Little survey to see who prefers shoulder shots as to the traditional behind the shoulder shots on game. Feel free to add your liking such as head shots......

Easy. Behind the shoulder shots run.
High shoulder breaks bone, causes spinal shock, and drops them on the spot. I've done this with 2 lions, water buff, 4 of the 5 springboks, 2 bushbuck, impala, elk, mule deer, Coues deer. and about 1500 deer. It's the only shot I use unless I'm testing bullets on deer.

I agree, the high shoulder shot is the shot you want if you want to end it right on the spot. They are down, you might have to apply a finisher but they are not going anywhere, it's over.
If you are shooting soft bullets a behind the shoulder shot is fatal but many times they will run & that may or may not be a good thing. I love cast bullets but they can work slower on lung shots but are fantastic on high shoulder shots.
I hate head shots although I've had to make a few. They can be spectacular if everything goes right or they can be an absolute disaster if things goes wrong. I've seen both.

Dick

High shoulder for me. I like to break animals down fast, I don't like to track. I'm not a fan of head shots, but I'd take a neck shot if given the chance.

Shoulder shots also for me. Brisket for frontal shots.
No head shots or neck shots.

I have done it both ways and both will kill. I agree with wvhitman. The high (or center) shoulder shot gets it done on the spot. At my camp we call it DRT - dead right there! Every PH at the South African hunt camp I was at insist that you shoot center shoulder on any animal from the smallest antelope up through Cape Buffalo.

I prefer shoulder shots with hard cast WFN bullets. When I shoot jacketed expanding bullets I usually go for double lung. Not a big fan of head or neck shots unless we are talking groundhogs.

I try to put one or both shoulders in the shot if possible. A hole in the lungs and a busted shoulder make for little or no tracking generally.

^^What he said^^

I prefer shoulder shots.

With my eyesight I fell lucky slipping a bullet anywhere into the vital zone....I`am usually to excited to concentrate on a specific bone.... A bullet in and out of a pressurized system causes a drop in pressure which stops locomotion which results in a dead animal....

That's the way to do it James. Shoot them where they bleed, then keep shooting till they stop moving and bleeding.I always figured a man of your experience would be[ COOL HAND LUKE ] on the trigger.

I've traditionally tried to slip the bullet behind the deer's shoulder, either because they were pretty far away and I preferred aiming dead center of the chest to minimize margins of error, or because I used a rapidly expanding bullet that was unlikely to hold together after hitting those bones.

I wouldn't hesitate to make the shot if I'm packing hardcasts or Barnes TTSXs, though.

Old Jersey boy is being a little modest, he can put that bullet where he wants to, I've watched him do it on some Boone & Crockett ground squirrels!

Dick

Shucks fellows (JB -SS) you got me turning colors....

Not a fan of head shots. Last year while deer hunting with my daughter. I put down a doe that came by the stand as she had her lower jaw shot off. The doe was in bad shape and had part of her tongue just hanging there. It was my daughters first time seeing something like that (unfortunately it was my second time) and she was disgusted to the point that she wanted to leave, but I talked her into staying.
A person can do as he/she likes but the risk of shooting at a small moving target and causing an animal to suffer a horrible death are too great to justify.
I will always go for the heart/lung shot or shoulder shot depending on the shot presented.

Deck, That`s a sad story.....

Broadside centered of the front shoulder, quartering away off shoulder, and quartering to point of shoulder. Pretty much the shoulders. LOL

Broadside chest shots only, thru the lungs,
if you can't breath, you don't live.

I can understand the shoulders shots,
in the heavy brush/trees areas,
but in NV we don't have to worry about that problem.

Tia,
Don

Center body on shoulder. Breaking bone calms the nerves.

I had great results (drt) the past couple of seasons on whitetail deer with the high shoulder shot using xtp bullets from a 44mag. Have any of you used the barnes xpb bullets in shoulder shots? I ask wondering if the lighter weight bullet will carry on thru giving me exit wounds like the heavier xtp bullets did.

