Best of the West

m1fan

Very Active Member
Messages
1,001
Anyone see the show this week where they talk about the "high shoulder shot?" Seemed pretty informative. They explained it pretty well. I have not taken this kind of shot in the past but my consider it now. The show will be on again this week on the Mens Channel. Does this shot mess up the meat on the shoulder? I would think the BT would not be the bullet of choice.
 
The "high shoulder shot" is for the camera. That way the animal falls down and makes them look like better marksmen. It does mess up lots of meat. Even at long range I don't want a bullet through my hamburger and chili meat if I can help it. Think like a bowhunter and place the slug just behind the shoulder to take out both lungs. If you don't get a broadside shot, still aim to take out both lungs and you will save as much meat as possible. Most anything you shoot won't go far with a bullet through both lungs.

Phantom Hunter
 
High shoulder shots, generally animals drop straight down but you do loose some (lots) if shoulder meat. heart/lung shots animals generally go 50-100yds and drop dead. Some think they have a bullet failure but that is just the way it is. As an outdoor writer once wrote "at what point during the animals death did the bullet fail".

from the "Heartland of Wyoming"
 
As stated, the high shoulder shot works but it does ruin lots of meat. I generally go for a behind the shoulder shot.

However,if the opportunity arises, I see nothing wrong with the good old head shot. I'm talking game standing still and less than 150 yards with a rock solid rest. The animal will drop instantly and you don't ruin any meat.
 
I one shot a big ole 6x6 right behind the shoulder as a kid and it ran off app 110 yds and another hunter shot it. and claimed it. My shot was good right behind the shoulder. But as a kid I did not argue. From that day on I shoot the high shoulder shot manyan animal have hit the ground with that shot and I will not go back, A little loss on meat or a whole animal, Easy for me to see the light. This shot is no good unless they are standing still, which is not always the condition. But if thay stop shebang!! JMHO!!!! Bill


FEAR NOT FOR I AM WITH YOU! Walk soft and carry a 300 RUM,
 
I've shot animals behind the shoulder as well as high shoulder , just different shots were presented . I also agree that some meat is lost to bruising and such , but on the up side they are very ethical shots , and that is what we as sportsmen strive for .....
 
When you hit big bone, they drop in their tracks. I've shot three bulls with this shot and all 3 died immediately. I've also shot over a dozen cows with behind the shoulder shots and they all died within 100-150 yards. The one cow I double shouldered was a mistake as she was running and I led her a little too far. It worked though, she died immediately after the cartwheel. Personally, on a cow I don't want to ruin any meat and on a bull, I just want him on the ground. i do reccommend a stout bullet and caliber if that is you're intent.
 
i hit a cow elk from 300 yrds in the spine above the shoulder with a 300winmag. she still ran 180yrds plus . I hit her again in the briskit area@ 484yrds i was a little low due to a slight mis-calculation in distance vs bullet drop. and she was still crawling up the hill (tho not as fast) . I quickly asked for another read (from my range finder guy) and fired again @ 550yrds. I hit her in the neck, that shot was obvious because she bucked and i saw her neck flop!!! she still went about 300 yrds across this field and went over a fence she lay down after jumping the fence and died right there. I had to shoot that cow 3 times . I thank God i was able to get a second and third shot. one thing i did wrong was "not" get the double lung shot as i had done in the past and that forced the other 2 shots. the other thing is i used regular lead point bullets instead of a partition. when cutting up the elk i found that my bullets fell apart inside of the animal instead of maintaining some form they were in pieces the copper jackets were intact with out much lead inside of them however. pieces of her spine were found at the original shot site so i know i hit large bone!! plus her spine was damaged very badly in one spot i am thinking she went on adrenaline for quite sometime. she was a large cow @750 pounds on the hoof i would guess. she was bigger bodied thaan a 360+ 6x7 that i packed out of a canyon last year.
 
When I was a young hunter, I shot my best Mule Deer to date while on crutches. I was encamped with the rest of our hunting party and was feelin sorry for myself because I could'nt hunt as usually. But I enjoyed just being out there.

I delivered the other hunters to their drop off points and parked the rig near a favorite trail. After hobbling down the trail a ways, I planted myself not far off the trail and waited. Well, I did get an opportunity at a shot some hours later. I shot a 5x5 at a distance of approximately 100 yards. I was aiming for a spot just behind the shoulder but instead, hit the high shoulder and dropped him dead.

