Is a quartering towards/frontal a high percentage shot?

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xpauliber
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Is a quartering towards/frontal a high percentage shot?

Unread postby xpauliber » Mon Nov 06, 2017 11:35 pm

I wouldn’t post this question anywhere except on the Beast because I know this forum is capable of having respectable discussions on topics. I originally had this titled “Is a quartering towards/frontal an ethical shot?” but I changed it because I don’t necessarily want to discuss anyone’s personal ethics although I do believe we owe it to the animal only to take the best, most high percentage shots.

With that being said, I was raised to only take quartering away/broadside shots. Occasionally, I’d shoot a deer that is slightly quartering towards me but my aiming point was still behind the front shoulder and the exit would be back of the lungs or liver.

Over the years I’ve helped track several deer that were shot straight on the brisket or quartering hard towards the person and the aiming point was between the front shoulder and the brisket....those track jobs ended up with the heartache of a lost deer and when asked why the person took the shot, the response was usually, “he was so big, I had to take the shot”.

Earlier this year, I shot a doe at 8 yards quartering hard away and I shot through the top of the heart and actually passed through out the front of the brisket. I’m using a Mathews Switchback XT at 66 pounds with an old school 100 grain Muzzy 4-blade.

The reason I ask is because over the past week, I’ve seen 3 different bucks that were killed and all of them were shot in front of the front shoulder and they recovered all of them. Has Archery equipment progressed to where these types of shots are ethical?


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Re: Is a quartering towards/frontal a high percentage shot?

Unread postby purebowhunting » Tue Nov 07, 2017 12:01 am

From the ground I think it's a high percentage shot, from an elevated position I do not feel it is. A lot of that opinion is dependent on you're setup too. With a light arrow and a large expandable broadhead I don't feel it's ever a high percentage shot. I've taken the shot twice from the ground and buried the arrow to the guts both times with a dead deer under 30 yards, did take it once from an elevasted position on a already wounded deer to put it out of it's missery and that shot got about 12" of penetration and it died in 20 yards but wouldn't take that shot on a healthy deer.
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Re: Is a quartering towards/frontal a high percentage shot?

Unread postby Boogieman1 » Tue Nov 07, 2017 12:03 am

I see u have put a lot of thought into this, which shows u care and not just some meathead flinging arrows no matter what. I personally feel it's a low odds shot, with a high chance of wounding. I don't feel equipment has really progressed at all, I think folks just tell us it did. I saw a guy on the kill thread with a longbow with buck down and arrow buried in a tree. How can u progress past that. I prefer broadside shots, but will take a quartering away. In the end each hunter has to decide for himself at that moment of truth, and he has to live with the consequences of his choices.
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Re: Is a quartering towards/frontal a high percentage shot?

Unread postby mauser06 » Tue Nov 07, 2017 1:21 am

I agree with boogieman...160fps and a heavy wooden arrow with a 2 blade fixed broadhead will out penetrate what most guys shoot these days.

I think the industry has started to see their errors of pushing speed and light arrows and that has certainly helped. I remember 10 years ago or so.. finding a carbon arrow that had any weight to it was tough. The industry also push broadheads that take a lot of energy to push through.


That being said, I don't believe it to be a high percentage shot. Especially from a stand. Too much to go wrong IMO. The rib cage and shoulders are designed to add some degree of protection to the animal from the front. From the ground you have a little better window.

It is a shot that can be a quick kill..but the execution of it has to be pretty precise. The margin of error is small.

Eventually the deer pretty much has to quarter away and/or go broadside....I waited all year. A couple more seconds won't bother me. Lol.
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Re: Is a quartering towards/frontal a high percentage shot?

Unread postby Dewey » Tue Nov 07, 2017 1:30 am

I would never attempt it. There is just too much room for error and not worth the risk. I have shot very slightly quartering towards just off broadside but that’s as far as I would go. I aimed tight against the close shoulder and exited out both lungs. Anymore than that angle and you risk not getting through both lungs. Also you better have a good broadhead that can bust bone with ease just in case you hit a little too far forward.

As far as full frontal shots I won’t even go there. Sure some guys kill them with it but I can guarantee the wounding rate is sky high with that shot.
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Re: Is a quartering towards/frontal a high percentage shot?

Unread postby flinginairos » Tue Nov 07, 2017 1:53 am

I've had mixed results with this angle from a treestand. The times I have hit EXACTLY where I wanted the shot did as intended and put the deer down quickly. But, the placement has to be perfect with very little (none) room for error. I'll be perfectly honest and say i've taken two 1/4 toward me shots this year and neither of them had the result I really wanted. The first was a nice eight point and at 24 yards I felt like I could put the arrow in front of the shoulder and kill him. I didn't do my part and rushed the shot and hit him behind the shoulder exiting through the guts. I had to let him go overnight and luckily found him the next day. A week later I shot a doe that was slightly 1/4 toward me, hit her exactly where I aimed in the crease of the shoulder and exited mid body. I jumped her while tracking and backed out over night. She ended up dying 40 yards from where I jumped her but the yotes destroyed her and I got nothing out of her. Had I waited in both cases I would have been handed an easier shot i'm sure. I'm done taking shots like that personally, it's just not worth it. The last buck I shot was 1/4 away and it was so much easier :lol:
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Re: Is a quartering towards/frontal a high percentage shot?