This high shoulder shot (X2, one for insurance) with a 275 gr. X in .475 Linebaugh put her down with authority fully equal to any 400 gr. bullet I've used. In general, light for caliber Xs penetrate better and cause more damage (from expansion) than heavier bullets in any caliber.
Same thing with this brown bear and a 375 gr. X in .500 S&W. One high shoulder did him in. Paid the insurance with #2.

The Xs on both animals were expanded under the skin of the off shoulder.
Same results on a croc with 185 gr. X in .325 WSM XP, but with a spine shot.

Nice...Where did you kill your brownie at ?
Looks like over on the Seward Peninsula (straight across from me).

I generally take the behind the shoulder shot, I guess from hunting with a bow for so many years but I have taken head shots with a rifle on does, wastes no meat and definitely no tracking.

I grew up being taught "shoot 'em just behind the shoulder" and it's become ingrained in me to do so--old habits, effective ones to boot, are hard to break. I've yet to have one go over 30 steps when punched through the lungs with an expanding bullet...I haven't joined the cast bullet junkies yet

). The low heart shot has left me with a frown a couple of times with a bow so I've gotten completely away from that with all things. I did head shoot a doe 2 years ago. Very effective and we ate everything but the bleat and paunch.

High Shoulder, Middle of the shoulder, behind the shoulder, or lungs...they've all worked fine for me

Me too.

WITH REVOLVERS YOU GET "SHOCK" BY PLOWING THRU BONE AND MUSCLE AND NOT BY ZIPPING THRU THE RIBS AND LUNGS. INCREDIBLE WHAT SHOCK YOU CAN PUT ON AN ANIMAL WITH BIG FLAT NOSE BULLETS (WFN, LFN, COR-BON PENETRATORS, BARNES BUSTERS, AND THE LIKE)WITH SHOULDER SHOTS. HAVE DROPPED SABLE, BONGO, BLACK BEARS AND MORE IN THEIR TRACKS WITH CENTER SHOULDER SHOTS.

45Man, did you use revolvers & cast on the Sable, Bongo & Black Bears, if so great job, congratulations! Again, I agree on the high shoulder shot, it's 100%. Also the double lung shot is fatal, I've done it dozens of times but they can stretch their legs sometimes before they decide they are dead.

Dick

No handgun deer for me yet but I did find with my Hawken 54 shooting a round ball that if I could break at least 1 shoulder my bloodtrails were a lot shorter.

2 lung shot deer traveled 50-100 yards each and those shot in a shoulder whether broadside or quartering away haven't gone 25 yards or less each.

Will try to do the same with a 41 Mag as well.

Actually thought about trying these in a 41. Even though they are lighter they retain near 100% of their weight. A conventional lead core bullet weight of 210 grains would have to retain around 80% of its weight to end up weighing what the lighter 180 grain Barnes did from the very beginning.

I would have no fear at all of busting shoulders with them plus those razors of the expanded bullet should really liquify things.

SIXSHOT:WITH REVOLVERS (AND I MOSTLY USE 45 CALIBER REVOLVERS FOR BIG GAME HUNTING)I WANT BULLET INTEGRITY, NO EXPANSION (WHICH INHIBITS/SLOWS PENETRATION) THAT IS WHY I PREFER FMJ FLAT POINTS LIKE THE COR-BON PENETRATORS, THE PUNCH BULLETS AND THE BARNES BUSTERS. I DO NOT TRUST CAST BULLETS FOR THE BIG STUFF BECAUSE A HARD BULLET IS A BRITTLE BULLET, i.e.IT CAN AND MAY BREAK UP. IN AFRICA AND IN ALASKA I PREFER THE FLAT POINT FMJ's AND THAT IS WHAT I USED ON THE SABLE AND BONGO AND MY LAST BLACK BEAR. AFTER 11 HANDGUN SAFARIS, A FEW ALASKA HUNTS AND 36 YEARS OF BEING EXCLUSIVELY A HANDGUN HUNTER, I HAVE A LOT OF BULLET STORIES TO SHARE, WHICH I HOPE TO BE ABLE TO DO VIA THIS WEBSITE.

