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"Solid Shots" Part 5

For a deer hunter, hunting season is the very best time of the year. We anxiously count off the months until we finally have the opportunity to pursue the game we love.

Texas Hunter Products want your hunting experiences to be the best they can possibly be, and this means getting you properly prepared to hunt.

Be sure to check out Part 4, where we showed you the suggested shot placement for a Frontal Shot.

The Partially Obstructed Shot

This shooting scenario is very common, especially if you hunt Whitetails in the hardwoods and thickets, or Mule Deer and Blacktails in the forested regions. In this scenario, thick tree limbs cover a large percentage of the kill zone, so pinpoint accuracy is the key here.

The gunhunter has a real chance to bag this trophy if they concentrate on breaking the deer down. A well-placed shot to the center of the upper shoulder will drop this buck. Yes, some shoulder meat will be ruined, but your chance of success is much better going with the shoulder breakdown shot versus a neck shot which has less margin for error.

The bowhunter has little room for a mistake here, and only a well-practiced bowhunter should attempt this shot. The main lung area is covered by tree limbs with only the very top of the lung area exposed. The top of the shoulder bone (scapula) is predominant, and a shot into the shoulder will likely embed your broadhead in the bone. Thus, the shot you decide to take in this scenario needs to be very precise and very well thought out.

The best option in this situation is to put your arrow through the top of the lungs directly behind the top of the shoulder. With that said, because the kill-zone in the lungs is so limited, and the neck is well exposed, a neck shot is also a viable option as long as it is understood that the buck in this scenario has exaggerated neck muscle size because of the rut. It is critical for the hunter to put his arrow into the center of the neck, just below the vertebrae of the spine. A broad head entering here will likely cut the trachea, carotid artery, and jugular vein.

Next time, we conclude our “Solid Shots” series with some pointers for the  young or first-time hunters to enhance your outdoor experience.

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Special thanks to Shur Kill Targets for article content.