Whitetail rifle shot placement debate.

For a trophy buck, anywhere i can hit vitals. The high shoulder shot is preferred if perfectly broadside and standing still.

For a doe, double lunger. same with any deer with my bow.

Judge
To the face!

Neck shot? Are y'all screwing with me? I thought neck shots were frowned upon by most hunters?

Straight up the leg mid body with a rifle, same place but just behind the leg with a bow.
That gives me the most margin of error several inches either direction to miss my point of aim and still have a lethal shot.

Mid vitals I.e right behind should about 1/3 from the bottom

Too much room for error in neck shots. There is a LOT of space in the neck that wouldn't be fatal if something went wrong. Especially at any distance.

Grew up marsh hunting. Still despise tracking a deer since most of mine seem to be afternoon kills.

I was taught long ago "shoot em high, watch em lie. Shoot em low, watch em go." Frick tracking a deer, especially a big full rut buck thats all jacked up on adrenaline.

When I look at a deer, I picture the vitals. No shot is the same. Bow or gun, they’re either quartering or broadside or straight on. The angle is always different. I picture the angle through the vitals before I squeeze that trigger. I hunt solely public, so sometimes they’re doing some trotting through the woods. In those instances, you put mid ways up, at the shoulder and send it. Pick your opening to put the crosshairs in. Don’t follow like you would a bird. Following a trotting deer results in trees with bullet holes in them.

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I don’t have enough experience to have a strong opinion and I want to hear what y’all have to say.

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The most important thing is to use a .243

Pretty much anywhere in front of the last rib will do it. I generally want the bullet to break the offside leg. It works well for me. Grew up hunting in knee deep water where tracking isn't easy.