Looking back, if I had made the lung shot, I am pretty certain some other hunters down the ridge may have claimed my buck. I have been sold on the high shoulder shot ever since.
 
I have been curiouos about the high shoulder shot myself. In many situations I think it would be a great choice.

What are thoughts about a the ability of a muzzleloader and a high shoulder shot, mostly for deer. I shoot a 50 caliber.
 
A spine shot and the elk kept going , wow , I've seen a few spine shots and they flat out melted , once with a bow and it too dropped in her tracks . OK I guess ....???
 
Bow. You may have hit her high, but it wasn't a spine shot. If you had hit her in the spine, it would have paralized her back legs.
 
I've guided many nilgai antelope hunts down here, and a high should shot is ok-if you shoot a bullet with good weight retention, bullets that blow up are worthless anywhere but through the lungs. A high shoulder shot nonetheless is a low percentage shot for the average guy, along the same lines as a pure a$$ shot to hit the femoral artery. For a "must kill" opportunity, there are very few shots better than behind the shoulder. Big animals can, and do do things that they shouldn't be able to do when the adreneline gets going. You can flat out lose a "dead" animal if you push it too soon. If you miss 3-6 inches on a behind the shoulder shot, you still kill, miss 3-6 inches on a high shoulder shot and you wound an animal or flat out miss, little margin of error, ethically a poor shot. High shoulder shots should only be used for meat hunting, no better than a head shot or a$$ shot, bottom line.
 
On the show, he comments about missing and hitting high. He said you have to be ready for non lethal results if it is not a precision shot. The show is on the Men's Channel FYI.
 
you know, i watch this show and wonder all the time...how many people are actually taking 800-900yd shots?? those guys are long range shooting masters, obviously they know what they are doing, but how common is this...
 
"at what point during the animals death did the bullet fail" :7


"how many people are actually taking 800-900yd shots?? "

Unfortunately, too many. Especially during antelope hunts, but muley and elk hunts too. Doubt that there are very many remotely qualified to take such a shot. Probably few qualified to take a 400 yard shot either, but more than the former.
 
Whats just as bad , seeing idiots taking 250 yard and longer shots with muzzleloaders . Every year up at unit 52 here in NM yahoos jump out of thier trucks, drop the hammer on bucks WAY BEYOND muzzleloaders range . From one of my blinds I can actually watch guys drive around and plug out shots in the hundreds of yards at bucks . One of the game wardens I spoke to up there carries a 22-250 to put down wounded bucks . I asked him if he has to do it alot and said way more than he would like , mostly because guys misjudge distance or just don't care and fire off at too long of distances ....BS
 
i posted and i'm not even sure what a high shoulder shot is. the shots i've taken were held on the shoulder bone, half way up the body. i'm not sure if this is high shoulder but they were dead every time so far with moderate blood shot, front shoulder. 338 with premium bullet. i have lost 2 elk with this shot with a bow. one stuck in the shoulder and one glanced off, cutting the hide on the side. Both times i panicked a little and aimed wrong. both arrows hit where i aimed but i screwed up. you'd think you'd learn after the first one.
 
I have not done much bow hunting. But have my concerns if an arrow was designed to shot through bone. Some bullets would not fare well hitting this area.
 
Maybe my comments were confusing. With a rifle (338WM w/Barnes x) a high shoulder shot is a good shot. Maybe a little less room for error than a traditional heart/lung shot, but quicker.

The bow comment was poking fun at two different bulls that I F***** up on. Fortunately the one ran off with 28" of shaft sticking out of his shoulder so I know it didn't penetrate into the chest cavity and I found the arrow about 300 yds. away. The other one struck the shoulder and deflected down and along the outside the ribs. The arrow had blood on the broadhead and one side of the shaft. I glassed the bull at 120 yards and saw blood on his side, thinking it was a lung shot. Watched him go over the ridge and found the arrow. The arrow told the story and the blood dried up within 150 yds from where he topped out on the ridge.
 
How many people are qualified to shoot at 100 yards? Probably a lot less than will take the shot.
 

Click-a-Pic ... Details & Bigger Photos
Back
Top Bottom