Unread postby Wetfoot » Tue Nov 07, 2017 2:13 am

I've taken that shot once, many years ago. It ended up in a single lung hit and a deer that took 3 days to recover. For me at least, never again. :oops:
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Re: Is a quartering towards/frontal a high percentage shot?

Unread postby PK_ » Tue Nov 07, 2017 2:23 am

I personally like the shot at 25 yards or less. I am generally aiming for the throat/jugular.

It has been a higher % shot for me than broadside or 1/4 away.
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Re: Is a quartering towards/frontal a high percentage shot?

Unread postby justin84 » Tue Nov 07, 2017 2:53 am

I took this type of shot in Wyoming this fall. I don't think I would have if I was in a tree, but I was on the ground and actually shooting up towards the deer, so I felt like it was an ethical/effective shot. Entry was right under armpit and exit was opposite side pretty far back. The deer only ran 50-60 yards and bled alot. If I'm shooting down instead of up I would not do it.
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Re: Is a quartering towards/frontal a high percentage shot?

Unread postby Buckshot20 » Tue Nov 07, 2017 3:23 am

I don't mind a little quartering toward me. Need a good exit though for blood. If you go in shoulder and out guts there won't be much blood. I try to make my exit behind the shoulder on that shot and I like it close so I know I get the penetration I need.
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Re: Is a quartering towards/frontal a high percentage shot?

Unread postby elk yinzer » Tue Nov 07, 2017 3:28 am

Frontal I am ok with in very, very limited circumstances. First is setup. I shoot heavy arrows and fixed blades. Penetration is not a problem. Second is knowledge of anatomy. I cut all my own deer and started paying a lot of attention to what it takes to get a frontal deep into the ribcage. I don't have to guess where I aim. Biggest thing there is missing the spine, that rules out a lot of frontal from a treestand. Then it's just a matter of making the shot. On a deer the margin of error is going to be about softball size on a straight frontal with minimal elevation change. I can hit that all day 20 yards but it's not a shot I'll stretch beyond that. In practice it's a very rare scenario to get a frontal shot from a tree. I've done it once and he went 75 yards dead on his feet. I was in a tree on a steep hill and he came in above me such that we were about even elevation wise. He had no clue I was there but I was drawn and saw the opportunity, so I nailed him.

I don't mind slight quartering-to at all. If I can sneak behind the shoulder blade and catch mostly lung, I have no problem if the exit is farther back. Shot my last two bucks and a bull elk with this shot. All easy recoveveries. Extreme quartering to is a no go.
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Re: Is a quartering towards/frontal a high percentage shot?

Unread postby Rich M » Tue Nov 07, 2017 4:14 am

Last deer I shot with an arrow (xbow) was a 15 yard frontal shot - just in front of shoulder, out paunch on opposite side. Ran 50 yards. Not much of a blood trail - more like a red mist. Would I take it again? In a heartbeat.
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Re: Is a quartering towards/frontal a high percentage shot?

Unread postby tgreeno » Tue Nov 07, 2017 4:22 am

Dewey wrote:I would never attempt it. There is just too much room for error and not worth the risk. I have shot very slightly quartering towards just off broadside but that’s as far as I would go. I aimed tight against the close shoulder and exited out both lungs. Anymore than that angle and you risk not getting through both lungs. Also you better have a good broadhead that can bust bone with ease just in case you hit a little too far forward.

As far as full frontal shots I won’t even go there. Sure some guys kill them with it but I can guarantee the wounding rate is sky high with that shot.


I totally agree!
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Re: Is a quartering towards/frontal a high percentage shot?

Unread postby john1984 » Tue Nov 07, 2017 4:43 am

I only did one frontal shot , 2 years ago, hunting off the ground, 13 yard shot, best blood trail I've ever seen.

What is a bigger kill zone? A deer standing broadside 40 yards away or a frontal shot 10 yArds away?????
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Re: Is a quartering towards/frontal a high percentage shot?

Unread postby kurt » Tue Nov 07, 2017 4:50 am

I've shot a handful of deer with the rifle that way. Archery is not really a great option unless ground blind/spot & stalk if your arrow is going in level with back.

My buddy shot a bull Elk at 3 yards like that. Tipped over 30 yards away. He said he didn't aim just instinctive. I guess it knew exactly where calling was coming from


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