SmallGameAddict
.308 Win
The Target:
My target is the most popular game animal in North America, the Whitetail deer. Let's examine my target parameters.
My primary objective is, and must always be, a clean kill.
I started deer hunting in New York in fall of 1976, at the then legal age of 16. I have always aimed for the soft spot just behind the shoulder, which is normally a 'double lung', and for good reason. No animal goes far without functioning lungs and blood loss, and without the lungs supplying oxygen ultimately to the brain, the animal dies quickly. Additionally, you are destroying no edible tissue to speak of. For this long shot challenge, I have decided to switch to making the shoulder my primary target. For one, including the heart/lung area, this will give me a target about 12" wide by 8" high, picture an oval on it's side. Two, if I misjudge the wind, I want one of two things to happen, a clean fatal hit, or a clean miss. A gut shot is to be absolutely avoided like the plague. This isn't a 63 yard shot in the woods on a running deer, with the opportunity for a second, possibly even a third shot. The deer will be likely at least 400 yards, or more, distant. An undisturbed animal, completely unaware of my presence. This is basically a one shot deal. I have to make that shot count. If I make the shoulder my primary target, and hit it, in all likelihood the animal will drop on the spot. This will cost me some meat, but this is the best case scenario, from a shot distance to target standpoint. A bullet hitting shoulder bones is like a bone grenade going off inside a deer's chest. Also, you just turned an all-wheel-drive vehicle into a rear wheel drive that the front wheels just fell off. Using the shoulder as my point of aim gives me another advantage, if I misjudge the wind a touch, the bullet will drift back into the heart/lung area for ultimately a fatal hit. This requires pinpointing the deer position exactly after the shot, so that when we get to that spot, hopefully the deer will not be far and thus found easily.
My target is the most popular game animal in North America, the Whitetail deer. Let's examine my target parameters.
My primary objective is, and must always be, a clean kill.
I started deer hunting in New York in fall of 1976, at the then legal age of 16. I have always aimed for the soft spot just behind the shoulder, which is normally a 'double lung', and for good reason. No animal goes far without functioning lungs and blood loss, and without the lungs supplying oxygen ultimately to the brain, the animal dies quickly. Additionally, you are destroying no edible tissue to speak of. For this long shot challenge, I have decided to switch to making the shoulder my primary target. For one, including the heart/lung area, this will give me a target about 12" wide by 8" high, picture an oval on it's side. Two, if I misjudge the wind, I want one of two things to happen, a clean fatal hit, or a clean miss. A gut shot is to be absolutely avoided like the plague. This isn't a 63 yard shot in the woods on a running deer, with the opportunity for a second, possibly even a third shot. The deer will be likely at least 400 yards, or more, distant. An undisturbed animal, completely unaware of my presence. This is basically a one shot deal. I have to make that shot count. If I make the shoulder my primary target, and hit it, in all likelihood the animal will drop on the spot. This will cost me some meat, but this is the best case scenario, from a shot distance to target standpoint. A bullet hitting shoulder bones is like a bone grenade going off inside a deer's chest. Also, you just turned an all-wheel-drive vehicle into a rear wheel drive that the front wheels just fell off. Using the shoulder as my point of aim gives me another advantage, if I misjudge the wind a touch, the bullet will drift back into the heart/lung area for ultimately a fatal hit. This requires pinpointing the deer position exactly after the shot, so that when we get to that spot, hopefully the deer will not be far and thus found easily.