Again, congratulations! The 45 caliber with good bullets has a very good reputation on big game all over the world. The biggest thing I've taken with my 45's is 4 elk but I did use cast on all 4 of them. The jacketed bullets you mention all have a great reputation for penetration & staying together, just what you need when the going gets tough. Sable, to me is kind of the holy grail of Africa. Only one's I seen where hanging on the wall in Joburg!!

Dick

SIXSHOT (DICK): 4 ELK WITH A 45 REVOLVER, TWICE AS MANY AS I HAVE, WAY TO GO. 1 ELK WAS SHOT WITH A 5 1/2 RUGER REDHAWK THAT LINEBAUGH CONVERTED TO 45 COLT FOR ME. MEDIUM SIZED 5X5 ELK. WAS USING A 325 GR. WFN, PROBABLY @ AROUND 1,300 fps, BROADSIDE SHOT, IN AND OUT, TOOK A VERY FEW STEPS AND DROPPED DEAD. IN 1996,IN THE SAVE CONSERVANCY OF ZIMBABWE, IN A FA 10 INCH CASULL REVOLVER, USING 45 COLT BRASS IN A 45 COLT CYLINDER, SHOOTING A 325 GR. WFN @ AROUND 1,625 fps, I CENTERED A RECORD BOOK ELAND BULL IN THE SHOULDER, IT RAN LESS THAN 100 YARDS AND DROPPED DEAD. I OFFERRED THE TRACKERS A CASH REWARD FOR THE BULLET BUT THE BULLET WENT CLEAR THRU BOTH SHOULDERS AND IS LAYING OUT IN THE AFRICAN BUSH SOMEWHERE. A BUDDY OF MINE ON THAT SAFARI SHOT A SIMILAR SIZED ELAND BULL, IN THE SHOULDER, BROADSIDE, USING A 375 H&H RIFLE AND 300 GR. TROPHY BONDED BULLETS. THAT BULL ALSO DIED BUT THAT BULLET ONLY MADE IT 1/2 WAY THRU THE BULL AND NEVER EVEN MADE IT INTO THE OFF SHOULDER. FLAT POINT BULLETS (IF HARD ENUFF) PENETRATE A LOT BETTER THAN HOLLOW POINTS AND ROUND NOSE BULLETS.

You nailed it on the flat points. They also penetrate straight! Making a cast bullet the correct BHN without being brittle is key, you don't want it to shatter. Guys here on the forum are whacking some really big stuff in Texas & getting failures with anything but the jacketed bullets you mention.
Everything depends on that bullet once you pull the trigger!

Dick

Oh Gees is it great you found this place......

On 3 of my 4 elk with the 45 I too used a 325 gr. LBT cast bullet, used the old faithful Keith 260 gr. on the other one.
Didn't seem to make a bit of difference, all the bullets exited.

Dick

I know of a couple of guys that had a rough time with cast bullets on Cape buff which is why my last African hunt I used Punch bullets in both of my Freedom Arms model 83`s. The hunt cost me to much money to have to worry about my bullet... Don`t know enough about cast bullets and how to make them correctly for the game being hunted for me to consider them. For those that do know, I wish them good hunting....My scoped 475 used a handload with a 390 gr. punch over 296 while my iron sight 500WE used Grizzly`s 420 gr punch ammo...Hit that buff with five of the punch bullets from the 500WE and like you, offered the skinners money for the bullets, but none were recovered...

True statement james but i would add that despite a little less penetration theres some expandables that i trust as much as many fmj or monometal solids. Its true a swift aframe or barnes xbp may not penetrate as far as one of them. But the damage is a significant step up. It breaks handgun hunting dogma, but with the monometals, fmj's and punch bullets along with the above mentioned expandables it shifts the game a bit to favor having increased velocity ads to the wound channel and penetration.