The Neck Shot Versus the Heart/Lung Shot?

Here's a couple more reasons not to shoot for the head or neck if you have other options. It's not that they aren't killing shots, but they are high risk because you don't have much room for error. Even a good shot makes a bad shot on occasion, so why not aim for the biggest target.


If you ever plan on getting an animal mounted, don't shoot it in the neck or head if you have other shot options, & whatever you do don't cut it's throat to finish it off. It's amazing the amount of people that will come in with an animal they want to have mounted that has a softball size hole in it's neck, or has had it's throat cut, & say "you can fix that so that nobody can tell can't you?"

I also run a blood dog tracking service, & would advise against head & neck shots. The animals that are wounded in the head or neck are extremely difficult to recover even with a dog, & are often times never found. The ones that are recovered usually take hours of running, baying, breaking, & baying again before they will allow the hunter to get in close enough to finish it off. On the other hand an animal that is hit bad in the body cavity is much easier to find & bay. For example a gut shot animal is as good as got if you have a tracking dog, & leg shots where an artery is severed is usually a long tracking job & will probably result in a second shot to the bayed animal, but at least you'll get him. I said all that to say, that from my experience in the blood tracking business, you have a much better chance of getting your game even if hit bad, if you shoot for the heart/lung area!

Torry
 
I'm going to shoot more in the head this year.......

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Great topic Salmo22! Is that you or your dad in your avatar pic?
 
Originally Posted By: CrazyHorse66Great topic Salmo22! Is that you or your dad in your avatar pic?
CrazyHorse66:

That is my dad in the avatar. Here is a photo of him with three foxes he tagged in 1960. Notice the camo clothing he wore back in the day
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Good truck, good gun, and good man from the looks of it.

Too bad he didn't know where to shoot a coyote otherwise he could have had a few of them too.

Just joking on that last part, but the rest is honest.
 
Salmo,
That looks like a pre-64 Win. Model 70 your dad is holding. Am I correct and if I am what caliber is it and do you still have it.
 
Originally Posted By: nightcaller
i dont think you'll take a beating. just wonder what kind of success you guys have hunting this way:
-nothing over 100 yds
-no low light shooting (during the most active times of the day.)
-head shots only
-stationary targets only (coyotes aren't the most patient animals)

sounds more like coyote educating and culling of the dumbest of the species.

i find it hard to keep hunting on days that i only call one in much less waiting for a shot that would qualify by these standards.

i'm honestly curious how people continue to go out to hunt when the self imposed rules are so strict.

Patience.
I enjoy being out whether I get a yote or not.
 
Originally Posted By: Jeepdude1987Good truck, good gun, and good man from the looks of it.

Too bad he didn't know where to shoot a coyote otherwise he could have had a few of them too.

Just joking on that last part, but the rest is honest.
Thanks Jeepdude. My dad will be 85 in October and can't get out in the field anymore due to a bad back. Nevetheless, when my son and I have any questions about hunting or guns we go to him. He has more experience with shooting and hunting than I will ever have. Once a month I take him for a ride in my truck to visit some of his old hunting areas. We just ride along and I let him relive some of the "glory" days - it is always a hoot.

Here is a photo of him with his crew at 10:00 AM of opening morning of Antelope season in 1966. You should start to notice a theme with his hats. I guess I should give him credit for starting the satorial craze that is now the hat of choice for guys like Justin Timberlake
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Originally Posted By: peterjcSalmo,
That looks like a pre-64 Win. Model 70 your dad is holding. Am I correct and if I am what caliber is it and do you still have it.
Hey Peter:

You are correct; it is a pre-64 Winchester Model 70. He had six of them then and he still has the same six now - all stowed safely away in a vault. I called him to get a caliber confirmation from this photo and he could not remember. My dad is a confirmed wildcat guy that has been changing things up on his rifles all his life. He thinks this may have been a 220 Swift; but can't be sure. All I know is each of his six pre-64's start life as a 30-06. After he had them a short time, rechambering began in earnst as dad searched for the best performing pill.

UPDATE - Dad remembered it was a 243 not a 220 Swift.
 
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Salmo22
How many coyotes have you shot using your neck shot?
They don't stand around like deer or prairie dogs sheep goats ground hogs unless you are stapling them to your target board.
I have missed them at all ranges 80yds to 500yds running for their lives.But that is just me and it will not be my last miss.Anyone with equipment and a little pratice can shoot good one hole groups off the bench.
 
Salmo, Keep shooting them where ever you can, as long as it's killing them quick. You obviously know your own abilities better than anyone else here. Great pics of your Dad, post more please.
 
I know about a bad back feel bad every time I hear about someone kept out of the field by it. I have had to change a lot of how I hunt cause I can't just run through the hills like I grew up doing.
 
Originally Posted By: coyotewackerSalmo22
How many coyotes have you shot using your neck shot?
They don't stand around like deer or prairie dogs sheep goats ground hogs unless you are stapling them to your target board.
I have missed them at all ranges 80yds to 500yds running for their lives.But that is just me and it will not be my last miss.Anyone with equipment and a little pratice can shoot good one hole groups off the bench.
Hey Coyotewacker:

I don't keep body counts; however, I think it is fair to say that during the past 40 years I've sent many predators to their grave via the neck shot. As I said on an earlier post, when I was younger I would shoot coyotes in whatever part of their body I could find in my scope. Heck, I used to shot them from arsehole to nose - whatever worked. As I got older, my methods and focus changed. When I was a little fellow, my father shot on the Air Force rifle & pistol team. It is in my genetic code to pursue extreme accuracy in my shooting. That is why I shoot competitive benchrest. If is very satisfying to me to make a precise shot. I regularly pass-up an opportunity if I can't get the shot I want. No doubt, I've missed my share and then some. Learning to read the wind makes a world of difference. Combine good wind reading with an excellent trigger and you can shoot really small. I think that adding a quality trigger to any gun will make an instant improvement in accuracy.

Frankly, I probably spend more time preparing my brass for reloading as most guys do practicing at the range. Here is a photo of my best 5 shot group at 100 yards.

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This extreme accuracy stuff is worse than heroin
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Originally Posted By: CoyotejunkiIs that a Photoshop pic with the guys and animals in color and everything else in black and white?
Coyotejunki:

Yes, it has been Photoshopped. My dad is a retired professional photographer and enjoys going through his old photos and making cools changes. He tells me this is easy to do. I'm taking a photoshop class in September to try and learn how to do these kind of things to my on stuff.
 
Originally Posted By: Jeepdude1987I know about a bad back feel bad every time I hear about someone kept out of the field by it. I have had to change a lot of how I hunt cause I can't just run through the hills like I grew up doing.
Jeepdude:

If it wasn't for my dad's bad back, he would still be shooting better than me on hunts. We used to have a rule, anything over 100 yards I got to take first shot with my rifle and anything under 100 yards he would take first shot with his pistol. More than one hunt I never got a shot
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