Shot placement: Boiler room or High shoulder?

With a rifle. What say you? Also which do you value more in the trade-off: Bang/Flop with some meat loss vs. Less meat loss but chance at having to track the deer a ways.

Help me out, I'm a newb at deer hunting.

Heart lungs midway 2" behind the leg. Bang/flop with little meat loss. Use a large enough caliber to do the job. I do not want to track a deer or anything else and haven't in over 50 years of hunting.

High shoulder. Bang flop

Agree with Billybob... Knock em down with the 1 and only shot. Don't have to track and the animal doesn't suffer at all. The larger the caliber, the easier your life is

Still my favorite, but have done both and haven't had one make it far either way.

I don't like high shoulder. On a big buck that I'm looking to put down quick as possible I like to shoot quartered to through the middle of the shoulder/base of neck. There is more room for error and he will not be going far. On a deer that is for meat I like to shoot either a couple inches behind the shoulder or if the deer is close enough I have shot a few in the neck but only if it is an easy shot.

Either. Depends on the circumstances.

But one thing that bugs me. I keep hearing about wasted meat on a high shoulder shot. What meat?

X2

Depends on terrain. Rugged, rough, thick brush (like south Texas) then I prefer a high shoulder or even straight through the shoulder with bone breakage to prevent the deer from running.

If it's somewhat open and will make for easy recovery then I'll shoot behind the shoulder to avoid meat loss.

I agree that it depends..

I despise tracking.

I neckshoot does almost exclusively, I do a little whistle and they turn toward me and freeze, 1, 2, BAM through the white patch.
My 16 year old did that trick last year, he loved it!

Quartering towards me, base of the neck / shoulders

High shoulder shot if sideways and hunting where it is thick to anchor them.

Behind the shoulder heart shot if sideways in an open field where I can see them run 50-100 yards..

Just depends..

My middle kid will be going after his first deer in a few weeks (MLD) and I will keep it close range, like 50-75 yards.
He will be shooting a H&R singleshot with a red dot and 55g Barnes TSX. His shot is going to be a high shoulder shot.

Our place is about impossible to find one if it makes it into the trees due to the tall grass...

I like this

Broadside is always highpoint of the shoulder and you will loose less meat from this shot then when a deer runs off from a heart/lung shot. If quartering to me I will always take the crease of the neck where it meets the shoulders. They drop and never kick. Best culling shot there is.

+1 on 'Zactly what LP said verbatim...

Ive shot deer with this shot placement for years with anything from 223 rem to 300 wby and not one single caliber has kept them from running after the hit.

55 years of hunting - dead center of shoulder - if I lose some meat then so be it. Largest target area to compensate for less than perfect shot placement.

Also I see way to many hunters under gunned - using light, super fast loads that wound deer. Wounding and tracking an animal is not what anyone wants - I use 180 grain bullets in south texas - 95% of kills the animal drops in its tracks - just my 2 cents

yep!

I think it bears mentioning shot placement, bullet type, distance and impact velocity should all be taking into consideration.

If you hit bone at high impact speeds I want a tougher bullet than a heart/lung or neck shot.

billybob, landpriate, and just above with ccoker made good statements. I've shot deer with a 270 broadside on the shoulder blade and run a 70 yard distance (50 yd shot). I've shot deer on the point of the shoulder on a 15 degree angle facing me with a 300 win mag at 100 yards and run over a hundred yards, had to throw the whole front quarter away and the deer's back opposite foot was swollen. Anytime I hit the inside of the V with an 06 they never took a step. I think mostly it has to speed, bullet design and placement and in some cases diameter. The 3000 fps circa bullets like with the 06 or similar case, hit the V where hydrostatic shock takes effect. Under 2500 fps (like with the 30-30 or 35 rem)and possible hard tracking take the shoulder shot.

Shot the biggest buck of my life with high shoulder shot. 150 gr Winchester ballistic tip 30.06 at 75 yards. Never found the deer. No blood or nothing. that was before i was educated on ballistics tips. If it where a core-lok, I'd have a mounter on the wall.

I like shoulder shots on deer with my Mathews Monster. Bust both shoulders, they can't run.

7mag center shoulder drops em everytime
Dead before they hit the ground

High shoulder.

I tried that heart lung shot stuff on several deer. They always, always ran 75-100 yards.

High shoulder they're either drt or don't run far at all.

Center or just behind shoulder. They will run a little ways. Makes it more exciting to track a little and find them.

That's the way I did it when I started hunting and its hard to change old habits.

When y'all are saying 'high shoulder', where exactly are y'all talking? Every deer I've ever shot has been heart/lung shots & they ALWAYS run a bit. Even lost one 2 years ago that was a 'perfect' boiler room shot. He ran the 40 yds to the thick woods & disappeared. After 4 of us searching for hours that night & the next morning we never found him. I've never shot a deer & it just drop.

