Whitetail and arrow placement

[Lupe]

What places on a deer are best to shoot? I have heard many different places and want to know your opinions

[Ray Hammond]

There's only ONE place to shoot a deer, Lupe. Through the lungs.

Don't shoot for the heart, don't shoot for the neck, ONLY THE LUNGS.

You are shooting at a 3 dimensional object- so always remember to 'see' the angle of the deer- rarely are they perfectly broadside...so determine what angle the deer is in relationship to you- and shoot to the spot you wish the arrow to EXIT the deer.

That means you pick the spot that will cause the arrow to go THROUGH the lungs, collapsing them and causing a very rapid death.

There cannot be varying opinions on this- it's one of those things that is a constant. LUNGS

[SL]

Picture a basket ball between the front legs or shoulders.Thats what works best for me. anywhere in that area and they wont go far.
SL

[ChuckC]

Lupe.  The object is to hit the animal with a very sharp broadhead and cause it to bleed severely and die as a result of that bleeding.  

We try to do this in a manner that cause a fairly quick death and also one that leads to a lot of blood loss outside the body and in this way, allow us to more easliy follow the trail of the animal, since arrows do not normally "drop the deer in its tracks" like a bullet might.  

There are many "places" where a solid hit could cause the animal's death and several more that  might do it.

We try to teach that, in spite of all these "places", you should really be aiming to hit the heart / lung area, for lots of reasons as I am pretty certain will be described by others shortly.  

It is arguably the biggest, best, most easily reached area for us to hit with an arrow.  A hit here should quickly kill the animal and is also likely to pass completely thru the animal, making a trail a much more sure proposition.
ChuckC

[30coupe]

Double lung works for me. Heart shots are good too. Broadside or slightly quartering away would be the best position for the deer. Hitting the liver causes massive bleeding as well, but the first two options usually give better blood trails. I say usually because a high double lung shot will not usually leave a great blood trail. The good news is, the deer will generally not go very far anyway.

Facing away or facing toward are not high percentage shots, and should be avoided. I've killed deer that were quartering slightly to me. No problem as long as you can hit close to, but not in the shoulder.

I always aim for the top point of the triangular area directly behind the front leg where the belly meets the shoulder. If the deer jumps the string (squats in preparation to run), I get both lungs. If it doesn't jump the string, I get the heart and maybe the lungs too.

[Zbearclaw]

As Ray said, Aim for the Exit wound.

Best thing is to be there to field dress a fresh kill and look at the chest (lungs and heart) and the placement of the non-vital organs to see where to aim.

Eventually the deer will become a 3-d version of those anatomical charts, and from any angle you know if you can get the lungs, or if the deer should walk.  Always let em' walk if you don't know you can make the shot...

[Roy Steele]

Lungs ofcourse.I've seen 100's of dead deer.Some not hit so good.I've always said if you get inside the rib cage it's a dead deer.If you can track.

[joevan125]

I have never lost a double lung shot deer, never.

[joevan125]

Oh yea and if you do double lung a deer most of the time you will either see him fall or you will hear him crashing while falling.

[lpcjon2]

The lungs are the biggest area other than the liver and the lungs will kill them fast and make for easier tracking for you.

[KentuckyTJ]

Shoot for exit hole through both lungs as stated. Lungs are a larger target and a double lung shot deer will die even quicker than a heart shot deer.

[trapperDave]

 

 

 

[trapperDave]

right above the front leg, one third of the way up the body=dead deer

[Shaun]

What Trapper Dave said. No frontal, not straight away, no straight down. Now where you hit a deer and where you aim is not always the same. Pilot error, deer moving or jumping the string (actually ducking not jumping) and unseen twigs can cause us to hit other places in spite of our best intentions. The double lung shot kills be asphyxiation, not blood loss and is the fastest. Blood loss kills happen whenever we don't get both lungs to collapse. Always follow up any hit and get help to track. Don't shoot if you can't see well enough to know where your arrow hits - like in near dusk or dawn darkness. Good Hunting!

[Zbearclaw]

A good idea is to aim lower than you want to hit, in case they do dump the string.

But only marginally lower.  A lower 1/3 of body shot in the lungs should still hit the lungs in most cases if the deer jumps.  Now some are houdini's, and you cant hit them with a howitzer...