unethical as the margin of error is really high and I doubt you hold the gun as well as a ransom rest. As a hunter, you owe it to the game that you hunt to take the shot with the least margin of error or don't take the shot at all. I personally have killed several deer with missing lower jaws that resulted from "expert" shooters attempting to head shot deer. Not trying to flame you by any means as I feel that I was very kind with this response compared to what I was really thinking when I read the quoted remark, but I think you should really step back and re-evaluate your methods. GS
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COR
.375 Atomic
Posts: 1,521
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Post by COR on Jun 26, 2009 18:50:07 GMT -5
Ok guys, when hunting big game with your sixguns where do you guys like to put your bullets? I prefer the ear shot, in the base of the ear, out the orbit on the off side Wake up nobearsyet...No HUNTER uses that type of placement. Zeus pretty much covered it. You are full of it.
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Post by 2 Dogs on Jun 26, 2009 19:54:28 GMT -5
Unless the critter is either in a trap or tied to a tree.....
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Fowler
.401 Bobcat
Posts: 3,546
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Post by Fowler on Jun 26, 2009 20:24:19 GMT -5
Zeus a lot of guys only handgun kills have been big game animals who were slowed by a vehicle first, myself included! Thats the only reason I have killed a 6x6 elk with a 1911 in 45acp.
But I too have killed deer that had been shot in the jaw by some bozo that couldn't brain them as he hoped, made me sick too my stomach. I feel the head shot is too risky with any weapon, rifles included, I will punch the lungs and try and get a shoulder going in or preferably going out, with any weapon. Besides a head shot deer is a messy thing, blood and brains all over the place, they deserve to die with more dignity than that. At least go for a neck shot, same effect, less mess, more margin for error.
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Post by sixshot on Jun 26, 2009 20:34:00 GMT -5
While a head shot can produce spectacular results it can also fail miserably if everything isn't perfect & in the hunting world few things go perfectly. The heart/lung area is a much easier target to hit in the field & like Boxhead & the others stated, taking out the heart & lungs with the off side shoulder being next in line is a much more reliable target than the head. If I were guessing I would have to say a lot more rookies try head shots than seasoned hunters, I might be wrong here but thats my experience. I've taken exactyly 1 animal in my life with a head shot using a sixgun & that was last year, I was sitting on the ground & the deer approached me to within spitting distance, with only the head showing, it was a very easy shot because the deer was cautious about coming up the dirt bank, they always stop & look things over first. Usually there head is turning constantly, looking for danger. Give me the body shot with the off shoulder in the background. I'll also state that Zeus is one of the most experienced deer hunters on ANY gun forum, having taken somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 deer with handguns, all of us can learn from that kind of experience. Dick
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rigby
.327 Meteor
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Post by rigby on Jun 26, 2009 21:17:59 GMT -5
Eeeww , I knew when I first read this it wasn't gonna be well received.
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Post by boxhead on Jun 26, 2009 22:17:42 GMT -5
But, ya' know, it ain't all that hard... When I moved to Texas for the first time I was amazed to see so many shooting 300 Mag's at the scrawny deer of Texas, south or north. I only saw one that creeped into the 200# range field dressed from the Callaghan Ranch in South Texas. He went 191 B&C, a brute no question. Here in Alberta they go much, much larger so 300# is rather mundane. Here's a little critter just around the corner form the house. That all said, it is an incredible missed opportunity to not be able to hunt with a handgun in Canada as Western Canada is the perfect place to do so....
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Post by zeus on Jun 26, 2009 22:19:16 GMT -5
Dick, You've got way more under the belt with handguns than I do I know for a fact. Most of my deer kills were with rifles and bows which is what drove me to hunting with handguns over the last 5-6 years. I have less than 20 with handguns I'd say with a few extras on other critters. Vermin like beaver, coyotes, and jackrabbits....., thats a different story for another day though
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Post by nobearsyet on Jun 27, 2009 10:19:12 GMT -5
OK, I practice my Ear shot regularly, and it isn't a shot for any kind of range, most of my hunting has been stand hunting due to living in Ohio (that's just how it's done up there, stands and drives) and my brain shot has never failed to drop a critter, but then again I don't use i tmuch past 20yds, this thread was meant to instigate some good conversation, and maybe ideas someobdy didn't know about, or had never tried, but the ear shot works great for me, and if it ain't broke don't fix it, never had to track a critter more than 20yds either, most in fact drop in their tracks almost immediately, but on the longer shots I do prefer to break both shoulders and thread the lungs if it's available
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475480
.240 Incinerator
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Post by 475480 on Jun 27, 2009 16:35:47 GMT -5
As has been said, for deer I prefer the behind the shoulder -lung shot . On hogs breaking the shoulder is good also.
Sean
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