In line with the leg, about 4 inches down from the top of the withers. Takes out the spine.

I aim for the boiler room--more specifically the heart. Low and just behind the front leg when the leg is extended in front of them. I've had them drop in place; sometimes somersault and drop; and sometimes jump and run, but they never traveled never more than 40 yards at the most.

Have used both, close usually heart, longer distances, i try to pin the shoulders.

that's the spot..
if he was quartering towards me I would move the crosshairs down 3-4 inches and forward 3-4

I have also shot dead center of chest and it drops them but the bullet can get in the guts.. did that once

A properly placed high shoulder shot puts the deer down in his tracks because it severs the spine. If the deer didn't go down immediately you missed the mark.

It will also depend on angle of shot, but either one with a good bullet with an adequate caliber will suffice.

BEST SHOT THERE IS! This season marks 60 years of deer hunting, and about 10 years ago, I changed over to the top of the shoulder shot, shooting my .270 with Hornady bullets, haven't tracked a deer since! Saw an explanation by Dr. Kroll about the effects of that shot, and that's when I changed my shot placement.

I read last night from a pathologist(I think) that says lung shot is better than heart. When heart is shot it stops pumping so little blood trail. When lungs are shot the blood pressures drops instantly & heart pumps tons of blood to compensate so blood trail is obvious. Makes sense. I'm going to try yall's high shoulder shot for the first time this year. Maybe I won't have to track a deer for the first time ever. Last year I shot 2 bucks & 2 doe. 1 buck got shot higher & more forward then I intended(it appeared to be a high shoulder shot). He only took a couple steps but kicked for a couple minutes.

If the deer is angled, which they most often are, I calculate to hit the far shoulder. LFD2037, what kind of rifle are you using? If you use a bullet heavy enough to penetrate a little bone, try a shot placement that clips a little of the spine, and they normally won't run.

I like this shot except maybe an inch or two lower and an inch or two centered more over the front leg - from my experience that does the trick

Last year a 6.8mm(.277) w/110gr Accubonds. This year a .308 w/165gr Sierra Gamekings.

I used to always go for the neck-shot but lost a deer six years ago and switched over to the high-shoulder. The deer I lost was on a good friend's ranch and I felt sick about it for years (still do). Still not sure what happened, deer went down hard, did not move for ten minutes, then crawled off. High shoulder is more room for error and puts the deer DOWN.

all personal preference i suppose. a deer shot behind the front shoulder (boiler-room)at times will run a little, or sometimes they stay right there. this is where i shoot my deer almost always, i like it becuase it doesn't obliterate the shoulders, its a big target, and it gets the job done. i shoot a .270 with 150grn partition bullets, and/or a .223 with 60grn partition bullets. by deer generally run a short ways...but seldom make it more than 20yds, which means they seldom if ever even make it out of sight.....so tracking is not a big deal.

a deer shot through the shoulders with a good caliber rifle...will break both front shoulders and deer will generally drop right there. also a big target, also very effective, just more to clean up at the skinning pole. my wife shoots them there, nothign wrong with it.

my advice....if you're going to shoot deer regularly in either of these spots. take the time to get a good "bonded" bullet. these bullets will have much more controlled/reliable expansion.

taking either of these shots with an off the shelf soft point or ballistic tip type bullet will result in MUCH MUCH more of an exit wound and meat damage....

i swear by NOSLER PARTITION bullets. they shoot very accurately, they expand just enough, but not too much as to make an un-necessary mess out of my game. on my .270 the 150grn bullets will have a caliber size entry wound with an exit wound something like an inch and a half....plenty hole to bleed out of. with the .223 and the 60grn partitions....the bullet will pass all the way thru the animal (even thru both front shoulder blades). very effective, very easy to shoot.

i used to shoot deer in the head/neck, nothign wrong with this shot either. its just what i would call "lower percentage" meaning more margin for error. as i've hunted more, and become more involved with higher quality deer management it has become more important to me that the deer is collected with a high degree of certainty, than the glorious-ness of my shot.

the shoulder is a big target, with relatively a larger tolerance of error. you will pretty well always find your deer.

neck shots....if you don't break the neck-bone...you will have to shoot that deer again. and/or lose him.

especially looking at larger mature bucks....that neck is big and broad....you hare guessing at where that neck bone is. if all you do is clip a large section of neck meat, and not the bone...you'd better be re-loading and following up quickly. that deer will not bleed well, will not track well, and WILL get up.

I like the Winchester XP3 (old fail safe) loads - 165-180 grain on large south texas deer - for my rifle they do the trick -