I have a question and I am certainly not trying to start an argument. I have hunted deer for fifty years and have shot, probably, seventy deer. I shot all but two of them with a model 760 Remington shooting 180 grain Remington Core-Lokt bullets. The other two I shot with a Smith and Wesson 500. Out of all those I have only had three go down with one shot. One was the first deer I ever shot. I hit him high, in the spine, and he dropped. One was hit in the front shoulders and had both front legs broken, so it went right down. The other I shot in the neck.

Almost all of the other deer were hit in the lungs, or the heart and lungs, with some of those shots completely destroying the heart. All of those deer ran. Usually only about 40-50 yards and when I walked up to them they were dead. I remember one deer that I shot at and it took off running so I shot again. After the recoil the deer was gone. I went up to where I had last seen the deer and there he laid. I grabbed its antlers, like I am sure most everyone does with a downed deer, and they were loose in the skull. I had hit the deer in the head with the second shot. But the thing is, when I gutted the deer I found I had broken his front leg, and hit his heart and lungs. When that deer took off running I didn't even notice he was running on three legs.

So my question. Where do you guys hit the deer to drop them with one shot? I often see people saying the animal never took a step, or it dropped in its tracks. I do not mean to call anybody out, I am just curious.

70,almost 70,or over 70.lets get that outta the way right now.

the neck

I am typically a heart/lung shooter and I would guess 95% of mine drop. I think it makes a difference if the animal is already spooked or on alert. Mine are shot from a tree stand and they never even knew I was there. I also shoot 180 grain but they are Nosler Partitions out of a 300 H&H. Other calibers they may run a short distance but are DOA.

I do the same as you, go for the heart/lungs shot. It’s a kill shot and doesn’t waste much meat. I’m OK with them running 30 to 50 yards before they collapse.

A spine shot will put them down immediately but sometimes won’t kill them. Same thing with a shot through the front shoulders. Both shots waste a lot of meat.

A headshot will put them down and kill them immediately.

I have never taken a headshot, too much room for error. That’s the same reason I don’t like neck shots but I have taken those on occasion when it was the only shot presented.

Follow the front leg up, at the top of the Scapula. Very Top. They Drop.

Does that get into the front end of the loin then?

I do the same, take heart-lung shots. The only neck shot I ever took was just like you, his head and neck were the only thing sticking out of the brush. I have never taken a head shot. The one I hit in the head was just a lucky second shot, while the deer was running.

More than half the deer I’ve shot with heart/lung shots I have been able to see or hear them collapse after a short run. If I don’t see or hear them go down I will mark the location it was hit, go there and start tracking. Sometimes, even if I can see a white belly laying out in the distance I will track anyhow. You just don’t get that many opportunities to blood trail a deer so I take advantage when I can.

You lose a pound of meat ...depending on cal. Used But they fold like a Dove.

And for what ever reason, 95% of mine run. They do only run a short distance, and they are running dead, but they run.

I rather enjoy tracking a deer for a short distance. 40-50 yards, maybe up to 100 yards is fun and exciting. When the distance gets much more than that I start to get worried about the shot.

Deer I shot with my .444 Marlin or with one of my flintlock muzzleloaders always ran regardless of the lethality of the shot unless spined. With higher velocity loads such as a 30-06 or 6mm Rem, I have had them drop from a heart/lung and also had them run before dropping. An article I read several years ago put forth the theory that it depends on the timing of the bullet impact relative to the heartbeat whether or not it causes a severe blood pressure spike that results in loss of consciousness. That makes sense to me as a deer rendered unconscious for 5-10 sec from a lethal heart/lung shot will drop and never get up.

Yep. You know from experience that you should have found that deer laying dead by now. When you don’t, the self-doubt starts.

I guess I didn't say but the 760 Remington I shoot is a 30-06

I used to shoot 180 grain Remington Core-Lokt for bear and 150 grain for deer. I didn’t always have time to re-zero my rifle between seasons, ours here in PA are back to back. So eventually I settled on 165 grain Remington for both. I shoot the old style, standard Core-Lokt and have been for the last 40 years or so. I’ve recovered several bullets over the years and have found that the mushroom perfectly and lose very little weight in their travel through a deer body.

I shoot a pre-64 Winchester M 70 in 30-06.

I only ever recovered one bullet. All the rest passed through, even the one that broke both front legs (shoulders) on one deer. The one bullet I did recover was also, as yours, a perfect mushroom.

I’ve recovered three, all were lodged under the skin on the offside.

Off the subject, but one thing I found in a deer once was an arrow, or at least a part of an arrow. When butchering the deer I found, in the front shoulder, a broad head with about 3 inches of shaft. The wound had healed over and the deer gave no indication of having an arrow in its shoulder, when it walked out.