taking the front shoulder shot?

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dreaming bucks
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taking the front shoulder shot?

Unread postby dreaming bucks » Thu Oct 25, 2012 1:19 am

Lets say you have a great buck in front of you at 20 yards, & he has hit front leg back just enough that it's covering alot of his vitals. Do you take the shot, & try to blow right through the shoulder, or do you wait & hope he presents a little better opportunity with his leg ahead more? I've heard guys say you should never take that shot, & i've heard others say it's not a problem with todays bow's, that you will blow right through that front shoulder.

What do you guys think, wait, or drill him?

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Schultzy
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Re: taking the front shoulder shot?

Unread postby Schultzy » Thu Oct 25, 2012 1:31 am

I'm waiting every time.
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Re: taking the front shoulder shot?

Unread postby muddy » Thu Oct 25, 2012 1:38 am

I'd never take a front on or quartering too shot with a bow.

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dreaming bucks
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Re: taking the front shoulder shot?

Unread postby dreaming bucks » Thu Oct 25, 2012 1:44 am

muddy wrote:I'd never take a front on or quartering too shot with a bow.
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But what if he's broadside, & his front leg is back, is there still enough room around that shoulder to hit lungs if the leg is back?

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Re: taking the front shoulder shot?

Unread postby G3s » Thu Oct 25, 2012 1:50 am

muddy wrote:I'd never take a front on or quartering too shot with a bow.

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X2...if he is broadside, wait a second, he will move that leg forward.
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Re: taking the front shoulder shot?

Unread postby brink » Thu Oct 25, 2012 2:04 am

Today's bows have more than enough kinetic energy to blow through that shoulder blade but what I get concerned about is the arrow not making through the other shoulder.

I've taken that shot before once and never recovered the animal. Probably won't ever take it again

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Re: taking the front shoulder shot?

Unread postby U.P. MAN » Thu Oct 25, 2012 2:08 am

Im taking the shot for sure. Even slightly quartering to.
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Re: taking the front shoulder shot?

Unread postby bowhunter15 » Thu Oct 25, 2012 2:14 am

brink wrote:Today's bows have more than enough kinetic energy to blow through that shoulder blade but what I get concerned about is the arrow not making through the other shoulder.

I've taken that shot before once and never recovered the animal. Probably won't ever take it again

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My buddy used a newer Matthews with a 69lb draw last year and took a shoulder shot on a broadside doe because a tree was covering the rest of her vitals. He got almost no penetration and we tracked for around half a mile before losing blood. He also was using fixed blade broadheads with the "bone crushing tip". Just because a bow is new doesn't make it powerful. There are many other factors that play in (draw length, arrow weight, speed bow vs shootability bow, etc). Also, the shoulder itself isn't a uniformly solid piece of bone, as anyone who's butchered one knows. Hit it in a thin part of the blade, and yea, you might get through. But hit a little different spot and now you might hit an area that's thicker, has different collagen alignment, etc, and the arrow hits it like a piece of concrete. Personally I would take the liver/back of the lungs shot over attempting a shoulder shot, even with a high energy bow. Obviously the best is to wait until he takes a step forward if possible.
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Re: taking the front shoulder shot?

Unread postby virginiashadow » Thu Oct 25, 2012 2:18 am

Todays bows CANNOT blow through a deers shoulder, maybe the thin cartilage but not the shoulder.

I will not take a quartering toward shot.

If a deer is broadside and has its front leg back and it is covering the vitals near the pit behind the leg, I feel confident enough that if I move my shot back a couple inches I will still hit lungs and kill the deer. I have done it many times.
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Re: taking the front shoulder shot?

Unread postby Black Squirrel » Thu Oct 25, 2012 2:21 am

I wouldn't take that shot. My buddy did that 2 years ago, with a rage. He got no penetration, but decent blood for about 100 yards then nothing, never found the deer.
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Re: taking the front shoulder shot?

Unread postby binney59 » Thu Oct 25, 2012 2:26 am

Maybe I am visualizing this wrong, but if a deer is broadside, I don't see how the position of the leg can appreciably block the vitals. The shoulder is quite high, which should give you quite a bit of room below the scapula to still hit lungs, even if you need to hold behind the leg a touch.

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Re: taking the front shoulder shot?

Unread postby Black Squirrel » Thu Oct 25, 2012 2:30 am

I think I read it wrong, I thought he was quartering towards me. Now after re reading it sounds like the deer is broadside with a leg blocking the vitals. I would still like the deer to move the leg foward, but I think that shot is doable.
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Re: taking the front shoulder shot?

Unread postby Buckfever » Thu Oct 25, 2012 2:33 am

dreaming bucks wrote:
muddy wrote:I'd never take a front on or quartering too shot with a bow.
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But what if he's broadside, & his front leg is back, is there still enough room around that shoulder to hit lungs if the leg is back?

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I've taken at least 15 deer on that shot half of them I've caught the flat part of the shoulder and blown through every time. Short recoveries. I think it's the quartering to shot that get's folks in trouble.
dreaming bucks
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Re: taking the front shoulder shot?

Unread postby dreaming bucks » Thu Oct 25, 2012 2:50 am

Ya, sorry, I should have said right away that I was picturing a deer completely broadside.... I always thought you are suppose to still have that front leg at least straight up & down, & not back, but after looking at some vitals pictures, it looks like a guy should still be able to catch the lungs if you hit just behind & maybe a little above the shoulder.... correct?

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Re: taking the front shoulder shot?

Unread postby BigHunt » Thu Oct 25, 2012 2:51 am

virginiashadow wrote:[glow=red]Todays bows CANNOT blow through a deers shoulder[/glow], maybe the thin cartilage but not the shoulder.

I will not take a quartering toward shot.

If a deer is broadside and has its front leg back and it is covering the vitals near the pit behind the leg, I feel confident enough that if I move my shot back a couple inches I will still hit lungs and kill the deer. I have done it many times.


thats not true..the doe i shot sunday had the arrow blow through the shoulder blade (thick bone part)and stuck out a foot....and that was with an expandleble head....

the right arrow, broad head, bow and shot, and it is possible...
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